Rahal team to switch cars

UPDATE #2 UPDATE Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick will win or lose the Indianapolis 500 with a Panoz chassis, their team owner said today. Bobby Rahal said there isn’t enough time to make the switch to Dallara, which was superior in the first week of practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Besides, he said, the team only has two such cars in its possession. Practice resumes Wednesday. Qualifying is Saturday. “It would be totally chaotic to switch now," he said. Indy Star [Editor's Note: Our original rumor said Texas, not Indy for the switch]

04/22/06 We have it on good word that the Rahal Letterman IRL team will switch from the Panoz chassis to the Dallara chassis starting with the Texas race. In Japan, the Rahal team was the only team running the Panoz and it can be assumed that the team has determined the Dallara is a superior car.

05/16/06 Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick will win or lose the Indianapolis 500 with a Panoz chassis, their team owner said today. Bobby Rahal said there isn’t enough time to make the switch to Dallara, which was superior in the first week of practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Besides, he said, the team only has two such cars in its possession. Practice resumes Wednesday. Qualifying is Saturday. “It would be totally chaotic to switch now," he said. Indy Star 04/22/06 We have it on good word that the Rahal Letterman IRL team will switch from the Panoz chassis to the Dallara chassis starting with the Texas race. In Japan, the Rahal team was the only team running the Panoz and it can be assumed that the team has determined the Dallara is a superior car.