Deep Dive with IndyCar Legend and Team Bobby Rahal

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Speakers: Bruce Martin & Bobby Rahal

[Music Playing]

Bruce Martin:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcasts. I'm your host Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans an insider's view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar series, in a fast paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport.

I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as nbcsports.com, si.com, ESPN Sports Ticker, Sports Illustrated, Auto Week and Speed Sport.

So, let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy.

Welcome to this week's edition, a Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee. We are proud and honored to bring Hy-Vee to the show as the presenting sponsor of Pit Pass Indy. We will continue to cover the entire NTT IndyCar series community, and our new partners at Hy-Vee will help us tell those stories.

Hy-Vee is proud to be the sponsor of the Hy-Vee IndyCar race weekend at Iowa Speedway as IndyCar returns to the fastest short track on the planet July 21st to 23rd, 2023. For tickets, fans can visit hyveeindycarweekend.com or call the ticket office at (641) 417-6007, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

All of us at Pit Pass Indy hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July holiday. For some, it may have been a long weekend. For others, it may have been a week of summer vacation. However, you celebrated, we hope you enjoyed the holiday.

The NTT IndyCar series was an action at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio from June 30th to July 2nd.

IndyCar teams enjoyed an off weekend this past week, but it's back to action this weekend as the series heads north of the border for the Honda Indy Toronto.

The action begins with practice on Friday, another practice and qualifications on Saturday, and the race on the streets of Toronto on Sunday.

Scott Dixon is the defending winner of the Honda Indy Toronto, and has been to Victory Lane in that race four times in his career. He's going to need to score another victory this weekend if he hopes to close the gap on his Chip Ganassi racing teammate Alex Palou, who takes a mammoth 110-point lead into the street race around Toronto's exhibition place.

Palou has won the last three races on the schedule and has won four of the last five IndyCar contest.

While the rest of the IndyCar field is screaming “Lookout Palou,” our featured guest on this week's show is 1986 Indianapolis 500 winning driver and three time PPG Cart World Series Champion Bobby Rahal.

As a team owner, Rahal's drivers won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 with Buddy Rice behind the wheel and 2020 with Takuma Sato driving to Victory Lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rahal's one of the three owners at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, along with former television icon David Letterman and South Side Chicago Industrialist, Mike Lanigan.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has three cars in the NTT IndyCar series, including the driver of the number 45 Hy-Vee Honda Christian Lundgaard, driver of the number 15 United Rentals Honda Graham Rahal, and driver of the number 30 Hub International Limited Honda Jack Harvey.

I caught up with Bobby Rahal at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 1st to talk about his relationship with Hy-Vee and other IndyCar related topics for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy presented by Hy-Vee, where there's a helpful smile in every aisle.

Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy presented by Hy-Vee is Rahal Letterman Lanigan, team owner, Bobby Rahal. Bobby, you do a lot of business with Hy-Vee, either one of the sponsors of the team, they're the sponsor of the number 45 Honda with Christian Lundgaard as the driver.

You have a very good relationship with them, and they really seem to be exactly what IndyCar needs in 2023 to help move the sport forward. How excited are you to be involved with a company like that?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, I have to say, of course, we were first introduced to them in what, 2021, I believe. And just tremendous people. Obviously a tremendous company, but a company is made up of its people like our racing team is made up of people within our team.

And I've always liked kind of the way they do things. They do things absolutely right. But they're not braggers, they just get it done and done well, done very well, and I like to think we're a little bit like that too.

So, it's been a real honor for us to be associated with Hy-Vee over the last year, two years or so. And when you look at what they're doing for IndyCar Racing, aside from our association, but with the Iowa race, the concerts, the promotion of — go to a Hy-Vee grocery store anywhere in the Midwest, and it's nothing but IndyCar promotional material everywhere, hanging from those ceiling and caps. I mean, you name it, it's there.

And to be frank, I think they do more for IndyCar than any other single sponsor and by a long way. And so, for us it's a real honor to be involved with them, great people, wonderful people, and yeah, we look forward to more years, more races together.

Bruce Martin:

And when you think of how it all came together, it was during the COVID year of 2020, it was a double header at Iowa Speedway.

