Jim Rathmann (racing driver)

Royal Richard "Jim" Rathmann (July 16, 1928 – November 23, 2011), was an American racing driver who competed primarily in Championship Cars.

Tire wear became an issue as the race wore on and Rathmann was able to keep his wheels fresh long enough to outrace Ward to the finish.

He won once, finished in the top three four times, recorded two fastest laps, and accumulated 29 World Drivers' Championship points.

Rathmann later owned a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Melbourne, Florida, where he befriended astronauts Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Gordon Cooper.

Rathmann convinced GM President Ed Cole to set up a program which supplied each astronaut with a pair of new cars each year.

[5] Alan Bean recalls Corvettes lined up in the parking lot outside the astronaut offices at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and friendly races between Shepard and Grissom along the Florida beach roads.

He had reportedly suffered a seizure at his home days earlier and died at a hospice center in Melbourne, Florida.