Legendary car builder A.J. Watson, whose front-engined roadster designs helped define an era at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, passed away in mid-May, just four days after celebrating his 90th birthday. Watson’s very first roadster won the 1956 Indy 500 in the hands of Pat Flaherty (above), and either his cars or variations on his basic theme would win six more 500s before the influx of rear-engined machinery brought an end to the roadster age.
In addition to Flaherty, Rodger Ward, A.J. Foyt, Jim Rathmann and Parnelli Jones all scored Indy triumphs in Watson designs, with Ward and Foyt winning twice each. Watson also won Indy in 1955 as crew chief for owner John Zink and driver Bob Sweikert—but using a Kurtis chassis. He also won AAA and USAC National Championships with Sweikert in ’55 and Ward in ’59 and ’62. Additionally, Watson-built cars won the Race of Two Worlds at Monza in 1958 and the only race for Indycars ever run at Daytona International Speedway in 1959, both times with Jim Rathmann driving.
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