Bobby Rahal:

Right, right.

Bruce Martin:

A limited crowd, the Friday night, Saturday night double header at Iowa. And as I recall, Hy-Vee was the second sponsor on the second race of that double header. So, the team had to basically rewrap the car overnight-

Bobby Rahal:

That's correct.

Bruce Martin:

To get the sponsor logo and everything on it. And then this relationship grew from that point to reviving Iowa Speedway bringing it back to IndyCar for the 2022 season with the double header.

And now back in 2023 with an even bigger lineup of entertainment for the double header, the Hy-Vee IndyCar weekend at Iowa, when you reflect back on 2020, how fortunate and fortuitous it was for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to be able to attract them as that sponsor for that one Iowa race.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah, I mean, tremendous. I mean one of our good friends, Tom does business with Hy-Vee, basically does packaging for them and what have you, product packaging. And we were introduced to Hy-Vee through Tom.

He was so critical and from our side of the table towards getting Hy-Vee involved. And of course, Hy-Vee being in Iowa, it was a big event for them. And really from there it took off.

And yeah, I mean, I think Hy-Vee is the kind of client, partner, sponsor, however you want to describe it, that's the kind of partner you're looking for, because these people when they decide to go in, they go in, they don't play at it. They do it right.

Just like, if you remember the days with Target, very similar situation. And for them to be with us is just a huge honor for us, privilege because like I say, and I can't overstate it, they're just really high quality people with a high quality company, and we're just fortunate to be involved with them.

Bruce Martin:

And at the time, it was CEO Randy Edeker, who's now Hy-Vee chairman Randy Edeker. But he had this vision. And when did you realize this guy has a vision for what he can do to help not only move your team forward, but move IndyCar forward and move Iowa Speedway forward?

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah. Well, not just Randy, but Donna Tweeten, who now is president, she was head of marketing. Hy-Vee had been involved on a lot of major sports promotions over the course of years, and probably, unless you lived in that area, may not have known, major-

Bruce Martin:

Major collegiate and amateur and other sports entities out in the upper Midwest.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah. But probably, the world's biggest triathlon, for example. And that was huge. People came from around the country, maybe even outside of the country for that.

So, the point being is when Hy-Vee gets behind something and they really get behind it. And of course already they're backers of Kansas City and in the football and University of Iowa, Iowa State. I mean, you name it, they're everywhere. Even the Packers, I'm not sure I like that part of it being a Bears fan, but no, just kidding.

But as I said, when they become involved, they absolutely do it to a tee. And not many sponsors do that. They get in and then they play with it. But these guys are serious.

Bruce Martin:

You've been involved in many great sponsors through your career as a driver. One time you had Budweiser, and then later it was with Miller. And you had three championships, PPG Cart World Series Championships, you won the 1986 Indianapolis 500.

Is anything that Hy-Vee does now remind you of those sponsorships back in the days when you were a big name and as a race driver yourself?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, I mean, for sure. Yeah. When we were involved with Budweiser and Miller and even Molson, those were consumer brands, and so individually, they did everything they could to promote not just their brand, but their relationship and Motorsport, obviously their relationship with me.

And this is very similar, Hy-Vee's bringing in companies that have never really been involved with racing. So, that's different. But that era that I drove in the 90s, the 80s, 90s, 2000s, when you had the beer companies, you had the tobacco companies promoting the hell out of the sport. That's no different then than what we're seeing today with Hy-Vee.

Bruce Martin:

Also, the fact that it got the governor of Iowa's attention to revive Iowa's Speedway. Randy Edeker went to her and they got together to try to revive Iowa's Speedway. Then they got Roger Penske on board, and since then it has turned Iowa Speedway into what was a nice trip on the schedule to the grassroots vans of the Midwest into probably the biggest race of the summer on the IndyCar schedule.

Bobby Rahal:

Well, I mean, Iowa is a great track. It's rough. Is it the prettiest track or the smoothest track? No, but that's what makes it so good. I mean, it produces great races, which is why people go there and why we thankfully went back there a couple years ago, thanks to Hy-Vee support.

