1960 INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE RODGER WARD vs. JIM RATHMANN 87784

Made for Mobil as a promotional piece, THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 was produced by Dynamic Films, directed by Lester S. Becker, with narration by Ralph Camargo. The film shows the 1960 Indianapolis 500, one of the most exciting in history. Defending champion Rodger Ward and challenger Jim Rathmann dueled right down to the last lap. The cars and drivers in this race included Troy Ruttman, Red Amick, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Boyd, Chuck Stevenson, Eddie Sachs, Bob Veith, Johnny Thomson, Len Sutton, Shorty Templeman and Don Freeland. Many other drivers and racing personalities are shown throughout the film, such as Paul Goldsmith, George Bignotti, Ward, Rathmann, Sachs, Duane Carter, A.J. Watson, Foyt, Don Branson, Tommy Milton, Larry Bisceglia, Boyd, Dempsey Wilson, Smokey Yunick, Chuck Hulse, Bob Wilkie, Tom Binford, Ray Harroun and Bill Vandewater.
The 44th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1960. The event was part of the 1960 USAC National Championship Trail, and was included in the 1960 World Drivers Championship. It would be the final time World Championship points would be awarded at the Indy 500.
Often regarded as the greatest two-man duel in Indianapolis 500 history, the 1960 race saw a then-record 29 lead changes (a record that stood until 2012). Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward battled out nearly the entire second half. Rathmann took the lead for good on lap 197 after Ward was forced to slow down with a worn out tire. Rathmann's margin of victory of 12.75 seconds was the second-closest finish in Indy history at the time.
In the second half, Ward had caught up to Rathmann, with Johnny Thomson close behind in third. Rathmann and Ward swapped the lead several times, but meanwhile Ward was hoping that the pace would slow down, in order to save his tires to the end. After stalling in the pits earlier, the hard charge Ward made to get back to the front was a concern, as he was afraid he had worn out his tires prematurely. Ward was aware of Rathmann's tendencies as a driver, and allowed Rathmann to pass him for the lead. Rathmann was known for charging hard to take the lead, but once he was in the lead, would often back the pace down. Ward's prediction came true, but it was at the expense of losing ground to third place. Johnny Thomson was now catching up.
With Thomson closing in on the leaders, Ward and Rathmann started charging again, racing each other hard, swapping the lead between themselves. Meanwhile Thomson's engine lost power, and he slowed to a 5th place finish. Inside ten laps to go, Rodger Ward seemed to have the faster car, and took the lead on lap 194. A few laps later though, Ward saw the cords in his right front tire showing, and he let off the pace. Jim Rathmann took the lead on lap 197, and pulled away for victory. Due to Ward's experience as a tire tester, he was able to nurse his car to the finish without pitting to change the bad tire, and held on to second place. Despite winning twice (1959 and 1962), Rodger Ward often considered this race his personal best.
Paul Goldsmith charged from 26th starting position to finish 3rd, holding off 4th place Don Branson by about a car length.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFi...

[@701CPD]

Those were the days...waiting all day as a kid for Dad and Mom to come back from the race..."Who won?" and all the great names....Rathman, Ward, Foyt, Jones...and the stories...memories, memories...

[@jayc3110]

A fine film... Thank you... What really added to this clip was the fantastic background / description added to this page... This RARE on KZbin videos but much appreciated... Thanks again.

[@garylewis6495]

1960 was the first Indy 500 I attended in person with my mother and father. Rodger Ward became my favorite Indy roadster driver. From 1958 to 1965, he was one of the best, and certainly the most consistent driver at Indy.

[@cee128d]

A bit of trivia for you guys. Dick Rathmann switched identities with his older brother Jim when Dick was 16 years old. This was to allow Dick to start racing. Both brothers raced under the other brothers name throughout their careers. So Dick actually won the race driving as Jim. Now you know the rest of the story.

[@Tommy_Mac]

This film documents an exciting period of racing at The Brickyard. Jim Rathmann won this day. His team was lead by the famous, and somewhat infamous, Henry "Smokey" Yunick. He never received credit as Crew Chief, despite having done the vast majority of work in prepping the car and the engines. Chickie Hiroshima was listed by the team owner on the entry form for the race, but had little involvement. Hiroshima only arrived at the track a few days prior to the race. Yunick was there for several weeks. Eventually, Smokey was credited as Co-Crew Chief. Despite competing for many years afterward and fielding some amazing racecars, Smokey did not win again at Indy .

[@ElliottNest41]

The driver for car 52 at 7:11, I believe is Jack Rounds (1930 - 1998).

[@paulday5722]

"I ran fresh out of brains". The story of Danica Patrick's career.

[@paulday5722]

As a long time racing fan, I miss the days when just completing the race was an accomplishment. Race cars, in all series, now are so mechanically bulletproof drivers run every lap like its qualifying. No more managing the car and using smart decisions to be fast at the finish.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Rodger Ward was one of the lucky ones to survive both the 1950s & 60s and lived to an old age. So did Jim Rathmann. Sadly Jimmy Bryan was killed three weeks later at Langhorne, PA one of the most dangerous tracks at the time (closed in 1971 and razed for a shopping mall)

[@robharding4028]

Man. I wish I was 3 again !!

[@tsf5-productions]

Yes! one of the most exciting races of the last several decades. The narrator's style...classic for the action of speed movies of the auto racing styles. Love the film shots early on and during the race of the people. The "500 Festival Parade" was just a few years old. The other sides of the town having their own "festivals" and parties are classic of the late 1950's style. In one scene, the rock and roll guitarist fellows looked like the Everly Brothers - Don & Phil. Winner, Jim Rathmann was a very determined man in getting that Indy victory. I think within the next year or so he retired, but came back to drive the Pace Car in the "500" several times. Too bad Johnny Thomson never won the "500". He would have been a great Champion in the win.

[@kohnea1]

I have a few dozen high-quality slides of the qualifying and raceday of this event, which I found in my uncle's collection recently. I would share them with anybody who is interested.

[@rayjames6096]

Back when the cars had ashtrays.

[@J_Calvin_Hobbes]

👍

[@greghight7594]

when men were men!!

[@eflinneflinn]

Hey, spoiler alert! :)