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Drivers/United States of America

Rodger Ward

  • 1951–1963
  • WAR
  • Born 10 January 1921 in Beloit
  • Died 5 July 2004
  • Rodger Morris Ward

Compare with another driverSeason by season in the Explorer

Career numbers

  • Avg grid position16.5
  • Avg finish17.7
  • Retirement rate17%
  • Pole-to-win conversion–
  • Positions gained-15
  • Points scored14
  • Longest winning streak1
  • Longest podium streak1
  • Longest points-scoring streak1
  • TeamsBromme (1951) · Kurtis Kraft (1952–1953, 1956, 1959) · Pawl (1954) · Kuzma (1955) · Lesovsky (1957–1958) · Watson (1959–1960) · Lotus (1963)

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

2 1951: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1952: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1953: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1954: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1955: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1956: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1957: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1958: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1959: 2 starts, 1 podiums, 1 wins , championship P10 1960: 1 starts, 1 podiums, 0 wins , championship P12 1963: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1951195319551957195919632 1951: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1952: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1953: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1954: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1955: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1956: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1957: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1958: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1959: 2 starts, 1 podiums, 1 wins , championship P10 1960: 1 starts, 1 podiums, 0 wins , championship P12 1963: 1 starts, 0 podiums, 0 wins 1951195519591963
WinsOther podiumsOther startsTitleBar height is the number of starts in that season.

Season by season

SeasonTeamRacesWinsPodiumsPointsChampionship
1951Bromme10–
1952Kurtis Kraft10–
1953Kurtis Kraft10–
1954Pawl10–
1955Kuzma10–
1956Kurtis Kraft10–
1957Lesovsky10–
1958Lesovsky10–
1959Watson, Kurtis Kraft2118P10
1960Watson116P12
1963Lotus10–

Every race

12 entries. DNQ: did not qualify; DNS: did not start; DNF: retired.

All 12 races, season by season
YearRaceTeamGridResultPoints
1951Indianapolis 500Bromme25P27
1952Indianapolis 500Kurtis Kraft22P23
1953Indianapolis 500Kurtis Kraft10P16
1954Indianapolis 500Pawl16P22
1955Indianapolis 500Kuzma30P28
1956Indianapolis 500Kurtis Kraft15P8
1957Indianapolis 500Lesovsky24P30
1958Indianapolis 500Lesovsky11P20
1959Indianapolis 500Watson6P18
United States Grand PrixKurtis Kraft19DNF
1960Indianapolis 500Watson3P26
1963United States Grand PrixLotus17DNF

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-mateYearsRacesQualifyingQuali gapPoints
Jim Rathmann1952–19602:41:4+0.56%14 : 20Compare
Sam Hanks1952–19560:30:3+0.62%0 : 12Compare
Fred Agabashian1952–19562:10:3+2.05%0 : 1.5Compare
Gene Hartley1952–19572:11:2−0.04%0 : 0Compare
Andy Linden1952–19563:10:2–0 : 0Compare
Dick Rathmann1956–19602:11:2+0.15%14 : 2Compare
Chuck Stevenson1952–19602:11:1–6 : 0Compare
Paul Russo1953–19562:11:1–0 : 2.5Compare
Art Cross1952–19530:21:1–0 : 8Compare
Jimmy Bryan1952–19550:20:2–0 : 0Compare
Johnnie Parsons1952–19531:11:1–0 : 0Compare
Jack McGrath1952–19530:20:2–0 : 2Compare
Bill Vukovich1952–19530:20:2–0 : 10Compare
Dennis Nalon1952–19531:11:1–0 : 0Compare
Jimmy Daywalt1953–19561:12:0–0 : 0Compare
Pat Flaherty1953–19592:02:0–8 : 0Compare
Tony Bettenhausen1956–19602:01:1–6 : 0Compare
Jack Turner1956–19582:01:1–0 : 0Compare
Troy Ruttman1956–19602:01:1–6 : 0Compare
Bob Scott1952–19531:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Duane Carter1953–19550:20:1–0 : 2Compare
Duke Dinsmore1953–19561:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Johnny Thomson1953–19551:11:0–0 : 3Compare
Jimmy Reece19520:11:0–0 : 0Compare
George Connor19520:10:1–0 : 0Compare
Cliff Griffith19520:10:1–0 : 0Compare
Joe James19520:10:1–0 : 0Compare
Johnny McDowell19520:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Bob Sweikert19521:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Chet Miller19521:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Eddie Johnson1953–19540:20:0–0 : 0Compare
Jimmy Davies19530:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Carl Scarborough19530:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Bill Holland19530:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Walt Faulkner19531:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Marshall Teague19531:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Spider Webb19531:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Jerry Hoyt19531:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Cal Niday19531:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Bob Veith19560:11:0–0 : 0Compare
Bob Christie19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Al Keller19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Pat O'Connor19561:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Johnnie Tolan19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Ed Elisian19561:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Keith Andrews19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Al Herman19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Ray Crawford19561:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Johnny Boyd19561:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Lloyd Ruby19601:01:0–6 : 0Compare
Len Sutton19601:01:0–6 : 0Compare
Johnny Mantz19531:00:0–0 : 0Compare
Jackie Holmes19531:00:0–0 : 0Compare
Eddie Russo19561:00:0–0 : 0Compare
Jo Siffert19630:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Pedro Rodríguez19630:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Trevor Taylor19630:00:1–0 : 0Compare
Hap Sharp19630:01:0–0 : 0Compare
Jim Clark19630:00:1–0 : 4Compare
Jim Hall19630:00:1–0 : 0Compare

Green: Rodger Ward 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.

CircuitStartsWinsPodiumsAvg finish
Indianapolis101217.7