[Buford61]

I also witnessed the Ronnie Duman crash. His car did a couple of cartwheels in the air going into turn one and hit straight up perpendicular against the debris fence which fortunately held even though it was nowhere near the standards of today. Had the car gone through it into the crowd it very easily could have been a massive disaster. The photo on the top above shows the car just after it has struck the fence straight up-and-down and is beginning to come down. Unfortunately when it did come down it hit right in the cockpit on top of the wall and Duman was killed instantly when his helmet broke in half.

Unfortunately Norm Brown suffered and arguably even worse fate. It took a long time to put out the fire and he was horribly burned especially in the face. His face was essentially burned off. Several years later in the pit lane at Indianapolis I saw a man standing next to a couple of other men who had no face. He had just slits for eyes, a couple of holes for a nose, and a slit for a mouth. Sad as it is to say I had to turn away, it was just too horrible to imagine. I didn't know who he was he could've been a Vietnam soldier or any fire victim I guess, but later on I heard somebody say "Did you see Norm Brown." So I am pretty sure that was him.

[Buford61]

Originally Posted by Photoplay ↗

Wow, thanks for sharing the info.
Eddie Sachs was a family friend [What a fabulous memory to have]
I feel for your wife witnessing that event. But interesting to read her recollection of the racing accident and its sad outcome.

It wasn't my wife, it was the woman who lived in the house where I parked my car, the wife of the guy who lived there. She told me the story when I asked why she never went to the race and every year stayed back at the house guarding the cars while everybody else walked across the street to the Speedway for the race.

[Photoplay]

Buford61 Sorry for the confusion RE: woman who lived in the house.
It’s really interesting reading your memories and adventures. Did you take any pictures? Or keep any memorabilia like ticket stubs or programs?

[Buford61]

Yes my dad's 30+ year photo collection including every car that qualified from about 1963 to 1993 at Indianapolis resides in the International Motorsports Research Center at Watkins Glen New York.

http://www.racingarchives.org/

This is me and my brother on my dad's stock car in 1953 and our Quarter Midgets.

[Photoplay]

Well I’m total gob smacked. Love the pictures and are amazed at your Dads collection, it must be fabulous. He must have had some foresight to start this collection. Thank goodness he did.
Thanks so much for the link. I will start to pour over this site as the week/weekend unfolds.
My mind boggles at what hidden treasure may be found at the International Motor Racing Research Centre. Are any of your father’s photographs there?
You and your brother must have great memories, as soon as I saw those Quarter Midgets I crossed my fingers silently that you still have them.

[windowlicker]

Originally Posted by Buford61 ↗

Actually that is MacDonald not Sachs. The photo originally appeared in the Indianapolis papers incorrectly identified as Sachs but it is not as can be seen from the photo below. Sach's car was in the background and his body was covered by a sheet because they knew he was dead. The photo shown above is of them pulling MacDonald out because he was still alive at that time.

Eddie Sachs was a family friend and always delighted in embarrassing me when I was a early teen by saying he was my "former babysitter." This came from the days when I was an infant and my parents would drop me off at his midget after races and leave me in the seat while they circulated the pits visiting friends and Eddie would watch over me.

Unfortunately I believe the reports that he did not die instantly are accurate. I used to on race weekend stay at a house on 15th St. near the use USAC office. I parked in their driveway and everyone at the house would go to the race except the wife. She stayed and watched the cars. I casually mentioned one time why didn't they trade off so some years somebody else could watch the cars. She said she would never go to the race again. She went one year in the 1960s a driver burned to death in front of her eyes. She said "I'll never forget that poor man waving his arms and flopping in the car right in front of me as the flames engulfed him." I began to ask questions and it was clear she was talking about Eddie Sachs. I said "There were two cars, one was further towards turn one pointed toward the infield and one was behind it pointed towards the grandstand. "Which driver are you talking about. She said it was the one pointed towards the grandstand the one behind the other she was talking about. Here's the photo that shows it is MacDonald's car in the post above not Eddie Sachs.

Nice one Burford, Ive been looking at the photo since I posted it and comparing it with the other crash photos and realised that it was Dave not Eddie.

Your right that papers and magazines at the time got the drivers mixed up. The newspaper article that was with this image stated it was Sachs but you can see by the damage to the side of the car it is in fact Macdonald....

