Description:

2008 Dallara-Honda IR-05

Offered Without Reserve.

RM Sotheby’s

The House that Newman/Hass Racing Built

29th October 2022.

Bill of Sale Only.

• The Newman/Haas Racing challenger for the 2008 IndyCar Series
• Piloted by Graham Rahal for 16 of 17 races, including the Indianapolis 500, during his debut IndyCar season
• The chassis which helped Rahal at the age of 19 to win his first IndyCar event, the Honda IndyCar Grand Prix at St. Petersburg
• An integral part of the first season run by the team after American open-wheel unification
• Equipped with Honda show engine

THE DALLARA IR-05

A development of the IR-03 introduced in 2003, the Dallara IR-05 retained the former’s carbon fiber monocoque construction and double-wishbone pull-rod-actuated suspension but introduced a number of aerodynamic developments and safety improvements. Initially capable of housing Toyota and Chevrolet dual-overhead-camshaft V-8 engines, Honda became the sole engine supplier to the IndyCar season in 2006 and would retain this monopoly until 2012.

In 2008, the Dallara chassis was updated once again and received paddle-actuated gear selectors on the steering wheel. Like previous generations of American open-wheel race cars, various aerodynamic configurations and an extended wheelbase could be applied to meet the demands of the various circuit types featured on the calendar.

CHASSIS 001

With his debut at the 2007 Champ Car Vegas Grand Prix, Graham Rahal, son of Indianapolis 500-winner and three-time CART champion Bobby Rahal, stepped up to the top level of American open-wheel racing at the age of 18, running with the elite Newman/Haas Racing organization. The following year, Champ Car and the IndyCar Series momentously unified after a 12-year split, which drastically altered the landscape of American automobile racing.

Newman/Haas Racing would run the 2008 campaign with chassis 001, which was piloted by Rahal at 16 races of the 17-event schedule, including the Indianapolis 500. Up until this point in his career, Rahal competed in categories devoid of ovals—and with a majority of the season contested on speedways, this year would be a trial by fire.

However, his talent at road courses immediately showed at the second event on the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida. A rain-soaked circuit ensured the 100-lap race would test the abilities of the field, and as the lap count rose, so did the number of retirements. Rahal would climb through the field, but on lap 37, contact with Will Power pushed him back to last place. Another caution cycled the field and Graham restarted in 2nd, ultimately passing Ryan Hunter-Reay for the race win. The youngest IndyCar series winner at the time, an elated Rahal rose out of his cockpit to see his proud father congratulate him in this historic moment. This was the second start for the Newman/Haas organization after reunification, and it proved their winning ways would continue.

The following season, Rahal once again raced chassis 001 through 10 events, and in 2010 Hideki Mutoh piloted the chassis at the Indianapolis 500. 

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