Bobby Rahal

As a racecar driver, Bobby Rahal won three CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) championships and 24 races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1981, the 1986 Indianapolis 500, and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1987. Bobby Rahal retired from competitive driving in 1998, ranking first in career starts, second in career earnings, third in laps led, fourth in wins and fifth in pole positions in CART (now Champscar) history. He became just the second man to win the Indy 500 as both a driver and an owner after Buddy Rice won the Indy 500 on May 30, 2004. Additionally in 2004, Bobby Rahal was inducted into both the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 12 Hours of Sebring Hall of Fame.

The son of race car driver Michael Rahal, Bobby Rahal began racing in sports car events in the early 1970s, driving his father’s Lotus. He remained a successful amateur driver until 1976, when he decided to go professional and entered Formula Atlantic. In 1977, he finished second in the series, which led to his decision to go to Europe to race Formula 3. In Europe, Bobby Rahal drove a Dallara-built Wolf chassis, funded by Canadian oil millionaire Walter Wolf, which led to Bobby Rahal’s Formula 1 debut with the Wolf team in 1978.

For the 1980 and 1981 seasons, Bobby Rahal concentrated on sports cars, winning the Daytona 24 Hours in the second season. In 1982, Bobby Rahal moved into Indy car racing with Trueman’s Truesports team. He won his first race for the team that year and finished runner-up in the CART, and was Rookie of the Year. This established him as a top line CART driver, although he continued to compete in sports car racing and in 1984 drove a NASCAR in the Riverside event.

While dedicated to racing, Bobby Rahal’s love of history motivated him to earn a degree in history from Denison University in Ohio. Bobby continued to race until the end of 1998, when he retired to concentrate on running his team and developing a string of car dealerships in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1996, he went into league with talk show host David Letterman to establish Team Rahal. In the middle of 2000, Bobby Rahal was named interim chief executive of the CART organization. He continues to run a variety of racing teams and car dealerships while taking part in historic races whenever possible.

A seasoned spokesperson, Bobby Rahal is eloquent and perceptive. He is an especially adept speaker who can vividly describe what it is actually like to drive at 200miles per hour, as well as deliver riveting stories that can only be realized across a champion’s career. Known as an unflappable competitor, Bobby Rahal provides insight from both the driver’s, as well as the owner’s perspective. He is an insightful analyst of the world of sports, is valuable as both a product spokesperson, and a high-profile personality for public relations, and is a frequent emcee for sporting events.