Rutherford, Johnny
Auto Racing
b. March 12, 1938, Ft. Worth, TX
Persistence made Rutherford one of the most successful auto racers ever--three-time winner of the Indy 500, third in career earnings with nearly $4 million and fifth in Indy-car victories with 27 at his retirement.
He began racing jalopies in 1959, moved into USAC in 1962, and won the 1965 sprint championship. He had a car for the 1966 Indy 500, but he broke both arms in an April crash and missed the rest of the season. In 1968, he suffered serious burns in a Phoenix crash.
At thirty-five, he joined Team McLaren in 1973 and won the pole position at Indy with a record speed of 198.413 mph. He finished ninth in the race.
Rutherford won his first Indy 500 in his tenth attempt, in 1974, and he also won the Pocono 500, becoming the fist driver to win two 500-mile races in the same season. Two years later, he won at Indy again.
His best season was 1980. He won the Indy 500 for the third time, had four other victories, finished in the top five ten times in twelve starts, and won his only Indy car championship.
In 1986, Rutherford became the oldest driver ever to win a 500-mile race, the Michigan 500.