The 1996 US 500 Disaster at Michigan

[@peekaboo1575]

Once in a while YT's recommendation algorithm gets it right. This video was one of those occasions. Cheers.

[@Demise90Racing]

That's awesome. Glad to hear. Cheers to you as well.

[@wastedShaman]

I disagree lol.

[@RVDv1]

This! Just got the new hampshire video recommended out of nowhere. Perfect.

[@daveth121864]

I was at this race working as a series sponsor. It was cold that day, in the 50s with blustery winds. One of those spring days in Michigan that feels like you could have snow flurries. What was most memorable to me was at 1:00 p.m. EST, when I was in pit lane, hanging around with Greg Moore at the Players/Forsythe Racing timing stand. There were about 10 or 12 of us huddled around the TV monitors watching the start of the Indy 500. As the Indy 500 field was completing its pace laps at IMS, Players/Forsythe team owner Gerry Forsythe blurted out "This is SO goddamn weird." It really was. So many of these racing vets had been at Indy every year for the last 20? 30? 40 years? And here they were watching it on a 12-inch video monitor. Some big shots were sort of like zombies, with these 1000 yard stares. Roger Penske trying to keep his game face on as owner of the track, Rahal, Herta, and the whole Unser family looked stricken. No one was having fun. I was still in the pits when the race started, and while it was certainly dramatic, in person it did not feel like a huge embarrassing blunder like the media has made it out to be. I mean, was anyone embarrassed for USAC when huge start line crashes happened at Indy over the last 100 years? (1973, for example). Drama and stress and fear for peoples' lives on occasion, but not embarrassment. When Kevin Cogan took out Andretti and Foyt before the green flag in 1982, did anyone blame the race? Anyway, the attrition during the race was crazy-high, maybe because several cars were the backup cars, after the crash at the start. There was a funny moment (one of very few that day) after the checkered flag when the track PA announcer, upon seeing that so few cars finished, said, "Attention teams: All cars still running - please report to the podium." Haha. There was not much partying after the race, just a rental car race to the airport. It was a weekend to forget. Like many others, I blamed Tony George for this whole IRL/CART fiasco. Not only because it put many of us sponsors in a tough spot. I can’t tell you how many times that, when communicating the sponsorship perks to senior execs, board members and assorted other VIPS, they would say, “I’m so excited! Which skybox did we buy at Indy?! Fun conversations followed. Ugh ... But a couple of years later I had the chance to meet with Tony several times when we negotiated with him for naming rights at IMS. As you can imagine, there are always a few hundred gigantic brands who want their name at the top of the pagoda. Tony could have power-played this big ticket exposure, but he did not. He came across as a guy who did his homework, and someone with a deep love for the IMS brand. But from start to finish, he was fair, he was kind, and I believe he really wanted to build a partnership with an organization who would get as much value out of a deal as he did. We did that, and I was very proud that we held those rights for several years. I think Tony was under a TON of pressure from his family, not all of which were nearly as invested in ensuring Indy had a long future of success, including with the Brickyard 400 and Formula One. But Tony really cared. That’s why it was tough to see him unceremoniously removed as chairman by his own family. But I digress. Where was I? Oh right: The US500 was a total mess! 😉

[@Demise90Racing]

Very interesting perspective. I will always love and respect comments from people who lived these moments. Its fascinating to hear what it was like behind the scenes of these events. The general race fan never gets a glimpse of things like this.

[@AlistairMaxwell77]

one of the great things about 500 mile races was they were a battle of attrition and test of reliability . you had to balance pushing the car for speed and nursing it to make the distance . it made the races exciting and unpredictable in a totally different way to 15 drivers on the lead lap pack racing we got in the modern era . just finishing the race was an achievement and often one that rewarded pretty well with a good placing and pay day .

[@kg0173]

Agree, this is my biggest complain of all racing these days. NASCAR had some good attrition races this year, but back then it was great to watch how Tony Stewart dominated an IRL race then blew up....

