FORT WORTH, Texas – Few have done it better than Johnny Rutherford. Texas Motor Speedway made sure to recognize that on Wednesday.

At the track’s annual media day to promote its major races for the season, TMS and the guest drivers in attendance delivered a surprise early birthday present to the Indy car great better known as “Lone Star JR,” who turns 80 on March 12.

In a career that spanned more than three decades, Rutherford claimed 27 Indy car wins (14th all time), including three Indianapolis 500 victories (1974, ’76, ’80). His name also comprises half of the trophy that is presented to the winner of TMS’ Verizon IndyCar Series race each year.

The track also announced a title sponsor for the race on June 9, so the victory in the DXC Technology 600 that night will be awarded the Foyt-Rutherford Trophy.

“He’s one of those guys that you respect so much because not only did they do so much in the sport, so much in the car, he’s still around and still loves it,” said James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who represented the Verizon IndyCar Series at the media day event.

Following his retirement as a competitive driver, Rutherford shared his racing expertise with following generations as a driver coach and served as a Verizon IndyCar Series pace car driver for two decades.

“It was always cool seeing him around the racetrack well after his driving days,” Hinchcliffe said. “He’s just one of those purebred racers. The success that he had at Indy is something that sets him apart. He’s a guy that always likes helping young kids.

“I remember when I was in Indy Lights, he was one of the guys you would go talk to and he loved giving you advice and giving you tips. For those that don’t know him, go back and watch some of his races, man, because that guy was a demon behind the wheel and did a lot for our sport and continued to do it for a long, long time. I have a lot of respect for the man.”

Track president Eddie Gossage admitted Rutherford was someone he looked up to as a child.

“Johnny, I tell him this all the time – is that I used to love as a kid getting Sports Illustrated,” said Gossage. “There he is (on the cover) in victory lane at Indianapolis, after winning yet another Indy 500, and his hair was perfect and his uniform had creases in it perfect and he just looked so neat, prim and proper. He couldn’t have run 500 miles. He should be covered in rubber, dirt and what-not, but he looked like he just got out of the shower.

“He’s been a hero of mine since I was a little bitty boy, which is the part that ticks him off that I say that, but Johnny is just a tremendous ambassador. He lives and breathes Indy cars.”

The celebration included a video with birthday wishes from many in the Verizon IndyCar Series paddock, including Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Al Unser Jr. and Foyt. The final surprise was an enormous cake shaped like the famous 1980 Pennzoil Chaparral that Rutherford drove to his third Indy victory.

“Boy, they outdid themselves,” Rutherford said when he saw the cake made by Erika Bridges.

Rutherford raced against legends like Mario Andretti, Al and Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones and fellow Texan A.J. Foyt. He appreciates that the drivers of today, including Hinchcliffe, have heeded his advice through the years.

“The fact that they listened, that’s the only reward that I would get, that they would listen to what I was telling them and say, ‘OK,’” Rutherford said. “They’re all smart guys. They’ve been at this business and people ask me all the time, ‘What’s it like to drive one of those Indy cars at over 200 mph?’ My stock answer is, ‘You’ve got to really want to go out and do that.’

“If you don’t, best you stay out of them and figure out something else to do because it can be hazardous.”

Hinchcliffe was joined by NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch, Austin Wayne Self and Christopher Bell to discuss their respective upcoming races at TMS. In 2016, Hinchcliffe led 188 laps and finished runner-up by 0.0080 of a second, the closest finish in track history. Last year on a redesigned and repaved track, he overcame early issues and was making his way up through the field before a being collected in a multi-car crash on Lap 151 of 248.

The 31-year-old Canadian believes that the pace he showed in 2017 gives him confidence for this year’s INDYCAR race.

“It does (add confidence),” Hinchcliffe said. “Even last year, with the repave we kind of started from scratch and we did a great job. I screwed up in the pits and lost us a lap and we basically raced our way through the entire field to get that lap back, were then racing back through the field when we got caught up in that mess there.

“Two different years, two different racetracks, we still managed to get the No. 5 car up front. We’re hoping we can do the same here.”

Hinchcliffe is also eager to race the new car for 2018, with the universal aero kit, at Texas. He tested the car on the 1.5-mile oval last fall.

“It’s definitely different, but the car feels great in speedway trim, very stable,” he said. “I think it’s actually going to be better in that sense.

“Obviously, a lot less downforce, so maybe not following quite as closely in the corners, but it seems to have a pretty big closing rate compared to the old car. So I still think the passing is going to be ample and now that the track has had a year to cure, I bet that second and that third lane are probably opening up.

“I think it’s going to be a wild night.”