Rahal responds to Panther lawsuit

Unhappy with the summary denial of its bid protest before the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) and unwilling to accept that the government chose to save taxpayers almost $5 million dollars per year by selecting Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s (RLL) competitive bid, Panther Racing has sued Indycar, the National Guard’s agency, RLL, and others.

Panther is seeking damages from the National Guard awarding RLL a sponsorship contract for the Indycar racing series. The facts and issues Panther raises in the lawsuit are many of the same it raised before the GAO, which issued a 9-page decision noting that RLL was rated higher than Panther in three out of four categories. The GAO also noted that there was no evidence supporting many of Panther’s allegations, and that the National Guard’s decision probably was driven by the basic fact that Panther’s base per year price was approximately $5 million more than RLL’s base price.

RLL believes it is unfortunate and disappointing that Panther has filed a lawsuit making serious allegations against the National Guard’s decision process. RLL also believes that Panther’s lawsuit has no merit as a matter of fact and law. RLL’s lawyers will vigorously defend RLL so it can focus on what matters most — representing the courageous men and woman of the National Guard and winning races.