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.""The Talk of Gasoline Alley - May 11, 2011 The name change stuck for life in public circles.
Driving career
Championship Car career
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 two 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
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.
Stock car career
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 ninth at Detroit, but dropped out with mechanical issues.
World Drivers' Championship career
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
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. 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.
After retiring from the car business, Rathmann lived with his wife, Mary Kay, in Indialantic, Florida.
Death
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.
Awards and honors
Rathmann has been inducted into the following halls of fame: Florida Sports Hall of Fame (1978) Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1993) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2007)
Motorsports career results
AAA/USAC Championship Car results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 1949 ARL INDY11 MIL TRE SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR DET SPR LAN SAC DMRDNQ 39th 100 1950 INDY24 MIL LAN SPR MIL PIK SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY DAR-0 1952 INDY2 MIL10 RAL4 SPRDNQ MILDNQ DET DUQ18 PIK SYR18 DNCDNQ SJS PHX 6th 1,070 1953 INDY7 MIL SPR DET SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX 26th 169.5 1954 INDY28 MIL LANDAR27 SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX LVG - 0 1955 INDY14 MIL20 LAN SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SACPHX-0 1956 INDY20 MIL19 LAN DAR11 ATL4 SPRDNQ MIL15 DUQ3 SYRDNQ ISF15 SAC PHX 23rd 300 1957 INDY2 LAN MIL5 DET ATL SPR MIL1 DUQ SYR ISF TRE6 SAC12 PHX6 2nd 1,470 1958 TRE INDY5 MIL7 LAN ATL SPR MIL23 DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX 14th 560 1959 DAY1 TRE4 INDY2 MILDNQ LAN SPR MIL4 DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX 4th 1,154.8 1960 TRE INDY1 MILDNQ LAN SPR MIL18 DUQ SYR ISF TRE21 SAC PHX 4th 1,000 1961 TREDNQ INDY30 MILDNQ LAN MIL SPR DUQ SYRDNQ ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0 1962 TRE INDY9 MIL LAN TRE SPR MIL LAN SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX 19th 200 1963 TRE INDY24 MIL LAN TRE SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0
Indianapolis 500 results
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired19496821126.51629111750Flagged19507628129.95924241220Flagged19525910136.3437 2nd2000Running1953225135.6662872001Running19543828138.22821281100Crash T419553320138.70724141910Flagged1956242145.1203201753Rings19572632139.80631 2nd20024Running1958220143.1471552000Running1959163144.4334 2nd20019Running196042146.3714 1st200100Running1961411145.4131330486Magneto19624423146.6102192000Running19631629147.8383224990MagnetoTotals2320153
Starts14Poles0Front Row3Wins1Top 55Top 107Retired4
FIA World Drivers' Championship results
(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 SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0 1952 Grancor-Wynn's Oil Kurtis Kraft 3000 Offenhauser L4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA 10th 6 1953 Travelon Trailer Kurtis Kraft 500B Offenhauser L4 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA NC 0 1954 Bardahl Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP NC 0 1955 Belond Miracle Power Epperly Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0 1956 Hopkins Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA NC 0 1957 Chiropractic Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500 FRA GBR GER PES ITA 10th 7 1958 Leader Card 500 Roadster Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON NED 500 BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR 21st 2 1959 Simoniz Watson Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 MON 500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA 11th 6 1960 Ken-Paul Watson Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500 NED BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA 8th 8
References
External links
Jim Rathmann - ChampCarStats.com Jim Rathmann - Motorsport Memorial