1959 Indianapolis 500
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Winner |
|
| Pole position |
|
| Fastest lap |
|
| Circuit | Indianapolis, 200 laps |
| Round | 2 of 9 |
| Race numbers | 77th World Championship race |
| More 1959 season | |
| More Indianapolis 500 |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +5 | (USA) Rodger Ward | Watson-Offenhauser | 200 | 3hr 40m 49.200s | 8 |
| 2 | +1 | (USA) Jim Rathmann | Watson-Offenhauser | 200 | +23.277s | 6 |
| 3 | -2 | (USA) Johnny Thomson | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 200 | 5 FL | |
| 4 | +11 | (USA) Tony Bettenhausen | Epperly-Offenhauser | 200 | 3 | |
| 5 | +11 | (USA) Paul Goldsmith | Epperly-Offenhauser | 200 | 2 | |
| 6 | +5 | (USA) Johnny Boyd | Epperly-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 7 | +5 | (USA) Duane Carter | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 8 | (USA) Eddie Johnson | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | |||
| 9 | +18 | (USA) Paul Russo | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 10 | +7 | (USA) AJ Foyt | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 11 | -2 | (USA) Gene Hartley | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 12 | -5 | (USA) Bob Veith | Moore-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 13 | +10 | (USA) Al Herman | Dunn-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 14 | -1 | (USA) Jimmy Daywalt | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 15 | +6 | (USA) Chuck Arnold | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 16 | +17 | (USA) Jim McWithey | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 17 | -15 | (USA) Eddie Sachs | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 182 | DNF | |
| 18 | +10 | (USA) Al Keller | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 163 | DNF | |
| 19 | -1 | (USA) Pat Flaherty | Watson-Offenhauser | 162 | DNF | |
| 20 | -16 | (USA) Dick Rathmann | Watson-Offenhauser | 150 | DNF | |
| 21 | +9 | (USA) Bill Cheesbourg | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 147 | DNF | |
| 22 | +3 | (USA) Don Freeland | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 136 | DNF | |
| 23 | +9 | (USA) Ray Crawford | Elder-Offenhauser | 115 | DNF | |
| 24 | -14 | (USA) Don Branson | Phillips-Offenhauser | 112 | DNF | |
| 25 | -1 | (USA) Bob Christie | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 109 | DNF | |
| 26 | -21 | (USA) Bobby Grim | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 85 | DNF | |
| 27 | -13 | (USA) Jack Turner | Christensen-Offenhauser | 47 | DNF | |
| 28 | +1 | (USA) Chuck Weyant | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 45 | DNF | |
| 29 | -10 | (USA) Jud Larson | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 45 | DNF | |
| 30 | +1 | (USA) Mike Magill | Sutton-Offenhauser | 45 | DNF | |
| 31 | -5 | (USA) Red Amick | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 45 | DNF | |
| 32 | -10 | (USA) Len Sutton | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 34 | DNF | |
| 33 | -13 | (USA) Jimmy Bryan | Epperly-Offenhauser | 1 | DNF | |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (AUS) Jack Brabham | 9 |
| 2 | (USA) Rodger Ward | 8 |
| 3 | (GBR) Tony Brooks | 6 |
| = | (USA) Jim Rathmann | 6 |
| 5 | (USA) Johnny Thompson | 5 |
| 6 | (FRA) Maurice Trintignant | 4 |
| 7 | (USA) Phil Hill | 3 |
| = | (USA) Tony Bettenhausen | 3 |
| 9 | (NZL) Bruce McLaren | 2 |
| = | (USA) Paul Goldsmith | 2 |
Statistics & milestones
- Race debut
- Red Amick
- Chuck Arnold (only start)
- Don Branson
- Bobby Grim
- Jim McWithey
- Christensen
- Elder (only start)
- Sutton (only start)
- Last start
- Bill Cheesbourg
- Ray Crawford
- Jimmy Daywalt
- Pat Flaherty
- Al Keller
- Jud Larson
- Mike Magill
- Paul Russo
- Jack Turner
- Chuck Weyant
- Dunn
- Moore
- Wins
- 1st and only for Rodger Ward (22nd different winner, 9th American driver)
- 2nd for Watson (first since 1956)
- Race 1-2
- 1st for Watson (7th different constructor to finish 1-2)
- Podiums
- 3rd for Jim Rathmann (first for Watson)
- 1st for Rodger Ward (62nd different podium finisher, 26th American driver)
- 1st and only for Johnny Thomson (63rd different podium finisher, 27th American driver)
- 2nd & 3rd for Watson (first since 1956)
- 1st and only for Lesovsky (18th different podium finisher)
- Poles
- 1st and only for Johnny Thomson (19th different polesitter, 10th American driver)
- 1st and only for Lesovsky (11th different polesitter)
- Fastest laps
- 1st and only for Johnny Thomson (25th different fastest lap setter, 9th American driver)
- 1st and only for Lesovsky (11th different fastest lap setter)
- Front row starts
- 2nd for Eddie Sachs (last for Kuzma)
- 2nd for Jim Rathmann (first for Watson)
- 1st and only for Johnny Thomson (45th different front row starter, 22nd American driver)
- Points finishes
- 4th and last for Tony Bettenhausen
- 1st for Rodger Ward & Paul Goldsmith (99th & 100th different point scorers, 35th & 36th American drivers)