Bobby Rahal
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| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1982 - 1998 |
| Team(s) | Truesports (1982-1988) Kraco (1989) Galles-Kraco (1990-1991) Rahal-Hogan (1992-1995) Team Rahal (1996-1998) |
| Race starts | 264 |
| Championships | 3 (1986, 1987, 1992) |
| Wins | 24 |
| Podium finishes | 88 |
| Pole positions | 18 |
| First Champ Car race | 1982 Kraco Car Stereo 150 (Phoenix) |
| First win | 1982 Budweiser Cleveland 500 |
| Last win | 1992 Marlboro Challenge (Nazareth) |
| Last Champ Car race | 1998 Marlboro 500 (Fontana) |
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953 in Medina, Ohio) is an American auto racing team owner and former driver, spending most of his driving career in the CART open-wheel series, winning three championships there.
As a driver, Rahal raced in Formula 1 and CART, including owning the team he drove for during most of his career. That team is now known as Rahal Letterman Racing. 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 currently lives in New Albany, Ohio.
Contents |
[edit] Driving career
As a driver, he won three CART (now Champ Car) championships (with Michael Andretti finishing as runner-up each time) and 24 races, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also started 2 Formula One races for Walter Wolf in 1978, and was in contention for driving their second car until they chose to focus solely on James Hunt for the next season. He also had success in sports car races, winning the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring. He 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 Champcars history.
[edit] Car owner
He is co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, in partnership with David Letterman, who became a minority owner in 1996. The team, originally known as Rahal-Hogan Racing, was formed, in 1992, after Rahal and partner Carl Hogan acquired the assets to the former Pat Patrick Racing team in late 1991. The name changed to Team Rahal when Hogan left to form his own team. It changed its name again to Rahal Letterman Racing in May 2004. The team won the title for Bobby in 1992, making him the last owner-driver to win the IndyCar title, and the last driver to win a race in his own car until Adrian Fernandez did so in 2003. The team was consistently successful in the series until 2003, Kenny Brack finishing as rookie of the year in 2000 and championship runner-up in 2001. In 2003, they first entered an IRL car, and have focused on this series since 2004.
In 2000, Bobby 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. However, Bobby was sacked after reportedly attempting to sell driver Eddie Irvine to rivals Jordan {citation needed}. Ironically, the team fired Irvine little more than a year after firing Rahal.
Rahal's team won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 with a car driven by Buddy Rice. In 2005, his team made racing history with Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to lead a lap in the Indianapolis 500 among her other notable achievements at the race, qualifying and practice sessions.
[edit] CART President
Rahal was the interim President and CEO of CART for six months during the 2000 season.
[edit] Awards
- Rahal was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
- He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2004.
[edit] Race results
[edit] Complete Formula One Results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Team | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Wolf | ARG |
BRA |
SAF |
USAW |
MON |
BEL |
ESP |
SWE |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
AUT |
DUT |
ITA |
USA 12 |
CAN Ret |
Wolf | - | 0 |
[edit] Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | March | Cosworth | 17th | 11th |
| 1983 | March | Cosworth | 6th | 20th |
| 1984 | March | Cosworth | 18th | 7th |
| 1985 | March | Cosworth | 3rd | 27th |
| 1986 | March | Cosworth | 4th | 1st |
| 1987 | Lola | Cosworth | 2nd | 26th |
| 1988 | Lola | Judd | 19th | 5th |
| 1989 | Lola | Cosworth | 7th | 26th |
| 1990 | Lola | Chevrolet | 4th | 2nd |
| 1991 | Lola | Chevrolet | 4th | 19th |
| 1992 | Lola | Chevrolet | 10th | 6th |
| 1993 | Rahal-Hogan | Chevrolet | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1994 | Penske | Ilmor | 28th | 3rd |
| 1995 | Lola | Ilmor-Mercedes | 21st | 3rd |
[edit] Bobby Rahal Automotive Group
The Bobby Rahal Automotive Group sells and services Honda, Acura, Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, and BMW cars through its dealerships in western and central Pennsylvania.
[edit] Other family members in auto racing
Rahal's son, Graham Rahal, will be racing in the A1 Grand Prix series for the 2006-07 season.
[edit] External link
| Preceded by: Danny Sullivan |
Indianapolis 500 Winner 1986 |
Succeeded by: Al Unser |
| Preceded by: Al Unser |
CART Series Champion 1986-1987 |
Succeeded by: Danny Sullivan |
| Preceded by: Michael Andretti |
CART Series Champion 1992 |
Succeeded by: Nigel Mansell |
Categories: 1953 births | American racecar drivers | Champ Car drivers | Indy 500 winners | American Formula One drivers | Indy Racing League owners | International Motorsports Hall of Fame | International Race of Champions drivers | Auto racing executives | Lebanese Americans | People from Ohio | Living people | Denison University alumni
