# Rodger Ward

Rodger Morris Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was an American racing driver best known for his open-wheel career. He is generally regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation, and is best known for winning two National Championships, and two Indianapolis 500s, both in 1959 and 1962. He also won the AAA National Stock Car Championship in 1951.

## Early life

Ward was born in Beloit, Kansas, the son of Ralph and Geneva (née Banta) Ward. By 1930, the family had moved to California. He died in Anaheim, California.
Ward's father owned an auto wrecking business in Los Angeles. Rodger was 14 years old when he built a Ford hot rod. He was a P-38 Lightning fighter pilot in World War II. He enjoyed flying so much he thought of making it his career. He began to fly B-17 Flying Fortress and was so good he was retained as an instructor. After the war he was stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas when a quarter mile dirt track was built.

## Driving career
### Midget car career

Ward began racing midget cars in 1946 after he was discharged from the Army. He finished poorly. His skills improved in 1947 and by 1948 he won the San Diego Grand Prix. He raced in an Offenhauser in 1949 and won several races.
Ward shocked the midget car racing world when he broke Offenhauser motor's long winning streak by using Vic Edelbrock's Ford 60 "shaker" motor at Gilmore Stadium on August 10, 1950. The motor was one of the first to feature nitromethane for fuel. Ward and Edelbrock went to the Orange Show Stadium the following night and won again.
Ward drove Ken Brenn's Offy midget July 25, 1959 to beat the top expensive and exotic sports cars in a Formula Libre race at Lime Rock Park. Midget cars were normally considered competitive for oval tracks only before that time. Later that year, Ward entered the United States Grand Prix for Formula One cars with the midget car, under the false belief that it was much quicker through the turns, a fact he found not true at the beginning of practice. He eventually retired from the race after twenty laps with a mechanical failure.

### Stock Car career

Ward participated in the AAA and later USAC Stock Car divisions. He started no less than 66 races, winning seven, and finishing in the top-five no less than 29 times. He won the AAA National Stock Car title in 1951.

### Championship car career

Ward's AAA Stock Car championship gave him an opportunity for a rookie test at the 1951 Indianapolis 500. He passed the test and qualified for the race. He finished 34 laps before his car suffered a broken oil line. He finished 130 laps in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 before the oil pressure failed. His 1953 Indianapolis 500 ended after 170 laps, and his 1954 Indianapolis 500 ended after his car stalled on the backstretch. He completed all of the laps for the first time in 1956, finishing eighth.
In 1959 he joined the Leader Card Racers team with owner Bob Wilke and mechanic A. J. Watson; forming what was known as the "3 W's". Ward won his first Indianapolis 500. He won the USAC National Championship with victories at Milwaukee, DuQuoin and the Indy Fairgrounds. His 1959 season ended by competing in the only United States Grand Prix held at Sebring Raceway.
Ward battled Jim Rathmann for the lead in the 1960 Indianapolis 500. In one of the epic duels in Indy 500 history, Ward and Rathmann exchanged the lead 14 times before Ward slowed on lap 197 to nurse his frayed right front tire to the finish. Rathmann, also struggling with worn-out tires after such a furious pace, took the lead on lap 197 and the two drivers limped home in what is still regarded as one of the greatest duels for the win in Indianapolis 500 history.
Ward took the lead at the 1962 Indianapolis 500 at lap 126 and led the rest of the race. He also won the season championship that year.
In the midst of the Lotus-Ford rear-engine invasion in 1964, car owner/chief mechanic A.J. Watson built the first rear-engined Watson, mated to the four-cam Ford. But the night before the 1964 Indianapolis 500, Ward and Watson made a highly uncharacteristic strategic error. Going against the strong recommendation (read: orders) from Ford to use gasoline fuel instead of the cooler-burning but more powerful methanol/gasoline. The car was fast, but the jetting mistake left Ward having to pit every 20 laps for fuel. Later Ward calculated that he had spent two minutes less on the track than winner A.J. Foyt, yet only lost the race by approximately 1 minute.
In addition, the horrific second-lap accident, in which his friends Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs both perished in a fiery, gasoline-fueled wreck, left an indelible impression on Ward. After a difficult month of May, 1965, Ward suffered the embarrassment of failing to qualify. Ward left the Leader Card team mid-season and joined Mecom Racing team owned by John W. Mecom Jr. In 1966 Ward won the second race of the season at Trenton driving a supercharged Offy powered Lola.
For his Indianapolis 500 effort Ward drove the same car but retired while running 15th with handling problems listed as the cause. The fact that late race attrition reduced the race to only five cars would have provided him a good finish as long as he was running and in fact he had been faster than the winner. Ward had parked a running car 74 laps into the race and was considering his future. At the banquet, Ward stood at the podium and made a painful announcement to the crowd: "I always said I'd quit racing when it stopped being fun," he said. He paused as he wiped away tears. "Today it wasn't fun anymore." He had 26 victories in his 150 starts between 1950 and 1966, and he finished in the top ten in more than half of his starts.

