- Winner
- Rodger Ward
- Team
- Watson
- Top listed
- Rodger Ward, Jim Rathmann, and Johnny Thomson
- Race date
- May 30, 1959
- Pole
- Johnny Thomson
- Fastest lap
- Johnny Thomson
- Classified drivers
- 33
- Circuit
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The decisive result
Rodger Ward finished first for Watson. Jim Rathmann is listed 2 for Watson, with Johnny Thomson 3 for Lesovsky.
Grid to finish
Paul Russo from P27 to P9 (+18), Jim McWithey from P33 to P16 (+17), and Tony Bettenhausen from P15 to P4 (+11) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Johnny Thomson started from the listed P1 grid position.
Status and fastest lap
The classification lists 16 Finished, 7 Accident, 3 Engine, 3 Magneto, and 1 Fire. Johnny Thomson holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:01.890 on lap 64. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.
This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.