Johnny Rutherford

Johnny Rutherford
Rutherford at the 1984 Pocono 500
Born	John Sherman Rutherford III (1938-03-12) March 12, 1938 (age 86) Coffeyville, Kansas, U.S.
Championship titles
USAC Sprint Car (1965) CART Championship Car (1980) Major victories Indianapolis 500 (1974, 1976, 1980) Pocono 500 (1974) Michigan 500 (1986)
Champ Car career
314 races run over 30 years
Best finish	1st (1980)
First race	1962 Hoosier Hundred (ISF)
Last race	1989 Pocono 500 (Pocono)
First win	1965 Atlanta Championship 250 (Atlanta)
Last win	1986 Michigan 500 (Michigan)
Wins Podiums Poles 27 60 23
NASCAR driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
35 races run over 12 years
Best finish	33rd (1981)
First race	1963 Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last race	1988 Checker 500 (Phoenix)
First win	1963 Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 5 0

John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III^[1] (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 314 starts. He became one of six drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 at least three times, winning in 1974, 1976, and 1980.^[2] He also won the CART championship in 1980.

Rutherford began racing modified stock cars in 1959 and he also dabbled in stock car racing, making 35 NASCAR Cup Series starts from 1963 to 1988. Rutherford won in his first start, at Daytona International Speedway driving for Smokey Yunick. This made him one of the youngest drivers ever to win a NASCAR points-paying race, as well as only the sixth racer in history to win in their NASCAR debut race, a distinction not again achieved until SuperCars racer Shane van Gisbergen won in his NASCAR debut in 2023.^[3]