Lloyd Ruby
# Lloyd Ruby

Richard Lloyd Ruby (January 12, 1928 – March 23, 2009) 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. 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

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.

## 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

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 19 | INDY 19 | MIL 12 | LAN | TRE 24 | SPR 9 | MIL 26 | DUQ 17 | ISF 8 | TRE 8 | SAC 4 | PHX 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16th | 320 |
| 1964 | PHX 9 | TRE 5 | INDY 3 | MIL 18 | LAN 8 | TRE 2 | SPR 12 | MIL 10 | DUQ 17 | ISF 9 | TRE 26 | SAC 5 | PHX 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 1,752 |
| 1965 | PHX 5 | TRE DNQ | INDY 11 | MIL 19 | LAN 3 | PPR | TRE 18 | IRP 7 | ATL 23 | LAN | MIL 9 | ISF | MIL 3 | DSF | INF 10 | TRE 26 | SAC | PHX DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 13th | 850 |
| 1966 | PHX 12 | 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 3 | SON | TRE 1 | INDY 27 | MIL 4 | LAN DNP | CDR 17 | MCH | IRP | SPR | MIL 20 | ONT 23 | DUQ | ISF | SED | TRE 22 | SAC | PHX 16 | | | | | | | | | | | 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 | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 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 7 | 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 Ret | | | NC | 0 |
| Source: ||||||||||||||||
