Jim Rathmann was only 20 in 1949 when he drove in his first Indianapolis 500. But he was already a veteran of the hot-rod and stock-car circuits, and he had scars and some chipped vertebrae to prove it. In that first start in Indianapolis' famed "Brickyard," Rathmann finished a creditable eleventh, and swore then and there that he would some day win the biggest event in U.S. racing.
Then started a decade of frustration for the taciturn driver. He was 4 min. 2.4 sec. behind the winner in 1952, and 17.35 sec. behind in 1957. Last year he trailed the winner, Rodger...
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