Team story
Origins
Louis Wetteroth was building winning cars at Indianapolis long before the world championship. His chassis won the 500 with Fred Frame in 1932, Kelly Petillo in 1935 and Floyd Roberts in 1938. The name appearing in the 1950 archives therefore already had an important American past; it was not a new Formula 1 team.
The Formula 1 journey
In 1950, Jim Rathmann drove the Pioneer Auto Repair Special, entered by John Lorenz and powered by Offenhauser. He started twenty-eighth and was classified twenty-fourth with 122 laps. IMS’s archive lists him as still running: rain had stopped the race at 138 laps, short of the normal distance.
His position alone therefore does not imply a retirement.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Wetteroth
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Indianapolis 500
Jim Rathmann · Indianapolis 500 1950. The recorded position is P24; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Indianapolis 500
Jim Rathmann · Indianapolis 500 1950. The recorded position is P24; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Indianapolis 500
Jim Rathmann · Indianapolis 500 1950. The recorded position is P24; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
Wetteroth’s 1941 victory had come with Lou Moore’s Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special. Floyd Davis drove it in the first part, before Mauri Rose took over and won: both were recognised as winners. It illustrates how a chassis, its owner and two drivers can contribute to the same result without being a single identity.
What remains
Those four victories predate the world championship. Its world championship involvement, however, is limited to Indianapolis in 1950, during the decade when the American race counted towards the drivers’ title while retaining its own rules. The 1941 Wetteroth is represented in the IMS Museum’s collection: its historical importance extends beyond the single result recorded in the world championship.