Royal Richard "Jim" Rathmann (July 16, 1928 – November 23, 2011), was an American racing driver who competed primarily in Championship Cars. Rathmann is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, emerging victorious after a race-long duel with Rodger Ward - as recently as 2023, a panel of fans and historians voted Rathmann's victory as the greatest '500' of all time. In Europe he is well-known for winning the 1958 Race of Two Worlds. Rathmann and his older brother swapped names while teenagers. As a 16-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." The name change stuck for life in public circles.

Driving career

Championship Car career

Rathmann drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in the 1949–1950 and 1952–1963 seasons with 38 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 during each of those seasons. He had 2 victories in addition to his Indianapolis 500 win, including the USAC Daytona 100. Rathmann also participated in the two runnings of the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, Italy, winning the 1958 race, a non-championship event.

1960 Indianapolis 500 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 500 history, and has often been considered the greatest Indianapolis 500 ever run.

Stock car career

Rathmann competed in three NASCAR races from 1949 to 1951, competing in one race during each of those years. He debuted in 1949 at Langhorne, dropping out with mechanical issues. In 1950, Rathmann raced at the prestigious Daytona Beach Road Course. Starting 17th in this event, Rathmann finished 12th. In his final race in 1951, Rathmann started 9th at Detroit, but dropped out with mechanical issues.

World Drivers' Championship career

The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. 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/USAC National 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 500.

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. 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. After retiring from the car business, Rathmann lived with his wife, Mary Kay, in Indialantic, Florida.

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 100th-anniversary celebration in 2011 due to failing health. Rathmann died on November 23, 2011. He had reportedly suffered a seizure at his home days earlier and died at a hospice center in Melbourne, Florida.

Awards and honors

Rathmann has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

Motorsports career results

AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)