IndyCar spotter Graham Rahal confesses his love for cycling and RAGBRAI
NEWTON – Clay Filson, the spotter for Graham Rahal’s No. 15 car at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, loves anything that has an engine.
And whether it’s human-powered bicycles or motorcycles and high-horsepower cars, Filson wants to tinker with them.
In 2008, Filson participated in the Register’s 38th annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. As his racing career draws to a close, Filson plans to participate in RAGBRAI again.
“Not many people come here,” Filson joked during a tire test in June from the spotter’s stand in the press box, enjoying the green scenery surrounding Iowa Speedway and his seat on the roof.
Filson has been going to racetracks since he was 16. He is a childhood friend of Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and Graham Rahal’s father. But the elder Rahal, Graham Rahal and Filson all share a deep love of cycling, Graham Rahal said.
“We used to ride a lot. Clay is a very powerful person on the bike,” said Graham Rahal with a laugh. “He’s great when he leads the peloton. You just want to follow Clay.”
Rahal laughed all the time.
“He moves a lot of air and he has power. So he’s good.”
Filson’s affinity for the Rahals matches his affinity for Iowa. Filson’s sister, Holly Filson-Heath, a special education teacher, earned her teaching degree from Iowa State University and settled in Algona with her husband and son. Filson-Heath earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1992.
Filson-Heath died of cancer in September 2022, but Filson still speaks regularly with his nephew and brother-in-law. Filson’s nephew, Cooper Heath, teaches at Berg Middle School in Newton. Just a year ago, Filson visited them in Algona.
In 2008, Filson rode the RAGBRAI from Missouri Valley to LeClaire. It was a ride unlike anything he had ever experienced. His journey took him to Ames and near Newton when Tama-Toledo was a transit town.
“I’ve never seen so many people on the streets,” Filson said. “We’ve learned that you eat your way through the state, and if you don’t gain weight, you haven’t done a good job.”
He and his RAGBRAI team members tried to enjoy every second. Filson-Heath accompanied Filson and another sister on the course and they drank margaritas in a park.
“I particularly remember driving through a few small towns that were so excited to be included in the route, and there was the mayor in a pirate costume cheering everyone on,” Filson said.
Filson has spent countless days in Iowa with his family. This weekend, he is camping with his wife and one of their 20-something daughters behind the finish line of the Iowa Speedway. The corn, which depicts a section of the state, is now over waist-high, advertising the crop that was grown here before the racetrack opened in 2006. Filson still marvels at the scenery on motorcycle tours through the state.
“Green has become my favorite color because there is so much of it in Iowa,” Filson said. “You do some of those ridge drives from horizon to horizon. It creates a wonderful vision in your head.”
Filson is one of a small group of people from the racing world who have driven RAGBRAI. In 2017, NASCAR legend Jimmy Johnson and NASCAR star Matt Kenseth drove part of RAGBRAI. Iowa Speedway President Eric Peterson, who recently moved to Ankeny from Kansas City, is looking to drive in RAGBRAI as soon as next year.
Both the Indianapolis 500 and RAGBRAI feel like supersized versions of the Iowa State Fair. RAGBRAI has legendary vendors like Mr. Pork Chop and Beekman’s Ice Cream. Indianapolis has legendary restaurants like Working Man’s Friend and Dawson’s On Main.
Both events celebrate American culture. The Indy 500 takes place on Memorial Day weekend and honors military members who gave their lives for the country.
Like the Indianapolis 500, RAGBRAI awes participants with its scale, Filson said.
“You feel kind of insignificant when you get up early and there’s a line of cyclists stretching from horizon to horizon,” Filson said. “I’ve been to 30, 40 Indy 500s. I still get goosebumps. I’m overwhelmed by the diversity of people.”
Filson, 69, will not be at RAGBRAI 51 next week. He will be in Toronto with Rahal. Filson has no specific plans to retire from spotting, but he was coy, saying he is at the end of his racing career and plans to quit sooner rather than later.
“I would love to do (RAGBRAI) again and take everyone I can,” Filson said. “Hopefully this is something I can do more of as my racing career progresses.”
Rahal owns a portfolio of automotive companies and, like Filson, is thinking about life away from the racetrack. When he hangs up his wheel, he may join his old spotter at RAGBRAI, Rahal said.
“I would love to,” Rahal said. “Last night I was thinking about my goals for the off-season. One of them was to get back to riding a lot.”
But Filson had a warning for Rahal.
“If you ever ride a bike with me, you’re going to get a headwind,” Filson said.
Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at 515-284-8184, [email protected] or on Twitter at @Philip_Joens.
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