Bobby Rahal

Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 and 2020 Indy 500s as a team owner for Buddy Rice and Takuma Sato, respectively.

Bobby Rahal
Rahal in 2010
Nationality American
BornRobert Woodward Rahal
(1953-01-10) January 10, 1953
Medina, Ohio, U.S.
Championship titles
1986, 1987, 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series Champion
1986 Indianapolis 500 Winner
Champ Car career
266 races run over 18 years
Years active1982–1998
Team(s)Truesports (1982–1988)
Kraco (1989)
Galles-Kraco (1990–1991)
Rahal-Hogan (1992–1995)
Team Rahal (1996–1998)
Best finish1st – 1986, 1987, 1992
First race1982 Indianapolis 500
Last race1998 Marlboro 500 (Fontana)
First win1982 Budweiser Cleveland 500 (Cleveland)
Last win1992 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix (Nazareth)
Wins Podiums Poles
24 88 17
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1978
TeamsWolf
Entries2
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1978 United States Grand Prix
Last entry1978 Canadian Grand Prix
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish91st – 1984
First race1984 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

After retiring as a driver, Rahal held managerial positions with the Jaguar Formula 1 team and also was an interim president of the CART series. Rahal was also a sports car driver during the 1980s, and made one NASCAR start for the Wood Brothers.

Racing career

And it was frigid. A very cold day, and the race long – long for me. The longest I'd done before that was a 100-mile Formula Atlantic race, and this was a 200-mile grand prix. I just wanted to get to the end and get to the next race. It was a workman-like debut.

Rahal, speaking about his Formula One debut at Watkins Glen[1]

Rahal began his career in SCCA feeder categories, eventually finishing second to Gilles Villeneuve in the 1977 Formula Atlantic championship. The following year, he competed in the 1978 New Zealand Grand Prix with Fred Opert Racing (Formula Pacific) and in European Formula Three with Wolf Racing. Near the end of the season, Rahal raced for the Wolf Formula 1 team in the 1978 United States Grand Prix and the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix.[1] The deal with Wolf did not continue into the 1979 season, as Wolf signed up James Hunt for the one and only car available. Rahal began the 1979 racing a Chevron in Formula Two, but returned to America mid-season and raced in the Can-Am series. During the next few seasons, he competed in various sports car events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the IMSA GT Championship.

In 1982, Rahal entered the CART series with the Truesports team, winning two races and finishing second in the championship behind Rick Mears. He continued racing for Truesports through the 1988 season, winning at least one race every year. In 1986, Rahal dramatically passed Kevin Cogan on a restart with two laps to go to win the Indianapolis 500, only days before his team owner, Jim Trueman died of cancer. Later that year, Rahal won his first CART championship, and successfully defended it the following year.

In 1988, Rahal won the last race the Truesports team ever won, the Quaker State 500 at Pocono, the only victory for the Judd engine ever.

During his CART career, Rahal also won races in IMSA and IROC. By 1989, Rahal had ended his occasional forays into sports car racing and focused solely on CART. He moved over to the Kraco race team, but this association produced only two wins over three seasons.

Rahal competed in one NASCAR race in his career. In November 1984 he drove the 7-11 sponsored Wood Brothers #21 Ford (substituting for Buddy Baker) to a 40th-place finish in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Speedway, completing only 44 laps before breaking a rear end gear.[2]

IndyCar owner

Rahal driving for Team Rahal at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1996

After losing the championship to Michael Andretti in 1991, Rahal (with partner Carl Hogan) acquired the assets to the former Pat Patrick Racing team, with Rahal becoming an owner-driver. The team was an immediate success in 1992, producing four wins for Rahal and his third CART championship, making him the last owner-driver to win the CART title, and the last driver to win a race in his own car until Adrian Fernandez did so in 2003. In 1993, Rahal attempted to develop his own Rahal-Hogan chassis, but reverted to the Lola chassis after failing to qualify for the 1993 Indianapolis 500. In 1994 the team brought the Honda engine into the CART series. Except for a second-place finish at Toronto, he and teammate Mike Groff struggled to show the full potential of an engine that would soon dominate the series. In 1995 at Long Beach Rahal became the 10th driver in Championship Car history (including AAA, USAC, and CART) to start 200 races in his career.[3] Despite no wins, Rahal finished a strong 3rd in the 1995 standings using the Mercedes engine.

Rahal continued as a racing driver until his retirement in 1998. Meanwhile, Hogan left to form his own team and talk show host David Letterman became a minority owner in 1996. The team became known as Team Rahal in 1996 and Rahal Letterman Racing in 2004, when Rahal switched from CART to the IRL full-time.

