Bobby and Graham Rahal to Attend Grand Opening of Bobby Rahal Honda at State College; Graham Rahal is a Junior Partner

BOBBY AND GRAHAM RAHAL TO ATTEND GRAND OPENING OF BOBBY RAHAL HONDA AT STATE COLLEGE

 

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (August 30, 2016) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) co-owner Bobby Rahal and Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal will be busy prior to the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen weekend, September 2-4. Both will attend the grand opening of Bobby Rahal Honda of State College in State College, Pa. on Wednesday, August 31.

“I am very pleased to be opening our second Honda dealership, and that it is located in State College, which is a further extension of our central Pennsylvania reach,” said Bobby Rahal.  “Central Pennsylvania has been great to us for the almost 30 years that we have been in business and we’re thrilled to expand our role with Honda in the retail marketplace. I am very excited personally to open this dealership in the home of Penn State University and the other great attractions that made State College so appealing.”

Bobby and Graham Rahal will be at the dealership grand opening to greet guests from 12:00-3:30 p.m. ETWednesday.  A private function will take place that night for invited guests which will also include the attendance of Penn State standout Matt Suhey, who went on to have a successful career in the NFL, most notably with the Chicago Bears. The dealership is located at 2796 West College Ave., in State College, Pa.

Bobby Rahal started the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group in 1989 and the organization has expanded to include 10 “rooftops” featuring manufacturers such as Honda, BMW, Acura, Mercedes, Range Rover, Jaguar, Lexus, Toyota, and Volvo.  The State College location marks the second Honda franchise for the group.  Original partners Bobby Rahal, Ron Ferris and Bob Vladem were later joined by team members John Rickards and Eric Hessinger.  Graham Rahal became a junior partner in 2016.

“What’s also good about this addition is that there are a number of young executives that have been with us for many years that will become junior partners in this dealership and Graham is one of those,” said Bobby Rahal. “This is the next generation of our business really.  Graham’s passion for the car business, as well as the passion the other young junior partners have, will help grow our business as a group. Not just in State College, but at our other dealerships in time.”

“I have been working on getting involved with the dealership group for a long time so this is exciting for me,” added Graham Rahal, who earned his fourth IndyCar Series win in the Firestone 600 last Saturday night in what was the closest margin of victory at Texas Motor Speedway – 0.0080 of a second — and fifth closest in series history.  “The car business has interested me my whole life so this is the culmination of a longtime dream that I have been chasing hard the last six or seven years. It took some time to accomplish because it obviously takes an initial investment to get involved and especially because there aren’t a lot of opportunities to do so even with the growth in population. This opportunity came up in State College and our guys put a group together to purchase it. It’s in our wheelhouse in terms of the proximity to the rest of the dealerships and once Bobby Rahal Automotive Group took it over, they have done an excellent job. I’m excited for the grand opening right before the race in Watkins Glen and hope we can continue the momentum we have there after winning in Texas.”

The 16-race 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season continues with the INDYCAR Grand Prix of the Glen on September 4, which will be televised on NBSCN at 2 p.m. EDT.  For more details about the Series, please visit www.indycar.com.