INDIANAPOLIS 500 DAILY REPORT : Rahal Returns Favor, Lends Penske a Car

Last year, when Bobby Rahal’s Honda-powered Lola was in danger of being bumped from the Indianapolis 500 field, Roger Penske lent Rahal a Penske-Ilmor for emergency use. Rahal needed it. He qualified the car at the last minute and drove it to third place.

On Wednesday, Rahal returned the favor, lending Penske a ’94 Lola-Mercedes Benz for use in practice and possible qualifying.

Emerson Fittipaldi will practice with it when the weather clears, while Al Unser Jr. continues searching for speed in the troublesome ’95 Penske-Mercedes.

“Since Bobby [Rahal] and Raul [Boesel, Rahal’s teammate] both qualified on Sunday, we are pleased to provide Penske Racing with one of our back-up Lolas,” said Carl Hogan, co-owner of the Rahal-Hogan team.

*

Bryan Herta, who suffered a minor concussion in a crash Tuesday, was released from Methodist Hospital and may return to drive his Reynard-Ford in the 500. He is not expected to drive for a week.

The qualified car, which suffered severe damage on to its left side, was sent to England for repairs. If the car cannot be repaired, Herta will start a backup car in the 33rd position.