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Running on empty Holding two jobs, Bobby Rahal wants his life back
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bobby Rahal doesn't like running the show if he can't find the time to run his team. Rahal has been president and chief executive officer of CART since Andrew Craig resigned in June. "I've devoted 90 percent of my time to CART and 10 percent to Team Rahal since then," he said. "A lot has been done since then, and I'm pleased at the way things are developing, but I want to get out of this by the end of the season or thereabouts." Rahal, a three-time champion in a 17-year driving career, says his family of five has suffered because of the demands of his dual role. "It's been horrible, a tremendous strain on them," he said. "That's why I can't be more than a short-term replacement for Andrew." Race days are the worst. At first, there were meetings as often as every 15 minutes while he was wearing his CART chief's hat. Now, he's settled into a pattern of limiting those so he can be closer to his two-car team and driver Max Papis and Kenny Brack. "What I miss the most at races is not being able to get on the radio with Max to give him instructions during the race," Rahal said. "We have a really good relationship, and it's been a sacrifice to both of us not being able to work with him while a race is on." Rahal didn't have much time to decide whether to take his new job. The CART board was meeting in June with Craig to discuss his future when he said he had other opportunities he might want to pursue. At that point, the CART owners thought a change should be made immediately. "I've always spent a great deal of time helping build the sport, and the board recognized that when they asked if I could step into Andrew's job," Rahal said. "I felt I had to stand up and be counted, so I agreed." Scott Roembke, Team Rahal's general manager, has taken charge of its day-to-day activities, but says there has been little change in operations since his boss took on his added responsibilities. "His managerial technique is to try to hire some good people and let them do the job, and the best thing we can do for Bob is follow that philosophy," Roembke said. "Everyone has a lot of faith in him." Brack stands fourth and Papis 11th in the series standings. Papis won the season's first race in Miami, and both have led races since. But mechanical problems and crashes have knocked them out of several events. "We've had our share of bad luck, but no one has run away from the rest of the field this year," said Brack, who won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 before coming over this year from the Indy Racing League. "And really, you can't say we're running without Bobby. "He still makes the major decisions, but the daily operations depend on us, and we're carrying things out the way we've been trained to do." Brack says Rahal isn't very accessible on race weekends, but does not see that as an impediment to progress. "The team is very well run by Scott and all the other guys, so it doesn't really require Bobby's presence so much," Brack said. The Swede could only watch the Indy 500 this year, but is anxious to return to the event next season. Despite a hole in the CART schedule to permit its teams to compete in what has been an IRL race since the open-wheel split in 1996, only one went. And it was a successful return, when Juan Montoya won. "I would like to have been there, but what I'm doing now is a very big commitment, so I needed to concentrate on that," Brack said. "I feel I'll go back there next year or the year after, but racing at Indy is something we don't plan to talk about until the end of the season." Rahal originally had planned to enter a car at Indianapolis this year but changed his mind. The CART schedule again leaves the weekend of next year's Indianapolis race open. But CART cars would have to qualify two weeks before that event because they have a race in Japan on the second weekend of Indy 500 qualifying.
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