SPECIAL SECTION: AUTO RACING 2011

Seven years ago, I was in Indianapolis for pole-day qualifying and was dining at St. Elmo Steak House with Tim Tuttle, who writes for Sports Illustrated, among other publications.

I’d just finished their killer shrimp cocktail when I looked up and who should be making a beeline for our table with his hand outstretched and a big grin on his face but Bobby Rahal, three-time CART driving champion, winner of the Indy 500 and, most important as far as I was concerned, winner of the inaugural Molson Indy Toronto in 1986.

That he shook hands with Tim Tuttle first was of no concern to me because Tim’s was the first hand he’d come across when he got to our table. But then he shook hands with me — everybody was looking, by the way — and I haven’t washed that hand since (only kidding).

I’ve always been a big fan of Rahal’s. He was a great driver and I like what’s he’s done as a team owner. He’s also got huge links to Canada and that’s why I’m thrilled that he’s being inducted this year into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in the International category.

The first International inductee was Carroll Shelby; Rahal is going in this year along with Prof. Sid Watkins, retired F1 chief medical officer and a major contributor, along with Toronto’s Dr. Hugh Scully, to the advancement of driver safety in not only Formula One but motor sports generally.

Rahal is the most “Canadian” of them all; he probably should have honourary citizenship (only kidding, again).

For instance, did you know that contrary to what you might read in official histories, etc., Bobby Rahal drove in his very first race — a novice formula car event — at Mosport in 1970 when he was only 17 and under age (for the time)? It’s true. His father lied to officials that his son was really 18.

Did you know that he met his first wife, Debi, at Mosport when he was racing in the Formula Atlantic series? He won his first race in the series in 1976 and then went on to finish second to Gilles Villeneuve in the 1977 Atlantic championship.

And then, a lot of people forget that Rahal started his big-league career in 1978, not in Indy cars but in Formula One. He drove two races — the Canadian and U.S. Grands Prix — for Wolf Racing, a team owned by an Austrian businessman named Walter Wolf, who was also (and remains) a Canadian citizen.

And then there was that victory in the ’86 Molson Indy, the first street race outside the United States to be sanctioned by the CART Series.

To say that Rahal is fond of Canada would be an understatement.

“Americans might not like to hear this but I always enjoyed racing more in Canada because the Canadians were more educated about the sport,” Rahal said during a recent phone interview.

“Canadians knew what we were trying to do, particularly in formula cars. They really had a greater appreciation of the sport and it was always a pleasure to race up there. And to win that first Molson Indy was really something else. It’s a very special memory for me.”

Rahal was a fixture on the Indy car circuit for years, first as a driver and then as a team owner, but hasn’t been a regular for several years because sponsorship has been so difficult to attract. But he’s very optimistic about the future of what’s now called INDYCAR.

“First off, the level of competition now is as good as it’s ever been,” he said. “Randy Bernard (the CEO who’s starting his second year in the job) has done fabulous things like getting Chevrolet back into the series and determining that the series needed new cars (both coming for 2012).

“INDYCAR hasn’t had the kind of promoter that was needed and now it’s got one. He’s very sharp, very well respected in the TV world. I’m very bullish on INDYCAR because I think we’ve got a guy who understands all that and can drive the sport forward. And he’s a leader.

“The economy certainly hasn’t helped things the last couple of years. But that seems to be coming back now, so I think the sport is well-positioned.”

While Rahal hasn’t been able to run a team in INDYCAR, his organization will return to the GT2 class with BMW in the American LeMans Series this season, which will race at Mosport in late July.

And although there is only one major stock car series in North America, and the Indy cars are running under one roof again, he doesn’t see the two big sports car series getting together anytime soon.

“They are very different formulas right now and they couldn’t come together very easily,” he said.

“I think it’s better to have one thing rather than two but they’re different and they don’t really infringe on each other in terms of the types of cars so I think they can probably continue for many years as they are. But would it be better to have one; that’s proved to be the case in any category.”

Rahal gave Danica Patrick her start in North America. She’d finished second in the British Formula Ford Festival in 2001, which attracted his attention. In fact, she started her pro career driving for Rahal in the 2002 Barber Dodge Series race at that summer’s Molson Indy Toronto (there’s that Canadian connection again).

He’s not fussy about the turn her career has taken, driving full-time in INDYCAR and part-time in NASCAR.

“You can’t play at either one of them,” he said. “I think you really have to commit yourself 100 per cent to one or the other. For her, she’s probably being paid good money to do both, and getting her feet wet in NASCAR. But not doing well doesn’t help. And so I think it would be wise to focus on one or the other and leave it at that.

“NASCAR’s too tough; you just can’t show up and go and Indy car’s too tough for that, too. Ultimately, she’s going to have to make a choice.”

That doesn’t mean Rahal doesn’t like her. And he stresses that she has potential.

“The road courses are tough for her. On pure pace, I don’t think she’s got it yet to compete with the Franchittis and guys like that.

“On the ovals, though, it’s a different story. Obviously, she’s had some very good races on ovals so I suspect her opportunities to win are better on the ovals at this stage than on a road course.”

Rahal will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 23 at the On The Park Convention Centre (formerly the Inn on the Park). He’s also on tap to make a speech that evening. Want to go? Call 905-852-6764 or go to www.cmhf.ca.