James Merwin "Dick" Rathmann (January 6, 1926February 1, 2000) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. Rathmann and his younger brother swapped names while teenagers. He was an 18-year-old going by the name of Jim Rathmann, when his brother wanted to start racing. To help him enter races, he traded I.D.s with him, and assumed the identity of " Dick Rathmann." The name change stuck for life in public circles. He drove in the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series in the 1949 and 1950 seasons with 4 starts, including the 1950

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. He finished in the top ten once, in 6th position at Milwaukee in 1950. In 1951, he moved to

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, where he was a very successful

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

driver through 1955. In 1956, he returned to the USAC

series, racing in the 1956–1964 seasons with an additional 41 starts, including the

races in 1956 and 1958–1964. He finished in the top ten 21 more times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1959 at Daytona. Rathmann sat on the pole for the

1958 Indianapolis 500 The 42nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1958. The event was part of the 1958 USAC National Championship Trail, and was also race 4 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Driv ...

. On the first lap, he and fellow front-row starter Ed Elisian raced into turn 3 and started a chain-reaction accident which involved 15 cars and claimed the life of Pat O'Connor. With that accident, Rathmann became the first Indy pole-sitter to complete no laps. This feat has been repeated only twice in Indy history, first by

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Wit ...

and then by

Scott Sharp Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing Leagu ...

. Rathmann was the elder brother of

1960 Indianapolis 500 The 44th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 30, 1960. The event was race 2 of 12 of the 1960 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 3 of 10 in the 196 ...

winner

Jim Rathmann Jim Rathmann may refer to: * Jim Rathmann (racing driver), (1928–2011), American racing driver {{Hndis, Rathmann, Jim ...

. The two switched names in 1946 so his younger brother could enter a race while underage. For what was supposed to be a short time, he adopted the name "Dick" and his brother adopted the name "Jim". The change stuck for life. In 2009, Rathmann was inducted into the

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall Of Fame, originally the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame for people associated primarily with late-model stock car racing on the West Coast of the United States. Many NASCAR Grand Nation ...

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Dick Rathmann participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole once and accumulated a total of 2 World Championship points.

Racing record

American open-wheel racing

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

=Indianapolis 500

= *Rathmann qualified for the 1957 race, but was mugged the night before the event. He was replaced in the car by

Johnnie Parsons John Woodrow Parsons (July 4, 1918 – September 8, 1984) was an American racing driver in the AAA Contest Board, AAA and United States Automobile Club, USAC Championship Car series. He was the 1949 AAA Championship Car season, 1949 AAA List of ...

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series

Pacific Coast Late Model Division

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathmann, Dick 1924 births 2000 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Los Angeles