Best/Worst: Johnny Rutherford

Greatest race?

I think it has to be my first Indianapolis 500 win in 1974. We blew an engine in the morning practice, so we weren’t in line ready for the start of qualifying, so the USAC chief steward Harlan Fengler wouldn’t let us qualify in the afternoon. That meant we had to qualify on the second day, and I’d have to start behind all those who did their runs on day one, so I lined up 25th. Man, was I ready to go on race day! When the green flag dropped, I was up to third by lap 12, and pressuring A.J. Foyt for the lead by quarter distance. We went back and forth for the lead until his car broke, and I had my first Indy win.

Most disappointing race?

Indy in 1975. Bobby Unser had been leading, I was second. But under a late caution period, Bobby pitted for a splash of fuel, which gave me a whole straightaway’s lead. I should have stayed out and nursed my fuel another couple of laps because the rain arrived while we were under caution. But when Tyler [Alexander, McLaren’s legendary team manager] called me to the pits for a quick fuel stop, that dropped me behind Bobby at the point they called the race early [after 174 laps]. I still anguish over it to this very day. I could have been in the four-time Indy winners’ club and the only driver in history to win it three consecutive years.

Most significant win?

Atlanta in 1965, my first win. And then my second win, which was my first with McLaren, at Ontario in ’73. So you can see, I’d had a long wait! And then of course Indy in ’74.

But I’m also thinking of Michigan in 1978. I was in the McLaren M24 and Danny Ongais was in the Interscope Parnelli. We’d been going at it for most of the race, swapping the lead back and forth, and after the last caution there was about 25 laps to go. When they dropped the green, I think Danny and I ran side by side for the next 20 laps – it was fantastic. Then, with about four laps to go, he ran out of fuel, which was very disappointing.

While I’m standing there in victory lane, finishing up my interviews and photos, I look out to the pits and Danny’s walking toward us, and even from a distance away, I could see this huge smile on his face. We just hugged each other and agreed that if the fans didn’t enjoy that battle, then they didn’t like racing.

Best career decision?

Marrying my wife, Betty. I met her at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1963. She could have been a doctor until I came along, but she was an operating room nurse. Betty [who passed away in 2019] always gave me a lot of moral support.

Lone Star JR’s Chaparral 2K (No. 4) was the class of the field in the 1980 CART Indy Car World Series. Getty Images

Worst career decision?

Returning to Patrick Racing in 1983. The cars weren’t any good and I thought some of the people running them were not that good. Compared with what I’d been given to drive and who I’d worked with for the last 10 years, at McLaren and then Chaparral, it was a disaster.

Best car? 

It’s a tie. I was fortunate enough to race two of the very best.

I believe the McLaren M16 was the greatest flat-bottomed Indy car. I felt I could place it anywhere and I could set it up to do anything I wanted it to. And then the Chaparral 2K, which produced downforce through ground effect like magic and, again, left me feeling I could do anything and across a wide variety of tracks, too. That car worked everywhere.

Worst car?

That would be Pat Patrick’s car in 1983, the Wildcat, where they had tried to follow the concepts of the Chaparral, but then ground effect was banned. I had an accident in practice at Indy and broke an ankle and had to be withdrawn from the event. Not long after I was released from hospital, I was back in the shop and there was a card table with these various car parts on it with red labels. I asked a mechanic about it and he said, “Oh, those are parts that didn’t pass magnaflux testing, we have to change them out every other day.”

Best track?

Indy for what it was, what it is, what it means, but I really loved Michigan Speedway [scene of four JR wins], just as I’d loved the high banks at Winston and Salem in a sprint car.

Track you wish you’d raced on?

Maybe Le Mans. I did have a chance after my Indy wins in ’74 and ’76, but I had so many other things I wanted to do. That said, I enjoyed racing that Porsche 935 with Manfred Schurti and Dick Barbour at the Daytona 24 Hours in ’78, and we finished second. But I was completely content racing dirt ovals and midgets on my weekends between Indy car races.

Advice for someone who wants to start racing?

Find the exit gate, walk through it, don’t look back, and keep walking...

This feature originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of RACER magazine. Look for new installments of Best/Worst on RACER.com every Thursday.