JAY O'CONNELL JOINS RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING AS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
HILLIARD, Ohio - Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) announced today that Jay
O'Connell has joined the team as Technical Director. O'Connell will
oversee all aspects of RLR's engineering department and programs.
O'Connell brings a wealth of engineering experience in and out of
motorsports to RLR. He has worked on multiple projects with the Ford
Motor Company, most recently as a SVT Chief Vehicle Engineer where he
oversaw 25 engineers working on the 2007 Shelby GT500 and the 2006 Ford
GT.
"Jay is someone I have known and respected for a longtime," said Bobby
Rahal. "His track record of success is well documented and I felt a
chance to bring someone of his experience and stature into our team was
an opportunity to significantly strengthen our operation. I think the
addition of Jay to our engineering staff will prove to be one of our
most beneficial moves of the off season."
"I am really excited to work with Bobby again and leverage my background
in open wheel and sports car racing. I am looking forward to leading the
talented group of engineers at Rahal Letterman Racing to become an even
more engineering driven organization."
"The level of competition in the IndyCar Series has been raised to
a high level," said Scott Roembke, Chief Operating Office of Rahal
Letterman Racing. "Our foremost priority in this off season is to
increase our competitiveness. The addition of Jay to our current
engineering staff is a big step towards meeting our goals."
A 1988 graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Mechanical
Engineering, O'Connell has previously worked with Jaguar Racing Formula
1 in 2001--2002 as Research and Development Department Manager and
he was the Ford Racing CART Program Manager from 1998-2001. He has
significant sports car experience most recently having redesigned the
Panoz LMGT2 chassis, which won the 12 Hours of Sebring. O'Connell has
also worked with Multimatic, Inc. as a Vehicle Engineering Manager for
two years and spent four years as the Ford Racing Vehicle Development
Manager.
Rahal Letterman Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by
three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal
and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for more than
a decade compiling 19 victories, 28 poles and one series championship
(Bobby Rahal in 1992 in CART) and an Indianapolis 500 championship
(Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2007 Rahal Letterman Racing will campaign
two cars in the Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series and is exploring
opportunities in other racing disciplines.
-credit: rlr
