Hy-Vee to Be the Primary Sponsor of Entry at Sunday's 104th Indianapolis 500

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 17, 2020) — Hy-Vee, Inc. announces today that it is teaming up with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) to be the primary sponsor of Spencer Pigot’s No. 45 NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry at the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, August 23. Hy-Vee will also be an associate sponsor of Graham Rahal’s entry for the Indy 500.

“This year, the 104th Indianapolis 500 will set records with the number of fans watching it from their homes, and when the opportunity to be a part of it became available, we immediately knew we wanted in on the excitement,” said Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman of the board, CEO and president. “While Hy-Vee mainly has a presence in eight Midwestern states, our company and our customer base span across the country. With subsidiaries and employees located throughout the nation, we look forward to supporting racing fans with our sponsorship of Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal’s entries at the Brickyard.”

“We are excited for the opportunity to build on the success our partnership with Hy-Vee produced at Iowa Speedway when Graham Rahal earned his second podium finish of the season with third place,” said Bobby Rahal, team co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing along with former talk show host David Letterman and Michael Lanigan. “It’s great to be able to expand on that and have Hy-Vee join us as the primary on Spencer Pigot’s entry. Spencer already had one impressive race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year and we have high expectations for more of the same at the Indy 500. Much like the fans of Indy car racing, Hy-Vee has a loyal customer base and we appreciate their support as we prepare for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Orlando, Florida, native Pigot, 26, earned back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015 in the INDYCAR Ladder Series with his 2014 Pro Mazda championship and 2015 Indy Lights title. He made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut with RLL in 2016 in the St. Petersburg season opener and also competed in the INDYCAR Grand Prix and Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the team. He made an additional seven starts for Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) that year and joined ECR fulltime from 2017-2019 with a career best start of third place at the 2019 Indy 500 and career best finish of second place at Iowa Speedway in 2018. At the 2020 GMR Grand Prix at IMS with RLL, Pigot led the race and looked likely to earn a podium finish until he retired from the event after a mechanical failure.

All on-track action from the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 can be seen on NBC Sports Gold, NBCSN or NBC. The 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will air live on NBC beginning at 12 p.m. Central on Sunday, August 23. For more information about the series or team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.

Hy-Vee, Inc.

Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 275 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $10 billion annually. The supermarket chain is synonymous with quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. Hy-Vee ranks in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands and has been named one of America’s Top 5 favorite grocery stores. The company’s more than 85,000 employees provide “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle” to customers every day. For additional information, visit http://www.hy-vee.com.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and Brownsburg, Ind., is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. In 2020, the team will compete in their 29th year of open wheel competition and attempt to add to their 28 wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice -- their 32 poles, 102 podium finishes and 1992 series championship. The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 - Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and has brought their total to 21 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 79 podium finishes as well as a second place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.