Rodger Ward
Ward, circa 1950
Born	Rodger Morris Ward (1921-01-10)January 10, 1921 Beloit, Kansas, U.S.
Died	July 5, 2004(2004-07-05) (aged 83) Anaheim, California, U.S.
Championship titles
AAAStock Car (1951) USACChampionship Car (1959,1962) Major victories Indianapolis 500 (1959,1962)
Champ Car career
150 races run over 17 years
Best finish	1st (1959,1962)
First race	1950Phoenix 100 (Phoenix)
Last race	1966Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win	1953Springfield 100 (Springfield)
Last win	1966Trenton 150 (Trenton)
Wins Podiums Poles 26 47 11
NASCAR driver
NASCARCup Series career
3 races run over 2 years
First race	1963Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last race	1964Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1951 –1960,1963
Teams	Bromme,Kurtis Kraft,Pawl,Kuzma,Lesovsky,Watson,Lotus
Entries	12
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	2
Career points	14
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1951 Indianapolis 500
First win	1959 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1963 United States Grand Prix

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

Ward was born inBeloit, Kansas,^[1] the son of Ralph and Geneva (née Banta) Ward. By 1930, the family had moved to California. He died inAnaheim, California.

Ward's father owned an auto wrecking business inLos Angeles. Rodger was 14 years old when he built aFord hot rod.^[2] He was aP-38 Lightning fighter pilot in World War II. He enjoyed flying so much he thought of making it his career. He began to flyB-17 Flying Fortress and was so good he was retained as an instructor.^[3] After the war he was stationed inWichita Falls, Texas when a quarter miledirt track was built.^[4]

Ward began racingmidget 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 anOffenhauser in 1949 and won several races.^[4]

Ward shocked themidget car racing world when he broke Offenhauser motor's long winning streak by usingVic Edelbrock's Ford 60 "shaker" motor atGilmore Stadium on August 10, 1950.^[5] The motor was one of the first to featurenitromethane for fuel. Ward and Edelbrock went to theOrange 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 aFormula Libre race atLime Rock Park.^[6] Midget cars were normally considered competitive foroval 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.

Ward participated in the AAA and later USACStock 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.

Ward's AAA Stock Car championship gave him an opportunity for a rookie test at the1951 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 the1952 Indianapolis 500 before the oil pressure failed. His1953 Indianapolis 500 ended after 170 laps, and his1954 Indianapolis 500 ended after his car stalled on the backstretch. He completed all of the laps for the first time in1956, finishing eighth.^[4]

In1959 he joined theLeader Card Racers team with owner Bob Wilke and mechanicA. J. Watson; forming what was known as the "3 W's". Ward won his first Indianapolis 500. He won theUSACNational Championship with victories atMilwaukee, DuQuoin and the Indy Fairgrounds.^[4] His 1959 season ended by competing in the onlyUnited States Grand Prix held atSebring Raceway.^[6]

Ward battledJim Rathmann for the lead in the1960 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.^[4]

Ward took the lead at the1962 Indianapolis 500 at lap 126 and led the rest of the race. He also won the season championship that year.^[4]

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.^[7][8]

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.

TheAAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in theFIAWorld 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 theAAA/USACNational 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 forLeader Card Racers in the1959 United States Grand Prix.

Ward also participated in the1963 United States Grand Prix. During his World Drivers' Championship career, Ward won once, finished in thetop three twice, and accumulated 14 World Drivers' Championship points.

Ward retired to be a commentator for ABC'sWide 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 inTustin, California. With the help of the Mattioli Family, Ward helped design thePocono Raceway inLong 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, andMilwaukee. 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.^[4]

Ward also appeared on the TV showTo Tell the Truth in 1962.

Ward has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

• Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1981)^[9]
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1992)^[10]
• Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1995)^[11]
• National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1995)^[12]
• West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003)^[13][14]

• 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.^{[citation needed]}

(key)

• Rodger Ward - ChampCarStats.com
• Rodger Ward - Motorsport Memorial
• Rodger Ward driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1921 births
• 2004 deaths
• American Formula One drivers
• American World War II fighter pilots
• Reg Parnell Racing Formula One drivers
• Champ Car champions
• Champ Car drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Indianapolis 500 winners
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
• Motorsport announcers
• People from Beloit, Kansas
• Racing drivers from Kansas
• AAA Championship Car drivers
• 20th-century American sportsmen
• World Sportscar Championship drivers
• United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
• United States Army Air Forces officers
• Formula One race winners
• USAC Stock Car drivers
• Carrera Panamericana drivers

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