Written by:
Kevin Krefting
10/16/2006
Hilliard, Ohio
Jay O'Connell served as SVT Chief Vehicle Engineer at Ford.
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Rahal Letterman Racing announced 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 long time," 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.
