Lloyd Ruby

Richard Lloyd Ruby<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (January 12, 1928 – March 23, 2009)<ref name=NYTObit>Template:Cite news</ref> was an American racecar driver who raced in the USAC Championship Car series for 20 years, achieving 7 victories and 88 top-ten finishes. He also had success in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona twice, the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1966 World Sportscar Championship.

Racing career

Ruby raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1958–1977 seasons, with 177 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 from 1960 to 1977. He achieved 88 top-ten finishes, and seven victories. His best finish at Indy was third, in 1964. In 1966, he led the Indy 500 for 68 laps.

Ruby also had two endurance racing victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona (1965–1966), both times partnering with Ken Miles. Ruby and Miles teamed up to win the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1966 World Sportscar Championship. Ruby was scheduled to drive in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, however he was forced to withdraw due to spinal injuries suffered in a plane crash.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A year later, he teamed with Denny Hulme in a Ford GT 40 Mk IV for the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ruby played a key role in Ford Motor Company's GT40 program in the mid-1960s. He also raced in the 1961 United States Grand Prix.

Indianapolis 500

File:Lloyd Ruby (2534355548).jpg

The Mongoose-Offenhauser car Ruby drove in the 1970 Indianapolis 500

Despite a Championship Car career replete with success, Ruby is probably best remembered for his many misfortunes at the Indianapolis 500. His biography, written by Ted Buss in 2000, was titled, Lloyd Ruby: The Greatest Driver Never to Win the Indy 500. Ruby led the race in five different years, for a total of 126 laps, however, his best finish at Indianapolis was third, in 1964. His only other top-five finish at Indy came in 1968. In 1991, he was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Perhaps Ruby's most notorious hard-luck bout at Indy came in 1969. With race leader Mario Andretti experiencing overheating problems, Ruby was in a strong position to score a victory. During a pit stop around the halfway point, a crew member motioned Ruby to pull away too soon. The refueling nozzle was still engaged in the car's left saddle tank, and as Ruby dropped the clutch, the car lurched forward. The nozzle ruptured a hole in the gas tank, ending Ruby's day.

Death

He died in 2009 at the age of 81 in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Legacy and halls of fame

Ruby's racing career was honored with the Bruton Smith Legends Award at the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame in Fort Worth in 2005. He was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2008. Ruby was also named co-recipient of the Louis Meyer Award along with Hélio Castroneves at the induction ceremony and special recognition dinner in Indianapolis. In 2015, he was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America<ref name=MSHoF>Lloyd Ruby at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America</ref>

Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson joined racing greats Johnny Rutherford, Parnelli Jones and Al and Bobby Unser in Wichita Falls when the Lloyd Ruby Overpass was named in honor of their racing friend.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1958	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	ATL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX 13																-	0
1959	DAY	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	SPR DNQ	MIL DNQ	DUQ 13	SYR 14	ISF 13	TRE	SAC 18	PHX DNQ																-	0
1960	TRE	INDY 7	MIL 6	LAN 11	SPR 4	MIL 17	DUQ 6	SYR 7	ISF DNQ	TRE 8	SAC DNQ	PHX 13																	9th	710
1961	TRE	INDY 8	MIL 21	LAN	MIL 1	SPR 16	DUQ 16	SYR 11	ISF DNQ	TRE 18	SAC DNQ	PHX																	11th	670
1962	TRE	INDY 8	MIL 19	LAN	TRE	SPR 6	MIL 22	LAN	SYR 11	ISF 13	TRE 6	SAC 8	PHX 3																11th	700
1963	TRE Template:Small	INDY 19	MIL 12	LAN	TRE Template:Small	SPR Template:Small	MIL Template:Small	DUQ Template:Small	ISF Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	SAC Template:Small	PHX Template:Small																	16th	320
1964	PHX 9	TRE 5	INDY 3	MIL 18	LAN Template:Small	TRE 2	SPR 12	MIL 10	DUQ 17	ISF 9	TRE 26	SAC 5	PHX 1																3rd	1,752
1965	PHX Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	INDY 11	MIL Template:Small	LAN Template:Small	PPR Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	IRP Template:Small	ATL Template:Small	LAN Template:Small	MIL Template:Small	ISF Template:Small	MIL Template:Small	DSF Template:Small	INF Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	SAC Template:Small	PHX Template:Small											13th	850
1966	PHX Template:Small	TRE 21	INDY 11	MIL DNP	LAN	ATL	PIP	IRP 16	LAN 24	SPR	MIL 9	DUQ	ISF	TRE 22	SAC	PHX 6													20th	355
1967	PHX 1	TRE 21	INDY 33	MIL 2	LAN 1	PIP	MOS 4	MOS 4	IRP 16	LAN DNQ	MTR 4	MTR 3	SPR	MIL 13	DUQ	ISF DNQ	TRE 26	SAC	HAN 3	PHX 5	RIV 4								6th	2.090
1968	HAN 3	LVG 4	PHX 2	TRE 12	INDY 5	MIL 1	MOS 15	MOS 12	LAN 21	PIP	CDR 2	NAZ 17	IRP 23	IRP 15	LAN 10	LAN 6	MTR 19	MTR 14	SPR DNQ	MIL 1	DUQ DNQ	ISF DNQ	TRE 16	SAC	MCH 15	HAN 18	PHX 2	RIV 3	4th	2,799
1969	PHX 3	HAN 2	INDY 20	MIL 13	LAN 21	PIP	CDR	NAZ	TRE 15	IRP 7	IRP 15	MIL 3	SPR	DOV DNQ	DUQ	ISF	BRN	BRN	TRE	SAC	KEN	KEN	PHX 2	RIV DNP					10th	1,190
1970	PHX Template:Small	SON Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	INDY 27	MIL 4	LAN Template:Small	CDR Template:Small	MCH Template:Small	IRP Template:Small	SPR Template:Small	MIL Template:Small	ONT 23	DUQ Template:Small	ISF Template:Small	SED Template:Small	TRE Template:Small	SAC Template:Small	PHX Template:Small											14th	790
1971	RAF 2	RAF 2	PHX 5	TRE 13	INDY 11	MIL 7	POC 8	MCH 21	MIL 6	ONT 4	TRE 23	PHX 24																	5th	1,830
1972	PHX 21	TRE	INDY 6	MIL 22	MCH	POC 26	MIL DNQ	ONT 17	TRE 18	PHX 7																			18th	490
1973	TWS DNQ	TRE	TRE	INDY 27	MIL 21	POC 3	MCH 4	MIL DNQ	ONT	ONT 8	ONT 28	MCH 6	MCH 4	TRE 8	TWS 4	PHX 11													9th	1,610
1974	ONT 3	ONT	ONT 5	PHX 9	TRE 8	INDY 9	MIL 9	POC 6	MCH DNQ	MIL 7	MCH 21	TRE DNQ	TRE	PHX															7th	1,580
1975	ONT	ONT	ONT	PHX	TRE	INDY 32	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	MCH	TRE	PHX 10																33rd	45
1976	PHX	TRE	INDY 11	MIL	POC	MCH	TWS	TRE	MIL	ONT	MCH	TWS 13	PHX 22																31st	100
1977	ONT 17	PHX	TWS	TRE	INDY 27	MIL	POC	MOS	MCH	TWS	MIL	ONT DNP	MCH	PHX															-	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1960	98	12	144.208	15	7	200	0	Running
1961	5	25	146.909	2	8	200	0	Running
1962	12	24	146.520	24	8	200	0	Running
1963	65	19	149.123	15	19	126	0	Crash T4
1964	18	7	153.932	8	3	200	0	Running
1965	7	9	157.246	9	11	184	0	Blown engine
1966	14	5	162.433	5	11	166	68	Cam stud
1967	25	7	165.229	8	33	3	0	Valves
1968	25	5	167.613	5	5	200	42	Running
1969	4	20	166.428	20	20	105	11	Fuel tank
1970	25	25	168.895	6	27	54	2	Drive gear
1971	12	7	173.821	7	11	174	3	Gears
1972	5	11	181.415	20	6	196	0	Flagged
1973	18	15	191.622	18	27	21	0	Piston
1974	9	18	181.699	20	9	187	0	Out of fuel
1975	7	6	186.984	7	32	7	0	Piston
1976	51	30	186.480	7	11	100	0	Flagged
1977	10	19	190.840	11	27	34	0	Crash T2
Totals						2357	126

Starts	18
Poles	0
Front rows	0
Wins	0
Top-5s	2
Top-10s	7
Retired	10

• Ruby owns three of the top-ten 5-race finishing streaks in the 1960s

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Ruby participated in two World Championship races: the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the 1961 United States Grand Prix. He scored no championship points.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Points
1960	J C Agajanian	Watson	Offenhauser straight-4	ARG	MON	500 Template:Small	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	POR	ITA	USA	NC	0
1961	J Frank Harrison	Lotus 18	Climax straight-4	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA Template:Small			NC	0
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24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1967	Template:Flagicon Ford Motor Company Template:Flagicon Holman & Moody	Template:Flagicon Denny Hulme	Ford GT40 Mk.IV	P +5.0	86	DNF	DNF