Jimmy Caruthers
won the USAC National Midget Championship in 1970 and finished
second to his younger brother Danny the following year. The
son of veteran car owner Doug Caruthers, Jimmy won 21 USAC
midget features between 1967 and 1975 and continued to compete
in the midgets long after entering the ranks of Championship
racing.
Stationed on the
East Coast during his tour of duty in the armed forces, he got
a ride with Ken Brenn and won three features with ARDC. After
being transfered to Phoenix, he drove caged sprint cars on
weekends and almost won the championship, but was sent
overseas before the season’s end. His midget title came after
one of the tightest point battles for the National
Championship in USAC midget history when he beat Dave
Strickland by 12.48 points.
He drove in four Indianapolis 500 Mile Races and
finished second in the 1974 Pocono 500. In his final season he
battled cancer, and six weeks after wrapping up the 1975 USAC
Dirt Car title by finishing 3rd in the “Hoosier 100,” he
succumbed to his illness.
