Rawlings was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1969. As a child he went to auto shows with his father and constructed cars, having purchased his first at the age of 14. In the next six to seven years, he graduated from Eastern Hills High School and worked as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, and paramedic. In 1990, Rawlings married Karen K. Grames but divorced the following year. In 1999, Rawlings started the printing and advertising company Lincoln Press. Also in 1999, he married his second wife Suzanne Marie Mergele in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple divorced in 2009 but remarried in 2015 in Cabo, Mexico. On March 11, 2019, Rawlings announced via his Twitter account that Suzanne and Rawlings were separating and filing for divorce.
Gas Monkey Garage
In 2002, Rawlings launched Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, selling Lincoln Press in 2004. The shop created automobiles for customers worldwide. Since 2012, the facility has been the focus of the Discovery Channel series Fast N' Loud. Rawlings also co-hosts the show Garage Rehab on the Discovery Channel since 2017, which is about overhauling struggling automotive shops, along with co-hosts Russell Holmes and Chris Stephens. He pitched the concept to the channel circa 2015.
Cannonball Run/Bullrun
In May 2007, Richard Rawlings and co-pilot Dennis Collins allegedly broke the 1979 Cannonball Run time from New York City to Los Angeles of 32 hours and 51 minutes. The two bet rival Jay Riecke they could beat the time in their 2007 Bullrun entry, a black Ferrari 550, modified with extra fuel cells. The final time is 31 hours and 59 minutes. However there is much debate in the legitimacy of this time as the distance and times do not match up. It is unlikely that they actually broke the record. They were the only pair to defeat the 1975 mark by Rick Cline and Jack May in a Ferrari Dino as all other competitors did not leave and arrive at the correct locations or took alternate routes that did not follow the original Cannonball Runs of the 1970s. Even their personal heroes Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in their Jaguar XJ-S that set the 1979 record left from Darien, Connecticut instead of Manhattan.
Food and Music Venues
In September 2013, Rawlings started Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill in Northwest Dallas and a second location at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport opened in March 2014. Rawlings has indicated a desire to open a third Texas location outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. In October 2014, Gas Monkey Live, a venue dedicated predominantly to live music, was opened. Rawlings, started a new restaurant venture, Richard Rawlings' Garage. The first restaurant opened in Harker Heights, Texas, in 2016, and it permanently closed inMarch 2019. In 2019, Rawlings licensed the Gas Monkey brand to a line of energy drinks.
Autobiography
On 12 May 2015, Rawlings published his first autobiography entitled Fast N’ Loud: Blood, Sweat and Beers.
