[AlvinKarpis]

Kevin Cogan and Mark Dismore are the names that come to mind when we think of Horrific crashes into the pit wall abutment

Well before those two guys did it Dennis Firestone split his car in half back in 1986

Warning: Super cheesy joke at the end of the clip that will have you laughing until it hurts

[WingsMSU]

I haven't seen these on here yet.
Nelson Piquet at Indy, I think 1992.
I still can't believe he lived seeing how close his helmet came to the wall. I have heard of x-ray pictures of his legs that look like socks full of small stones, but I have never seen them.

[jeremycrpntr]

Originally Posted by The Dark ↗

Thanks Alvin & Windowlicker for your persistence with the thread.

My own contribution isn't that much to be honest, just feel that the drivers featured here always have a lot more to tell than just "Oh yeah, I saw that crash... AWESOME!!!"

Some of what I know is common knowledge, some isn't.... but if by sharing it you feel a little more respect for them, that's got to be good hasn't it?

By the way, jealous of Jeremy, he got to meet Dan Wheldon... I never had the fortune. He was, and will always be for me 1 of the all-time great drivers at Indy.

Re: Pardo crash above, nothing good ever occurs when a barrier is angled back across the track. See Swede Savage/Dave Macdonalds crashes at Indy, and also check out many of the wrecks from the Swimming Pool section at Monaco.

Let's work our way towards 2000!

I make it a point to tell everyone he TRULY was an amazingly nice man. I met him a dozen plus times. He was one of the guys I REALLY wanted my gf to get to meet, and luckily she got to the 1st time I took her in the Garages @ Indy. We were walking and he passed us and smiled, by himself... So we turned around and spoke and he immediately stopped. (I am VERY respectful of all these drivers unlike MOST fans. I know what it is like before I get in the car at my little dirt track. I extend them a lot of courtesy and try to not stop them. U would be amazed at ppl. They will follow drivers into the bathroom!!!) He was taken aback when he went to sign something for her and she said she simply wanted to shake his hand. U could tell that meant more than an autograph to him. He ALWAYS had a smile on his face! And a REAL one. Nothing fake! Danica is the biggest... well I won't go there lol.

Thanks Alvin. I ramble sometimes, but I like to share my small amount of knowledge or personal experience now and then!

Thanks to everyone on here that TRULY makes logging on and checking this thread one thing I actually look forward to every day!!!

[Azimuth]

Thanks for sharing that memory, Jeremy. Dan Wheldon crash and loss was devastating. I haven't cried so hard in I don't know how long. A terrific man, a great driver, sure, but just A terrific husband and father and friend.

[AlvinKarpis]

Paul Dana: 2006 Indycar at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Fatal

Multiple angles of this horrific crash

RIP Paul

[AlvinKarpis]

And for those who dont know the driver of the car that has already hit the wall, is spinning out, and coming to stop is Ed Carpenter

Paul Dana is the driver of the car that hits Carpenter at full speed

Dana's spotter had radioed him to "Go low, go low, go low!!" because Carpenter was sliding along the retaining wall at the top of the track after the impact, then his car started going down and at that speed Dana had no chance as he was already going down as well

Just a horrible set of circumstances

[lp199th]

Some 3D anaglyphs from Indy:

[The Dark]

I have to flesh out the Paul Dana crash a bit more. The sad fact is that he was a victim of his own inexperience as well as bad luck.

There is an in-car shot somewhere from Scott Sharp - yellow & red car that comes into shot right at the end from the head on view. At the time of the yellow he was alongside Dana..... now how did he manage to slow down so much & Dana didn't? That is down to Dana coming round the corner and not wanting to jump on the brakes for fear of losing control, plus being told to go low etc etc.

His bad luck was that about 100m before Carpenter spun down the track Dana clattered into a piece of debris - maybe a half-shaft or something like that, and it actually jammed his steering, I've heard rumors that he actually had his front wheels slightly lifted off the ground. This forced him to go straight on....... and at that moment Carpenter's car spun round, leaving him a head on impact with the strongest part - reinforced due to many drivers suffering back injuries - the gearbox.

Paul Dana was the most recent Indycar/IRL fatality till Dan Wheldon last year. Dana's crash occurred in the morning warm up, his team mates Danica Patrick & Buddy Rice withdrew from the race. The race went ahead as scheduled, and was won by........ Dan Wheldon.

Interestingly you may wonder why he didn't jump on the brakes till the corner was effectively finished, well in an Indycar you're instructed to try to avoid doing that, so "on the edge" are they that jumping on the brakes will unsettle it so much that a spin is very likely.

Nelson Piquet's crash in 1992 - see above - was caused when he lifted off as a yellow came out in his Q run.... he lost control and spun into the wall. 1992 as an event was notable for some very cold temperatures, many accidents, several injuries and the death of Jovy Marcelo (featured earlier in the thread).

[windowlicker]

Amazing Piquet pics...

This doesn't look much but its the Alfa that the great Achille Varzi had his fatal crash at the Swiss GP in 1947 at Berne.
Varzi lost it in the wet and overturned, throwing him from the car. Louis Chiron as first on scene but there was nothing he could do but cradle his friend as he passed away.

Varzi was one of the best drivers of the thirties but towards the end of the decade became addicted to morphine although he made a come back after the war.

[windowlicker]

Lee Bible's fatal crash at Daytona Beach on 13th March 1929 during a land speed record. At the end of the run in his tri-motored Liberty airplane engined White Triplex, Lee lost control the car crashed into the sand dunes about 100 feet beyond the timing trap and rolled. Bible was thrown from the car and killed instantly.