Countdown: Oklahoma

Oklahoma is more than O.K. when it comes to singers -- and songs -- from the Sooner State.

For Rodgers and Hammerstein, it's the place where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Merle Haggard was proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, while Okemah's Woody Guthrie claimed this land was made for you and me.

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Other musicians with ties to Oklahoma are as varied as yodeling cowboy Gene Autry, Roy Clark -- who is still pickin' and grinnin' -- Sheb Wooley's purple people eaters and Barry McGuire, who had us on the eve of destruction in the late '60s.

Oklahoma can proudly point to Hoyt Axton, Garth Brooks, David Allen Coe, Joe Diffie, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Roger Miller, Hank Thompson and Bob Wills as major influences on America's country music.

The Sooner State has more man-made lakes, stronger thunderstorms and natural gas than just about anywhere else in the country.

NASCAR's lone visit to Oklahoma was 50 years ago -- but the state's most famous driver has a connection to the sport that continues to this day.

Best behind the wheel

• Troy Ruttman, Mooreland

Born in Oklahoma and raised in California, Troy Ruttman found early on he had a knack for driving race cars. The story goes that Ruttman -- all of 15 at the time -- skipped school and entered the family sedan in a race at San Bernardino, and won. At the time, his father, Ralph, was working at the Kaiser Steel plant in Fontana, which would someday become the site of California Speedway.

Ruttman went on to win 19 of the 21 races that season and by 1947, was the California Roadster Association champion. He repeated that feat in 1948, added a United Racing Assocation Midget title and 23 Midget feature victories to his resume.

Having conquered California, Ruttman headed for bigger pastures in 1949 -- and found himself with a ride for the Indianapolis 500. The only problem? He was two years younger than Indianapolis Motor Speedway rules allowed.

"I had to fudge to get in," Ruttman was quoted as saying. "I had to produce a birth certificate.

"Ralph Wayne Ruttman was my cousin, and I used his. They asked me why I went by Troy and I told them it was a nickname. I corrected it when I turned 21."

Inside the Numbers Troy Ruttman's NASCAR career Grand National Series Site Year Start Finish Atlanta 1962 22 5 Riverside 1963 17 3 Daytona 1963 14 8 Daytona 1963 15 12 Atlanta 1963 7 9 Daytona 1963 11 26 Riverside 1964 17 10

Ruttman was the last car running and was credited with a 12th-place finish when Bill Holland took the checkered flag. In 1950, he wound up 15th and bearing problems left him 23rd in 1951. However, while his fortunes at the Speedway weren't that impressive, Ruttman was showing why he was considered one of the top Sprint and Midget drivers of his day, winning the 1951 AAA Midwest Sprint Car championship, the 1951 and 1952 Pacific Coast crowns -- and capturing 16 Midget car victories in 51 races.

Ruttman appeared to be on his way to a second-place finish at Indianapolis in 1952, as Bill Vukovich dominated. But after leading 150 laps, the steering on Vukovich's roadster broke, sending his car into the wall on Lap 192. Ruttman, 19 seconds behind at the time, took the lead and cruised to victory by more than four minutes against Jim Rathmann.

At 22, Ruttman remains the youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500.

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Dan Gurney said Ruttman's experience at Indianapolis was invaluable when he started racing there.

"[Troy Ruttman was] one of the most gifted IndyCar drivers of all time," Gurney said. "I had met him in Europe, when he was over there for the Race of Two Worlds. He gave me a lot of insight into Indy.

"He suggested that a loose car wasn't going to be very good. And, in the end, a pushing car wasn't either. Of course, that's true of all racing. Troy said, 'You need to have a little bit of push in the car. A little bit of under steer, to get settled.'"

A Sprint-car crash in August of 1952 sidelined Ruttman for almost two seasons. He would finish fourth in the 1954 Indy 500 but not crack the top 10 again in seven more appearances. Ruttman achieved another first when he became the first Indy 500 winner to drive in a Formula 1 race -- at Reims, France, in 1958.

Near the end of his career, Ruttman and Bill Stroppe teamed up to run six NASCAR races in 1962 and 1963. Ruttman showed his talent by posting four top-10s, including a fifth at Atlanta and third at Riverside. He would go on to finish 12th in the 1963 Daytona 500.

Ruttman's final NASCAR race was the 1964 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, when he finished 10th -- and younger brother Joe, who was 19 at the time, wound up 34th in a car owned by Troy.

Ruttman, who died in 1997, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993, the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.

Joe Ruttman followed brother Troy into racing. Credit: Chris Stanford/Getty Images

Joe Ruttman, now 60, competed in one Busch Series race in 2005.

Other noteworthy drivers from Oklahoma

• Augie Howerton, Tulsa: Finished ninth in the 200-lapper at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in 1956

• Randy Ogden, Woodward: Scored a 15th at Riverside in 1981, best of his 10 starts

• Jack Zink, Tulsa: 12th in the 1956 Oklahoma City race when his Pontiac overheated after 10 laps

We wish ...

Multi-sport star Jim Thorpe had become a NASCAR driver.

The Keokuk Falls native was a natural at nearly every sport he ever tried. Gold medalist in the 1912 Olympics in both the pentathlon and decathlon, an All-American at Carlisle School, Thorpe was the NFL's first star and also played professional baseball.

Gone but not forgotten

• Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, Oklahoma City

NASCAR's only trip to the Sooner State came in 1956, when the dirt half-mile hosted a 200-lap race in front of 7,500 fans. Only 12 cars made up the grid, including two local drivers.

Jim Paschal, driving the C U Later Alligator Mercury, averaged 60.1 mph to beat Ralph Moody's Ford by a quarter of a lap.

A word from our sponsor

• Dana Corporation, Oklahoma City

A leading supplier of axle, driveshaft, engine, frame, chassis, and transmission technologies, Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. The company produced Wix filtration products at its Oklahoma City facility.