On July 5, Rodger Ward, two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the oldest living winner of the 500, passed away at a hospice in Anaheim, California. He was 83 years old.
Born on January 10, 1921, Ward started racing midgets in Kansas, while serving as a P-38 fighter instructor during World War II. Ward went on to make his first appearance at the Brickyard in 1951, and won his first Indianapolis 500 in 1959. From his victory in 1959 until his retirement in 1966, Ward held one of the best overall Indy records of the period with a 2nd place in 1960, a 3rd in 1961, another victory in 1962, a 4th in 1963 and a 2nd in 1964. Additionally, Ward also won the USAC Indy Car Championship in 1959 and 1962, the AAA Stock Car Crown in 1951 and a total of 26 championship races.
Photo: Art Evans
However, Ward’s contributions to the history of the Indy 500 were not limited to just his driving on track. Ward is also credited with having played a pivotal role in the mid-engined revolution that swept Indy car racing in the early ’60s. It was Ward who invited Jack Brabham and John Cooper to bring their mid-engined Cooper to the Speedway in 1961, setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to Clark’s win in 1965, and the eventual obsolescence of the front-engined roadsters that Ward so adeptly drove.
While often overlooked by historians, Ward was also an accomplished road racer, having raced a variety of cars including Porsche Spyders, a Cooper Monaco, a Chaparral and even a Kurtis Midget to an upset win at Lime Rock Park in 1959. Additionally, Ward also drove in the 1963 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen as well as other F1 drives in Canada and Mexico.
Ward’s passing leaves 1960 Indy winner Rathmann as the oldest living winner and the American motorsport community at a loss for one of its most talented and personable heroes.
Submitted by Casey Annis
