Season Recap 2007

2007

Drivers: Scott Sharp, Jeff Simmons, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tom Milner, Jr., Ralf Kelleners

Car #: 8, 17, 18

Sponsors: Patron, Ethanol, BellMicro

Championship Finish: 8^th, 18^th, 19^th, 4^th (ALMS)

Rahal Letterman Racing combined its Indy Car program with a full-time American Le Mans Series effort for the first time, setting the stage for things to come in as the decade wound down. Scott Sharp finished eighth in the points in what would be his final year in open-wheel racing, winning the pole at Texas and leading the series in laps completed. He earned five straight top-10 finishes at one stretch and finished sixth in the Indy 500, and also set season-highs with third-place runs at Iowa and Michigan. Jeff Simmons started the year in the Ethanol car and scored five top-10 finishes in his 11 starts. He led a lap at Indianapolis for the first time and set a new career standard by placing sixth at Texas. He was replaced for the final six races by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went on to win the series Rookie-of-the-Year award despite competing in just six events! Hunter-Reay proved to be a strong qualifier, starting in the top 10 in five of his six starts and finishing seventh or better in three of those efforts. In the ALMS GT class, Milner and Kelleners campaigned a Porsche full a full season, ending the year fourth in the series standings. The duo led laps in Houston and Lime Rock and finished second at Lime Rock and Road America to set season highs. The pair was joined by Graham Rahal for the endurance events at Sebring and Road Atlanta and while Sebring was marred by a first-lap incident, the Road Atlanta finale saw the trio end up in third place.