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.
| Jim Rathmann | |||||||
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| Born | Royal Richard Rathmann July 16, 1928 Alhambra, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 23, 2011 (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 finish | 2nd (1957) | ||||||
| First race | 1949 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| Last race | 1963 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| First win | 1957 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
| Last win | 1960 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 3 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 89th (1950) | ||||||
| First race | 1949 Race 4 (Langhorne) | ||||||
| Last race | 1951 Motor City 250 (Detroit) | ||||||
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| Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
| Active years | 1950, 1952 – 1960 | ||||||
| Teams | Wetteroth, Kurtis Kraft, Moore, Epperly, Watson | ||||||
| Entries | 10 | ||||||
| Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Wins | 1 | ||||||
| Podiums | 4 | ||||||
| Career points | 29 | ||||||
| Pole positions | 0 | ||||||
| Fastest laps | 2 | ||||||
| First entry | 1950 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
| First win | 1960 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
| Last entry | 1960 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
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
editChampionship Car career
editRathmann 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
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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
editRathmann 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
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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
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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
editDuring 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
editRathmann has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
Motorsports career results
editAAA/USAC Championship Car results
editIndianapolis 500 results
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FIA World Drivers' Championship results
edit(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
edit- ^ "The Talk of Gasoline Alley - May 11, 2011
- ^ "Top 10 Indy 500s, No. 1: Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward's 1960 epic". NBC Sports. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ Williams, Richard (2011-12-02). "Jim Rathmann obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bean, Alan. "Training".
- ^ 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.
- ^ Aumann, Mark (21 July 2010). "Rathmanns crisscross NASCAR, Indianapolis". NASCAR.COM. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
- ^ "Florida Sports Hall of Fame | Jim Rathmann". Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ "Jim Rathmann". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ "Jim Rathmann". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ "Jim Rathmann Indy 500 Race Stats". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
External links
edit- Jim Rathmann - ChampCarStats.com
- Jim Rathmann - Motorsport Memorial
- Jim Rathmann driver statistics at Racing-Reference