Bobby Rahal narrates his memory of Andretti, Lauda, and Scheckter's legendary 1977 Long Beach battle

Bobby Rahal and Mario Andretti have raced each other for over a decade in the racing world. With the 50th-anniversary Long Beach Grand Prix rolling up, the 72-year-old revisited the legendary three-way battle between Andretti, Niki Lauda, and Jody Scheckter for the American driver's iconic victory on home soil.

The 1977 Long Beach Grand Prix transformed into a hunting ground for three teams. Walter Wolf Racing, Lotus, and Ferrari appeared to be the front runners, with the 1979 F1 world champion trading fastest lap times with Andretti in the early part of the race weekend.

However, Niki Lauda bagged the pole in the Ferrari 312 T. Despite the early setback, Andretti kept on the pressure in the race. The Lotus driver remained in second place for the majority of the race, but when Jody Scheckter's tire gave up tragically, Mario Andretti pounced on the first opportunity and took the race lead.

Then Lotus driver took the chequered flag home to win the 1977 Long Beach Grand Prix. He became the first American F1 driver to win on home soil and remains the only American to achieve this feat to this day. Narrating about how this iconic victory came about, Bobby Rahal said (via IndyCar):

"Anyway, we had a chance to go to the race. We had a motorhome and of course, ‘77 was the year that Mario won. But the second or third year of the race, (I watched) the race on top of my motorhome and my mother drove out. It was a hell of a race for the last (several) laps."

"Mario, (Niki) Lauda and Jody Scheckter (battled), and then Scheckter got a flat tire, and Mario won. It was hugely popular being the U.S. Grand Prix and being only second race at Long Beach. So, yeah, that's my Long Beach memory," he added.

On the other hand, Bobby Rahal went on to make two starts in F1 and emerged as a legend in the IndyCar world as he won the elusive title two times and an Indy 500 victory in 1986.

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Bobby Rahal made a key signing for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing outfit

Bobby Rahal at the Rolex 24 at Daytona - Source: Getty

With Rahal already having amassed heaps of accolades, he went on to command the Rahal outfit in the IndyCar series. The outfit has not recorded many victories in the past decade but has often been an underdog that pounces back when an opportunity is presented in front of it.

Similarly, with former IndyCar president Jay Frye being recently axed, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was quick to the scene and signed the experienced 60-year-old to lead the team. Happy with Frye's arrival, Bobby Rahal said (via IndyCar):

"I’m very pleased to have Jay Frye join the team as president of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. I’ve known him since his arrival on the INDYCAR scene in 2013 and have spent a lot of time with him and think highly of his character and his passion for the sport."

Meanwhile, RLL has secured a best race finish of 11th in the first two races held so far and hopes for a better rebound in the coming races.