And you go to Iowa and you get a race and I mean, it entertained. You don't know where to look. There's so much going on. So, this year's going to be phenomenal.

To show you how serious people are about the Iowa Weekend, we were there testing, I know about a week ago, Andretti was there, Ganassi was there. I mean, you name it, they were all there because it's a very important weekend.

It's a challenging track, so you don't want to brush over it, you don't want to think, you've got a handle on it because it throws a lot of challenge at you.

Bruce Martin:

Not only that, but it's back to back double header weekend-

Bobby Rahal:

Oh yeah. Two races then.

Bruce Martin:

Which is going to put a lot of commitment from the team, from the drivers to be able to have two full races back to back, day races and the heat of the summer at Iowa. How challenging is that for a team standpoint?

Bobby Rahal:

That's tough. That's tough. The heat, I mean, it's hard for the drivers for sure, but it's also hard for the crew. People are sitting there standing in the pits all day getting baked.

And yet you don't really hear anybody complain about it once again, just because it's a great event and the quality of the entertainment is out of this world. It is like Vegas goes to Iowa, or Nashville goes to Iowa, it's probably a better way of saying it. And yeah, I mean it's just so special and it's all because of Hy-Vee.

Bruce Martin:

A lot of the drivers probably like to see some of those concerts themselves. I know they've got a lot work to do, but is it almost kind of like an incentive if you get your work done early, you might be able to go out there and see some of the Ed Sheeran concert or the Carrie Underwood.

Bobby Rahal:

I don’t know if the drivers get to see it, but their wives, girlfriends, kids, families, you name it, they all get to see it. It's a hell of a weekend.

Bruce Martin:

And last year Hy-Vee sponsored Jack Harvey and he became the poster boy of the race. This year they sponsored Christian Lundgaard and he's kind of the poster boy for Hy-Vee stores. To get that type of exposure, exactly what IndyCar drivers need.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah. Well not just IndyCar drivers, IndyCar, IndyCar. I mean, I don't think any company involved in this series does what Hy-Vee does for this series. I don't think it's even close. You don't see … I don't know, I can't name a sponsor right now, but in terms of promoting the series in front of the consumer public, Hy-Vee's miles ahead of everybody else.

Bruce Martin:

And can you see them expanding their role in IndyCar perhaps in the future?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, they are expanding as a company, now into Indianapolis, into Nashville, into Birmingham, Alabama, expanding further into Wisconsin, into Illinois. So yeah, I think you'd have to believe that there's every reason that they would continue and they would expand their promotional activities as they grow.

Bruce Martin:

And when you see the blueprint that they've created for a big event, how much would you like to see other venues on the schedule do the same thing?

Bobby Rahal:

I want there to be a promoters meeting and for them to explain to the other promoters what they do so that … because let's face it, promoters make a big difference in the acceptance of a race in a community.

Look at Long Beach, great promotion, every year they knock it out of the park. I don't think you can have any criticism of Long Beach because well first off, it's been around forever and they know what to do and they do it year in and year out. And there are clearly events that need to learn from that in my estimation. And I'm hopeful that over time they will.

Bruce Martin:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee. Here's the rest of my exclusive interview with Bobby Rahal.

Haven't had a chance to have you on the show since you opened your new shop in Zionsville, Indiana and you just, this year turned 70. So, obviously it-

Bobby Rahal:

Thank you for reminding me that.

Bruce Martin:

It shows though that at 70 Bobby Rahal's anything but slowing down. The facility that you've created in Zionsville, Indiana is probably the best IndyCar race shop of any IndyCar racing team. If you could tell our listeners just the commitment that you have to move auto racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing forward.

Bobby Rahal:

It's not just me, it's Mike Lanigan. To be frank, I don't know what we'd do without Mike and his family. David Letterman. As I've said to people, if you ever doubted our commitment to motorsports, I think this building kind of answers that question or that doubt. I mean, we're here, racing's been my life. I mean, it's that simple.

And I don't see me reducing my role or slowing down. That's just not me. And I still have a very competitive fire. I want us to win races, but that's why days like today make it so special. When you respond after disappointment, you respond by really performing.

We're not there yet. We go a ways to go, but these are indications that the people within this team have risen to the challenge. And we're going to be there.

