INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — “True American Racer“ premiered on Tuesday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bobby Rahal’s famous Indy 500 victory.
A big crowd of racing legends and public figures came to the documentary premiere at the Newfields Museum of Art. Guests included two-time Indy 500 winners Al Unser Jr. and Takuma Sato, former Vice President Mike Pence, and IMS and IndyCar President Doug Boles.
At the premiere, Rahal shared how proud he is to look back at his racing career and now have his own documentary.
“It’s unbelievable, obviously super honored, super flattered,” Rahal said. “To be honest, I never imagined there’d be a documentary done on me of my career, but it’s been a lot of fun. I hope everybody enjoys my story, my journey.”
Sato is racing in his 8th Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato won his most recent Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and described how special his relationship with Rahal is.
“I respect Bobby so much,” Sato said. “Not just as a team owner but as a driver too. His incredible achievements over years and years, and certainly 1986, forty years ago, he won the Indy 500. History goes on, and I am so glad to be his driver.”
Racing legend Al Unser Jr. attended the premiere and reflected on how great a friend Bobby has been throughout the years.
“He’s just a real good friend, and we’ve remained friends,” Unser Jr. said. “For some reason, in the eighties, we just seemed to click. I think it was our wives that became friends first. That just made us real good friends, and then we started doing a lot of things together, and then of course he became my teammate in 1990. I’ve always gotten along with Bobby.”
The documentary captures the grit and determination that drove Rahal to the top of the racing world.
