Tommy Milton (1921, 1923) / Rodger Ward (1959, 1962)

Two-time winners Tommy Milton and Rodger Ward each did their part to change the course of Indy 500 history.


Tommy Milton provided many firsts in his eight Indianapolis 500 starts. He had four top-five finishes in his eight career starts at the Brickyard, including his two victories in 1921 and 1923.

He started from 20th place in 1921, and found himself three laps down of leader and polesitter Ralph DePalma. However, DePalma's car throws a connecting rod on lap 112, and Milton inherits the lead which he would not relinquish. His 20th place starting position is the worst to go to victory since the first Indy 500 in 1911, when Ray Harroun won in his Marmon Wasp from 28th position (back then, starting position came from a random draw, not from qualifying speed. So, Milton's car became the "slowest" to come through the field to win the race).

In 1923, Milton was a little more conventional in his victory. He started from the pole position with a record-shattering qualifying speed of 108.17 mph (the previous pole speed was over 7 mph slower). He cruised to victory, winning by over three minutes over Harry Hartz. He became the first ever to win two Indianapolis 500-Mile Races. He also became the first since Harroun to win "riding solo" without an on-board mechanic.



Fast forward 46 years to the Rodger Ward era of dominance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In a six year period from 1959 to 1964, Ward started no worse than 6th and finished no worse than 4th, including drinking the milk in 1959 and 1962.

In the '59 race, Ward was part of a great battle with Jim Rathmann, Johnny Thomson, and '56 winner Pat Flaherty throughout the entire race. A Flaherty crash and Thomson handling problems left Ward vs. Rathmann down the stretch, with Ward leading 130 laps and winning by 23 seconds. Surprising, though, that if it was the Indy 505, it was likely that his car would not have survived. A piston pin plug had loosened and gone through the oil ring and one of compression rings. It was a matter of a few miles before the other ring would have let go as well. Instead, the car held on just long enough, and Ward got the biggest payday in history.

Rathmann and Ward would battle again the next year in the 1960 race, with Ward leading the race ten different times, but loses the lead on lap 197 to Rathmann, who goes on to win by 13 seconds. Leading the race ten times is a record for not winning the race.

The 1962 race is most well-known for polesitter Parnelli Jones losing his breaks around lap 125, yet somehow continuing throughout the rest of the race (including the help of a makeshift tire barrier for when he needed to pit). However, it was Rodger Ward to would take control of the second half of the race with Jones's troubles, and winning by 11.5 seconds to win his second Indy 500, again in record-setting time.



Both of these racers did their best to rewrite Indianapolis history books year in and year out. Their accomplishments are among the best of all time, yet are lost in history among some of the more recent two- and three-time winners. They are still undoubtedly among the best to ever race at Indy.