Drivers/United States of America
Jim Rathmann
- 1950–1960
- RAT
- Born 16 July 1928 in Alhambra
- Died 23 November 2011
- Royal Richard Rathmann
Family in Formula 1: Dick Rathmann (sibling)
Never drove a Formula 1 race. All of these appearances were at the Indianapolis 500, which counted towards the drivers' championship from 1950 to 1960 but was run to different regulations with a different field.
- Starts10
- Wins110% of starts
- Podiums440% of starts
- Pole positions00× started from P1
- Fastest laps2
- Titles0best finish P8
Career numbers
- Avg grid position17
- Avg finish9.7
- Retirement rate0%
- Pole-to-win conversion–
- Positions gained+73
- Points scored29
- Longest winning streak1
- Longest podium streak2
- Longest points-scoring streak4
- TeamsWetteroth (1950) · Kurtis Kraft (1952–1954, 1956) · Epperly (1955, 1957–1958) · Watson (1959–1960)
Pole position means the fastest time in qualifying. That is not the same as a start from P1 – grid penalties move a driver down the grid. Up to the 2000s the two numbers coincide.
The career at a glance
Season by season
| Season | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Wetteroth | 1 | 0 | – | ||
| 1952 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 1 | 6 | P10 | |
| 1953 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | – | ||
| 1954 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | – | ||
| 1955 | Epperly | 1 | 0 | – | ||
| 1956 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | – | ||
| 1957 | Epperly | 1 | 1 | 7 | P10 | |
| 1958 | Epperly | 1 | 2 | P21 | ||
| 1959 | Watson | 1 | 1 | 6 | P11 | |
| 1960 | Watson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | P8 |
Every race
12 entries, 10 of them started. DNQ: did not qualify; DNS: did not start; DNF: retired.
- First entryIndianapolis 500 1950P24 · Wetteroth
- First winIndianapolis 500 1960P1 · Watson
- Last startIndianapolis 500 1960P1 · Watson
All 12 races, season by season
| Year | Race | Team | Grid | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Indianapolis 500 | Wetteroth | 28 | P24 | |
| 1952 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 10 | P2 | 6 |
| 1953 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 25 | P7 | |
| Indianapolis 500shared | Kurtis Kraft | – | P15 | ||
| 1954 | Indianapolis 500shared | Kurtis Kraft | – | P20 | |
| Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 28 | P28 | ||
| 1955 | Indianapolis 500 | Epperly | 20 | P14 | |
| 1956 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 2 | P20 | |
| 1957 | Indianapolis 500fastest lap | Epperly | 32 | P2 | 7 |
| 1958 | Indianapolis 500 | Epperly | 20 | P5 | 2 |
| 1959 | Indianapolis 500 | Watson | 3 | P2 | 6 |
| 1960 | Indianapolis 500fastest lap | Watson | 2 | P1 | 8 |
Against team-mates
Same car, same races. In the race only those where both reached the finish count – a retirement says nothing about the head-to-head.
| Team-mate | Years | Races | Qualifying | Quali gap | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Hanks | 1952–1957 | 1:5 | 1:3 | −0.17% | 13 : 20 | Compare |
| Rodger Ward | 1952–1960 | 3:2 | 4:1 | −0.55% | 20 : 14 | Compare |
| Tony Bettenhausen | 1954–1960 | 3:2 | 2:1 | −0.16% | 10 : 4 | Compare |
| Fred Agabashian | 1952–1956 | 1:3 | 1:2 | +0.44% | 6 : 1.5 | Compare |
| Andy Linden | 1952–1956 | 4:1 | 1:1 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnnie Parsons | 1952–1954 | 3:1 | 1:1 | +0.98% | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Paul Russo | 1953–1956 | 2:2 | 1:1 | −0.40% | 0 : 2.5 | Compare |
| Dick Rathmann | 1956–1960 | 2:1 | 3:0 | −0.45% | 14 : 2 | Compare |
| Art Cross | 1952–1954 | 1:2 | 1:1 | +0.32% | 6 : 8 | Compare |
| Jack McGrath | 1952–1954 | 1:2 | 0:2 | +0.69% | 6 : 7 | Compare |
| Bill Vukovich | 1952–1954 | 1:2 | 0:2 | +1.37% | 6 : 18 | Compare |
| Chuck Stevenson | 1952–1960 | 3:0 | 2:0 | – | 14 : 0 | Compare |
| Gene Hartley | 1952–1954 | 3:0 | 1:1 | +0.60% | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Daywalt | 1953–1956 | 2:1 | 1:1 | +0.06% | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Pat Flaherty | 1953–1959 | 3:0 | 1:1 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Troy Ruttman | 1954–1960 | 2:1 | 2:0 | −0.69% | 8 : 1.5 | Compare |
| Jimmy Bryan | 1952–1958 | 1:1 | 1:1 | – | 8 : 8 | Compare |
| Dennis Nalon | 1952–1953 | 2:0 | 1:1 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Davies | 1953–1954 | 1:2 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Marshall Teague | 1953–1954 | 2:1 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jerry Hoyt | 1953–1954 | 2:1 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Sweikert | 1952–1954 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Scott | 1952–1953 | 2:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Duane Carter | 1953–1954 | 0:3 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 3.5 | Compare |
| Duke Dinsmore | 1953–1956 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Pat O'Connor | 1954–1956 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Reece | 1952 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| George Connor | 1952 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Cliff Griffith | 1952 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Joe James | 1952 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnny McDowell | 1952 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Chet Miller | 1952 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Carl Scarborough | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Holland | 1953 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Walt Faulkner | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Spider Webb | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Cal Niday | 1953 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Veith | 1956 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Christie | 1956 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Al Keller | 1956 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnnie Tolan | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Ed Elisian | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jack Turner | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Keith Andrews | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Al Herman | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Ray Crawford | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnny Boyd | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| George Amick | 1958 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 2 : 6 | Compare |
| Lloyd Ruby | 1960 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 8 : 0 | Compare |
| Len Sutton | 1960 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 8 : 0 | Compare |
| Eddie Johnson | 1953 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnny Mantz | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnny Thomson | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jackie Holmes | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Mike Nazaruk | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 2 | Compare |
| Larry Crockett | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Jackson | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Ernie McCoy | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Frank Armi | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| George Fonder | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Homeier | 1954 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Eddie Russo | 1956 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
Green: Jim Rathmann came out ahead in that duel. Quali gap: the median difference in the last session both set a time in, as a share of the lap – minus is faster. At least three sessions; a dash where there were fewer.
Strongest circuits
Circuits with at least two starts, most wins first.
| Circuit | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | 10 | 1 | 4 | 9.7 |