Douglas James Caruthers (January 18, 1945 – October 26, 1975) was an American racecar driver from

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. He raced

midget cars Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

sprint cars Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primari ...

, and

Indy car IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 5 ...

Midget car career

Caruthers won the 1970

USAC National Midget Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

championship. His championship was the closest in USAC midget history, as he beat

Dave Strickland David McKenzie Strickland (4 December 1877 – 31 December 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). and was also a Stawell Gift winner in 1900. While working at Menzies in the g ...

by 12.48 points. He finished second to his brother Danny Caruthers in 1971. Jimmy won 21 USAC

midget car Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

features between 1967 and 1975.Jimmy Caruther's Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

Sprint car career

He competed in the ARDC while stationed on the East Coast during his tour of duty in the armed forces. He was transferred to Phoenix, and race in caged

on weekends. He almost won the championship, but was transferred overseas before the end of the season.

Championship Indy car career

He drove in the USAC

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, racing in the 1970–1975 seasons with 43 starts, including the 1972–1975

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 21 times. His best finish were second-place finishes at the 1974 California 500 at the

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: United States Au ...

and 1974 Pocono 500. He drove in four

Silver Crown car career

He won the 1975

USAC Silver Crown Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

championship while suffering from cancer. He captured the title by finishing third at the Hoosier 100 six weeks before he died. He died of cancer in October 1975 before claiming his championship trophy. USAC has annually awarded the " Jimmy Caruthers Award" in his honor since 1978. Initially given to the Rookie of the Year, it was rededicated to honor his spirit and determination, shown in winning the Silver Crown championship in the year of his death from cancer.

Career Awards

*He was inducted in the

Death

Caruthers died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at the age of 30 only a month after competing in his final

race. He had received cobalt treatment (an early form of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

) in the winter of 1974-1975 in order to return to racing for the 1975 season.

Famous family

His father Doug Caruthers and brother Danny Caruthers also died before accepting their USAC series championship at the end of the year awards banquet. The Caruthers family is synonymous with midget car racing.Danny Caruthers Biography
at the

Indy 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruthers, Jimmy 1945 births 1975 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from Anaheim, California Racing drivers from California USAC Silver Crown Series drivers