For a generation of racing fans, and for racing history buffs to this day, Rodger Ward embodies the post-war era of open wheel racing in the United States. Kansas-born, he was a P-38 fighter pilot in World War II, then made his name in racing by starring on the budding Southern California sprint car scene. Ward emerged from the regional scene to national prominence and became a star at the Indianapolis 500, the pinnacle of U.S. open wheel racing. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1959 and 1962, the same years he won USAC season points titles, and his name still looms large at Indianapolis, where he made 15 starts. In Ward's day, drivers didn't specialize, they raced every chance they got - he competed in Mexican road races, the Monza Race of Two Worlds, Grand Prix (Formula 1), and he even won a AAA stock car points title. He raced from 1948 - 1966 and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992. He died in 2004 at age 83.