On May 15, 1982, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the site of one of the most harrowing incidents in racing history. Gordon Smiley, a versatile and accomplished driver, was participating in qualifying sessions for the Indianapolis 500, one of motorsport’s most prestigious events. During what should have been a routine run, disaster struck when Smiley lost control of his car, leading to a catastrophic crash that claimed his life. The tragedy shocked the racing world and sparked widespread discussions about safety in motorsports
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Hi everyone
Thankyou for the correction, this crash happened on a practice warmup lap before the qualifying lap* I had gotten the practice mixed up with the qualifying laps
I have been learning more about American racing over the past few weeks and have a massive new round respect for it only being a fan of F1 prior, I like learning about these people and the changes made stemming from tragedy.
Cheers !
Former IndyCar track doctor Steve Olvey has a book called Rapid Response where he go's into great detail about Smiley's fatal wreck at Indy. If I remember, Smiley was somewhat of a dirt track racer and when the car started to slide, he attempted to correct it the way one would a sprint car on dirt but these are IndyCars on asphalt. The impact was an instant fatality, Dr. Olvey was one of the medics who went out to tend to Gordon after the crash, I won't mention here what else he had to say about it…
As usual another well done video. ❤
he was not launched, he had fused with the vehicle due to the emence forces of the wreck. He also was scalped by the catchfence too
dude had to blur crash 😂 ah well I dont really see ads buddy 🤦♂️
I was there on May 15, 1982…..I was 9 years old and I got him to autograph my program right before he went out for his qualifying attempt….
What kind of changes could they make that would save someone that crashes 180MPH straight into a wall? The car did its job, it split apart to disperse energy. When your body goes from 180MPH to zero in less than a second, you are dead. There isn't a second option in that scenario.
Clearly this is not an AI channel. You do amazing work, my friend.
Love your channel but the thumbnail description is an extremely bad taste. I thought you were above that kind of shit.
Exposed and scattered around the track
I was there that day
Why you pretending to be all respectful when you're just trying to profit from a video? We don't need your vid, we all seen and know the story already.
Why in the world would I want to see this horrible carnage?
Why is the crash blurred? To protect the delicate American souls?
I am from Indiana and had just graduated from Ball State U, I was sitting in 4 turn stands with Phil and saw whole thing live. I looked thru Binoculars and the biggest piece of the wreck that landed about in middle of short chute wasn't big enough for anybody to get out of. I saw the crash for some time even riding the lawn mower . I went on to attend about 40 INDY races, 2 NASCAR races, 1 FORMULA 1 race and 1 Red Bull AIR
(Race) . Race day became my day. I am thrilled to see the IMS track well preserved and not an apartment complex.
You keep saying the race was “restarted” that day. It was qualification day, the race wasn’t ran for another 2 weeks. Just to clarify
As a kid I would walk down (1/2 block) to Gordons' dads Texaco gas station, at 50th and Underwood, in Omaha, buy a coke and watch (help when I could) Gordon work on his racing sports cars when he wasn't out racing. One of the cars he raced, I think, was a Mini-Cooper. The engine was so large that you had to loosen or remove the engine mounting bolts then jack it up just to change the spark plugs.
When you look at the series of still photos (not recommended for most folks) you can see how the car literally climbs the fence. You can see Smiley's body in a number of the stills. Absolutely horrific. One can only hope his passing was extremely rapid which I imagine it was.
I Never heard the complete story about what actually happened to Gordon's body! I knew he was ejected from the car, but the rest, just WOW! By the Way, they resumed Qualifying in 1982, NOT the Race. Thanks for the insight into this crash. I've been a Race Fan since I was 3 years old & a 23 Year Racing Veteran as a Driver, myself! ❤
You don’t write or say anything unless you know if to be true. Dumbass. You must not study much . Click bait
This crash was compared to an airplane crash in the forces involved. His body was utterly destroyed, basically it wasnt a human body anymore as you see in high speed plane crashes. The cars and barriers back then offered little to no resistance to impact so all the force would get sent back into the car and driver. If he had been in a 2000's car with safer barrier he likely would have survived, the safety aspect of these cars really has jumped light years ahead since those days.
Motor racing, both magic and tragic, i used to attend races (mosport and Ile notre Dame,im a canuck) but after witnessing a death at each track my love of racing …..well, just say i did not want to attend races any longer.
People watching become complacent, they forget just how dangerous racing is and those guys are right on the edge of control at all times.
I quit being concerned about the dangers of optional activities in life decades ago. Too bad. His choice. I've been in a Formula Ford (Big deal). I saw one once behind the fence lock wheels with another at Lime Rock Park. What started over here ended up way over there. Amazing looking at a car flying through the air about 5 feet off the ground for 100 feet or so. Saw the tube frame later, the driver area had about a 20-30 degree side bend in it. Driver was "OK".
I also refuse to say "Well, he was doing what he loved". I'm sure he'd take a mulligan if given a chance on that one.
"We" wouldn't watch and "They" wouldn't do it if there was no risk involved.
Nobody was "smiley" that day…
there is a rumour that he had cocaine in his system..
Stop with the blurry pictures a majority of people of all ages see much more horror on line, people that watch this short documentary watch for historical purposes not to glorify death.
There are certain sports that are too dangerous to participate in. But the money and notoriety suck people into participating.
I was there that day too. I remember we thought Gordon's car looked "squirrely" when he went by moments before his crash, meaning it looked loose. I can't recall what turn we were sitting in, (probably turn 1), but I do not recall hearing the crash. We knew something bad happened but didn't know the extent of it. During the long wait, some girl sitting near us showed her boobs to the crowd. Another guy got mad that she did this and got into a fight with her boyfriend. Security kicked out the one who got mad, but we all felt he was justifiably upset the girl was making light of such a somber situation.
I believe they found his hands still in the gloves hanging in the catch fence.
What is the point of blurring the video we can to see?
Races are races. Death happens. Race starts again.
Ooooh an exposed brain….Yes please
I was 16. Going to the speedway for the first Saturday of Time Trials was a family tradition and we had settled with our picnic coolers in the stands at the start/finish line. A few of us had walked to the pagoda and saw the accident from there. It happened so fast and then it got so quiet – the whole place seemed to be holding its breath. Nobody spoke louder than a whisper. While walking further into the infield we saw the expression on Johnny Rutherford's face as he was walking toward us and we knew it was bad. Then we saw what was left of the car – or the largest piece of it – the axel, charred and broken, on its way to Gasoline Alley and we knew Mr. Smiley could not have survived. Shortly after that, the announcement was made and the shine went off the day and off the 500.
I don't think anything could have saved Smiley in this crash. Head on into a wall at 200 miles per hour would have destroyed today's indy car. The kinetic energy going 200 miles in a car that weighs 1700 pounds into a wall no way. Yes big improvements over the years.
What an idiot
You multiple times say the race was continued, yet already acknowledged it was practice and not a race. Then you go back and forth about them restarting the race. Come on man, son consistency and accuracy before you release this
Almost as brutal as David Essex's death in Silver Dream Racer.
What's the point of watching this vid if you have to blur out the best part due to youtube censoring?
This was horrific. I remember seeing it on the news when I was a kid.
Disgusting that a race goes on after a death, shame .
these old car cockpits, youre essentially sitting at the front of the car. His legs pretty much hit the wall at the 200mph. Its hard to imagine how twisted he ended up
It's not a drift car, just let the rear-end come around and turn left. Heck Danny Sullivan did this and still won the race with the famous spin and win.