I always thought that Rahal was one of the good guys in Champ Cars. It would be interesting to hear which other driver he felt the most confident racing side-by-side with at 200 mph.
When I met him at a 24 Rolex he was wearing the same watch as me.....ask if he will part with his Stainless Daytona. If he says yes then buy it....right away. No really....buy it!
No. His first car was a beetle convertible. He has a similar car in his collection for that reason. The Beemer is his love though and he still has it and restored for much $ to factory new condition. And yes it is orange. As it should.
Event was last night. Too late now. But I'm sure I will see him again some day. Why is his watch so precious? Because it is a Daytona or because of him?
He didn't answer that directly but sees today's main advantage in the vastly improved safety of the cars.
I asked him about Jaguar (as politely as I could). It looked like a great opportunity for him but as soon as his partner had to return to the States (to tend to his cancer strucken daughter) Rahal had nobody anymore to cover the political back. And once Lauda joined, there was one manager too many and it was time to leave. No love lost between the two.
He came from road racing and actually wanted to do F1 but after loosing his Wolf ride he didn't have the manager to put him back into F1. At the same time Indy went from ovals to road racing and so he joined Indy. He is unhappy about Hunt who didn't want him in the team in 79 yet then quit after a few races. That basically squeezed Rahal out.
He loved that shot and I gave him a copy to keep. Told him that you were only 10 years old when you took the shot and he liked that. I made the mistake of calling this the Canadian GP but he instantly corrected me, recognized the place immediately and pointed out to me that he beat Arnoux (in the background) and he believes in front of him is Piquet. He said being a rookie he wanted to bring the car home in one piece and managed. But he did really get a kick out of beating Arnoux. Another comment he made upon seing your shots was "Ah, that's when F1 cars actually had some dirt on them.". Kinda funny.
As mentioned he has by now a big collection. He mentioned the Beetle, the Beemer and also a Shelby Mustand and an original AC Cobra. He owns a garage at the Autobahnclub in Joliet and has some of his toys there for taking them to the track. I did get to shake his hand, have a little talk and take pictures. And I have to say he is not only a very nice guy but also impressed me with his intellect: He is clearly a smart guy and it showed when he did his speech promoting the concours. His thoughts were spot on and had a natural flow. Didn't come over as rehearsed but as a guy speaking his mind from experience.
