Johnny Rutherford has won the Indianapolis 500 three times. In his last two Indy victories, he has also won the pole position - only the second to have accomplished this feat! Those victories were an obvious indication that Johnny likes to start first and finish first. Through the 1994 season he had a total of 27 Indy car victories and 23 pole positions. He ranks 7th on the all-time win list. He had five victories in the 1980 season when he won the National Driving championship for Indy Car competitors. While finishing in the top ten 157 out of 315 Indy car starts, Rutherford has been in Victory circle at every major race track in the nation.

Johnny started driving modified stock cars at the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Dallas in the Spring of 1959. Two years later he joined the I.M.C.A. sprint car circuit and led that series point standings for most of 1962 until he joined the USAC and made his first championship car start in the Hoosier Hundred.

Rutherford was the fastest qualifier for the 1963 Daytona 500 with a world's record in his first ever ride in a stock car driving the legendary, Smoky Yunick. That same year he had his first start in the Indianapolis 500. He won his first Indy car race, the Atlanta 250, and the USAC National Sprint Car Championship on 1965. Lone Star JR (name given because the Texas flag always painted on his helmet) as Rutherford in known in the racing world, was the Indy 500 pole winner in 1973-76-80, and the Indy 500 winner in 1974-76-80. In 1980, the year he won the championship, he also won the Olsonite Driver of the Year. He set an all-time Indy Car qualifying lap speed record of 215.189 mph in 1984 at Michigan International Speedway. In 1986, Johnny won the Michigan 500 being the first driver to win all three 500 mile events which were held at the time. (Indy, Pocono, and Michigan were the Triple Crown) . JR is one of 4 drivers in Indy Car history to have 9 straight seasons with a victory and to have driven in 5 decades.

Rutherford has long been recognized as the greatest Ambassador of Auto Racing he has represented many companies and has as many radio, print, and television commercials. Johnny has also been an auto racing TV analyst for NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, and Speedvision. In 1980, JR was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, in 1987 was voted into I.M.S. Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and in 1988 was elected to the Texas Auto Racing Hall of Fame while winning the Sportsmanship Award for the Corvette Challenge series. JR became a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1995. During 1996, Johnny was inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame America. JR has served his country as a Marine. He also enthusiastically pursues his hobbies of flying, hunting riding cutting horses, and shooting in sporting clay tournaments. Johnny is also an accomplished artist, and his works have toured with "Art & the Athlete".

In 1994, JR took his final lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 21 and announced his retirement from Indy Car Racing. Johnny continues to serve the racing community as a consultant in many arenas and currently serves the Indy Racing League as Special Events Coordinator, driving the corvette pace car for the IRl races. He also offers his services a consultant to race teams and sponsors regarding their auto racing programs. He still entertains thoughts of establishing a unique, performance driving and racing school in the Fort Worth area. In May 2000, Lone Star JR, Johnny's autobiography was released. Johnny is very actively helping his son, John, who is pursuing his own racing career.

The fire burns long and will into the future---in April 1997, in the first official race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Lone Star JR driving a Legends Race Car---won in a Pennzoil, yellow No. 4!!!

"Thinking like a Champion"

Johnny's motivational take on what it takes to be a champion. In the speech, Johnny employs humor and anecdotes while finding parallels between the challenges of business and for what he has done and accomplished in racing.