Vintage Racing?

[Bored5000]

So many of the safety innovations that are now taken for granted in racing came about due to a specific tragedy:

* Two-time defending NASCAR champion Joe Weatherly was killed in 1964 when his head struck a barrier at Riverside (Calif.) Raceway. Weatherly was not wearing a shoulder harness nor using a window net. Following Richard Petty's spectacular flip at Darlington (S.C.), in which his head actually hit the pavement during the crash, window nets became mandatory to prevent a driver's head from moving outside the cockpit.

* The 1964 Indy inferno that killed both Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald resulted in Indy requiring at least two pit stops the following year. What that rule did was eliminate the use of gasoline, since there was no longer any point in using the more fuel efficient (and highly flammable) gasoline.

* Fireball Roberts' fiery fatal crash at Charlotte (N.C.) six days prior to the Sachs/MacDonald double fatality resulted in the requirement of a fuel-cell inner-liner to prevent catastrophe in the event of a ruptured fuel cell. Roberts' death also led to NASCAR requiring drivers to wear flame-retardant coveralls when racing.

The deaths of Sachs, MacDonald and Roberts also led to more effort being put into developing better flame-retardant substances/uniforms. Dupont was at the forefront of developing fire-retardant Nomex that is still used in modern racing uniforms.

* Billy Wade's 1965 death while tire testing at Daytona (Fla.) led to the modern racing safety harness. Wade was killed when the lap belt he was using compressed his intestines and caused them to rupture. The solution was a third belt that attached to the floor of the car and prevented the lap belt from riding up and compressing a driver's intestines in the event of a crash.

Wade's death also led to the development of a better tire inner-liner in the event of a tire blowout.

* Jim Hickman's fatal stuck throttle at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile in 1982 led CART to instantly require a "kill switch" on the steering wheel that would shut off power when pressed. NASCAR took nearly 20 years (and the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin due to stuck throttles) to mandate the same requirement.

* Most recently, the death of Dale Earnhardt and numerous other drivers led to racing organizations large and small to require the HANS Device (or a similar head and neck restraint system) to greatly reduce the chance of a basilar skull fracture.

[brian1961]

Superb post, Eddie, as always. Honestly, I was not aware of several of the cause of death accidents and the resultant solutions that bettered the safety of all drivers (Billy Wade and Jim Hickman incidents).

I have often pointed out to people that racing has developed numerous mandatory safety innovations and efficiency improvements. One of my favorites was used on the winning car of the inaugural 1911 Indianapolis 500. That car, the Marmon Wasp, was fitted with-----the first rear view mirror.

---Brian Powell

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Superb post, Eddie, as always. Honestly, I was not aware of several of the cause of death accidents and the resultant solutions that bettered the safety of all drivers (Billy Wade and Jim Hickman incidents).

I have often pointed out to people that racing has developed numerous mandatory safety innovations and efficiency improvements. One of my favorites was used on the inaugural 1911 Indianapolis 500 winning car, The Marmon Wasp-----the first rear view mirror.

---Brian Powell

Thanks, Brian. The Jim Hickman story came from Dr. Steve Olvey's book. Olvey mentioned repeatedly in his book that NASCAR was a donkey series safety-wise right up until Earnhardt's death in 2001. In the 1970s, the doctors staffing some NASCAR tracks were so sketchy that A.J. Foyt paid out of his own pocket to have Dr. Olvey in his pit area whenever Foyt ran a NASCAR race and Dr. Olvey was available. Basically, the main requirement for being a doctor staffing a NASCAR race in the 1970s was that the doctor would work for free.

At some 1970s Cup races, the most qualified doctor servicing the race would sometimes be an optometrist or other doctor woefully unqualified to deal with any type of traumatic injury should the need arise. Foyt was terrified of being critically injured at a NASCAR race and having an eye doctor decide whether or not an arm or a leg needed to be amputated.

Olvey also related a story about Foyt's pathological fear of the color green (like many old school racers). Olvey talked about accompanying Foyt to a 1970s Cup race and Olvey stopping at a local convenience store the morning of the race to purchase a cooler and some sodas for the day's event. Naturally, the cooler was green. Shortly after arriving at the track, Olvey heard Foyt ranting and raving and swearing before taking a tire iron to the unattended cooler that had suddenly appeared in his pit area. When asked by Foyt if he knew whose green cooler that was, Olvey simply shrugged and said he did not have any idea.

Here is are several different articles in this link that talk about Billy Wade's crash and how it led to modern racing seatbelts.

http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Billy_Wade.htm

[bnorth]

I picked up 33 of these Fleer AHRA cards from a member in a trade. I know very little about them but when I saw them I knew they had to be mine. Brought back many memories of watching drag racing as a kid.

Great thread guys, a big thank you to everyone that posted, awesome info.

[Beansballcardblog]

Picked up some more cards for my T36 set!

Rolling 7s.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by wvu_class_of_2001

Picked up some more cards for my T36 set!

Rolling 7s.

Congratulations, Kin. Sweet blog---well done. ---Brian Powell

[Bored5000]

I finally had time to scan my Foyt Marhoefer card. The lot I won at Sterling are my first Marhoefer cards. The cards are thick, rigid cardboard; that makes sense since most of the cards were using as a backing for packs of wieners.

Cards do exist that were never placed in product packages, but all the cards in the lot I won were definitely inserted in packages. The cards may not be the nicest, but a Foyt Marhoefer is tough to come by in any condition.

If anyone in this thread in interested in a type card sample other than A.J. Foyt, I would sell an example for $20 net delivered.