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 1993, Rawlings married Karen K. Grames but divorced the following year. 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. In 1999, Rawlings started the printing and advertising company, Lincoln Press.
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.
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. 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.
In September 2013, Rawlings started Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill in North West 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.
On 12 May 2015, Rawlings published his first autobiography entitled Fast N’ Loud: Blood, Sweat and Beers.
