Rahal, "Bobby" (Robert W.)
Auto Racing
b. Jan. 10, 1953, Medina, OH
Rahal was named the amateur driver of the year by the Sports Car Club of America in 1975, when he was a student at Denison University in Ohio. He began driving Formula and Can-Am cars after graduating and moved into Indy cars in 1982, when he was named CART rookie of the year.
In 1986, Rahal won six races, including the Indianapolis 500, where he set records with a 209.152 mph average for the last lap and a 170.722 mph average for the race. He became the first Indy car driver to surpass $1 million in winnings for a season and won the CART driving championship.
He was the champion again in 1987, when he won three races and finished second in five. After only five victories in the next four years, Rahal won his third driving championship in 1992.
After the 1995 season, Rahal founded his own racing team. He retired as a driver, but continues to operate Team Rahal. Late-night talk show host became a co-owner in 2002, when the team became Rahal/Letterman Racing.
During his 17 years as a race driver, Rahal had 265 starts, a CART record. He won 24 races, fourth on the all-time list, had 119 top-five and 177 top-ten finishes. He ranks fifth in poles won with 18 and second in money won with $16,344,008.