DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Lloyd Ruby — straight from the record, with all the respect that record deserves. Now, Wichita Falls has sent more than a few good souls out into the wide world, but not many of them came back with a nickname that followed them all the way to Indianapolis. They called him The Gentleman from Wichita Falls.
His name was Richard Lloyd Ruby, and if you've ever blown down Interstate 44 through this part of Texas without knowing whose overpass you were crossing, well — pull up a chair. Lloyd was the fourth child, and the youngest, of Paul and Roxie Ruby — Roxie being a Webb before she was a Ruby — and no matter how far the racing circuit took him, he always claimed Wichita Falls as home. That detail mattered to him.
Remember it. It started, as so many Texas stories do, in high school — on a flat dirt oval, on motorcycles. Lloyd didn't just race them.
He dominated. Then came the midget dirt cars, those loud, low, scrambling machines that were popular enough to draw crowds all across the country. In 1948 and 1949, Lloyd won ninety-one midget feature races.
Ninety-one. And three regional championships on top of that, spread across the United States. He wasn't finding his footing.
He was building a reputation. Through the 1950s he moved to sports cars, refining his craft, and by 1959 he finished runner-up in the United States Auto Club National Road Racing Championship. Runner-up.
Close enough to taste it. And then came Indianapolis. In 1960, Lloyd Ruby made his first start in the Indianapolis 500.
He would go on to compete in that race for eighteen consecutive years. Eighteen. He led the race in portions of five of six consecutive starts.
He scored eleven finishes in the top eleven positions, with a close third-place finish in 1964 being one of the finest of them. And he joined a fellow Wichitan — George Barringer — in the exclusive champion one-hundred-mile-an-hour club. Two men from the same city, sharing that distinction.
Wichita Falls, of all places, producing that kind of speed. Lloyd is enshrined in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. Let that land for a moment.
But here's where the story takes a turn into territory that echoes a little louder. In 1965, Henry Ford II hired the legendary car builder Carroll Shelby to design a car with one purpose: beat Ferrari in motorsport endurance racing. Shelby turned to Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles as his drivers.
The car they were given was the Ford GT40 — a machine that would earn itself the nickname the Ferrari Killer. Lloyd and Ken Miles won the 1965 Daytona Continental, and then the inaugural 24 Hours of Daytona, and then the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966. The Ford GT40 became the first American car to win a world-class endurance race.
The Gentleman from Wichita Falls had a hand in that. In 2006, the city of Wichita Falls honored Lloyd with the official naming of the Interstate 44 overpass as the Lloyd Ruby Overpass. Those who knew him, around the world, remembered him fondly.
And Lloyd Ruby is buried in Riverside Cemetery — overlooking the overpass that bears his name. He always said this was home. Turns out, home made sure he stayed in view.
What the marker says
Richard Lloyd Ruby, "The Gentleman from Wichita Falls," was on the world stage in 1960, racing in his first Indianapolis 500. He went on to compete in the Indy 500 for 18 consecutive years, leading the race in portions of five of six consecutive starts. He scored 11 finishes in the top 11, with a close third place finish in the 1964 race. He joined fellow Wichitan George Barringer in the exclusive champion 100 mile-an-hour club and is enshrined in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. Lloyd began racing motorcycles in high school, dominating the flat dirt oval before transitioning to popular midget dirt cars. In 1948-49, Lloyd won 91 midget feature races and three regional championships across the United States. During the 1950s, Lloyd raced sports cars, finishing runner-up in the 1959 United States Auto Club National Road Racing Championship. In 1965, Henry Ford II hired legendary car builder Carroll Shelby to design a car that would beat Ferrari in motorsport endurance races. The now famous Ford GT40 was born. Shelby brought in Lloyd and Ken Miles as drivers. They won the 1965 Daytona Continental and the inaugural 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sebring in 1966. The Ford GT40, the "Ferrari Killer," became the first American car to win a world class endurance race. The fourth and youngest child of Paul and Roxie (Webb) Ruby, Lloyd always claimed Wichita Falls as his home. Lloyd was honored by the city in 2006 with the official naming of the Interstate 44 overpass as the "Lloyd Ruby Overpass." Remembered fondly by those who knew him around the world, Lloyd is buried in Riverside Cemetery, overlooking the overpass that bears his name. (2021)