For a generation of racing fans, and for racing
history buffs to this day, Rodger Ward embodies the post-war era of open
wheel racing in the United States. Kansas-born, he was a P-38 fighter
pilot in World War II, then made his name in racing by starring on the
budding Southern California sprint car scene. Ward emerged from the
regional scene to national prominence and became a star at the
Indianapolis 500, the pinnacle of U.S. open wheel racing. He won the
Indianapolis 500 in 1959 and 1962, the same years he won USAC season
points titles, and his name still looms large at Indianapolis, where he
made 15 starts. In Wards day, drivers didnt specialize, they raced every
chance they got, so he competed in Mexican road races, the Monza Race of
Two Worlds, Grand Prix (Formula 1), and he even won a AAA stock car points
title. He raced from 1948-1966 and he was inducted into the Motorsports
Hall of Fame in 1992. He died in 2004 at age 83.
From the Inside Flap
In his time on the championship trail, Rodger
Ward became a symbol of the most beloved era in American racing. Rodger
Ward: Superstar of American Racing's Golden Age tells his story. From
his Kansas boyhood to the busy postwar Southern California midget racing
scene to his emergence as a world-class driver, it?s all chronicled in
words and pictures.
Racing writer Mike O?Leary brings to life the curly-haired hero whose
broad smile and irrepressible twinkle won the hearts of racing fans from
coast to coast. Although he started his career by exaggerating his
abilities, he soon backed up his promises. By the time he was done, he
had used Ford power to beat the Offys at Gilmore, risen to 9th all-time
in Indy 500 laps led and 8th in Indy car victories overall, won two
national championships, won two national stock car titles, and raced
sports cars at Monza.
Of course, it wasn?t all wine and roses. The racing circuit was a
close-knit group of men who worked, played and traveled together. The
twenty-year period during which Ward raced saw almost as many die as
win, and those who took the final checker weren?t just competitors--they
were friends.
In addition to the brilliant successes and devastating failures that
endeared Ward to generations of racing fans, O?Leary also describes
Ward?s little-known stint as an Army P-38 fighter pilot during World War
II and the business ventures that kept him involved in racing after he
retired. Best of all, this biography not only provides the first
in-depth portrait of one of racing?s heroes, it recreates a unique and
fondly remembered era in American racing.
