1981 Pocono 500: IndyCar's Most Embarrassing Race?

[@ryanholmanreviews86]

To get 20% off your first food purchase from Try the World, go to: trytheworld.com/?source=pepperjam&publisherId=332799&clickId=4668523475

[@razorsharp8549]

USAC is the organization I blame for the decline of American open wheel series.

[@Doc_-_Savage_1]

The SCCA played a role too, with F5000 competing against the schedule. But MAN the F5000 cars were awesome!

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@Doc_-_Savage_1 S5000 might be up your alley.

[@daleolson3506]

Greed,spoiled rich kids with marginal talent.

[@caribman10]

I saw this race. It was strange, but no more so than earlier "Formula Libre" races, look up Rodger Ward winning one in a Leader Card midget. Anyway, the dirt cars were loud, about 50 mph slower than the better Indy cars, and generally stayed out of the way better than the B-Grade..well, C-Grade Indy cars some of the other filler drivers had. But please note: I think the 1978 California 500 was the "most embarrassing race". Why? There were at least three cars that started which didn't even have full crews or refueling rigs. At least the Silver Crown cars came to do the whole race. The Cal 500 had a half-dozen cars that weren't even there to do 20 laps. By the way, I saw that one too.

[@nicofire31]

Wow that race turned into ISMA

[@d.thorpe2046]

video was cool and well edited. your speaking style is strange.

[@cmoore185]

Great material, but please stop reading. Make notes and speak like you want us to absorb the information.

[@RealisticFisHed]

I had no idea that Pocono was that close to shutting down, interesting to think about what would have happened if it had closed down in the early 1980's.

[@eod696]

would've prevented a few deaths...

[@pumpkinking5174]

@@eod696 Tracks don't kill drivers.

[@bryanbe6582]

I would kill to see the telecast of this! If anyone has any video, please reply to me.

[@roryoconnor4989]

jeez, tough comments section. thanks for the well researched video Ryan.

[@imtoooldforthisstuff]

Jim Hurtubise would have kicked ass in this event.

[@carlsaganlives5112]

Jim Hurtubise reference? You know your shit!

[@CalebRoden]

Dudes name is Dick King. Legendary

[@motomime6148]

What the frick is up with the narrator

[@daleolson3506]

Everybody that can narrate probably shouldnt

[@markceaser8073]

I remember this like yesterday. I was just starting to follow motorsports and growing up in Northwestern NJ, Pocono was less than a hour away. Glad USAC focused on dirt eventually.

[@jackhoffmann8646]

I lived in Sussex County then . My friends and I would go to races there all the time including Nascar.

[@eduardoortiz71]

Thanks for your aid, i couldnt sleep but seeing your first 10 seconds was the best therepy for insomnia

[@Db_SpaceFace]

I wouldn't call it Indycar's most embarrassing race so much as USAC's. This was the death knell for USAC's control of American Open Wheel and final non-subtle public demonstration that CART had won. Stupidly, CART and USAC aligned the next season before CART ditched USAC once again. Funnily enough, the '82 Pocono 500 was the last ever USAC sanctioned 500 mile race (obv excluding the Indy 500), it was the 2nd last ever american open wheel race under USAC sanctioning (again excluding the Indy 500). Mid Ohio was the last before CART dropped USAC once again due to ineptitude.

[@HODIUSDUDE]

??? USAC sanctioned all the IRL races from January 1996 to Texas in June 1997.

[@ewennicolson4342]

Man! So it was you who stole all my dilaudid!

[@riodejaneiro664]

You need to hire a voiceover actor. You are not up to the task. I can't listen.

[@buddyb4343]

I still think the Foyt Coyote is one of the most elegant looking Indy cars.

[@TylerBonenfant]

not sure how i found this from watching dog box videos but im glad i did, never knew about this race

[@ramblinman4197]

Interesting. I wonder if CART returning to Pocono was part of the "undisclosed" settlement. Otherwise, I am shocked they would return after being sued twice (although probably rightfully so!),

[@donwetzel5151]

Remember watching this race from the infield, end of the Long Pond straight....

[@theophilhist6455]

Mark Alderson will always be able to say he was "First in Class"

[@O5fan]

Are you ok?

[@irishclown66]

Had to stop watching this as that computerized voice narrating this video is the video killer .......brutal ......

[@denithy]

I know man... I wanted to, the sound was muffled, low and bland. Sorry.