[@letsgoracing4849]

An interesting way of saying that its not actually racing in any true form.

[@NotSteveCook]

@@letsgoracing4849 It was a different art. Before the cars became so reliable, it was never a given that you would finish. Taking care of the car was a required part of the skill set. Trans-Am legend Dorsey Schroeder said in a recent interview that the current IMSA drivers couldn't run the Rolex 24 or the 12 Hours of Sebring back then the way they do now (pretty much 10 10ths all race long) because the cars wouldn't last. That's true across the board for all disciplines of racing that have long distance races. We take for granted now that, other than for a crash, almost no one will drop out of the race.

[@AlistairMaxwell77]

@@letsgoracing4849 racing is a technical feat of engineering for speed and reliability as much as it is driver skill and ability . we used to have both aspects in equal measure .

[@bryonkidder6199]

The Michigan 500 used to be the 2nd best oval track racing in the CART Series!

[@frankpowers6263]

The opening of this just reminds me how great a broadcaster Bob Varsha was.

[@Demise90Racing]

He really was. I've always liked Bob.

[@stephenfasick5839]

I completely agree ! The current coverage is like watching British touring car!

[@paulsontag9233]

Lol. Can you tell us what you think of Paul Page?

[@CamelSmokes23]

@@paulsontag9233 Paul Page is one of my favorites, probably the best broadcasting voice in North America. Europe goes to the great Murray Walker.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@paulsontag9233 Paul Page was the voice of IndyCar full stop, but Bob Varsha was excellent no matter what he was calling. Him and Steve Matchett should be calling F1 for either Sky Sports of F1 TV.

[@JoeAriminvm]

As an Italian and a Zanardi fan since his F1 years, I remember watching both races in a row (Indy500 first). Italian broadcast chose to show both. I was 7 and loved every minute of it, shame about the bad injury for Zampedri.

[@Demise90Racing]

Zanardi was a special driver. Even after his accident he went and dusted people in the Olympics.

[@chrishall2211]

@@Demise90Racing He IS a special man full stop. Fingers crossed for him, Daniela and Niccolo that he eventually makes a good enough recovery from the accident of a couple of years ago that he has a decent life

[@tweekr21]

I was at this race and was sitting at turn 4. I remember during the start when all the wreck happened all the tires popping . Sounded like gunshots going off. It was crazy.

[@Vertigo_64]

Dude so was I!

[@truthhurts1754]

Same here in turn 4.

[@GenghisCohen257]

Those cars were monsters, and man were they gorgeous!

[@learmec]

I was there!!! First indy 500 was 86, didn't miss a one till this year. Haven't been back. Thanks again Tony!

[@clurnmonster7505]

So great to hear Bob Varsha's voice again. The BEST open-wheel TV announcer ever!

[@BadWallaby]

Man, I love these "essay" style videos! I remember watching these races a kid with my dad and you cover them in great detail! 10/10 will continue to subscribe :)

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the support and I'm glad you enjoy them.

[@camo_for_cocktails]

This really takes me back to that day watching it live, somehow. Sounds similar to what’s happening to pro golf today! Cheers!

[@Demise90Racing]

Glad you enjoyed it. It is very true. Pro Golf is going through right now what IndyCar did.

[@sdsmt99]

Tony George would has done a lot less damage if he sold the whole damn thing to Roger Penske 25 years earlier.

[@mrmark-oe6qt]

wrong. [Cowards Ain't Racing Today] probably shouldn't have pissed Tony off. Tony gave those losers plenty of chances to play ball. As it turned out they took their chances and lost. Tony gave them opportunities to get in step with the speedway's ideals but instead made rope out those opportunities and hung themselves. i get a lot of pleasure watching "the best teams and best drivers" look like fools while the so-called nobodys at Indy, put on a pretty good show. Karma is what Tony served for dinner.

[@carloseduardobarbosa9887]

Fascinating piece of history! Great content, congrats.

