Taking the High Road

Racecar driving legend Johnny Rutherford and his wife Betty have
yet to slow down

by Scott Murray

 
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Johnny Rutherford was raised in Ft. Worth, where he still lives with his wife of 42 years, Betty. One of the greatest racecar drivers in history, he won the Indianapolis 500 three times, in 1974, 1976, and 1980, and won 27 IndyCar races in his legendary career.

Johnny now serves as the director of special events for the Indy Racing League, and Betty serves as director emeritus for the Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary (CARA Charities), which she helped found. Since inception, the organization has donated more than $3.5 million to worthwhile causes within the racing community and across the country. Dear to their hearts is the “Buckle Up Baby” Children’s Car Seat program, which provides car seats to children of needy families in the major cities where open wheel races are held. In 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s awarded this program its Buckle Up America Champions Award.

Betty was the first president of the Speedway Children’s Charities at Texas Motor Speedway, and put together its charter board of directors. To date, SCC has given away close to $2.5 million to 150 local charities in North Texas. Recently, we visited the Rutherfords to find out what starts their engines when it comes to giving.

You met your bride in 1963, your rookie season, at the famed Brickyard in Indianapolis in 1963?
Johnny Rutherford: It was during qualifying. I spun out in turn four. As I was going to the first aid station, I saw Betty and asked, “Haven’t I seen you someplace before?” Four days later, I called my folks in Ft. Worth and asked them to come to Indianapolis to watch the race and meet the girl I was going to marry.
Betty Rutherford: I worked as an RN in surgery at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. My supervisor, who was also head of the infield hospital at the Speedway, expected us to work during qualifying and race days, but I wasn’t working the day we met. I had planned to move to California with two other girls right after the Indy 500, but the night I was scheduled to leave, I told them I wasn’t going. Within days, Johnny and I became engaged. We were married less than a month later.

How did you get involved in charity?
JR: It started when we first got married. We were as poor as Job’s turkey. I was trying to get my career started. But we had learned from our parents how great it felt when you helped someone in need. Later on, with my celebrity status through racing, I was proud to be able to share what I had accomplished.
BR: Giving back was fostered at home. We couldn’t always give financially, but we could give time and effort.

Betty, later on, you were a great catalyst in getting a number of charitable endeavors started. Where did that come from?
BR: There was no camaraderie between the women in the early days. We weren’t allowed in the pits, and we needed something to bring us together. I had met some wives from NASCAR in the early ‘70s and saw the great support group they were for one another and the good they did for others. So in 1981 (the year after Johnny won his third Indy 500 Championship), 12 of us got together with the objective of fostering relationships and helping children whenever we could. The longevity is testament that we needed it and that we’ve made a difference.

As a result of your efforts, you remain director emeritus. And you both stay busy with an Indy Racing League charitable effort.
JR: It’s called “Buckle Up Baby.” Firestone Tires is one of our major benefactors. In every IRL city where we race, we give $2500 to the local children’s hospital so they can purchase infant car seats for those in need.
BR: We have fashion shows and taste events with well-known chefs. Children always need help, so we’ve stuck to helping children.

Left:Johnny and Betty Rutherford celebrate with friends after Johnny won the 1976 Indianapolis 500.

Looking back, you’ve both made a difference, professionally and personally. A son, a daughter, four grandsons, and now 42 years of marriage.
JR: It’s been great. Betty is the mainstay in our relationship. I couldn’t have done it without her. And she’s always been there to devote time and effort to so many worthwhile causes.

How about Johnny… what comes to mind when I say his name?
BR: Husband, best friend, father of my children, great racecar driver, great person, out in the community, worked together every single hour of every single day of every single year… we are soul mates. I couldn’t live without him.