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Photograph credit: Rus Baxley
PROPERTY FROM THE PATRICK S. RYAN COLLECTION
Details
PROPERTY FROM THE PATRICK S. RYAN COLLECTION
The ex-Rodger Ward/Winner of the 1959 Indianapolis 500
1959 WATSON ROADSTER, THE LEADER CARD #5
Chassis No. 5
White with red and blue trim - Leader Card team livery
Engine: four cylinder Offenhauser, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, 255ci., 360bhp plus at 6,200rpm; Suspension: live axles front and rear with transverse torsion bar suspension; Brakes: four wheel disc. Single seat racing car.
The Indianapolis roadsters that dominated the Memorial Day classic during the 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be among the most beautiful racing cars of all time. They were certainly among the most successful designs for their chosen task. The roadster configuration that offsets the engine and driveline to one side and allows a lower seating position originated with Frank Kurtis, and Kurtis built roadsters were the weapon of choice for successful Indianapolis teams in the early 1950s. Young California based mechanic A.J. Watson was crew chief on the Kurtis roadster that Bob Sweikert drove to victory for owner John Zink in the 1955 500, and felt that he could improve on the roadster theme. Watson's formula was to make things as simple and light as possible, and his first roadster brought Zink a second consecutive 500 win in 1956 with Pat Flaherty at the wheel. The next two years saw the radical Epperly lay down cars in victory lane, and Watson parted company with John Zink. Bob Wilke, of the Milwaukee based Leader Card Company, hired A.J. after the 1958 season and the team known as 'The Flying Ws', Watson, Wilke and driver Rodger Ward, began a partnership that remains among the most successful in racing history. Wilke had been a distributor of Kurtis midgets and Offenhauser engines and wanted to form his own racing operation. Other notables on the team were legendary engine builder Takeo 'Chickie' Hirashima and Larry Shinoda, who did the graphics on the car, worked on the design of the rear end and handled pit signal duties for the team at Indianapolis. Shinoda would later achieve recognition in the styling world for his role in designing the Corvette Stingray and the Boss 302 Mustang.
The car on offer here, the Leader Card #5, was built for Wilke in Watson's Southern California shop over the winter of 1958-59. Rodger Ward drove it to a second place finish at Daytona in April 1959, the only time that Indianapolis cars have raced at Daytona Speedway. In May, the team went to Indianapolis where Ward qualified sixth fastest on the first day. When the green flag dropped for the 500, Ward moved to the front, and the Leader Card roadster was in the lead after five short laps. Duelling back and forth with Jim Rathmann, Pat Flaherty and Johnny Thomson, the canny Ward took the checkered flag for his, and owner Wilke's, first Indianapolis win. That victory began a fantastic run at the brickyard for the next five years, Ward getting another win in 1962 with two seconds, a third and a fourth place for the Leader Card Team. Ward would also drive the Leader Card #5 at Milwaukee and Trenton in 1959, winning the Milwaukee 200 miler in August. Wilke had a new Watson for Rodger Ward in 1960, and 1952 national champion Chuck Stevenson ended a six-year retirement to drive the 1959 car, now carrying Leader Card #65 for the Indianapolis race. Stevenson qualified in the third row and ran well up in the top ten until a spin into the infield dropped him to a 15th place finish. Stevenson would also drive the car in the two Milwaukee races that year without notable success. In 1961, Doug Stearly purchased the car and it was entered at Indianapolis as the Stearly Motor Freight Special, wearing #24, with Paul Russo driving.
Russo couldn't get the car up to qualifying speed during practice, and his friend Tony Bettenhausen offered to check out the car on Friday before qualifications began. Tony did several laps before a suspension failure on the main straight put the car into the wall, fatally injuring the popular driver known as 'The Tinley Park Express'.
Some years later, A.J. Watson obtained the remains of the wrecked roadster from Doug Stearly. Using what was left and salvageable from the mangled wreckage, the car's original creator, A.J. Watson, rebuilt it in his Indianapolis facility during 1978-79. The car passed through the hands of noted racing car collector Bob Rubin, then to Mark Weber of DM Autowerks, from whom Mr. Ryan acquired it. Floyd Dreyer, Jr., son of racing car builder 'Pop' Dreyer, updated the restoration and re-installed the revolutionary air jacks that had vitally contributed to Ward's quick pit stops that resulted in his win in the 1959 500.
Dreyer prepared the car for display at the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it was reunited with Larry Shinoda and Rodger Ward, who drove it over the awards ramp. The Leader Card #5 was also invited to Goodwood for the 1999 Festival of Speed, where Ward drove the famous Watson roadster to the delight of an appreciative English crowd.
The Leader Card #5, in common with most racing cars of the era, does not have its original engine. The engine in the car is a correct 'Low-Tower Block' Offenhauser, and USAC inspection stamps indicate that it ran in the 1959, 1960, and 1961 500 in cars driven by Don Branson and Al Keller. These engines were A.J. Watson's solution to the USAC rule change that made the 270 cu. in. Offenhausers obsolete after 1956. By using a shorter stroke crankshaft and gear tower from the 220 Offy mated to a 270 block machined to accommodate the shorter stroke, Watson got the large bore and valve area of the big engine, while staying under the 255ci. limit.
The Watson Leader Card #5 roadster represents the pinnacle of front-engined Speedway cars visually, sitting proudly on its 18 inch wheels and tall Firestone tires, free of external radiators, wings and airscoops that would mar the lines of later roadsters. It was restored to running condition for slow speed demonstration work only. It would need to be fully race-prepared before it would be ready to run in the growing number of historic events for Speedway cars, and its record assures a position of prominence in any gathering of historic racing cars.
