30 Days in May: No. 11, Jimmy Caruthers, 1972 U.S. Armed Forces/Steed Special

OK, so this year’s Indianapolis 500 won’t be run in the month of May. For many of us, however, May is more than just a month – it’s a state of mind. So let’s still celebrate great cars and drivers of the past anyway!

 

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Jimmy Caruthers started 31st and finished ninth in his first

Indianapolis 500 in 1972

30 Days in May: No. 11, Jimmy Caruthers, 1972 U.S. Armed Forces/Steed Scorpion/Foyt. This is a car I vividly remember from one of my early excursions to the track as a 4-year-old – probably because of the gleaming yellow paint. Jimmy Caruthers was a throwback to the traditional way of earning a ride in the Indianapolis 500, starting in quarter-midgets before graduating to full-size midgets (that sounds funny, doesn’t it?) and sprint cars.

He won the USAC midget championship in 1970 and had eyes on qualifying for the 1971 Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to Art Pollard on the Gilmore Racing team. Unfortunately, Pollard was bumped so he took over the car and snagged a starting spot in the last row.

Caruthers returned the next year and, interestingly, started in the same position as Pollard the year before (31^st). 1972 was a tremendous year of change with huge wings becoming the norm on the state-of-the-art Eagles and McLarens. Smaller, low-budget teams, like the Caruthers’, innovated as best they could. You can see a bit of do-it-yourself aerodynamic solutions as mechanics tried to wring performance out of older cars.

Caruthers drove a steady race to finish ninth, one of three rookies in the top 10 that year behind Sam Posey (fifth) and Mike Hiss (seventh). He moved to Bob Fletcher’s Cobre Tire team for the next two years. His final Indianapolis 500 was in 1975 driving the Alex Foods “Tamale Wagon” for the Morales brothers.

Sadly, just weeks after winning the 1975 USAC Dirt Car title (now the Silver Crown division), Caruthers died of cancer at age 30.

The Caruthers, like the Bettenhausens and Vukoviches, are a true racing family who endured incredible tragedy. Another son, Danny, had won the 1971 USAC Midget title, then died in a crash. Carl Hungness wrote a moving tribute to Jimmy Caruthers in his 1976 Indianapolis 500 Yearbook. Also, Hal Higdon chronicled Caruthers’ life in “Summer of Triumph,” which is long out of print but definitely worth seeking out. 

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