Bruce Martin:

And we're doing the interview at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where on Saturday, all three Rahal Letterman Lanigan drivers made the fast 12, two of them made the fast six. And your son Graham, after the disappointments he's had at the Indianapolis 500 this year in qualifications, although he did get back into the race, was able to come ever so close to getting a pole, his first front row start in four years. How much did Graham Rahal need that qualifying performance in Mid-Ohio?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, he needed it for sure, and we needed it. But as I've told people, there's a lot of armchair quarterbacks out there that are ready to dismiss somebody. Or of course they've never driven a race car and they've got opinions.

And of course there've been a lot of people who have said, well the only reason Graham Rahal is there is because of me or he's washed up or whatever. But as I've told people before, and Scott Dixon would not have the level of success he has had without the kind of team that Chip Ganassi's put together, same thing holds true for Roger Penske and his drivers. Those guys are only as good as the team.

And in our case, we have not performed to the level that we need to perform on a day-to-day basis. Today was a sneak peak at what we can do as a team. And we've been there before. It's not like this is the first time, but we've been there before. But you give any of our drivers the right car and they will be there, they'll be in the hunt. And today was an example of that.

Bruce Martin:

Another one of those drivers that has a spectacular future is Christian Lundgaard. I know that when you brought him to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a 19-year-old, a couple of years ago, a lot of people may not have been familiar with him. How did you get to know Christian Lundgaard and see the potential that this guy from Denmark has?

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah, well we were introduced to Christian through a fellow I've worked with for many years, Rick Gorne, who is based in the UK and Rick was one of the principles of Reynard cars. So, he's been around in racing for many years, represented a lot of people, Gil de Ferran, people like that.

And Rick is the one who knew of Christian and said, “You guys should take a look at this guy. He's pretty good. He's in GP2. He is won couple races, young kid.” And so, we gave him that shot at Indy GP and he damn near put it on the front row on pole. I mean it was like, I don’t know, four hundreds of a second off pole or something.

And had a strong race and then we hired him for last year and again, last year being a rookie, you're getting to know everything about the series and the tracks and ended up Rookie of the Year, did a very good job.

And this year just stronger and stronger pulled position at Indy GP, he was in the top six — top six here in qualifying. He's been the top six, I think one or two other places this year. So, he's a young man that I think has a good future and long future in IndyCar because he is young. He's 21-years-old, so he's got a lot of runway out in front of him and we're just glad he is with us.

Bruce Martin:

And he has this focused attitude, this personality. He does have a good sense of humor, but it's kind of cold and calculating in some ways.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah, it’s Canadian, right?

Bruce Martin:

Yeah.

Bobby Rahal:

Danish humor.

Bruce Martin:

Yeah. And I mean, how long did it take for you to really kind of understand him a little bit? Because when you first met him, he was fairly robotic in many ways. But you could tell how serious he takes racing.

Bobby Rahal:

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And Christian like many in racing, his father was a world rally champion. He comes from a racing background, the expectations, for him he understood through his father and his experience and carting all the way up to GP2. So, these young guys coming up out of GP2 in particular, they're very, very professional. And Christian's an example of that.

Bruce Martin:

There's still a lot of races left in the 2023 NTT IndyCar series season, but do you feel that after what the team's been through this year, to be able to now be back on the rise up that you can build a foundation to make a concerted effort in 2024 to be a championship contender?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, we're not giving up on this year. But right now for us it's race by race, weekend by weekend, focusing, improving. We're only at the halfway point in this season, so there's a lot of races to win. There's a lot of races to perform well in, this series is so tough.

I don't think anybody really has a true appreciation if you're not in it, just how difficult it is. And we're talking hundreds of … I mean, Graham missed pole by three one hundredths of a second. What does that equate to, I don't know, a foot over the course of a two-and-a-half-mile track. I mean, it's crazy.

But the point being is you just can't let up. You can't lose your focus. You can't think about things that are too far ahead of you. It's every day, bring your A game every day to whatever you do. And with the commitment we're making to this team, Mike, David and I, and to the sport, we'll get there.

