the embarrassment of failing to qualify. Ward left the Leader Card team mid-season and joined Mecom Racing team owned by John W. Mecom Jr. In 1966 Ward won the second race of the season at Trenton driving a supercharged Offy powered Lola. For his Indianapolis 500 effort Ward drove the same car but retired while running 15th with handling problems listed as the cause. The fact that late race attrition reduced the race to only five cars would have provided him a good finish as long as he was running and in fact he had been faster than the winner. Ward had parked a running car 74 laps into the race and was considering his future. At the banquet, Ward stood at the podium and made a painful announcement to the crowd: "I always said I'd quit racing when it stopped being fun," he said. He paused as he wiped away tears. "Today it wasn't fun anymore." He had 26 victories in his 150 starts between 1950 and 1966, and he finished in the top ten in more than half of his starts. After retirement Ward retired to be a commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports for NASCAR and Indycars from 1965 to 1970. From 1980-1985, he served as a driver expert for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, before retiring in Tustin, California. With the help of the Mattioli Family, Ward helped design the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. A unique course that resulted in a triangle shape, he designed the track after three corners of tracks he liked to race at, Trenton, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee. The track is still popular today. In later years, he served as public relations director for the new Ontario Motor Speedway, and later managed the Circus Circus unlimited hydroplane team. He died on July 5, 2004, aged 83. Awards In 1992, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995. Ward was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1995. Ward is a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2003. Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results Indianapolis 500 results Ward's finishes from 1959 to 1963 and 1960 to 1964 rank as the best and second best five-race finishing