Life for Rahn Tobler right now is great.  My professional life couldn’t be better.  My personal life - my relationship with my wife is strong as it ever has been. We’ve been together for going on 26 years and that’s been great. My home life is great. Obviously the opportunity here with Kalitta Motorsports has been a terrific deal for us.  There’s no place that I’d rather be. I don’t aspire to do anything else but work here at Kalitta Motorsports.  I feel so fortunate every day to be able to do what I do

The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to THE CHALLENGES OF TUNING A TOP FUEL DRAGSTER 

Well, I’ve been doing this for…I’m going on my 35th year.  I’m saying no one has a handle on these cars but if I don’t have an idea of what’s going on - I ought to think about doing something else.  It’s all about experience. There are a lot of good experienced people out there…been around a long time…Connie [Kalitta], Tim Richards, Dick LaHaie, even though he’s gone, even Alan [Johnson] has been around a long time.  Austin Coil and the Funny Car guys - all those people.  It takes experience and you have to get in there and dig and grind and come all throughout the ranks of the sport to get to where you are.  I was fortunate to get to be a crew chief early on when Shirley and Connie parted ways back in 1978. I love it and it is very challenging and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.

The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY

Terrific lady…she is the light of my life. She’s the best thing that has ever happened in my life.  Like I said…we have a tremendous home life and we’ve always gotten along good together.  We survived the challenges and pressures of trying to run the business by ourselves.  That is very hard to be married and to do what we do, especially in the 90s without having sponsorship and to keep it going. How many people earn a living with a Top Fuel car? Not many. We did that for almost 12 years. To get through that and to get to where we are at now makes everything great.

Shirley is a terrific lady and I love her dearly. I wouldn’t have had anything any different in my life.

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The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to STICK AND BALL ATHLETES

I have a lot of respect for the stick and ball athletes. I don’t know that you can compare what our drivers do to those kinds of athletes. I love all forms of athletics and I’m a big fan. I’m a fan of all forms of auto racing. Stick and ball athletes…if they have the talent to go out and play an individual sport such as golf and tennis and make all that money – more power to them. Certainly with the team sports – it’s more of a collective effort. I enjoy all forms of sports.

The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to EARNING RESPECT IN THE INDUSTRY

The only way I’ve ever thought you’ve earned respect is on the racetrack, at the races and how you carry yourself. I’ve always tried to project an image of professionalism. It’s especially true now that I work for someone else instead of doing our own deal. I work for Kalitta Motorsports and I represent Mac Tools and all the sponsors we have on our team. You have to earn it on the racetrack and I used to tell Shirley that all the time. She used to get so upset at Garlits and Frank Bradley and all these people. She would want to go out and rip their heads off. I always told her, ‘You have to do it on the racetrack because no one can interfere and no one can spin things one way or the other. What happens on the track is pure and simple and that’s where it’s at.’

That’s what I’ve always tried to do. I’ve always tried to let my talk be on the race track.

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The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to MEMBERS OF THE LUCKY SPERM CLUB WHO BECOME DRAG RACERS

They have to come from somewhere. Unfortunately, and I don’t know that it’s really unfortunate, but that’s where our sport has gone these days. I was around when Indy was a 32-car field and there were 100 cars there. Things were a lot different in those days. The lucky sperm club members are mostly people who have money to start with. Scott [Kalitta] is an example of that. But Scott worked hard. I knew Scott in the late-1970s and he worked on the cars and Doug [Kalitta] as well. Doug worked on the bottom-end of Connie’s cars in the 1980s and he earned the place he is in now.

I don’t really hold any grudges against any of those kinds of people that have come into the sport that way. You take for instance a guy like Brandon Bernstein, he has worked hard to get to where he is at today. He toiled over there for many years before he got the opportunity. I don’t really have any problem with that kind of stuff.

The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to TUNING AN UNDERFINANCED TOP FUEL CAR

We were a prime example of that throughout the 1990s. We had some parts left over from the late 1980s. We always tried to put our money back into our parts and it was tough. Whatever racetrack we went to in those days…whether it was match racing or IHRA events (we ran a lot of those back then) we always tried to do the best we could with what we had. We never bought a part that we couldn’t pay for. We never owed anyone. We always paid our bills. We didn’t buy the things we couldn’t afford. It’s a challenge and I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I was on that deal through the 1990s and early 2000s. Obviously I’m on this deal now where we are able to get and to do what we need. I still approach everything like it was mine and like I was paying for it. I think Jim O and Connie appreciates that I do that. I try to watch all the details like the freight bills and try not to go over that. 

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The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to DRAG RACING COVERAGE ON THE INTERNET

The Internet drag racing coverage is great. I know when we were match racing in the 1990s, I was glued to the television. The Internet has opened up a lot of avenues to get instant results. You can listen to the broadcasts over the computer. I think all of that is great. I think it is a great form of communication and I think if we can use it to reach new people that might not normally see or hear about it then it is great.

The world according to Rahn Tobler when it comes to WALLY PARKS

He started all of this. I didn’t start until 1971. Things had been going for two decades before I came along. I am certainly thankful to him for starting all of this - allowing me the opportunity to live the life I’ve had for the last 35 years. Without him, none of this would have happened. Where the sanctioning body is headed today – I don’t know that I really have any comment on that. I think Wally has been great for the sport and has certainly put us in the position that we are in today.

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