Troy Ruttman

Troy Ruttman
Troy Ruttman
Born	Troy Lynn Ruttman; March 11, 1930; Mooreland, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	May 19, 1997 (aged 67); Lake Havasu City, Arizona, U.S.
Championship titles
	1952 Indianapolis 500 Winner
Awards
	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (1992) ; Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2005)
Champ Car career
	49 races run over 15 years
Years active	1949-1958, 1960-1964
Best finish	2nd – 1952
First race	1949 Arlington 100 (Arlington)
Last race	1964 Trenton 150 (Trenton)
First win	1952 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last win	1952 Raleigh 200 (Raleigh)
NASCAR Cup Series career
	7 races run over 3 years
First race	1962 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	1964 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1950–1958, 1960
Teams	Kurtis Kraft, Watson, Lesovsky, Kuzma, Maserati
Entries	12 (8 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Career points	9.5
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
First win	1952 Indianapolis 500
Last win	1952 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1960 Indianapolis 500

Troy Ruttman[1] (March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmie Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman.

Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. As of 2021, he is the youngest winner of the race.[2]

From 1950–1960, the Indianapolis 500 also counted toward the World Drivers' Championship (now synonymous with Formula One), although most of the racers did not compete in the other races in the Championship. Ruttman was the first Indianapolis 500 winner to participate in a Formula One event beyond Indy[3] and his 1952 Indy 500 win earned him the distinction of being the youngest driver to win a round of the World Championship, an honor he held until Fernando Alonso won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Racing career

Ruttman entered his family car in a roadster race in San Bernardino, California in 1945 at age 15, and won the race.[4] He won 19 of the 21 events staged there that season.[4] By 1947 he was the California Roadster Association (CRA) roadster champion.[4] He also won his first five midget car races that season. In 1948 he repeated as the CRA roadster champion, United Racing Association Blue Circuit (Offy) championship, and 23 midget car events.[4]

Sprint car career

In May 1949 Ruttman left California for the AAA Sprint and Championship car circuits of the Midwest. He won three AAA Sprint Car championships over the next three and a half seasons.[4] He competed in 51 midget races, winning 16 and placing in the top three 28 times.[4]

He was injured in a sprint car crash in August 1952, which sidelined Ruttman for one and a half racing seasons.[4] Ruttman returned in 1954 on a greatly reduced schedule.

Championship car career

Ruttman's winning car from the 1952 Indianapolis 500.

He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1949–1952, 1954, 1956–1957 and 1960–1964 seasons with 58 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1949–1952, 1954, 1956–1957, and 1960–1964. He finished in the top ten 26 times, with 5 victories and finished runner-up to Chuck Stevenson for the 1952 National Championship.

Stock car career

Ruttman won the 1956 USAC Short Track Stock Car division title. Ruttman also competed in 7 races in the NASCAR Grand National Series from 1962–1964, finishing in the top ten 5 times. His best finish was third at the 1963 race at Riverside International Raceway behind Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt.[5]

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960, and drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Troy Ruttman participated in nine World Championship races, seven times at Indy plus the 1958 French and German Grands Prix. His 1952 Indianapolis 500 win was his only win and podium finish, and he earned a total of 9.5 championship points.

Career awards

He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993.
Ruttman was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[6] in 2005.
He was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.[4]
Ruttman was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in its first class in 2002.[7]
Inducted into the Indianapolis 500 Hall of Fame in May 1992.

Death

Ruttman died as a result of lung cancer on May 19, 1997 at Lake Havasu City, Arizona just a month before the long planned "Troy Ruttman Day" in his hometown of Mooreland, Oklahoma.

He was survived by his first wife Beverly. Children: Toddy Marie, Roxanne, Mary Joyce, Jennifer Lynn & Troy Lynn Ruttman Jr. Pre-deased him in 1969.

