RAHAL LETTERMAN TEAM ETHANOL DRIVER HUNTER-REAY HEAD TO DETROIT IN SEARCH OF INDYCAR SUCCESS

HILLIARD, Ohio - Opportunities for IndyCar Series success are dwindling as this weekend’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix marks the penultimate race on the 2007 calendar. But despite the fact that there are just 10 days and two races left on the series schedule, the Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol and their driver Ryan Hunter-Reay is doing far more than simply playing out the string.

Ryan Hunter-Reay (#17 Ethanol Dallara/Honda/Firestone) has goals to accomplish in the last two races, and this weekend’s event at the Detroit island course could go a long way toward helping him and the Team Ethanol reach those milestones.

Hunter-Reay can all but seal the Bombardier Learjet Rookie-of-the-Year title this weekend, and could set an IndyCar Series record for fewest starts in a season by a rookie-of-the-year winner.

The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will be the inaugural IndyCar race on the 2.125-mile Belle Isle circuit, however Hunter-Reay can tap into experiences earned far earlier in his career to help the Team this weekend.

“Heading back to Belle Isle is something I have been looking forward to since the day I signed with Rahal Letterman Racing,” Hunter-Reay said. “I had the chance to compete there in 2000 in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and really enjoyed the track, it was one of my favorite street circuits. We are hoping to continue where we left off last weekend in Sonoma where Team Ethanol showed impressive pace all weekend. Last week we barely missed the fast six qualifying session, this weekend we need to be in that group. So long as we develop the setup as we have been there's no reason we shouldn't start in the top five. One thing for sure, I'll be pushing hard all weekend.”

The Indy Cars will run a three-day show this weekend with Friday practice leading into Saturday’s run for the AAMCO Transmissions Pole Award, which takes place at 11:45 a.m. Eastern Time. Sunday’s 90-lap race gets underway at 3:45 p.m. and can be seen LIVE on ABC.

This will be mark the first time that the Indy Cars have visited Belle Isle, which hosted Champ Car events for 10 seasons from 1992-2001. Of the current crop of IndyCar drivers, only Rahal Letterman’s Scott Sharp, Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti and points leader Scott Dixon have raced on the layout. Tony Kanaan was to have raced there in both 2000 and 2001 but suffered injuries during the race weekends that forced him to withdraw from the race in both seasons. Kanaan was among those that competed at Belle Isle during their Indy Lights careers.Ryan Hunter-Reay made his IndyCar Series debut at Mid-Ohio, scoring a seventh-place finish to match a RLR record for the best result by a driver making his debut with the team.

Hunter-Reay finished sixth at Michigan and is the first IndyCar driver to earn finishes of seventh or better in his first two starts since Felipe Giaffone in 2001. He is the first to score top-10 finishes in his first two IndyCar starts since fellow former Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier in 2005. He competed at Belle Isle in Barber Dodge Pro Series competition in 2000 and was running for a podium finish when late-race contact ended his day. He is currently tied for the lead in the Bombardier Learjet Rookie-of-the-Year standings and looks to take the lead in that chase with this weekend’s result.

Team Facts - RLR competed in each of the 10 Champ Car events to take place at Belle Isle when it hosted racing from 1992-2001. This will be the first time in its brief history that the IndyCar series will visit Belle Isle. Rahal Letterman Racing has won 19 races and 30 pole positions since its inception in 1992 as Rahal Hogan Racing. Of Rahal Letterman Racing’s 19 wins, five have come on a permanent road course, the last of those being Michel Jourdain Jr.’s 2003 Champ Car victory at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Of Rahal Letterman Racing’s 30 pole positions, nine have come on permanent road courses, the most recent being Danica Patrick’s 2004 pole at Portland, which came in Toyota Atlantic competition. In 78 IndyCar Series races RLR has captured 10 pole positions, won three times, collected 16 podium results (top-three) and 35 top-five finishes while leading 689 laps.