The Short Chute
The Short Chute
Newsletter #87 - Summer 2004
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1959 & ’62 National Champ Had Class
Rodger Ward, Two-Time 500 Winner, Dies at 83
I was 8-years-old and loved the 500. So, my mom, being a good mom, took some of her single-mom funds and took me to the 1959 Indianapolis 500. We sat inside turn two in the bleachers.
In the years following mom would always tell people how I would not leave my seat to go to the bathroom. I don’t remember that.
I remember Johnny Thomson, Jim Rathmann, Tony Bettenhausen and Rodger Ward. No way were they regular people
like all the adults I knew. They were Race Drivers! They were my heroes. One of the bigger ones passed away recently. Rodger Ward
Cool, smooth, tough and fast. You can probably think of a few more adjectives for the two-time winner of The 500
AND the National Championship.
Ward was born in Beloit, Kansas, in January 1921. He was raised in southern California. He said that all he remembers of his childhood is wanting to grow up to be an airplane pilot or a race-car driver. He did both.
He was a fighter plane (P-38) pilot in WW II but did not see any action. After the war he began racing in the Los Angeles area.
As a young man he was less than serious about his career. He was always fast but owners shied away as he had a reputation for being more interested in having fun than racing. Ward admitted that was true. He had fun.
He first came to The Speedway in 1951. He made the race. In his first eight years he finished in the top ten only one time, 8th in 1956.
He had moments of brilliance with a few wins in the Championship Division along the
way. Herb Porter made the Wolcott supercharged Offy work well enough for a few run-away
wins at Milwaukee in ‘57
and ‘58. However, it still
didn’t seem that Ward
was serious about being
a race driver.
A.J. Watson and his
owner John Zink broke
up a successful relationship after the ‘58 season.
Watson, who was building
the cars to beat, found Bob
Wilke of Milwaukee to foot the
bill. Then, Watson made a surprising decision. He hired Rodger Ward.
“The Flying W’s”, Watson, Wilke, Ward, were on their way to making history.
After winning The 500 in 1959 and following that up with his first National Championship, Ward had a six year streak at Indianapolis that is absolutely remarkable. From 1959 thru 1964 Ward finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 4th and 2nd.
Rodger’s last 500 was 1966. He dropped out before the half-way point. He said it was time to quit. It wasn’t fun anymore
