INSIDE THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF A THREE-TIME INDY 500 CHAMPION, FROM CAREER-DEFINING TROPHIES AND AWARDS TO RACE-WORN HELMETS, DRIVING SUITS, AND MORE
By Steve Lansdale | May 19, 2026
Time moves fast in racing, but legacies take a lifetime to build. Johnny Rutherford spent decades doing both, carving out one of the most decorated careers in motorsports history at speeds most drivers only dream of.
Rutherford started driving modified stock cars in Dallas in 1959, a couple of years before he joined the International Motor Contest Association sprint car circuit, and eventually the United States Auto Club (USAC). He won his qualifying heat race for the 1963 Daytona 500, becoming the youngest winner of a Duel as a championship race, and made his first start in the Indianapolis 500 the same year. He won the Indy 500 for the first time in 1974, a victory that was the first headline win in what turned out to be one of the greatest careers in the history of auto racing. After that first win at Indianapolis, the victories kept coming for Rutherford. All told, he took the checkered flag 27 times in 314 career starts, won the CART championship in 1980, and is one of just six drivers to win the Indy 500 three times.
On May 26, 1974, Johnny Rutherford won the Indianapolis 500, marking the first of his three victories at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This photo montage shows Rutherford celebrating his victory with the No. 3 car in the foreground and the winner’s trophy in the background.
Now, the story of “Lone Star J.R.” is shifting from the track to the auction block, as highlights from his personal collection headline Heritage Auctions’ June 6 Auto Racing Showcase Auction, a sale that captures not just the artifacts of a champion, but the enduring mythology of racing’s golden era.
“Johnny Rutherford is one of the greatest drivers who ever got behind the wheel in any style of race,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “Many of the items in his collection are enormously significant — not just because they’re his, but also they’re important pieces, including championship trophies, as well as helmets, racing suits, and rings.”
The 1980 Simpson Pennzoil helmet Rutherford wore during his third Indianapolis 500 victory
Rutherford’s long list of accomplishments is filled with some of the highest honors in the sport, which is made even more impressive by the fact that he drove during a time when many felt racing was at its highest level. When asked what one defining moment from his career he would want engraved on a plaque, the legendary driver replied with a chuckle, “You haven’t got a big enough plaque.”
Among the auction highlights is Rutherford’s 1976 Borg-Warner trophy for his second Indianapolis 500 victory. Also offered is his 1980 Borg-Warner trophy for his third Indianapolis 500 win. The 1980 race represented the pinnacle of open-wheel racing in the U.S., as teams relied more and more on engineers to gain even the slightest edge over their competition. Rutherford opened the 1980 season with a win at Ontario Motor Speedway and weeks later won the Indianapolis 500 in dominant fashion, leading for 118 of 200 laps to secure his third checkered flag at the hallowed venue. Fans will remember a memorable pre-race moment in which a ladybug landed on Rutherford’s shoulder, which he viewed as good luck. “I said, ‘Tell these [other drivers] to load up and go home. We just won this thing,’” Rutherford recalls. “And we did win the thing, and that story got out, and if you look in my trophy case, there are ladybug radios — all sorts of ladybug stuff I’ve received from the fans.”
The 1976 Borg-Warner trophy presented to Rutherford for his second Indianapolis 500 victory
That 1980 trophy puts Rutherford on the short list of three-time winners at the Brickyard, a roster that includes Al Unser, Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, and Mauri Rose. It is also one of several items from the auction that will be on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum through this year’s race day: Sunday, May 24, when Rutherford will be honored on the 50th anniversary of his second victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Rutherford’s Indianapolis 500 trophies are just two of more than two dozen that will be in the auction. Others include his 1963 NASCAR Grand National 100-mile Qualifying Race Winner’s trophy, his 1963 NASCAR Grand National Fastest Qualifier trophy, his 1980 PPG Champ Car Championship trophy, and his 1965 USAC Sprint Championship trophy.
Rutherford’s 1965 race-worn Hinchman sprint car uniform
Rutherford’s collection also includes several race-worn helmets, including the Simpson Pennzoil helmet he wore in 1980 while winning his third Indianapolis 500 title, one of the most significant and important victories of his illustrious career. Rutherford amplified his image as “Lone Star J.R.” in this helmet, which features an immediately recognizable Texas flag design. Like many drivers of the era, Rutherford initially wore open-faced McHal and Bell helmets but later transitioned to Simpson after his friend, Bill Simpson, engineered a design built from a racer’s perspective, emphasizing comfort and structural integrity.
Also offered is a selection of race-worn items from his 1966 sprint car wreck at the Eldora (Ohio) Speedway. Along with race-worn gloves and goggles, the lot includes the helmet Rutherford wore during the race in which he “hooked a rut” and flipped over the outer wall and into a ravine, resulting in two broken arms, a broken finger, and a head injury. The near-fatal crash contributed to the adoption of improved safety measures, including arm restraints.
The race-worn helmet from Rutherford’s 1966 near-fatal sprint car wreck at the Eldora Speedway in Ohio
“You never think about risking life and limb,” Rutherford says. “You just go race and know in the back of your mind that the thing you’re riding in can kill you, so you don’t want to let it.”
In addition to all of the extraordinary items from one of the all-time legends of racing, collectors also can bid on a chance to spend time with “Lone Star J.R.” The Johnny Rutherford Experience offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have lunch with the three-time Indy 500 winner and hear his stories about the golden age of racing. Rutherford and Heritage Auctions are donating every dollar from this experience to Victory Junction, an organization founded in honor of the memory of Adam Petty whose goal is to give children living with complex medical and physical needs the opportunity to participate in the activities they love.