The ex-Rodger Ward/Winner of the 1959 Indianapolis 500
1959 WATSON ROADSTER, THE LEADER CARD #5
Chassis No. 5
White with red and blue trim - Leader Card team livery
Engine: four cylinder Offenhauser, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, 255ci., 360bhp plus at 6,200rpm; Suspension: live axles front and rear with transverse torsion bar suspension; Brakes: four wheel disc. Single seat racing car.
The Indianapolis roadsters that dominated the Memorial Day classic during the 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be among the most beautiful racing cars of all time. They were certainly among the most successful designs for their chosen task. The roadster configuration that offsets the engine and driveline to one side and allows a lower seating position originated with Frank Kurtis, and Kurtis built roadsters were the weapon of choice for successful Indianapolis teams in the early 1950s. Young California based mechanic A.J. Watson was crew chief on the Kurtis roadster that Bob Sweikert drove to victory for owner John Zink in the 1955 500, and felt that he could improve on the roadster theme. Watson's formula was to make things as simple and light as possible, and his first roadster brought Zink a second consecutive 500 win in 1956 with Pat Flaherty at the wheel. The next two years saw the radical Epperly lay down cars in victory lane, and Watson parted company with John Zink. Bob Wilke, of the Milwaukee based Leader Card Company, hired A.J. after the 1958 season and the team known as 'The Flying Ws', Watson, Wilke and driver Rodger Ward, began a partnership that remains among the most successful in racing history. Wilke had been a distributor of Kurtis midgets and Offenhauser engines and wanted to form his own racing operation. Other notables on the team were legendary engine builder Takeo 'Chickie' Hirashima and Larry Shinoda, who did the graphics on the car, worked on the design of the rear end and handled pit signal duties for the team at Indianapolis. Shinoda would later achieve recognition in the styling world for his role in designing the Corvette Stingray and the Boss 302 Mustang.
The car on offer here, the Leader Card #5, was built for Wilke in Watson's Southern California shop over the winter of 1958-59. Rodger Ward drove it to a second place finish at Daytona in April 1959, the only time that Indianapolis cars have raced at Daytona Speedway. In May, the team went to Indianapolis where Ward qualified sixth fastest on the first day. When the green flag dropped for the 500, Ward moved to the front, and the Leader Card roadster was in the lead after five short laps. Duelling back and forth with Jim Rathmann, Pat Flaherty and Johnny Thomson, the canny Ward took the checkered flag for his, and owner Wilke's, first Indianapolis win. That victory began a fantastic run at the brickyard for the next five years, Ward getting another win in 1962 with two seconds, a third and a fourth place for the Leader Card Team. Ward would also drive the Leader Card #5 at Milwaukee and Trenton in 1959, winning the Milwaukee 200 miler in August. Wilke had a new Watson for Rodger Ward in 1960, and 1952 national champion Chuck Stevenson ended a six-year retirement to drive the 1959 car, now carrying Leader Card #65 for the Indianapolis race. Stevenson qualified in the third row and ran well up in the top ten until a spin into the infield dropped him to a 15th place finish. Stevenson would also drive the car in the two Milwaukee races that year without notable success. In 1961, Doug Stearly purchased the car and it was entered at Indianapolis as the Stearly Motor Freight Special, wearing #24, with Paul Russo driving.
Russo couldn't get the car up to qualifying speed during practice, and his friend Tony Bettenhausen offered to check out the car on Friday before qualifications began. Tony did several laps before a suspension failure on the main straight put the car into the wall, fatally injuring the popular driver known as 'The Tinley Park Express'.
Some years later, A.J. Watson obtained the remains of the wrecked roadster from Doug Stearly. Using what was left and salvageable from the mangled wreckage, the car's original creator, A.J. Watson, rebuilt it in his Indianapolis facility during 1978-79. The car passed through the hands of noted racing car collector Bob Rubin, then to Mark Weber of DM Autowerks, from whom Mr. Ryan acquired it. Floyd Dreyer, Jr., son of racing car builder 'Pop' Dreyer, updated the restoration and re-installed the revolutionary air jacks that had vitally contributed to Ward's quick pit stops that resulted in his win in the 1959 500.
Dreyer prepared the car for display at the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it was reunited with Larry Shinoda and Rodger Ward, who drove it over the awards ramp. The Leader Card #5 was also invited to Goodwood for the 1999 Festival of Speed, where Ward drove the famous Watson roadster to the delight of an appreciative English crowd.
The Leader Card #5, in common with most racing cars of the era, does not have its original engine. The engine in the car is a correct 'Low-Tower Block' Offenhauser, and USAC inspection stamps indicate that it ran in the 1959, 1960, and 1961 500 in cars driven by Don Branson and Al Keller. These engines were A.J. Watson's solution to the USAC rule change that made the 270 cu. in. Offenhausers obsolete after 1956. By using a shorter stroke crankshaft and gear tower from the 220 Offy mated to a 270 block machined to accommodate the shorter stroke, Watson got the large bore and valve area of the big engine, while staying under the 255ci. limit.
The Watson Leader Card #5 roadster represents the pinnacle of front-engined Speedway cars visually, sitting proudly on its 18 inch wheels and tall Firestone tires, free of external radiators, wings and airscoops that would mar the lines of later roadsters. It was restored to running condition for slow speed demonstration work only. It would need to be fully race-prepared before it would be ready to run in the growing number of historic events for Speedway cars, and its record assures a position of prominence in any gathering of historic racing cars.