Bruce Martin:

Mid-Ohio has always been a special place to you. It's been a special place to the Rahal family in many ways. It's been home to the Rahals, it was home to your mentor team owner, the man who helped bring you to the big time Jim Trueman. He owned it. To be able to have Mid-Ohio serve as a pivotal moment in the 2023 season. Does it just seem like it's the right place for that to happen?

Bobby Rahal:

I think so to a degree. I mean, everybody said this was our home track. I kind of always thought Road America was, having gone up there for so many years as a kid to watch races.

But obviously, I've had a lot of success at this track. Graham has had success at this track. The connection with Jim Trueman I mean, I can give you all kinds of reasons why this place is special to us.

And I know when Graham won here in 15 or 17, I can't remember what year it was, to some degree, I think he said that's more important than him winning Indy just because of the historical value that this track has to our family. So yeah, this performance this weekend so far couldn't have come at a better place.

Bruce Martin:

And then looking ahead to the Iowa race, it's back to back races. So, there'll be a double points weekend because of the two races. How do you feel the team is prepared for the short ovals?

Bobby Rahal:

We had a good test there a couple a week ago or so. I think we're going to be good. Graham's always had some pretty good races there, Christian, not bad.

So, but I think our test there showed us some things that will help us and that track's all about staying out of trouble, but also having a car that can kind of go wherever you need it to go because it can be pretty rough and challenging in some places and you got to go there sometimes. So, your setup has to be able to take that. I think we'll be in good shape.

Bruce Martin:

And wrapping up here with Rahal Letterman Lanigan, team owner, Bobby Rahal, the weekend before you came to Mid-Ohio, you took a trip to London.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah.

Bruce Martin:

As a Chicago White Sox fan, I have to admit, I know that you're legitimately a huge Chicago Cubs fan.

Bobby Rahal:

Yeah, please.

Bruce Martin:

If you could tell our listeners, why you were in London and what you did while you were there and how much you enjoyed it.

Bobby Rahal:

Well, we wanted to go to an away game and I guess you can't get much more away than London. And my wife's a huge Cubs fan. I am, as you well know. And so, we decided, well, let's go over for a couple days. And I have to say, we had a great time.

There were a lot of Brits at the game, a lot of Americans. It was really a special event. And so, we're pleased to have gone there and I wish we'd won both games. We'll take one out of two.

Bruce Martin:

Probably one of the most unique setting for a rivalry that involves the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. And how would you say the crowd was split?

Bobby Rahal:

Oh, well, I think it was pretty much 50/50 to be honest. I mean, there was a lot of blue in the Grand Stands, but there was a lot of red too. So, I'd say 50/50.

Bruce Martin:

Were a lot of them from Great Britain, or were a lot of them people who traveled from the United States?

Bobby Rahal:

Well, I don't know the actual — what was the percentage split. But as I said, you're walking around, you’re hearing a lot of British accents, you walk around, you're hearing a lot of Midwestern accents. So again, I don't know what the split was, but I think there were a lot. I mean, there were about over 50,000 people at the game, and if I were betting man, I'd say it was 50/50 in between the two.

Bruce Martin:

And I guess in many ways, spending a weekend in London, it's a pretty good place to spend a weekend.

Bobby Rahal:

Well, if you got to go to an away game, that is a pretty good place.

Bruce Martin:

Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, good luck at the upcoming Hy-Vee IndyCar weekend at Iowa Speedway. Good luck at the rest of the NTT IndyCar Series season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee, where there's a helpful smile in every aisle.

Bobby Rahal:

Thank you so much.

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Bruce Martin:

And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee. We want to thank our guest, Indy Car series, team owner and racing legend Bobby Rahal, for joining us on today's podcast.

Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee, your path to Victory Lane for all things IndyCar. And because of our guest and listeners Pit Pass Indy, presented by Hy-Vee is proud to be the winner of the best podcast by the National Motorsports Press Association.

And for all your shopping needs, be sure to visit your local Hy-Vee, where there's a helpful smile in every aisle.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.

This has been a production of Evergreen Podcasts. A special thanks to our production team. Executive producers are Brigid Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me. Bruce Martin and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas.

Learn more at evergreenpodcasts.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.