When it comes to forging a road into the ranks of professional racing, times have changed a lot since "back in the day" – but, at the same time, some things have stayed extraordinarily the same. As the decades have progressed since the Sports Car Club of America's founding in 1944, there have been a number of consistencies for SCCA members with professional aspirations, with one unarguably being the Indianapolis 500.
In the century-long history of the Indy 500, you'd be hard pressed to find a more notable name than Bobby Rahal. But before he made history at the Brickyard, Rahal grew up around SCCA Club Racing. "SCCA was my entry into racing," Rahal says. "My father had been an SCCA member since the late 1950s, and I grew up going to races. We went to Mid-Ohio, Elkhart Lake, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Watkins Glen, Daytona, Sebring, you name it. That's where my passion for racing really came from. My dad was into sports cars, so it was really easy to get hooked. But, frankly, I never really expected to drive, let alone drive for a living."
In the early 1970s, a career in professional racing was just as difficult to achieve as it is today, but there was still a path for an aspiring young racer to follow. "In those days, even the most successful drivers in the world didn't make a lot of money, and my family wanted me to get an education and prepare for the future," Rahal says. "Racing didn't seem like much of a future in those days."
But like so many before and after, Rahal made the decision to get into the car and race. "My dad said, if you want to get your Regional license, go ahead," Rahal recalls. "So I went to Drivers School in May of 1973, at Mid-America raceway. That summer I raced about four or five times and I never anticipated that it would lead to anything other than just doing SCCA my whole life. In 1974, I won the Central Division championship in my class and I was third at the [SCCA National Championship] Runoffs, so all of a sudden things were taking on a different stance."
Rahal won his class at the Runoffs the following year, and used that win as a springboard to a professional racing career that included Formula 1, Can-Am, Le Mans, IMSA GT, and one of the most successful dynasties in IndyCar history as a driver and then a team owner.
