RLL's new IndyCar driver shines a light on $400M-worth David Letterman and his partners' impact on the team

David Letterman's co-owned Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing signed two new drivers for the 2025 season. After the first race weekend of the season in St. Petersburg, when asked how the RLL team owners work to get the team up and going, Devlin DeFrancesco shared how the trio works tirelessly to bring back the team to the front of the field.

Rahal-Hogan Racing was formed in 1992. However, Carl Hogan left the squad in 1996, which led to the team's name being changed to Team Rahal. In the same year, David Letterman, who is worth $400 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), bought a small stake in the team, which increased to him becoming a co-owner in 2004 and the team's name being changed to Rahal Letterman Racing.

In 2011, Mike Lanigan joined in, and the team's name changed again to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Since then, the Ohio-based team has won 10 races and aims to get the team back to the sharp end of the field.

This included some major restructuring in the squad as young talent in the form of Louis Foster and Devlin DeFrancesco were brought into the team. The latter then gave an insight into how David Letterman and his partners worked within the team, and said, via Pit Pass Indy podcast:

"It's hugely impressive... The three owners they are leaving no stone unturned. They want to win, they are hungry to win, and they are doing whatever it takes to make sure we are at the front. They have given us the tools, and now it's up to us to go out and execute."

The former talk show host's role has changed drastically over the years within RLL.

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David Letterman elaborated on his role with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last summer

From left to right: Mike Lanigan, Takuma Sato, David Letterman, and Bobby Rahal at the 104th Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

While David Letterman has been a fan of the sport since he was a kid, the 77-year-old did not have much know-how about the intricacies of managing a team. However, with Mike Lanigan's entrance in the team in 2011, his workload was reduced drastically, as Letterman revealed, via IndyStar:

"I was so worried about doing something that would cause the race to go haywire... And then when Mike Lanigan came in, everything changed. It took the organization to a different level. He’d been in racing for a long time before he came to Bobby, and at that point, I realized I didn’t have much to worry about here because Mike and Bobby are doing the heavy lifting and I can stand around and ask dumb questions, and that’s pretty much been my role ever since."

RLL had a mediocre weekend in St. Petersburg. Louis Foster DNFed out of the race on lap 1, Devlin DeFrancesco finished the race in 22nd, and Graham Rahal was the only driver who brought in a respectable result by finishing 12th at the season opener.