Chances are you already know him, but Bob(by) Rahal is a true INDYCAR legend. Raised by a Lebanese family with a passion for racing, Bob transitioned from garage racer making do with what he could, to becoming a sportscar winner that found his way into IndyCar competition, where he’d achieve his biggest highlights: three IndyCar championships and the 1986 Indy 500. This eventually led to the creation of his own team, now known as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), which continues to win in IndyCar as well as the IMSA ranks with BMW. Dinner was served at Steak 44 in Carmel, IN, with the song “Casino” by Rex Banner taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
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If you’re a fan of the 2000’s era of ChampCar, then you know Mario Dominguez, or at least you think you do. With one of the most, errr, unique stories in coming up through the Mexican junior ranks, Mario went from a karting national champion, to a Russell School scholarship winner, to driving for some Mexico’s most questionable race teams. Persevering through a diverse range of challenges, Mario’s career was highlighted with multiple wins in ChampCar, and no shortage of stories from the era. Lunch was served by Mario at his home in Mexico City, yes Mexico City, with the song “Flix” by Vic Savage taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
Continuing our tradition of unsung heroes behind the wall, Chris Willes is a consummate tinkerer whose engineering and head for innovation has led him to working on a number of cool sportscar programs, from creating factory-killer Trans Am cars to championship-winning TCR efforts, Chris is one of those guys who can work within the means of a program to turn around incredible results. Equally noteworthy, Chris’ career got off to an amazing start out of college, being involved from the ground-up in one of the sport’s most heralded program, the Nissan GTP cars during IMSA’s 1980’s era. Chris has recorded all of these great memories into his book, “Developing a Champion: The Electramotive Nissan GTP Story,” available at www.chriswillesautoracingbooks.com. Lunch was served at Pacific Coast Grill in Cardiff, CA, with the song “Its Not Your Fault” by Yotam Ben Horin taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
If you think you know Townsend Bell because you’ve seen him on TV, you don’t know Townsend Bell. Here in 2022 he’s known as one of the booth commentators for the NTT INDYCAR Series, but the crazy adventure he’s been on starting as just a kid in San Francisco is unlike any other. From the most elaborate “trade” we’ve ever heard to get into racing school, to fighting his way through the Indy Lights, F3000, and eventually IndyCar ranks, Townsend truly defines tenacity. We promise you, this is one to listen to because you likely have no idea just how hard he pushed to make his career a reality. Dinner was served at Townsend’s house in the Pacific Palisades, CA, with the song “No More Empty Glasses” by ATELLER taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
John Morton would fit in our legends category. If you’ve seen “Ford vs. Ferrari” then you’ve heard of the legends of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. Well, John Morton’s first job was with Carroll Shelby, and his CO-DRIVER was Ken Miles… so the guy’s been around. A class winner at Le Mans, a winner of millions of touring/GT races with Datsun and Nissan, John was the quintessential sportscar driver from the 1960’s through 1980’s, and he has no shortage of crazed stories to go with it. Lunch was served at the Metro Cafe in El Segundo, CA, with the song “Friend to the End” by Gabe Price taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
