The Ironic Indy

I love racing, don't we all? Racing is NASCAR and the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Racing to me is John Force at 300 miles an hour and the knowledge that another great racecar driver was right beside until the motor blew. John Andretti had an almost and could have been the first drag racer to exceed 300 miles an hour in a quarter mile. The problem with racing is that it is not only extremely dangerous but racing is also ironic. In being brief and to the point there have been 66 lives lost at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This figure includes 39 drivers, 14 riding mechanics, 4 associated racing personnel, 8 spectators and 1 miscellaneous. Well that is odd and indeed the assumption of odd is eerily correct. The ironic events that lead to death at the famous (and original) I.M.S. and the Indianapolis 500 can be considered a variety of descriptions from shocking to outright bad luck.

The journey of irony at Indianapolis begins in the fairly recent of 1991. May 30, 1991, Stephen C. White (31) while intoxicated, decided to take a spin around the famous speedway three days after the main event. He possibly never saw the utility van parked on the main stretch and hit the van at approximately 90 miles an hour killing him at the scene.

In 1987 race fan Lyle Kurtenbach was struck by a wheel from Tony Bettenhausen Jr.'s car which had been hit and propelled into the north shoot stands after being struck by Roberto Guerrero's car.

One of the scariest accidents in Indianapolis 500 history involved driver Swede Savage. 1973 saw three deaths at the speedway in the month of May with two of those occurring during the race. Driver Art Pollard was killed in turn one during practice for the 500 in a wreck that seems, in reflection, to be the precursor of what was to come. Extensive damage to the lungs due to flame inhalation was the likely cause of death. Swede Savage is a controversial and ironic topic in Indianapolis. The car Savage was driving was completely demolished after hitting the wall in turn four at nearly 200 miles an hour. Exploding in a fireball on impact Savage flew free of the car still strapped in the drivers seat and came to rest fully conscious at the outside retaining wall.

A crewman named Amando Teran was killed instantly after being struck as he ran to the accident by a fire truck with the same destination. The controversy began with a former doctor for Savage reporting that he had died from kidney failure in Methodist hospital due to an infected blood transfusion. The tainted blood is rumored to have been riddled with Hepatitis B. Regardless of rumor the actual cause of death was kidney failure 33 days after the wreck at Indianapolis.

Last and certainly not least dubiously hands down the most ironic incidental death to ocurr at Indianapolis. In 1931 Wilbur Brink was killed by a wheel dislodged from Billy Arnold's car, which flew out of the speedway and struck him as he sat in his yard at 2316 Georgetown Road, across from the race track and turn four. Find-a-Grave.com (2009)

Quick Facts

• The Indianapolis Motor Speedway seats 257,000 in the grandstands and along with infield seating and parking (RV's, buses, etc...) the track holds a record 400,000 fans.

• The fastest race lap in 1951 was 133.809mph done on lap 23 by Lee Wallard in 1:07.26 minutes.

• The fastest race lap in 2008 was 224.037 done in just over 40 seconds by Marco Andretti on lap 161.

• The all-time lap leader is Al Unser with 644 laps lead, 4 wins, and he led races 11 times in his 27 starts.

• In 1909 an estimated 3.2 million paving bricks were laid down to pave the way for motor racings most famous race. The famous "Yard of Bricks" today consists of more than 570 of the 1909-vintage bricks.

• The Indianapolis 500 typically is run on the 24^th to the 29^th of May and usually on Sunday. One event in the 1980's was postponed for snow until May 31^st, Monday.

Indianapolis 500 Stats (2009).

Find a Grave.com, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Memorial Tour

Retrieved March 11, 2009, from, http://www.findagrave.com/

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Official Website, Indianapolis 500 Stats

Retrieved March 22, 2009, from, http://www.indy500.com/stats/