Jim
Rathmann

Jim Rathmann was born Royal Richard Rathmann on 16 July 1928 in Alhambra, in the United States. He got his everyday name through a swap with his older brother Dick: to be able to race as a teenager, he entered under his brother's identity as Jim, and the name stuck in public life. He competed mainly in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, in 1949 and 1950 and then from 1952 to 1963.

From 1950 to 1960 the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the Formula 1 World Championship. All ten of Rathmann's World Championship races were this one event, which makes him one of the Indy 500 drivers of the championship. He started in 1950 and then every year from 1952 to 1960, in cars from Wetteroth, Kurtis Kraft, Epperly and Watson. He finished tenth in the standings in 1952 and 1957 and eighth in 1960. Four times he finished among the top three.

He won the 1960 Indianapolis 500. He started from the middle of the front row and fought a close duel with Rodger Ward from the middle of the race onwards. He prevailed in the end because his tyres stayed fresh for longer. In 1958 he had already won the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, a non-championship event. He also won the USAC Daytona 100.

Rathmann died on 23 November 2011. He was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame (1978), the Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1993) and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2007). In the decades after his win he regularly returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and drove the pace car several times.

Source: Wikipedia, “Jim Rathmann”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.