IndyCar: Rahal team makes major changes

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan IndyCar team has undergone a dramatic restructuring of its engineering department, with Bill Pappas, Mitch Davis and John Dick leaving.

All three were relatively new arrivals; recruited over the course of 2013 and '14 as part of a broader plan to reinforce the team's technical strength. Pappas and Dick were recruited from Dale Coyne Racing to serve as Graham Rahal's engineer and RLL's head of R&D, respectively, while Davis joined from Ganassi's satellite team to serve as overall crew chief.

Eddie Jones, who was the engineer for RLL's second entry on the occasions that it fielded an additional driver, will switch across to fill the same role on Rahal's car, while Mike Talbott joins the team from HPD to assist with R&D.

The changes come in the wake of a difficult year for the squad, with Rahal finishing 19th in the points at the wheel of RLL's only full-time entry. It is also in the middle of a hunt for a new sponsor following the National Guard's decision to withdraw from all motorsport partnerships at the end of 2014.