INDYCAR: Indy Legend Lloyd Ruby Gone at 81

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Indy Legend Lloyd Ruby Gone at 81

Robin Miller remembers one of Indy's biggest names, Lloyd Ruby, who passed away Monday at the age of 81.

Robin Miller | Posted March 24, 2009 Indianapolis, IN

He may not have known much about the mechanics of a race car, but Lloyd Ruby damn sure could drive one.

The ol' Rube, who passed away Monday night at age 81, never became a household name like A.J., Mario, Parnelli, Gurney, Rutherford or the Unsers yet all those bad asses knew the soft-spoken Texan was their equal.

"You always used Rube as your guideline," said Bobby Unser. "He never drove for any of the big budget teams like my brother or Mario or Rutherford or myself but he was always fast and you would always look at his times to see how you stacked up.

"And he drove sooooo hard. He knew where the throttle was and I liked that about him."

Mario Andretti agreed with Uncle Bobby. "I don't know of any driver in my lifetime who could get up to speed as fast as Lloyd Ruby. That was always so impressive to me and the fact that he was such a versatile racer."

A.J. Foyt remembered his fellow Texan for several reasons. "First off, he was a helluva race car driver who should have won a lot more races than he did. He was clean and fair and you could run next to him all day. And he never got mad and he never complained about all his bad luck."

Of course it was Indianapolis where Lloyd's luck was the worst. In 1966, he led 68 laps and had victory in hand when his engine expired 34 laps from the finish. In 1969, he came into the pits on Lap 105 in the lead but never made it out -- pulling away before the fuel hose was unplugged and ripping a hole in the tank as well as his heart.

"Lloyd should be remembered as the greatest driver never to win the Indianapolis 500," said three-time Indy champ Johnny Rutherford. "He was like Mario in that he could have won it so many times but something always seemed to happen.

"I'm not sure if it was his fault in '69 or the crew's fault for waving him out too quick but Rube took the blame. He always accepted his fate and moved on." Parnelli Jones, who only claimed one Indy win despite his dominance, reckons Rube "should have won two or three Indy 500s with just a little luck. He was cursed at the place, he really was, but he was such a good racer."

Lloyd Ruby (R) was one of the giants of his time. (LAT)

Considering how fast and tenacious he was, it's amazing Ruby only won seven Indy-car races during his 18-year career (1960-1977). He and mechanic Dave Laycock formed a chemistry in the mid-60s as they triumphed at Trenton, Langhorne, Phoenix and Milwaukee.

What people might not recall was his road racing prowess. He teamed with Ken Miles to win Daytona and Sebring and they were also to be paired at Le Mans.

"Lloyd could run anything, midgets, sprints, stock cars but he was excellent in sports cars and long-distance racing too," said Rutherford. "He and Ken Miles were on their way to becoming one of the greatest teams in endurance racing before Ken was killed."

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Robin Miller

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