Jim Rathmann (racing driver)

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Jim Rathmann
BornRoyal Richard Rathmann
(1928-07-16)July 16, 1928
Alhambra, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 23, 2011(2011-11-23) (aged 83)
Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Championship titles
Major victories
Race of Two Worlds (1958)
Indianapolis 500 (1960)
Champ Car career
38 races run over 14 years
Best finish2nd (1957)
First race1949 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1963 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win1957 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee)
Last win1960 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
3 7 1
NASCAR Cup Series career
3 races run over 3 years
Best finish89th (1950)
First race1949 Race 4 (Langhorne)
Last race1951 Motor City 250 (Detroit)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1950, 1952 – 1960
TeamsWetteroth, Kurtis Kraft, Moore, Epperly, Watson
Entries10
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums4
Career points29
Pole positions0
Fastest laps2
First entry1950 Indianapolis 500
First win1960 Indianapolis 500
Last win1960 Indianapolis 500
Last entry1960 Indianapolis 500

Royal Richard "Jim" Rathmann (July 16, 1928 – November 23, 2011), was an American racing driver who competed primarily in Championship Cars. Rathmann is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, emerging victorious after a race-long duel with Rodger Ward - as recently as 2023, a panel of fans and historians voted Rathmann's victory as the greatest '500' of all time. In Europe he is well-known for winning the 1958 Race of Two Worlds.

Rathmann and his older brother swapped names while teenagers. As a 16-year-old going by the name of Dick Rathmann, he wanted to start racing. To enter races, he borrowed his older brother's I.D. and assumed the identity of "Jim Rathmann."[1] The name change stuck for life in public circles.

Driving career[edit]

Championship Car career[edit]

Rathmann drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in the 1949–1950 and 1952–1963 seasons with 38 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 during each of those seasons. He had 2 victories in addition to his Indianapolis 500 win, including the USAC Daytona 100.

Rathmann also participated in the two runnings of the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, Italy, winning the 1958 race, a non-championship event.

1960 Indianapolis 500 victory[edit]

Rathmann's winning car from the 1960 Indianapolis 500

Starting in the middle of the first row, Rathmann ran in the front the entire race. From the midway point on, Rathmann and fellow driver Rodger Ward were locked in a neck and neck duel for first. Tire wear became an issue as the race wore on and Rathmann was able to keep his wheels fresh long enough to outrace Ward to the finish. The race featured the most recorded lead changes in Indianapolis 500 history, and has often been considered the greatest Indianapolis 500 ever run.[2][3][4]

Stock car career[edit]

Rathmann competed in three NASCAR races from 1949 to 1951, competing in one race during each of those years. He debuted in 1949 at Langhorne, dropping out with mechanical issues. In 1950, Rathmann raced at the prestigious Daytona Beach Road Course. Starting 17th in this event, Rathmann finished 12th. In his final race in 1951, Rathmann started 9th at Detroit, but dropped out with mechanical issues.

World Drivers' Championship career[edit]

Rathmann's Watson-Offenhauser, in which he won the Race of Two Worlds in Monza, Italy.

The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship points and participation in addition to those which they received towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.

Rathmann participated in ten World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He won once, finished in the top three four times, recorded two fastest laps, and accumulated 29 World Drivers' Championship points. Rathmann's points total is the largest number of World Drivers' Championship points earned by a driver competing solely in the Indianapolis 500.

Post-racing career[edit]

Astronaut Alan Shepard's Corvette on display at the Kennedy Space Center

Rathmann later owned a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Melbourne, Florida, where he befriended astronauts Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Gordon Cooper. Rathmann convinced GM President Ed Cole to set up a program which supplied each astronaut with a pair of new cars each year. Most chose a family car for their wives and a Corvette for themselves.[5] Alan Bean recalls Corvettes lined up in the parking lot outside the astronaut offices at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and friendly races between Shepard and Grissom along the Florida beach roads.[6]

After retiring from the car business, Rathmann lived with his wife, Mary Kay, in Indialantic, Florida.[7]

Death[edit]

During the decades after his victory, Rathmann was a regular visitor to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during May each year. He drove the pace car several times. However, he missed the 100th-anniversary celebration in 2011 due to failing health. Rathmann died on November 23, 2011. He had reportedly suffered a seizure at his home days earlier and died at a hospice center in Melbourne, Florida.[4]

Awards and honors[edit]

Rathmann has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

Motorsports career results[edit]

