The First Racing Rahal

Today the name Rahal is synonymous with motor racing. Bobby Rahal has entered the history books as a top Indianapolis and sports car driver, and his son Graham seems destined to continue in his footsteps. A few older “motorheads” remember that Bobby’s father Mike was also involved in competition, starting with small-capacity sports cars in the late ’50s. However, it wasn’t Mike Rahal who headed the family dynasty on the racetracks. That honor must go to Edmund Rahal, the prominent leadfoot from Savannah, Georgia.

Ed and Mike’s grandfathers were brothers, making the men second cousins. Make that double second cousins, since their grandfathers married women who were sisters. The family name originates from Lebanon, where Ed’s father was born, although at the time it was still part of Syria. Ed’s mother came from Damascus. Their families moved to the U.S. around 1900, when they were infants. Ed’s Dad ran a garment factory in New York, and then became a regional sales manager for the American Chiclet Company in Cleveland, Ohio, where Ed was born in 1925. Eventually, the family settled in Savannah.