### 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.
Ward participated in ten World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He was also among a small number of USAC/Indianapolis drivers to start an FIA-sanctioned World Drivers' Championship event during the 1950-1960 period - competing for Leader Card Racers in the 1959 United States Grand Prix.
Ward also participated in the 1963 United States Grand Prix. During his World Drivers' Championship career, Ward won once, finished in the top three twice, and accumulated 14 World Drivers' Championship points.

## Post-racing career

Ward retired to be a commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports for NASCAR and Indycars from 1965 to 1970. From 1980-1985, he served as a driver expert for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, before retiring in Tustin, California. With the help of the Mattioli Family, Ward helped design the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. A unique course that resulted in a triangle shape, he designed the track after five corners of tracks he liked to race at, Trenton, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee. The track is still popular today.
In later years, he served as public relations director for the new Ontario Motor Speedway, and later managed the Circus Circus unlimited hydroplane team. He died on July 5, 2004, aged 83.
Ward also appeared on the TV show To Tell the Truth in 1962.

## Awards and honors

Ward has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
* Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1981)
* International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1992)
* Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1995)
* National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1995)
* West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003)

## Motorsports career results
### AAA/USAC Championship Car results

| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
| 1950 | INDY | MIL | LAN | SPR | MIL | PIK | SYR | DET | SPR | SAC | PHX 10 | BAY | DAR | | | | | | 47th | 30 |
| 1951 | INDY 27 | MIL 5 | LAN 13 | DAR DNS | SPR DNQ | MIL | DUQ | DUQ | PIK | SYR | DET | DNC 8 | SJS 17 | PHX 10 | BAY 17 | | | | 30th | 192 |
| 1952 | INDY 23 | MIL DNQ | RAL 9 | SPR DNQ | MIL 7 | DET 16 | DUQ | PIK | SYR 13 | DNC DNQ | SJS 18 | PHX 9 | | | | | | | 23rd | 240 |
| 1953 | INDY 16 | MIL 18 | SPR 1 | DET 1 | SPR 17 | MIL 6 | DUQ DNQ | PIK | SYR 7 | ISF 8 | SAC 13 | PHX 18 | | | | | | | 11th | 540.2 |
| 1954 | INDY 22 | MIL 10 | LAN 16 | DAR DNQ | SPR 15 | MIL 26 | DUQ 11 | PIK | SYR 18 | ISF 9 | SAC 13 | PHX DNQ | LVG 4 | | | | | | 23rd | 210 |
| 1955 | INDY 28 | MIL DNQ | LAN 9 | SPR DNQ | MIL 24 | DUQ DNQ | PIK | SYR 9 | ISF 14 | SAC | PHX 6 | | | | | | | | 17th | 252.2 |
| 1956 | INDY 8 | MIL DNP | LAN DNS | DAR 19 | ATL 16 | SPR 6 | MIL 3 | DUQ DNQ | SYR 10 | ISF 3 | SAC 16 | PHX 19 | | | | | | | 8th | 862 |
| 1957 | INDY 30 | LAN DNQ | MIL 1 | DET 16 | ATL 16 | SPR 1 | MIL 18 | DUQ 3 | SYR 18 | ISF 13 | TRE 20 | SAC 1 | PHX 13 | | | | | | 11th | 740 |
| 1958 | TRE 11 | INDY 20 | MIL 19 | LAN DNQ | ATL 7 | SPR 16 | MIL 1 | DUQ 4 | SYR 4 | ISF 3 | TRE 1 | SAC 16 | PHX 5 | | | | | | 5th | 1,160 |
| 1959 | DAY 2 | TRE 2 | INDY 1 | MIL 13 | LAN | SPR 18 | MIL 1 | DUQ 1 | SYR 3 | ISF 1 | TRE 18 | SAC 3 | PHX 17 | | | | | | 1st | 2,400 |
| 1960 | TRE 1 | INDY 2 | MIL 1 | LAN | SPR DNQ | MIL 21 | DUQ 16 | SYR 18 | ISF 14 | TRE 2 | SAC 17 | PHX 10 | | | | | | | 2nd | 1,390 |
| 1961 | TRE 18 | INDY 3 | MIL 1 | LAN | MIL 19 | SPR 6 | DUQ 17 | SYR 1 | ISF 17 | TRE 3 | SAC 1 | PHX 2 | | | | | | | 3rd | 1,680 |
| 1962 | TRE 3 | INDY 1 | MIL 4 | LAN | TRE 1 | SPR 17 | MIL 1 | LAN | SYR 1 | ISF 5 | TRE 5 | SAC | PHX | | | | | | 1st | 2,460 |
| 1963 | TRE 18 | INDY 4 | MIL 1 | LAN | TRE 3 | SPR 1 | MIL 4 | DUQ 2 | ISF 1 | TRE 26 | SAC 1 | PHX 1 | | | | | | | 2nd | 2,210 |
| 1964 | PHX 5 | TRE 18 | INDY 2 | MIL 13 | LAN | TRE 7 | SPR 15 | MIL 2 | DUQ 13 | ISF 2 | TRE 4 | SAC 4 | PHX 2 | | | | | | 2nd | 2,128 |
| 1965 | PHX 11 | TRE 20 | INDY DNQ | MIL 22 | LAN DNQ | PIP | TRE DNQ | IRP 24 | ATL | LAN | MIL 22 | SPR | MIL 23 | DUQ | ISF | TRE 23 | SAC | PHX 15 | 48th | 30 |
| 1966 | PHX 2 | TRE 1 | INDY 15 | MIL | LAN | ATL | PIP | IRP | LAN | SPR | MIL | DUQ | ISF | TRE | SAC | PHX | | | 15th | 540 |

