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| 2002 Classic Auto Racing Series Champion Jim Rahman Looks for Threepeat | by Dave Westerman
Classic Auto Racing Series driver Jim Rahman of Clermont,
FL wasn't actually looking to become the Series' second
two-time champion in 2002, in fact it happened almost by
accident.
"I wasn't planning to run for points," said Rahman. "But
after getting off to such a good start, I had to rethink
my strategy," he said.
Getting off to a good start was an understatement. After
winnng just three times in six years in the highly
competitive CARS Series, Rahman had already found his
way to victory circle twice by the end of April and had
built up a huge point advantage.
Subsequently, Rahman ended up racing in 18 of the 19
events run in 2002, scoring three wins at Orlando
SpeedWorld, New Smyrna Speedway and Columbia Motor-
sports Park, finished second six times and in the top
five in 13 of the 18 races entered.
With his primary competition coming from a trio of
rookie drivers, Patrick Sanders, Harvey Ewing and Keith
Roberts, Rahman held a rather healthy lead through most
of the season although veteran Ed Yates made a late
season charge to wind up second in points (for the fourth
straight year).
Rahman, who is now 46 years old, didn't drive a race car
in competition until he got his Classic in April of
1996. He was a "young" 39 at the time.
His racing "roots" go back to when he was a youngster
lving in Toldeo, OH where he attended weekly events at
Toledo Speedway, one of the premiere short tracks in
the midwest. He also became an avid NASCAR Winston
Cup fan and his favorite driver was Terry Labonte,
hence the number "5" on his Classic Race Car.
Unlike many drivers, it was his wife Jeanie, a big race
fan herself, who gave Jim his first chance to drive a
race car.
"She sent me to Buck Baker's driving school as a gift.
Running about 160 MPH in a Winston Cup car was all it
took and I was hooked, I had to race," says Rahman.
Knowing a career in Winston Cup wasn't possible for a
38 year old guy from Florida who had his own successful
business to run as well, Rahman went looking for some-
thing that would allow him to enjoy the experience of
racing while also allowing him ample time for his family
and business.
It was April of 1996 and he saw the Classics run at
Orlando SpeedWorld. Rahman liked the "old-style" look
of the cars and also liked the drivers who were organizing
the Series in its first year. A car was purchased and
"the rest is history" as they say.
With very little experience, Rahman managed to finish
sixth in points in his first season of racing.
"There were so many good drivers running in that first
season with the Classics. Guys like John Martin, Robert
King, David Marsh, John Sacpriaccone, and Randall Grief.
They all had tons of experience yet if I did something
stupid on the track, they wouldn't scream and yell,
they'd just pull me aside and tell me what I'd done and
show me how to correct my mistake," says Rahman.
He applies that same attitude toward the rookies coming
into the Series now, and is proud of the fact that his
friend Patrick Sanders, who he encouraged to join the
Classic Auto Racing Series, won the Rookie of the Year
title in 2002.
Rahman's second season, in 1997, produced the worst wreck
of his career so far.
"I went off the backstretch at Columbia Motorsports Park
and somehow ended up upside down in a water-filled drain-
age ditch," says Rahman. "I was waiting for help to
arrive when I realized my helmet was filling up with
water, so I figured I'd have to get out of the car my-
self," he says.
He got out safely, re-built the car and went on to finish
third in points.
Then in 1998, in just his third season of racing, Jim Rahman
won his first CARS Championship by being as steady as you
come. Although he didn't win a single race, he finished
in the to9p five in ten of twenty races to seal the
championship after his good friend Rodney Eary, who had
five wins and seemed to have the championship locked up,
lost his season points for having an engine that was just
over the 305 C.I. size required by Series rules.
"I felt so bad for Rodney," says Rahman. "It was an
honest mistake. They just didn't check the cubes before
they installed it in the car and they assumed they had
a 305. But the way I look at it, is that is't just racing
and we all spent the next two years chasing Rodney
anyway," he says.
Eary did make up for his 1998 "infraction" by winning
back to back titles in 1999 and 2000. Rahman again
finished third in points in 1999. In 2000, Rahman cut
back his racing schedule and only finished seventh in the
final tally but he finally realized his goal of winning
a race as he crossed the line first on July 22, 2000
at St. Augustine Speedway.
"I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever win," he says. "My
car had been in victory lane twice on nights I couldn't
be there (with David Marsh and Ricky Wood driving) so I
knew it was capable of winning. I just had to get the
driver in the right frame of mind," says Rahman.
Rahman again finished third in points in 2001 scoring a
win at the track he almost drowned at, Columbia Motor-
sports Park.
But it was a different attitude in 2002 that may have led
Rahman to his second championship.
"Since I wasn't planning to run for points, I decided I'd
relax a bit and really enjoy racing. Not to say I wasn't
having a good time in the past, I just thought I got a
little too intense sometimes which led to some mistakes
or just simply not having the car set up right," says
Rahman.
His new attitude led to wins in April at Orlando Speed-
World and New Smyrna and another at Columbia Motorsports
Park in June. By the end of July, Rahman had only
finished out of the top five in one race out of nine and
had doubled his career win total along the way while
building an insurmountable point lead which he says may
have led him to be a little too conservative over the
remainder of the year when he was shutout of victory
lane.
So, how about 2003? "We'll just start things up at the
beginning of the season and see what happens. If I have
a good shot at it, I'd love to become the first three
time CARS Champion," says Rahman.
What appeals to Rahman so much about the Classic Auto
Racing Series is variety and flexibility. "The Classics
give you a chance to run on all kinds of race tracks,
both dirt and asphalt. The neat thing is, is that you
don't race every weekend leaving plenty of time for my
family too," he says.
Jim and his wife have two young sons, Tyler, 6, and Cory,
3. Both enjoy coming to the race track to watch daddy
race.
Rahman is a partner at Westmont Homes, Inc., a custom
home builder in Central Florida. Subsequently, many of
the people he does business with are sponsors on his
car like RoMac Lumber, Magic Electric, Blackton, Inc.,
Allen's Drywall, West Orange Lumber, and Copies Plus.
Along with his immediate family, Rahman's biggest
supporters are his father, brother and good friend Tom
Cotton of Hugh Cotton Insurance who hopes someday to have
a Classic Race Car himself, if he can talk his wife into
it.
Rahman also donates a portion of his winnings to the
"Make A Wish Foundation."
One thing Rahman would like to see is for his good friend
Ed Yates to finally win the CARS championship. "Our
racing careers parallel each other," says Rahman. "We
both started around the same time with very little racing
experience and it took each of us quite awhile to get
our first win. I know he's proud of those four seconds,
but I know he'd really like a championship and I think
he'll be the favorite this year," he says.
Rahman also likes the "club" atmosphere surrounding the
Classic Auto Racing Series. "Everyone is friendly and
works together. We have a great time, and although there
may be a few differences along the way, the guy you may
have been upset with last race concerning his driving
tactics will be the first one to help you fix your car
if something breaks during warmups or the heat race this
week," he says.
One thing that Rahman sees for the upcoming 2003 CARS
season is an increased level of competition with
experienced drivers coming into the Series because of
its lower costs to maintain and race a car over the
course of a year.
"You've got guys like Ben Booth, Bill Posey and Joey
Strehle who have more experience than most of us who've
been with the Classics six or seven years. It's sure
to bring up the intensity on the race track and make a
heck of a show for the fans," he says.
But, according to Rahman, "I'll just have to show 'em
who's champ!"
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