AAA/USAC Championship Car results[edit]

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points
1949 ARL INDY
11 		MIL
 TRE
 SPR MIL
 DUQ
 PIK SYR DET SPR LAN SAC
 DMR
DNQ 		39th 100
1950 INDY
24 		MIL
 LAN
 SPR
 MIL
 PIK
 SYR
 DET
 SPR
 SAC
 PHX
 BAY
 DAR
 - 0
1952 INDY
2 		MIL
10 		RAL
4 		SPR
DNQ 		MIL
DNQ 		DET
 DUQ
18 		PIK SYR
18 		DNC
DNQ 		SJS
 PHX
 6th 1,070
1953 INDY
7 		MIL
 SPR
 DET
 SPR
 MIL
 DUQ
 PIK SYR
 ISF
 SAC
 PHX
 26th 169.5
1954 INDY
28 		MIL
 LAN DAR
27 		SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX
 LVG
 - 0
1955 INDY
14 		MIL
20 		LAN SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX
 - 0
1956 INDY
20 		MIL
19 		LAN
 DAR
11 		ATL
4 		SPR
DNQ 		MIL
15 		DUQ
3 		SYR
DNQ 		ISF
15 		SAC
 PHX
 23rd 300
1957 INDY
2 		LAN
 MIL
5 		DET
 ATL
 SPR
 MIL
1 		DUQ
 SYR
 ISF
 TRE
6 		SAC
12 		PHX
6 		2nd 1,470
1958 TRE
 INDY
5 		MIL
7 		LAN
 ATL
 SPR
 MIL
23 		DUQ
 SYR
 ISF
 TRE
 SAC
 PHX
 14th 560
1959 DAY
1 		TRE
4 		INDY
2 		MIL
DNQ 		LAN
 SPR
 MIL
4 		DUQ
 SYR
 ISF
 TRE
 SAC
 PHX
 4th 1,154.8
1960 TRE INDY
1 		MIL
DNQ 		LAN
 SPR MIL
18 		DUQ SYR ISF TRE
21 		SAC PHX 4th 1,000
1961 TRE
DNQ 		INDY
30 		MIL
DNQ 		LAN MIL SPR DUQ SYR
DNQ 		ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0
1962 TRE INDY
9 		MIL
 LAN TRE
 SPR MIL
 LAN SYR
 ISF
 TRE
 SAC
 PHX
 19th 200
1963 TRE INDY
24 		MIL
 LAN TRE SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0

Indianapolis 500 results[edit]

FIA World Drivers' Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1950 Pioneer Auto Repair Wetteroth Offenhauser L4 GBR MON 500
24 		SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0
1952 Grancor-Wynn's Oil Kurtis Kraft 3000 Offenhauser L4 SUI 500
2 		BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA 10th 6
1953 Travelon Trailer Kurtis Kraft 500B Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
7 		NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA NC 0
1954 Bardahl Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
28 		BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP NC 0
1955 Belond Miracle Power Epperly Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
14 		BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0
1956 Hopkins Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
20 		BEL FRA GBR GER ITA NC 0
1957 Chiropractic Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
2 		FRA GBR GER PES ITA 10th 7
1958 Leader Card 500 Roadster Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON NED 500
5 		BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR 21st 2
1959 Simoniz Watson Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 MON 500
2 		NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA 11th 6
1960 Ken-Paul Watson Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
1 		NED BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA 8th 8

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Talk of Gasoline Alley - May 11, 2011
  2. ^ "Top 10 Indy 500s, No. 1: Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward's 1960 epic". NBC Sports. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  3. ^ Williams, Richard (2011-12-02). "Jim Rathmann obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  4. ^ a b Martin, Douglas (2011-12-03). "Jim Rathmann, 1960 Indianapolis 500 Winner, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  5. ^ Bean, Alan. "Training".
  6. ^ Nelson, John (June 2009). "The AstroVette an astronaut's Corvette from the beginning of the Space Age". Vette. Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  7. ^ Aumann, Mark (21 July 2010). "Rathmanns crisscross NASCAR, Indianapolis". NASCAR.COM. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Florida Sports Hall of Fame | Jim Rathmann". Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  9. ^ "Jim Rathmann". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  10. ^ "Jim Rathmann". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  11. ^ "Jim Rathmann Indy 500 Race Stats". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-01-19.

External links[edit]

Preceded by Indianapolis 500 Winner
1960 		Succeeded by
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