### Indianapolis 500 results

| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
| 1951 | 48 | 25 | 134.867 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 0 | Oil line |
| 1952 | 34 | 22 | 134.139 | 28 | 23 | 130 | 0 | Oil pressure |
| 1953 | 92 | 10 | 137.468 | 6 | 16 | 177 | 0 | Stalled |
| 1954 | 12 | 16 | 139.297 | 8 | 22 | 172 | 0 | Engine |
| 1955 | 27 | 30 | 135.049 | 30 | 28 | 53 | 0 | Crash BS |
| 1956 | 19 | 15 | 141.171 | 27 | 8 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1957 | 8 | 24 | 141.321 | 15 | 30 | 27 | 0 | Supercharger |
| 1958 | 8 | 11 | 143.266 | 14 | 20 | 93 | 0 | Fuel pump |
| 1959 | 5 | 6 | 144.035 | 7 | 1st | 200 | 130 | Running |
| 1960 | 1 | 3 | 145.560 | 5 | 2nd | 200 | 58 | Running |
| 1961 | 2 | 4 | 146.187 | 5 | 3rd | 200 | 7 | Running |
| 1962 | 3 | 2 | 149.371 | 2 | 1st | 200 | 66 | Running |
| 1963 | 1 | 4 | 149.800 | 6 | 4 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1964 | 2 | 3 | 156.406 | 3 | 2nd | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1965 | 2 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | Too Slow |
| 1966 | 26 | 13 | 159.468 | 19 | 15 | 74 | 0 | Handling |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 2160 | 261 | |
| Starts | 15 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Front Row | 3 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Top 5 | 6 |
| Top 10 | 7 |
| Retired | 8 |
| Did not qualify | 1 |
* Ward's finishes from 1959 to 1963 and 1960 to 1964 rank as the best and second best five-race finishing streaks in Indianapolis 500 history.

### FIA World Drivers' Championship results

(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Points |
| 1951 | L & B Bromme | Bromme | Offenhauser | SUI | 500 27 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1952 | Federal Auto Associates | Kurtis Kraft 4000 | Offenhauser | SUI | 500 23 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1953 | M. A. Walker | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | ARG | 500 16 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | | | NC | 0 |
| 1954 | R. N. Sabourin | Pawl | Offenhauser | ARG | 500 22 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP | | | NC | 0 |
| 1955 | E. R. Casale | Kuzma | Offenhauser | ARG | MON | 500 28 | BEL | NED | GBR | ITA | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1956 | Ed Walsh | Kurtis Kraft 500C | Offenhauser | ARG | MON | 500 8 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1957 | Roger Wolcott | Lesovsky | Offenhauser | ARG | MON | 500 30 | FRA | GBR | GER | PES | ITA | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1958 | Roger Wolcott | Lesovsky | Offenhauser | ARG | MON | NED | 500 20 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | MOR | NC | 0 |
| 1959 | Leader Cards Inc. | Watson | Offenhauser | MON | 500 1 | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 8 |
| 1959 | Leader Cards Inc. | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | | | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | USA Ret | | | 10th | 8 |
| 1960 | Leader Cards Inc. | Watson | Offenhauser | ARG | MON | 500 2 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | POR | ITA | USA | | 12th | 6 |
| 1963 | Reg Parnell Racing | Lotus 24 | BRM V8 | MON | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA Ret | MEX | RSA | | NC | 0 |