Name: Why Bobby Rahal Quit Racing | Letterman
Uploaded: 2024-05-24T21:56:51.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Why Bobby Rahal Quit Racing | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-05-24. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Why Bobby Rahal Quit Racing | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-05-24. Transcript available.

Last month, ladies and gentlemen, this is quite exciting.
Our next guest clinched his third title as the PPG IndyCar World Series
champion.
Look at this! How cool is that?
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the all-time IndyCar money winner,
Bobby Rahal.
Bobby, come on at it.
Now you don't drink coffee.
No. I try not to. Let's put it that way.
Well, here, take some of this back to the garage.
Maybe you can clean parts with it.
I was just saying, maybe you ought to put that in the tank.
Hey, how you doing? Congratulations.
This was a great year for you, wasn't it?
It was a super year.
For many, many reasons, not the least of which was you won your third title,
but also this was a brand new endeavor for you because you own your own team.
Right. In fact, a year ago, the team didn't even exist.
And about, I guess, some mid-December last year, it all came together, and here
we are.
And now you're like Oprah. You have all the money.
You have all the money.
Not quite. You have to share it with the people on the team.
Who's the winning purse for winning the series championship?
I think we won just over $2 million this year.
Oh, man. Congratulations.
I'd like to know where it all went, but that's what they said we won.
Let me ask you a couple of questions and respond as quickly as you can.
These cars, the Indy cars, weigh what? About 1,500 pounds, 1,600 pounds?
1,500 pounds.
All right. Powered by an 8-cylinder engine.
V8.
How much horsepower?
About 750 horsepower.
750 horsepower.
You're about how many inches off the ground?
About two, three inches?
An inch.
Yeah, an inch off the ground.
The top speed at which you drive these cars in traffic is?
Indianapolis, 235 miles an hour.
235 miles an hour in traffic.
In traffic.
Okay.
Now, the question I need to have you answer.
Hopefully you're not in traffic long.
Yeah.
How badly do you need glasses?
Badly.
Badly.
It definitely helps.
Let's put it that way.
But I think you're the only driver that I know of, certainly in this league.
There are a lot of guys that, you know, they wear glasses, but they wear
contacts in the race.
I see.
But is it a problem for you?
I mean, because you've got your helmet on, you've got that thing.
It doesn't seem to be.
I mean, we've done all right so far.
Yeah, but what...
All right, say you're in traffic, you're going 235 miles an hour, and you have
to give it one of those.
Does that ever happen?
No.
My God.
I haven't run into that problem yet, but when I do, I'll tell you.
You know, in this country, people understand how kids start out as little, in
first, second grade,
playing little league and baseball and on up, and how they get to become major
league athletes.
What kind of a kid were you, and how did you start pursuing race cars in a
country where most other people were playing baseball?
Well, I guess what got me into racing was my father.
He raced sports cars for fun.
Was he good at it?
Yeah, I think given where racing was for him, I mean, he had a business, and
racing was about number four or five in terms of priorities.
But, you know, I grew up around it, and when I was in college, he had an old
racing car that he hadn't driven in a year or so.
And he said if I wanted to get my amateur license to go ahead and do it, and
that was 1975, and here we are.
So you started racing in college, right?
Yeah.
And what kind of a kid were you in high school, where did you know then you
wanted to be a race driver?
No, not at all.
Yeah.
I mean, I thought it would be neat, but the idea that it's not like a lot of
other sports, where baseball, football, where, you know,
you're a little league, and you go up through high school and college, and then
into the pros.
And motor racing, especially in those days, you couldn't start until you were
21.
Yeah.
So, I mean, you know, you grow up, you have no idea whether, A, you can do it,
and if you're going to be any good at it.
Yeah.
So, at what point did you realize you were going to be really good at it?
When did you commit to this thing completely?
I think I, probably around, just after college, I won an amateur championship,
a national championship,
and thought, what the heck, one year out of my life wasn't going to make any
difference.
Let's see how far we can go, and went to Europe, raced over there, and did
pretty well against some of the guys.
Was that fun?
Yeah, I loved it.
Who did you race against there?
Oh, Alan Prost, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, who I'm going to race against
again this year.
Coming to the United States, yeah.
Just a bunch of guys.
Many of, some have retired by now, but some are still going.
And then there was a time in your career when you actually quit and went into
advertising?
Right.
Well, what was the deal on that, for heaven's sake?
So, I mean, if we look at that videotape, that's got to be, regardless of the
circumstances,
driving one of those cars, always going to be a little bit more fun than
advertising.
Definitely.
Well, I went into advertising, my mother asked me to get a legitimate job, so I
went back to racing again.
You know, it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
Yeah.
And what did you do in advertising?
Well, it was a, represented a manufacturer, Chrysler Plymouth, with the dealers
in the Chicago area.
And it was at probably one of the low points for Chrysler.
So, you'd walk into these meetings, and all these car dealers would look at you
like, you know,
what are you trying to sell us now?
And it was, it definitely taught you perseverance, if nothing else.
And how long did you do that?
You must have hated that.
Actually, I mean, given all the alternatives, I thought it was a pretty good, I
had a good time.
I learned a lot.
But in about six months after I quit racing, I got a call from a guy, and he
said, I think you can do it.
Come back.
Yeah.
And my girlfriend at the time said, if you don't really give this a legitimate
shot, you know, you'll hate yourself.
And I said, what the heck?
And I was looking for an excuse anyway.
Speaking of advertising and girlfriends, I'm watching this Miller Beer
commercial.
Now, this is like your main sponsor, right?
Right.
Miller Genuine Draft Beer?
That's right.
All right.
I want to look at the commercial and talk a little bit about it, and then I
have some questions for you about the commercial.
Hal, do me a favor.
Roll the commercial.
This is Bobby Rahal here and the Miller.
All right.
There you are.
It looks like you're testing or qualifying.
Testing.
Testing, yeah.
And look at, oh, they've timed you.
They're disappointed, Bobby.
The crew is disappointed in your time.
They're that way most of the time.
Now, you've spotted a woman in the stands.
Suddenly, you really jump on it, and now what happens?
Yeah, you're flying now.
Anything to win, Dave.
Yeah.
So, the question I have for you is this, is this responsible motoring?
Well.
You bet.
You don't, uh...
You don't think Hollywood had anything to do with that, do you?
Who was the girl?
I have no idea.
That's what I want to know.
That's what I want to know.
Oh.
So, uh, now do you have some time off or not?
Uh, no.
We've been testing our new car already.
It's, uh, you know, no rest for the weary.
You know, we won one championship, but in racing, it's like, so what?
You know, now what are you going to do for an encore?
so we're working hard to win again next year.
Boy, it was a great year.
Very, very exciting.
And I believe, and I think folks who know racing believe this as well,
just the beginning of more wonderful things to come for you.
I hope so.
Good to see you again, Bobby.
Congratulations.
Bobby Rahal, kids.
We'll be right back.