SWC75
Bored Historian
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The highlight film is rather weak on this, remembered by a generation as the most tragic auto race in memory. You get the impression no one died, or that that somehow didn’t matter.
It started with the death in, in practice, of popular veteran Art Pollard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_xdaOsNOPQ
Three Indy drivers took time out to run stock cars at Talladega, where they had the biggest crash in NASCAR history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeMh55NpX-Y
Back at Indy, there was Salt Walther’s first lap accident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz17O8GNX5E
The guys in the 1997 wrap-around show don’t mention Walther’s terrible burns and the pain-killer addiction that destroyed Walther’s life or the spectators that gut burned by the flaming fuel. They do mention the reduction in gas tank size from 75 to 40 gallons after this race.
But the biggest memory is Swede Savage’s horrific crash, which came as he was leading the race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLAC8hrGGuY
Savage somehow survived this crash, perhaps because of the foam suit they talk about but was still badly burned and died in the hospital a month later due to a tainted blood transfusion. Armando Teran, a crew member for Savage’s teammate Graham McRae, was hit by an emergency truck speeding to the scene and thrown 50 in the air. His skull was crushed when he hit the ground and he died an hour later. Jim McKay later said that he became disenchanted with auto racing because of the fatal accidents and prominently mentioned this one. There were regulations on the size of the wing passed after this race to reduce speeds, which were significantly greater than the drivers were used to. The Savage crash may also have been created by damage to his wing, which made the car unstable. No driver has died as a result of an accident in the race in the forty years since, (although that cannot be said or practice and qualifying).
The race is also remembered for being threatened with not just bad but severe weather, all through qualifying and the week of the race. It was the shortest Indy at 332 miles and the longest as it took three days to complete due to the terrible accidents and weather. It was Indy at its darkest.
Drivers not mentioned in previous posts:
- John Martin went to Indy every year from 1971-1982, managed to qualify 5 times, finishing 8th in 1973, his only top 10 finish.
- Greg Weld was at Indy 7 times but only qualified once, finishing 32nd in 1970. That’s still better than you’ve done.
- Al LoQuasto was at Indy from 1970-84 but only qualified twice, finishing 25th and 28th in 1976-77. The 1984 entry on Wikipedia simply says “sold car”.
- Johnny Parsons was the son of the 1950 champion, who spelled his name Johnnie Parsons, (that’s the first Indy 500 I wrote up 2 years ago). This Johnny Parsons was a regular at Indy from 1973-1996, (he’s also been there in 1969, failing to qualify). He finished in the top ten three times but never higher than 7th.
- Bobby Allison was a NASCAR legend, (84 career wins) giving Indy a shot. He won the Daytona 500 three times but the best of his two Indy finishes was 25th in 1975.
- Swede Savage started racing in the Soap Box Derby at age 5. He graduated to motorcycles. When Dan Gurney saw him doing a “wheelie” on a motorcycle for almost a mile, Gurney recommended him to Ford for their sports cars. He moved on to Indy cars and finished 32rd at the 1972 500. Swede was a 28 year old handsome blonde guy who seemed to have a great future. He’ll never be forgotten.
You-Tube has a 14 part series on the 1973 Indy 500. The actual ABC coverage begins with Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fI-4PPQwg
It started with the death in, in practice, of popular veteran Art Pollard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_xdaOsNOPQ
Three Indy drivers took time out to run stock cars at Talladega, where they had the biggest crash in NASCAR history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeMh55NpX-Y
Back at Indy, there was Salt Walther’s first lap accident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz17O8GNX5E
The guys in the 1997 wrap-around show don’t mention Walther’s terrible burns and the pain-killer addiction that destroyed Walther’s life or the spectators that gut burned by the flaming fuel. They do mention the reduction in gas tank size from 75 to 40 gallons after this race.
But the biggest memory is Swede Savage’s horrific crash, which came as he was leading the race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLAC8hrGGuY
Savage somehow survived this crash, perhaps because of the foam suit they talk about but was still badly burned and died in the hospital a month later due to a tainted blood transfusion. Armando Teran, a crew member for Savage’s teammate Graham McRae, was hit by an emergency truck speeding to the scene and thrown 50 in the air. His skull was crushed when he hit the ground and he died an hour later. Jim McKay later said that he became disenchanted with auto racing because of the fatal accidents and prominently mentioned this one. There were regulations on the size of the wing passed after this race to reduce speeds, which were significantly greater than the drivers were used to. The Savage crash may also have been created by damage to his wing, which made the car unstable. No driver has died as a result of an accident in the race in the forty years since, (although that cannot be said or practice and qualifying).
The race is also remembered for being threatened with not just bad but severe weather, all through qualifying and the week of the race. It was the shortest Indy at 332 miles and the longest as it took three days to complete due to the terrible accidents and weather. It was Indy at its darkest.
Drivers not mentioned in previous posts:
- John Martin went to Indy every year from 1971-1982, managed to qualify 5 times, finishing 8th in 1973, his only top 10 finish.
- Greg Weld was at Indy 7 times but only qualified once, finishing 32nd in 1970. That’s still better than you’ve done.
- Al LoQuasto was at Indy from 1970-84 but only qualified twice, finishing 25th and 28th in 1976-77. The 1984 entry on Wikipedia simply says “sold car”.
- Johnny Parsons was the son of the 1950 champion, who spelled his name Johnnie Parsons, (that’s the first Indy 500 I wrote up 2 years ago). This Johnny Parsons was a regular at Indy from 1973-1996, (he’s also been there in 1969, failing to qualify). He finished in the top ten three times but never higher than 7th.
- Bobby Allison was a NASCAR legend, (84 career wins) giving Indy a shot. He won the Daytona 500 three times but the best of his two Indy finishes was 25th in 1975.
- Swede Savage started racing in the Soap Box Derby at age 5. He graduated to motorcycles. When Dan Gurney saw him doing a “wheelie” on a motorcycle for almost a mile, Gurney recommended him to Ford for their sports cars. He moved on to Indy cars and finished 32rd at the 1972 500. Swede was a 28 year old handsome blonde guy who seemed to have a great future. He’ll never be forgotten.
You-Tube has a 14 part series on the 1973 Indy 500. The actual ABC coverage begins with Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fI-4PPQwg
