A special place is reserved for Dale Coyne among the eight Verizon IndyCar Series team owners.

The Illinois-bred businessman climbed the junior open-wheel ranks, all while competing on a miniscule budget, until he reached the CART IndyCar Series in 1984. A sprinkling of races, many spent behind the wheel of his inspired DC-1 chassis powered by a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, kept Coyne in the driving game through 1991.

Where many of his fellow owners retired from the front of the grid, Coyne came from the back, and it’s a place where his Dale Coyne Racing outfit usually remained.

After a few too many years of running an assortment of drivers who’ve been forgotten, a rededication to improving the team came in the late 2000s, and by 2009, its first win with Justin Wilson at Watkins Glen was delivered. Sebastien Bourdais earned DCR’s fifth win in March at St. Petersburg, and more are expected in 2018.

As the only full-time IndyCar team owner who funds the program almost entirely out of his pocket, the enigmatic Coyne is a rarity in the sport. He also rates as one of the most misunderstood entrants in the series. Take a listen to his origin story and life in the sport below, and he just might become less of a mystery.