Other business roles

In 2000, Rahal joined the Jaguar Formula One team in a managerial capacity. During this time, Rahal attempted to hire championship-winning aerodynamicist Adrian Newey, briefly believing that the deal had been completed, but was unsuccessful. However, Rahal was fired after reportedly attempting to sell driver Eddie Irvine to rivals Jordan.[4] Ironically, the team fired Irvine little more than a year after firing Rahal, while Newey joined in 2006, a year after the team was sold to Red Bull.

Rahal was the interim President and CEO of CART for six months during the 2000 season.

His business interests include Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, a network of car dealerships in western and central Pennsylvania selling Acura, BMW, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volvo.

Awards

Tribute

At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the back straight leading up to the corkscrew was named the "Rahal Straight" in his honor.

Personal life

Rahal formerly lived in New Albany, Ohio. Rahal is a graduate of Denison University. He now lives in Lincoln Park, near the lakefront of Chicago. He is the son of sports car racer Mike Rahal[8] and the father of Graham Rahal, who now races in the IndyCar Series.

Rahal owns a 1975 Lola T360 which he occasionally races at vintage racing events.

Rahal also grew up in the Chicago suburbs and attended Glenbard West High School as class of 1971.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

YearTrackCarEngineClassFinishStartStatus
1974Road AtlantaLola T290FordB Sports Racing33Running
1975Road AtlantaMarch 75BFordFormula B12Running
1977Road AtlantaMarch 75BFordFormula B181Retired

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Formula One results
Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1978 Walter Wolf Racing Wolf WR5 Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA
12
NC 0
Wolf WR1 CAN
Ret

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Formula Two results
Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
1979 Chevron Racing Team Chevron B48 Hart SIL
4
HOC
7
THR
5
NÜR
Ret
VAL
4
MUG
6
PAU
Ret
HOC
6
ZAN
Ret
PER
Ret
MIS
7
DON 11th 10

American Open Wheel Racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

PPG Indy Car Series

PPG Indy Car Series results
Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points
1982 Truesports Co. March 82C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX
18
ATL MIL
20
CLE
1
MCH
3
MIL
2
POC
3
RIV
15
ROA
3
MCH
1
PHX
5
2nd 242
1983 Truesports Co. March 83C Cosworth DFX V8t ATL
21
INDY
20
MIL
6
CLE
19
MCH
5
ROA
10
POC
5
RIV
1
MCH
2
PHX
DNS
5th 94
Chevrolet V8 MDO
3
CPL
9
LAG
7
1984 Truesports Co. March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH
14
PHX
7
INDY
7
MIL
14
POR
14
MEA
11
CLE
14
MCH
18
ROA
2
POC
3
MDO
2
SAN
2
MCH
5
PHX
1
LAG
1
CPL
7
3rd 137
1985 Truesports Co. March 85C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH
27
INDY
27
MIL
9
POR
20
MEA
25
CLE
28
MCH
6
ROA
4
POC
4
MDO
1
SAN
10
MCH
1
LAG
1
PHX
6
MIA
2
3rd 133
1986 Truesports Co. March 86C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX
16
LBH
18
INDY
1
MIL
6
POR
20
MEA
3
CLE
15
TOR
1
MCH
10
POC
14
MDO
1
SAN
1
MCH
1
ROA
5
LAG
1
PHX
3
MIA
8
1st 179
1987 Truesports Co. Lola T87/00 Cosworth DFX V8t LBH
24
PHX
2
INDY
26
MIL
2
POR
1
MEA
1
CLE
2
TOR
3
MCH
3
POC
5
ROA
23
MDO
2
NAZ
2
LAG
1
MIA
7
1st 188
1988 Truesports Co. Lola T88/00 Judd AV V8t PHX
16
LBH
2
INDY
5
MIL
6
POR
12
CLE
2
TOR
5
MEA
5
MCH
2
POC
1
MDO
18
ROA
2
NAZ
12
LAG
4
MIA
18
3rd 136
1989 Kraco Racing Lola T89/00 Cosworth DFS V8t PHX
18
LBH
4
INDY
26
MIL
13
DET
18
POR
2
CLE
3
MEA
1
TOR
19
MCH
9
POC
6
MDO
22
ROA
28
NAZ
7
LAG
6
9th 88
1990 Galles-Kraco Racing Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t PHX
2
LBH
12
INDY
2
MIL
4
DET
2
POR
11
CLE
2
MEA
25
TOR
22
MCH
2
DEN
3
VAN
8
MDO
6
ROA
7
NAZ
3
LAG
5
4th 153
1991 Galles-Kraco Racing Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t SRF
2
LBH
2
PHX
2
INDY
19
MIL
4
DET
2
POR
3
CLE
3
MEA
1
TOR
3
MCH
11
DEN
20
VAN
2
MDO
3
ROA
4
NAZ
2
LAG
24
2nd 200
1992 Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola T92/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t SRF
3
PHX
1
LBH
2
INDY
6
DET
1
POR
14
MIL
2
NHA
1
TOR
2
MCH
11
CLE
4
ROA
3
VAN
22
MDO
24
NAZ
1
LAG
3
1st 196
1993 Rahal-Hogan Racing Rahal-Hogan RH-001 Chevrolet 265C V8t SRF
6
PHX
22
LBH
2
INDY
DNQ
4th 133
Lola T93/00 MIL
4
DET
5
POR
4
CLE
28
TOR
4
MCH
9
NHA
7
ROA
3
VAN
2
MDO
6
NAZ
6
LAG
7
1994 Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola T94/00 Honda HRX V8t SRF
26
PHX
14
LBH
30
MIL
7
DET
6
POR
12
CLE
28
TOR
2
MCH
28
MDO
27
NHA
9
VAN
7
ROA
9
NAZ
14
LAG
29
10th 59
Penske PC-22 Ilmor 265D V8t INDY
3
1995 Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola T95/00 Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t MIA
3
SRF
2
PHX
21
LBH
21
NAZ
6
INDY
3
MIL
13
DET
24
POR
3
ROA
5
TOR
2
CLE
4
MCH
8
MDO
26
NHA
10
VAN
5
LAG
7
3rd 128
1996 Team Rahal Reynard 96i Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t MIA
5
RIO
6
SRF
20
LBH
14
NAZ
6
500
19
MIL
7
DET
21
POR
6
CLE
15
TOR
3
MCH
24
MDO
5
ROA
2
VAN
2
LAG
7
7th 102
1997 Team Rahal Reynard 97i Ford XD V8t MIA
16
SRF
10
LBH
10
NAZ
6
RIO
10
GAT
20
MIL
11
DET
9
POR
24
CLE
5
TOR
9
MCH
17
MDO
3
ROA
6
VAN
24
LAG
19
FON
5
12th 70
1998 Team Rahal Reynard 98i Ford XD V8t MIA
19
MOT
17
LBH
17
NAZ
6
RIO
8
GAT
8
MIL
5
DET
11
POR
6
CLE
8
TOR
4
MCH
7
MDO
3
ROA
8
VAN
25
LAG
16
HOU
23
SRF
25
FON
11
10th 82