[@mykemech]

Jarring to hear all these names and knowing some would die later in crashes, or at least horribly injured.

[@SuperNinety-Three]

well, it's a high risk profession. it's sad but they knew what they were doing

[@fr3ezy238]

Especially seeing Krosnoff and Moore who, if I remember correctly, would both die later that same year

[@lightfeather9953]

@@SuperNinety-Three what's your point? We shouldn't be upset about dead drivers because they chose to be drivers? Whatever your point is, you could use the same words about duelling. Or for the legalization of crack cocaine.

[@SuperNinety-Three]

@@lightfeather9953 where exactly I said you shouldnt be upset about that? If you have a brain inside you head, use it to try to understand my point.

[@StarvyPeemer]

@@lightfeather9953 stop being mean

[@bbathoorn]

I saw the text "in memory of Scott Brayton" written on Jeff Krosnoff's car. 1996 was a sad year....

[@storyofcory]

Didn't Krosnoff also die in '96??

[@bbathoorn]

@@storyofcory Yes he did... .

[@raycurren3402]

Two years later at the US 500 (no longer on Memorial Day), Fernandez was involved in a crash that killed 3 fans and was eerily similar to one at this year's Indy 500, but luckily the tire missed the grandstand.

[@TheyCallHimDietSeth]

Another fascinating race recap - thank you so much!

[@jaimepaniagua6122]

These were the golden years of Cart before it got wrecked by the IRL , it was never the same after that.

[@huguesmartel4798]

yes never and will never be again , those were the days

[@illinoiscentralmodeler]

Great video, love IRL/CART content!

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much. Glad you enjoy it.

[@dodolurker]

Great video, thanks! Every time I see footage of the start, I keep hoping they wouldn't have that embarrasing wreck this time 😀

[@Demise90Racing]

Hahahah thank you very much :)

[@tracywinchester7595]

Me too! Glad Penske owns Indy now

[@NoellaScott]

Tony George is really the worst. The sport never recovered. It's unbelievable how, in real time, it felt like a crushing blow they could never recover from...and they never did.

[@Popsracer2010]

Both sides are equally culpable in the damage done to American open wheel racing, CART with its desire to be Formula Wannabe and the IRL with its desire to carry on IndyCar as the world's highest level of open wheel oval track racing. The IRL was a poorly executed excellent concept that had it been embraced by the CART teams would have completely changed racing in America and the world. The Formula Wannabe people have almost completely killed the oval track open wheel racing that was the pinnacle of the careers for Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown drivers everywhere. That took many of the best American drivers and shunted their careers to NASCAR leaving mostly the Formula Wannabe road racers running what they wanted, a feeder series for American road racers to go to F1, oh but wait! F1 didn't want the Americans.

[@NoellaScott]

@@Popsracer2010 It should have never split. That killed it. Both sides should never have been two. It was obvious at the time, too. Crazy stuff.

[@Popsracer2010]

@@NoellaScott You may be too young to remember that the split started in 1979 when CART which became ChampCar split from USAC which had been the sanctioning body for all IndyCar racing prior to that. CART split off and essentially seized all the races but the Indy 500 which was still controlled by the Hulman/ George family and sanctioned by USAC. The 1996 split was an attempt by CART to kill off the relationship with Indy and the Hulman/George family and USAC. It was a power grab by those who wanted an American F1 feeder series and didn't care about American racing history or fans.

[@ILSRWY4]

@@Popsracer2010 I even had someone say, OH but USAC started the split when they split from AAA. But AAA willingly pulled out of sanctioning. USAC was established to fill that void, USAC was established out of necessity where as CART was created out of Malice towards USAC. The real turmoil started with CART.

