Jim rathmann biography
Jim Rathmann (racing driver)
American racing driver (–)
| Jim Rathmann | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Royal Richard Rathmann ()July 16, Alhambra, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 23, () (aged&#;83) Melbourne, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Major victories Race of Two Worlds () Indianapolis () | |||||||
| 38 races run over 14 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 2nd () | ||||||
| First race | Indianapolis (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| Last race | Indianapolis (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| First win | Milwaukee (Milwaukee) | ||||||
| Last win | Indianapolis (Indianapolis) | ||||||
NASCAR driver | |||||||
| 3 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 89th () | ||||||
| First race | Race 4 (Langhorne) | ||||||
| Last race | Motor City (Detroit) | ||||||
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| Active&#;years | , – | ||||||
| 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 | Indianapolis | ||||||
| First win | Indianapolis | ||||||
| Last entry | Indianapolis | ||||||
Royal Richard "Jim" Rathmann (July 16, – November 23, ), was an American racing driver who competed primarily in Championship Cars. Rathmann is best known for winning the Indianapolis in , emerging victorious after a race-long duel with Rodger Ward – as recently as , a panel of fans and historians voted Rathmann's victory as the greatest '' of all time. In Europe he is well-known for winning the Race of Two Worlds.
Rathmann and his older brother swapped names while teenagers. As a 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
Championship Car career
Rathmann drove in the AAA and USACChampionship Car series in the – and – seasons with 38 starts, including the Indianapolis during each of those seasons. He had 2 victories in addition to his Indianapolis win, including the USAC Daytona
Rathmann also participated in the two runnings of the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, Italy, winning the race, a non-championship event.
Indianapolis 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 history, and has often been considered the greatest Indianapolis ever run.[2][3][4]
Stock car career
Rathmann competed in three NASCAR races from to , competing in one race during each of those years. He debuted in at Langhorne, dropping out with mechanical issues. In , Rathmann raced at the prestigious Daytona Beach Road Course. Starting 17th in this event, Rathmann finished 12th. In his final race in , Rathmann started 9th at Detroit, but dropped out with mechanical issues.
World Drivers' Championship career
The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis was included in the FIAWorld Drivers' Championship from through 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/USACNational 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
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.[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
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 th-anniversary celebration in due to failing health. Rathmann died on November 23, He had reportedly suffered a seizure at his home days earlier and died at a hospice center in Melbourne, Florida.[4]
Awards and honors
Rathmann has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
Motorsports career results
AAA/USAC Championship Car results
Indianapolis results
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FIA World Drivers' Championship results
(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
- ^"The Talk of Gasoline Alley - May 11,
- ^"Top 10 Indy s, No. 1: Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward's epic". NBC Sports. Retrieved
- ^Williams, Richard (). "Jim Rathmann obituary". The Guardian. ISSN&#; Retrieved
- ^ abMartin, Douglas (). "Jim Rathmann, Indianapolis Winner, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN&#; Retrieved
- ^Bean, Alan. "Training".
- ^Nelson, John (June ). "The AstroVette an astronaut's Corvette from the beginning of the Space Age". Vette. Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Aumann, Mark (21 July ). "Rathmanns crisscross NASCAR, Indianapolis". Retrieved 23 November
- ^"Florida Sports Hall of Fame | Jim Rathmann". Retrieved
- ^"Jim Rathmann". IMS Museum. Retrieved
- ^"Jim Rathmann". . Retrieved
- ^"Jim Rathmann Indy Race Stats". Archived from the original on Retrieved