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Pos	Points
1949	ARL 8	INDY 12	MIL 18	TRE	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	NYS	DET	SPR	LAN	SAC 3	DMR 12		21st	250
1950	INDY 15	MIL 17	LAN 10	SPR DNQ	MIL 13	PIK	SYR 14	DET 11	SPR	SAC 12	PHX 17	BAY 15	DAR 18			41st	46
1951	INDY 23	MIL	LAN	DAR	SPR 6	MIL	DUQ	DUQ	PIK	SYR	DET	DNC	SJS 15	PHX	BAY	39th	80
1952	INDY 1	MIL DNQ	RAL 1	SPR 12	MIL	DET	DUQ	PIK	SYR	DNC	SJS	PHX				2nd	1.410
1953	INDY Wth	MIL	SPR	DET	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				-	0
1954	INDY 4	MIL 7	LAN	DAR 15	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX	LVG			15th	447
1955	INDY DNQ	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX					-	0
1956	INDY 31	MIL 20	LAN	DAR DNS	ATL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX				-	0
1957	INDY 31	LAN	MIL 10	DET	ATL	SPR	MIL 25	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX			36th	30
1958	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	LAN	ATL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC 14	PHX DNP			-	0
1960	TRE	INDY 20	MIL DNQ	LAN	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX				-	0
1961	TRE 3	INDY 20	MIL 16	LAN	MIL	SPR	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX				23rd	140
1962	TRE	INDY 18	MIL DNQ	LAN	TRE	SPR	MIL 13	LAN	SYR 3	ISF DNQ	TRE 13	SAC 6	PHX 7			15th	280
1963	TRE 5	INDY 12	MIL DNQ	LAN	TRE 5	SPR	MIL 14	DUQ	ISF	TRE 3	SAC	PHX				11th	580
1964	PHX	TRE	INDY 18	MIL 4	LAN	TRE 8	SPR	MIL Wth	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX			26th	160

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1949	64	18	125.945	32	12	151	0	Flagged
1950	55	24	131.912	9	15	130	0	Flagged
1951	98	6	132.314	25	23	78	0	Bearing
1952	98	7	135.364	18	1st	200	44	Running
1954	34	11	137.736	31	4	200	0	Running
1956	53	11	142.484	17	31	22	0	Spun FS
1957	52	3	142.772	7	31	13	4	Overheating
1960	28	6	145.366	8	20	134	11	Rear End Gear
1961	52	22	144.799	23	20	105	10	Clutch
1962	26	30	146.765	19	18	140	0	Piston
1963	17	33	148.374	24	12	200	0	Running
1964	14	18	151.292	24	18	99	0	Spun T3
Totals						1472	69

Starts	12
Poles	0
Front Row	1
Wins	1
Top 5	2
Top 10	2
Retired	7

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Points
1950	Bowes Racing Inc.	Lesovsky	Offenhauser Straight-4	GBR	MON	500 15	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA					NC	0
1951	Christopher J.C. Agajanian	Kurtis Kraft 2000	Offenhauser Straight-4	SUI	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP				NC	0
1952	Christopher J.C. Agajanian	Kuzma	Offenhauser Straight-4	SUI	500 1	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA				7th	8
1953	Travelon Trailer	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	500 DNQ	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			NC	0
1954	Eugene A Casaroll	Kurtis Kraft 500A	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	500 4^†	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			23rd=	1.5
1955	Novi Racing	Kurtis Kraft	Novi Straight-8s	ARG	MON	500 DNQ	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					NC	0
1956	John Zink	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	MON	500 Ret	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				NC	0
1957	John Zink	Watson	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	MON	500 Ret	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				NC	0
1958	Christopher J.C. Agajanian	Kuzma	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	MON	NED	500 DNQ	BEL							NC	0
1958	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6						FRA 10	GBR	GER DNS	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0
1960	John Zink	Watson	Offenhauser Straight-4	ARG	MON	500 Ret	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	POR	ITA	USA		NC	0

† = Shared drive

References

"Troy Ruttman". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
"22-year-old Ruttman is youngest Indy 500 winner". April 2017.
"Troy Ruttman, 67, Youngest Winner of Indy 500". New York Times. 1997-05-21. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
Biography Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
NASCAR statistics at racing-reference.info
Troy Ruttman at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Biography at West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, 2002, Retrieved November 7, 2007

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[1] "Troy Ruttman". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.

[2] "22-year-old Ruttman is youngest Indy 500 winner". April 2017.

[NYT_obit-3] "Troy Ruttman, 67, Youngest Winner of Indy 500". New York Times. 1997-05-21. Retrieved 2017-10-14.

[NMARHoF-4] Biography Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame

[5] NASCAR statistics at racing-reference.info

[MSHoF-6] Troy Ruttman at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

[7] Biography at West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, 2002, Retrieved November 7, 2007