Indianapolis 500 results

Rahal during the 1986 Indy 500
Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1982 March Cosworth 17th 11th Truesports
1983 March Cosworth 6th 20th Truesports
1984 March Cosworth 18th 7th Truesports
1985 March Cosworth 3rd 27th Truesports
1986 March Cosworth 4th 1st Truesports
1987 Lola Cosworth 2nd 26th Truesports
1988 Lola Judd 19th 5th Truesports
1989 Lola Cosworth 7th 26th Kraco
1990 Lola Chevrolet 4th 2nd Galles/Kraco
1991 Lola Chevrolet 4th 19th Galles/Kraco
1992 Lola Chevrolet 10th 6th Rahal/Hogan
1993 Rahal Chevrolet Failed to Qualify Rahal/Hogan
1994 Penske Ilmor 28th 3rd Rahal/Hogan
1995 Lola Ilmor-Mercedes 21st 3rd Rahal/Hogan

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NWCC Pts
1984 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD
40
91st 43

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1980 Dick Barbour Racing Bob Garretson
Allan Moffat
Porsche 935 K3 IMSA 134 DNF DNF
1982 Garretson Developments Skeeter McKitterick
Jim Trueman
March 82G C 28 DNF DNF

References

  1. Pruett, Marshall (11 December 2015). "Reflections: 1978 Formula 1 at Watkins Glen". racer.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. "1984 Winston Western 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  3. ChampCarStats.com
  4. "Lauda Criticises Rahal over Irvine Offer to Jordan". Atlas F1. Autosport.com. 2001-08-28. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  5. Bobby Rahal at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  6. Lewandowski, Dave (January 8, 2013). "Notes: Rahal among five elected to SCCA Hall". IndyCar. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  7. "Bobby Rahal to receive Simeone Spirit of Competition Award/". www.hemmings.com. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  8. Cavin, Curt (August 20, 2012). "Family Playground: Mid-Ohio is home for the Rahals". Autoweek. 62 (17): 60–61.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Al Unser
CART Indy Car Series
Champion

1986, 1987
Succeeded by
Danny Sullivan
Preceded by
Danny Sullivan
Indianapolis 500
Winner

1986
Succeeded by
Al Unser
Preceded by
Michael Andretti
CART Indy Car Series
Champion

1992
Succeeded by
Nigel Mansell
Achievements
Preceded by
Bob Lazier
CART
Rookie of the Year

1982
Succeeded by
Teo Fabi
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