Rahal is the son of Michael Rahal (1924–2017), who raced automobiles for over two decades and was of Lebanese descent, and Barbara Rahal, who is of English descent. His father owned a wholesale food distribution business. Rahal was raised in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn and attended Glenbard West High School. He is a graduate of Denison University, where his father also studied.
Rahal began in SCCA feeder categories and in 1977 finished second in the Formula Atlantic championship behind Gilles Villeneuve. The following year he competed in the 1978 New Zealand Grand Prix with Fred Opert Racing in Formula Pacific and in European Formula Three with Wolf Racing. Near the end of 1978 he raced for the Wolf Formula One team in the United States Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix. The deal with Wolf did not continue into 1979, as Wolf signed James Hunt for their sole available car. Rahal began 1979 racing a Chevron in Formula Two in Europe, then returned to North America mid-season to compete in the Can-Am series. During the following seasons he competed in various sports car events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the IMSA GT Championship.
In 1982 Rahal entered the CART Indy car series with the Truesports team, winning two races and finishing second in the championship behind Rick Mears. He continued racing for Truesports through the 1988 season, winning at least one race every year.
The defining moment of his career came in 1986 when he dramatically passed Kevin Cogan on a restart with two laps to go to win the Indianapolis 500, only days before his team owner Jim Trueman died of cancer. Rahal went on to win his first CART championship that year and successfully defended the title in 1987. In 1988 he secured the final win for Truesports at the Quaker State 500 at Pocono — the first and only Indy car victory for the Judd engine.
Rahal moved to the Kraco race team in 1989, but the association produced only two wins over three seasons. After losing the 1991 championship to Michael Andretti, Rahal partnered with Carl Hogan to acquire the assets of the former Pat Patrick Racing team, becoming an owner-driver.
The combined effort was immediately successful. In 1992 Rahal won four races and his third CART championship as an owner-driver — a combination that made him the last owner-driver to win the CART title, and the last driver to win a race with his own team until Adrian Fernandez did so in 2003.
In 1993 Rahal attempted to develop his own Rahal-Hogan chassis, but after failing to qualify for the 1993 Indianapolis 500, the team reverted to Lola chassis. In 1994 Rahal's team brought the Honda engine into the CART series. In 1995 at Long Beach he became the tenth driver in Championship Car history — spanning the AAA, USAC, and CART eras — to start 200 races. Despite no wins, he finished third in the 1995 standings using the Mercedes engine. Rahal retired from driving at the end of the 1998 season.
Hogan left to form his own team, and talk show host David Letterman became a minority owner in 1996; the team was renamed Rahal Letterman Racing in 2004 when it switched from CART to the IRL full-time.
In 2000 Rahal joined the Jaguar Formula One team in a managerial capacity. He nearly secured a contract with aerodynamicist Adrian Newey but was unsuccessful. He was fired from Jaguar after reportedly attempting to sell driver Eddie Irvine to rivals Jordan. Jaguar subsequently fired Irvine little more than a year after dismissing Rahal; Newey joined the team in 2006, a year after it was sold to Red Bull. Rahal also served as interim President and CEO of CART for six months during the 2000 season.
Between 1997 and 1999 Rahal co-owned Gloy-Rahal Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with sports car veteran Tom Gloy, competing part-time in 1997 and full-time for the remainder of the team's existence. In 2021 Rahal partnered with former IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George to return IndyCar racing to Iowa Speedway, recruiting Iowa supermarket chain Hy-Vee as sponsor and securing a multi-year double-header agreement starting in 2022.
Rahal's business interests include the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, a network of car dealerships in western and central Pennsylvania selling multiple brands including Acura, BMW, Honda, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz.
In November 1984 Rahal made his only NASCAR start, driving the 7-11-sponsored Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford at Riverside International Speedway as a substitute for Buddy Baker. He finished 40th after completing only 44 laps before breaking a rear-end gear. He also won races during his CART career in IMSA and IROC competition.
Rahal was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2004, the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2014. He received the Simeone Foundation Spirit of Competition Award in 2014. The back straight leading to the Corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was named the "Rahal Straight" in his honour. His son Graham Rahal races in the IndyCar Series.
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