US Army veteran and longtime IndyCar journalist Richard C. Mittman passes away at 92

The motorsport world mourns the loss of the longtime IndyCar journalist Richard C. Mittman. He passed away on Tuesday, July 1, at the age of 92.

On Friday, July 4, Fox Motorsports insider Bob Pockrass tweeted:

"RIP Dick Mittman, a long-time Indy journalist whose coverage of the Indy 500 and Indiana sports was insightful and worth the read."

Mittman, also known as 'Dick', was born in Indianapolis but spent most of his childhood moving through Western America before eventually settling down in Indianapolis. He joined the U.S. Army in 1953. It was around this time that Mittman found his passion for writing about sports, and soon, he began his dream job of reporting with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IndyCar's father-son duo talks about the significance of the Mid-Ohio track to their family

Former IndyCar driver and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team owner, Bobby Rahal, was recently announced as the Grand Marshal for the upcoming race at Mid-Ohio, while his son, Graham Rahal, will continue to drive for his team. The father-son duo recently reflected on the track's importance to the family.

Bobby Rahal was born just an hour from the Mid-Ohio circuit and visited the race in the '60s with his father. He began his racing career in 1973 at the age of 20 and raced at the track in the following years. He talked about the importance of the track for the Rahal family. He said (via cleveland.com):

“Mid-Ohio is kind of like my home track, I went there with my dad when he drove in the first race there, I think it was 1962. Every year, we would go there at least once to race during the ’60s, and I started there in ’74. The fans are the best at Mid-Ohio. I’m really pleased and looking forward to a great weekend.”

He went on to win three IndyCar series championships with 24 wins and 88 podiums. He began his own racing team in partnership with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan, for which Graham Rahal currently drives.

Graham is an Ohio native himself and took his maiden IndyCar win at Mid-Ohio in 2015. He celebrates a decade since he first won in the series. Graham also spoke about the significance of the track for him and his family.

“Mid-Ohio is mainly the reason I fell in love with the sport, I would say. You gotta remember in that part of my life the Indy 500 wasn’t really a thing for us in those instrumental years, the mid-late ‘90s and so Mid-Ohio, Cleveland Burke Lakefront, those were races for me that I really fell in love with, I have so many fond memories of Mid-Ohio in particular,” he said.

Bobby Rahal will give the iconic command of 'Drivers, start your engines' at the Mid-Ohio track.