Sach's had a white crash helmet as well, as your photo shows Eddie was left in the car as the damaged front end had trapped him.

So then, this image shows Dave Macdonald and unbelievably he is actually alive when this photo was taken...it seems impossible that he could have survived two explosions and two very hard impacts.

Dave was a very successful sportcar racer and took part in seven NASCAR races with two top five finishes. The Indy 500 in '64 was his first Champ car race.

[windowlicker]

Originally Posted by Buford61 ↗

I also witnessed the Ronnie Duman crash. His car did a couple of cartwheels in the air going into turn one and hit straight up perpendicular against the debris fence which fortunately held even though it was nowhere near the standards of today. Had the car gone through it into the crowd it very easily could have been a massive disaster. The photo on the top above shows the car just after it has struck the fence straight up-and-down and is beginning to come down. Unfortunately when it did come down it hit right in the cockpit on top of the wall and Duman was killed instantly when his helmet broke in half.

Unfortunately Norm Brown suffered and arguably even worse fate. It took a long time to put out the fire and he was horribly burned especially in the face. His face was essentially burned off. Several years later in the pit lane at Indianapolis I saw a man standing next to a couple of other men who had no face. He had just slits for eyes, a couple of holes for a nose, and a slit for a mouth. Sad as it is to say I had to turn away, it was just too horrible to imagine. I didn't know who he was he could've been a Vietnam soldier or any fire victim I guess, but later on I heard somebody say "Did you see Norm Brown." So I am pretty sure that was him.

Horrible crash with very little photo or video info...

That amazing first photo of Duman's car cartwheeling down the track is one that I only discovered very recently and the old newspaper article is one that was sent to me a while ago. It certainly shows just how lucky the fans were that day, as you say if that car had gone into the crowd, and it looks like it nearly did, it would have been like Le Mans '55 over again.

Must have been horrific to actually have seen that appalling crash and then the intense fire, very scary. I read somewhere that fans were coming onto the track through the damaged fencing to help drag the drivers clear and that they had reached Brown before track worker did but his feet/legs were stuck in the wreckage.

Great info in relation to poor Norm Brown, I understood his injuries were bad but I didn't realise just how bad. There is not a huge amount of info in relation to him avalible, but it appears he did not race again after this terrible crash, certainly not in the top division.

Sounds like the aftermath of this crash was a scene from hell with a crash scene that looked more like an aircraft accident, one dead/dying driver, another seriously injured and spectators wandering around on the track. I have a photo from a newspaper of the time somewhere that shows the reaction of Duman's wife and young son to the crash, not very nice...

Thanks again for your very interesting info.

[Buford61]

Originally Posted by Photoplay ↗

Well I’m total gob smacked. Love the pictures and are amazed at your Dads collection, it must be fabulous. He must have had some foresight to start this collection. Thank goodness he did.
Thanks so much for the link. I will start to pour over this site as the week/weekend unfolds.
My mind boggles at what hidden treasure may be found at the International Motor Racing Research Centre. Are any of your father’s photographs there?
You and your brother must have great memories, as soon as I saw those Quarter Midgets I crossed my fingers silently that you still have them.

I'm sorry to ask this in the forum part but you and someone else wrote me and I can't figure out how to respond. Nothing appears in my outbox how do you respond to a private message?

[windowlicker]

Originally Posted by windowlicker ↗

Eddie Sachs crashes out of the 1963 Indy 500 in his Watson-Offy, a year later he would lose his life in a firey crash.

Original post from page 200.

A few more photos of Eddie Sachs 1963 Indy 500 crash in turn three on lap 181.

[windowlicker]

Originally Posted by AlvinKarpis ↗

USAC

Cotton Farmer in 1960 and Elmer George in 1962

Both at the Arizona State Fairgrounds

I give slo-mo replays (as always ) and set the video to some outstanding music from 'A Clockwork Orange'

Original post from page 117.

Photos of the Elmer George crash on lap 47 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds 1962 during a USAC race when his out of control Meskowski D 8/Offenhauser went through the rather pathetic 'guardrail' and into the crowd. Twenty two spectators were injured and Emler was lucky only to suffer cuts and a shoulder injury.

George took part in 64 races in both the AAA and USAC Championship Car series with 36 top ten finishes, four podiums including a win at Syracuse in 1957.

Elmer was shot dead in 1976 by his wife's lover, who at trial was found to have acted in self-defence....