Pit Lane F1
1959 Season - Round 2 - 1959-05-30
Rodger Ward won the 1959 Indianapolis 500 for Watson, with Jim Rathmann (Watson) second and Johnny Thomson (Lesovsky) third. The win came from P6 on the grid.
Paul Russo (Kurtis Kraft) made the biggest gain of the race, climbing from P27 on the grid to P9 at the flag — a 18-place improvement. Attrition was high, with 14 drivers failing to finish.
30 drivers were classified at the chequered flag of the 1959 Indianapolis 500, completing round 2 of the season.
How good was this Grand Prix?
Pick your score, 1 to 10.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Status | Fastest Lap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rodger Ward | Watson | 6 | Finished | 8 | |
| 2 | Jim Rathmann | Watson | 3 | Finished | 6 | |
| 3 | Johnny Thomson | Lesovsky | 1 | Finished | 5 | |
| 4 |
| Tony Bettenhausen |
| Epperly |
| 15 |
| Finished |
| 3 |
| 5 | Paul Goldsmith | Epperly | 16 | Finished | 2 |
| 6 | Johnny Boyd | Epperly | 11 | Finished | 0 |
| 7 | Duane Carter | Kurtis Kraft | 12 | Finished | 0 |
| 8 | Eddie Johnson | Kurtis Kraft | 8 | Finished | 0 |
| 9 | Paul Russo | Kurtis Kraft | 27 | Finished | 0 |
| 10 | Anthony Foyt | Kuzma | 17 | Finished | 0 |
| 11 | Gene Hartley | Kuzma | 9 | Finished | 0 |
| 12 | Bob Veith | Moore | 7 | Finished | 0 |
| 13 | Al Herman | Dunn | 23 | Finished | 0 |
| 14 | Jimmy Daywalt | Kurtis Kraft | 13 | Finished | 0 |
| 15 | Chuck Arnold | Kurtis Kraft | 21 | Finished | 0 |
| 16 | Jim McWithey | Kurtis Kraft | 33 | Finished | 0 |
| 17 | Eddie Sachs | Kuzma | 2 | Spun off | 0 |
| 18 | Al Keller | Kuzma | 28 | Engine | 0 |
| 19 | Pat Flaherty | Watson | 18 | Accident | 0 |
| 20 | Dick Rathmann | Watson | 4 | Heat shield fire | 0 |
| 21 | Bill Cheesbourg | Kuzma | 30 | Magneto | 0 |
| 22 | Don Freeland | Kurtis Kraft | 25 | Magneto | 0 |
| 23 | Ray Crawford | Elder | 32 | Accident | 0 |
| 24 | Don Branson | Phillips | 10 | Suspension | 0 |
| 25 | Bob Christie | Kurtis Kraft | 24 | Engine | 0 |
| 26 | Bobby Grim | Kurtis Kraft | 5 | Magneto | 0 |
| 27 | Jack Turner | Christensen | 14 | Fuel leak | 0 |
| 28 | Chuck Weyant | Kurtis Kraft | 29 | Accident | 0 |
| 29 | Jud Larson | Kurtis Kraft | 19 | Accident | 0 |
| 30 | Mike Magill | Sutton | 31 | Accident | 0 |
