Rodger Ward

 ( 1921 Births ) 

In 1959, Ward joined the Leader Card Racers team with owner Bob Wilke and mechanic A. J. Watson; forming what was known as the "3 W's". Ward won his first Indianapolis 500. He won the USAC National Championship with victories at Milwaukee Mile, DuQuoin and the Indy Fairgrounds. His 1959 season ended by competing in the only United States Grand Prix held at Sebring Raceway.

Ward battled Jim Rathmann for the lead in the 1960 Indianapolis 500. In one of the epic duels in Indy 500 history, Ward and Rathmann exchanged the lead 14 times before Ward slowed on lap 197 to nurse his frayed right front tire to the finish. Rathmann, also struggling with worn-out tires after such a furious pace, took the lead on lap 197 and the two drivers limped home in what is still regarded as one of the greatest duels for the win in Indianapolis 500 history.

Ward took the lead at the 1962 Indianapolis 500 at lap 126 and led the rest of the race. He also won the season championship that year.

In the midst of the Lotus-Ford rear-engine invasion in 1964, car owner/chief mechanic A. J. Watson built the first rear-engined Watson, mated to the four-cam Ford. But the night before the 1964 Indianapolis 500, Ward and Watson made a highly uncharacteristic strategic error. Going against the strong recommendation (read: orders) from Ford to use gasoline fuel instead of the cooler-burning but more powerful methanol/gasoline. The car was fast, but the jetting mistake left Ward having to pit every 20 laps for fuel. Later Ward calculated that he had spent two minutes less on the track than winner A. J. Foyt, yet only lost the race by approximately one minute.

In addition, the horrific second-lap accident, in which his friends Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs both perished in a fiery, gasoline-fueled wreck, left an indelible impression on Ward. After a difficult month of May, 1965, Ward suffered the embarrassment of failing to qualify. Ward left the Leader Card team mid-season and joined Mecom Racing team owned by John W. Mecom Jr. In 1966 Ward won the second race of the season at Trenton driving a supercharged Offy powered Lola.

For his Indianapolis 500 effort, Ward drove the same car but retired while running 15th with handling problems listed as the cause. The fact that late race attrition reduced the race to only five cars would have provided him a good finish as long as he was running and in fact he had been faster than the winner. Ward had parked a running car 74 laps into the race and was considering his future. At the banquet, Ward stood at the podium and made a painful announcement to the crowd: "I always said I'd quit racing when it stopped being fun," he said. He paused as he wiped away tears. "Today it wasn't fun anymore." He had 26 victories in his 150 starts between 1950 and 1966, and he finished in the top ten in more than half of his starts.

Ward participated in ten World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He was also among a small number of USAC/Indianapolis drivers to start an FIA-sanctioned World Drivers' Championship event during the 1950-1960 period - competing for Leader Card Racers in the 1959 United States Grand Prix.

Ward also participated in the 1963 United States Grand Prix. During his World Drivers' Championship career, Ward won once, finished in the top three twice, and accumulated 14 World Drivers' Championship points.

In later years, Ward served as public relations director for the new Ontario Motor Speedway, and later managed the Circus Circus unlimited hydroplane team. He died on July 5, 2004, aged 83.

Ward also appeared on the TV show To Tell the Truth in 1962.

• Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1981)
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1992)
• Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1995)
• National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1995)
• West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003)

• Ward's finishes from 1959 to 1963 and 1960 to 1964 rank as the best and second best five-race finishing streaks in Indianapolis 500 history.

• Rodger Ward - ChampCarStats.com
• Rodger Ward - Motorsport Memorial