Dave Friedman/LAT
WHITE SUBSCRIBE FLAG WHITE TO FLAG WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG
WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG WHITE FLAG
FREE FOREVER!
(Main) Mario Andretti won
his clan’s only Indy 500 in
1969. (Below right) ’86 was
Bobby Rahal’s year to do it
One-apiece in the
battle of the dynasties
For 13 seasons, Rahal vs. Andretti was a recurring American
open-wheel racing storyline. Finally, prepare for season 14
Famous names and direct associations with legendary
races and racers add an extra dimension to the appeal of
the IndyCar Series. So, the news that the 2008 season
will include both an Andretti and a Rahal in the driving lineup has
brought a fresh boost of star power.
Aside from a year in the Star Mazda open-wheel ladder series,
Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal missed each other coming up
through the ranks. But this year they will go head to head in the
major leagues for the first time, renewing rivalries that included
their fathers and, in Marco’s case, his grandfather as well.
In 1982, Bobby Rahal was a rookie in CART – if hardly in racing,
having spent many years climbing the ladder in Formula Atlantic,
Can-Am, sports cars, and even a couple of one-offs in Formula 1.
That same season, Mario Andretti was devoting himself fully to
American open-wheel racing for the first time in years, after a long
stint in F1 that included his World Championship triumph in 1978.
But in that first season together, it was rookie Rahal who came out
ahead, taking two wins and finishing runner-up in points (albeit
72 INDYCAR SERIES 2008 FAN GUIDE
71That’s the number of Indy 500 starts the
Andretti clan and Bobby Rahal have between them.
Currently, it’s 58 to the Andrettis (that’s Mario,
Michael, Jeff, John and Marco) and 13 to Bobby.
distantly) to champ Rick Mears.
Over the 13 seasons in which they
went head to head, Rahal outscored Mario
in wins (24-18) and championship titles
(three to one), even as Mario’s son,
Michael, was emerging as one of Rahal’s
primary rivals. Bobby and Michael finished
1-2 in the points four times, with Bobby
coming out ahead in three of those duels.
Yet, while all three men were perennial
championship frontrunners during that
era, their collective Indy 500 records
boast only a single victory – for Rahal in
1986. Mario, of course, had his face on
the Borg-WarnerTrophy since 1969, but
despite frequently being the man to beat
at the Speedway over the next quartercentury,
the stars never aligned for him
again. For son Michael, the same pattern
followed, only without that early triumph
to salve the pain. His 431 laps led at Indy
are the most by any driver without a win.
Rahal’s Brickyard fortunes weren’t
much better outside that one golden
moment in ’86, but the circumstances in
which his one and only Indy triumph
came made it much more than just one
for the record books. After winning a
three-way duel for the lead in the final
laps, he was able to share the moment in
Victory Lane with team boss Jim Trueman,
just weeks before his longtime friend and
mentor passed away.
Now a new era begins for the Andrettis
and Rahals, and whoever comes out
ahead, we all stand to win as a result.
Dan Streck/LAT
BLAST
FROM
THE
PAST
IMS Photo
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.