Robert “Bobby” Woodward Rahal (created January 10, 1953 in Medina, Ohio) is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a motorist, Bobby Rahal won three tournaments and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, such as the 1986 Indianapolis 500. After retiring as a motorist, Rahal held managerial positions using the Jaguar Formula 1 team and also was an interim president of the CART series. Rahal was also a sports car driver throughout the 1980s, and made one NASCAR beginning for the Wood Brothers.
Bobby Rahal started his profession in SCCA feeder groups, finally finishing second to Gilles Villeneuve in the 1977 Formula Atlantic championship. The next year, he competed in European Formula Three with Wolf Racing. The deal with Wolf failed to continue in the 1979 season, as Wolf signed up James Hunt for the only car accessible. Throughout the the next couple of seasons, he competed in several sports car events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the IMSA GT Championship. In 1982, Rahal entered the CART series using the Truesports team, winning two races and finishing second in the tournament behind Rick Mears. He continued racing for Truesports through the 1988 season, winning a minumum of one race each year.
After that year, Bobby Rahal won his first CART tournament, and successfully defended it the subsequent year.