[@stewarth8390]

So cool seeing silver crown cars running amongst Indy cars.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

Imagine winning your last ever IndyCar race at this field-filler shitbox of a race... That STILL blows my mind!

[@de-fault_de-fault]

I think ultimately the best thing about the clown show that was USAC Indy car racing wasn’t this, or the badly written equivalency formula that let the pushrod Ilmor Mercedes happen in 1994 or even the “pace car giveth and pace car taketh away” officiating in 1995. No, the very best part was that after his slow-burning plan to get revenge on CART for splitting with USAC in the first place finally started coming to fruition, it took only about a year for Tony George to realize USAC was horrible and dissociate the IRL from it, too. (After the Arie Luyendyk/AJ Foyt kerfuffle at Texas).

[@lionelrosiere2062]

Why USAC attempt no a Formula Libre reglement for the season, but a F1 or F.Atlantic in oval is a carnage.

[@willrobertson14]

They should have given Foyt a silver crown car so the rest of the field would have had a half of chance

[@tedecker3792]

HALF a chance

[@saddletramp6935]

I never knew they did that. But wasnt into racing that much.

[@weemissile]

You sound like Reverend Lovejoy but his brain got scrambled by aliens.

[@TDDDDDDDO]

That's not Ryan Holman

[@smith2781]

Wow. So this is like F1 racing with rally cars around Monaco??

[@HODIUSDUDE]

1996 US 500 gets my vote for most embarrassing.

[@kg0173]

I want a new split. They way Josef Newgarden won Indy 500 is unacceptable.

[@jimries625]

Ur not smart. Roger corrupt?🤭

[@daleolson3506]

Who?

[@davidrice3337]

who's that

[@KellieLeigh48]

😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆

[@AlonsoRules]

IMS saved Pocono from closing and now they refuse to race there lol

[@williamwagaman9538]

R Ace for the little guys go smokey. Snellbaker, thank you RI. P

[@HongyaMa]

CRA vs CSCC midgets vs sports cars It was a slaughter = real race cars don't have doors

[@rickclogston5205]

Someday, we'll look back at KZbin videos like this the way we look at MTV videos from the early 80s. Amateurs.

[@jackwootsy9864]

Computer voice is annoying

[@jbopiddy2169]

Open wheel sprint cars at Pocono. THATS racing.

[@tjw3999]

i forget where it was but foyt won an indy car race in a dirt car once.

[@HODIUSDUDE]

He won a lot of them in dirt cars. Dirt races at DuQuoin, Springfield, Sacramento, Phoenix, Langhorne, ISF etc ...were part of the series until 1970. I don't believe he won in a roadster until 1961.

[@dbcooper1897]

Usac biggest mistake screwed themselves and indy car racing when they let marlboro go as a sponsor. The money an add exposure would have been huge.

[@thewatcher5271]

Video "Starts" At 2:00 In, According To Title. Hard To Understand Narration & What Was Embarrassing?

[@assininecomment1630]

The presentation style of this video, is the second worst I've seen in the last year. It's _implausibly_ poor. 🤦‍♂️

[@rmendel1000]

most brutal video i have ever seen

[@mikulitsi1819]

Heard about this before but still makes me laugh seeing those dirt cars running at Pocono right alongside the Indy cars 😂

[@ryanholmanreviews86]

Please follow Ryan Holman on Twitter: twitter.com/realRyanHolman

[@jackhoffmann8646]

The last split hurt the sport. We don't need a split again.

[@frankschwartz7405]

Silver Crown cars are "dirt track"???

[@davidschmude]

I stopped at 3:47. The narration is too much to take.

[@davidrice3337]

the volume is terrible - speak up or find someone who will

[@pepsibottleq]

Why are you ripping off Nascarman now

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

other people do video documentaries, bro

[@TDDDDDDDO]

Richard Petty ain't the only NASCAR driver

[@buttslappingpirate]

0:56- Heh. Rolla Vollstedt pulled a knife on me in a Beaverton Schuck's auto parts store in mid-1999. I was a commercial sales account manager, and he was pissed off at the regular counter guy because those morons had ordered the wrong carb three times in a row. How stupid were the regular counter guys? We actually had the correct Quadrajet in stock, took me all of maybe three minutes to find it. I got a knife pulled on me because he thought I was going to try to sell him incorrect carb #4 or give him shit about it like the regular counter idiots. Thankfully that store closed in 2000 or 2001, and Schuck's/CSK Auto went out of business later on. Nice guy once he put the knife away. Awesome shop as well.

[@realnigga19]

Terrible audio. Get better