Indianapolis 500
1959 · Round 2 · Indianapolis, United States · May 30, 1959Race summary
Ward won the race from 6th on the grid, 23.3s ahead of Rathmann. Russo was the standout mover, climbing from 27th to 9th. Veith lost the most ground, from 7th on the grid down to 12th (down 5 places).
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Laps | Time / status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rodger Ward | Watson | 6 | 200 | 3:40:49.200 | 8 |
| 2 | Jim Rathmann | Watson | 3 | 200 | +23.280 | 6 |
| 3 | Johnny Thomson | Lesovsky | 1 | 200 | +50.640 | 5 |
| 4 | Tony Bettenhausen | Epperly | 15 | 200 | +1:47.090 | 3 |
| 5 | Paul Goldsmith | Epperly | 16 | 200 | +2:06.440 | 2 |
| 6 | Johnny Boyd | Epperly | 11 | 200 | +3:16.980 | 0 |
| 7 | Duane Carter | Kurtis Kraft | 12 | 200 | +4:09.920 | 0 |
| 8 | Eddie Johnson | Kurtis Kraft | 8 | 200 | +4:10.530 | 0 |
| 9 | Paul Russo | Kurtis Kraft | 27 | 200 | +4:11.040 | 0 |
| 10 | Anthony Foyt | Kuzma | 17 | 200 | +4:14.480 | 0 |
| 11 | Gene Hartley | Kuzma | 9 | 200 | +5:42.480 | 0 |
| 12 | Bob Veith | Moore | 7 | 200 | +6:09.730 | 0 |
| 13 | Al Herman | Dunn | 23 | 200 | +6:40.400 | 0 |
| 14 | Jimmy Daywalt | Kurtis Kraft | 13 | 200 | +6:41.540 | 0 |
| 15 | Chuck Arnold | Kurtis Kraft | 21 | 200 | +8:19.860 | 0 |
| 16 | Jim McWithey | Kurtis Kraft | 33 | 200 | +11:41.690 | 0 |
| – | Eddie Sachs | Kuzma | 2 | 182 | Spun off | 0 |
| – | Al Keller | Kuzma | 28 | 163 | Engine | 0 |
| – | Pat Flaherty | Watson | 18 | 162 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Dick Rathmann | Watson | 4 | 150 | Heat shield fire | 0 |
| – | Bill Cheesbourg | Kuzma | 30 | 147 | Magneto | 0 |
| – | Don Freeland | Kurtis Kraft | 25 | 136 | Magneto | 0 |
| – | Ray Crawford | Elder | 32 | 115 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Don Branson | Phillips | 10 | 112 | Suspension | 0 |
| – | Bob Christie | Kurtis Kraft | 24 | 109 | Engine | 0 |
| – | Bobby Grim | Kurtis Kraft | 5 | 85 | Magneto | 0 |
| – | Jack Turner | Christensen | 14 | 47 | Fuel leak | 0 |
| – | Chuck Weyant | Kurtis Kraft | 29 | 45 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Jud Larson | Kurtis Kraft | 19 | 45 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Mike Magill | Sutton | 31 | 45 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Red Amick | Kurtis Kraft | 26 | 45 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Len Sutton | Lesovsky | 22 | 34 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Jimmy Bryan | Epperly | 20 | 1 | Engine | 0 |