[@johnwhelan2887]

​@@Popsracer2010It was a classic case of Americans thinking they are the best in the world. CART understood the global appeal of Motor racing and yes you may have the odd country like Finland that just has a crazy amount of top drivers across motorsport. IRL wanted MURICA racing because of course Muricans must be the best in the world and no shit Indycar only started getting good again when it embraced the international motorsport scene. Calling it Formula Wannabe simply ain't true. It was an alternative to formula one and you can't blame drivers for wanting to move to F1 which is rightly considered the pinnacle of motorsport.IRL is the reason Americans dissapeared from F1 since the 90s and it's a pity because I would have loved to have seen the likes of Josef Newgarden or Ryan Hunter Reay get a shot.

[@taylorowner]

I was Pennzoil's Indy Car photographer for 10 years and I was there covering the event. I shot the first start from outside turn one. With the red flag stopping the evet my client called me on the radio and said; "Come back to the pits and get me coverage of the team working on the Jim Hall racing car". All the teams could work on their cars. I spend the balance of the day using the team scooter visiting all the good shooting locations at MIS.

[@mattthacker9120]

I shoot for NASCAR. Those drop gates going into turn one were insane to shoot out of. They have been removed for at least 5 years. You had to basically lean out the second drop gate to get a clear line of sight because of the shooter in the first drop gate. MIS needs more shooting holes at the wheel fence in turn 4. The photo hole in turn one is basically garbage now, as they cut it right behind a huge caution light.

[@VictorDeveze]

Oh man, do I miss CART/Champ Car. The series went international, racing in Mexico, Brazil, UK, Germany and Japan (from what I remember). I wish Indycar would do the same. At least come to Mexico, Pato will surely draw the crowds (and it will be an affordable alternative to F1 with their massive price tag)

[@Waddle_Dee_With_Internet]

I think they won’t because of F1 existence If IndyCar will do the move, IndyCar would go bankrupt

[@patrickbateman6682]

@@Waddle_Dee_With_Internet wym Indycar races in Canada and has for years?

[@danielhenderson8316]

Back then, Indy/CART went international (outside North America) because foreign promotors basically paid the freight. Roger Penske has pretty much said that IndyCar is a North American racing series, and there is a possibility of a Mexico race again to start the year, but nothing has been set yet. The other thing is where else would a series race at besides Hermanoz Rodriguez? Did the park in Monterrey where CART raced in 01 get torn up or rebuilt?

[@VictorDeveze]

@@danielhenderson8316 funny you mentioned Monterrey! It’s being rumored that the city will rebuild the Parque Fundidora track, hoping to attract Indycar and Nascar. It’s Pato’s hometown so it makes sense. And there’s Daniel Suarez in Nascar so that also makes sense But besides Monterrey, there’s Puebla. Formula E raced there last year. It can be just the oval or a Roval for Indy, great track.

[@125AXer]

I was at the race, not foo far ahead of the start/finish line. From my perspective, the debacle on the start was caused by polesitter Vasser. Understand that the speeds at MIS were considerably higher than at Indy The cars were set up with aero which really began working at Extremely high numbers. Without checking, my recollection was that average lap speeds were in the 230mph range. Vasser should have brought the field down the back straight and corners 3 and 4 at 180 at least... But it certainly looked more like 140... WAY too slow. Edit: Another thing I remember about the race is that the "Gurney Flap" wicker bill on the rear wing was a fairly recent addition, and at speeds of 230+ (240 on the back straight) the hole punched in the air made drafting exceptionally effective. Slingshot passing was awesome to watch!

[@jcf20010]

So was I.

[@danielhenderson8316]

I thought the Hanford Device was added in 97 or 98?

[@saberdiamond]

As a resident of Indiana and going to the Indy 500 every year, our family gave up our tickets at Indy and went to Michigan instead. Looking back I now know it was not a good idea. The last year we went to the US 500 was in 1998, the year the tire went over the fence into the stands. The race was moved that year to July and I have never been back to that track since that day.

[@xpavar]

Michigan Speedway is far from the only track that a tire has flown into the stands. It happened at the Indianapolis 500 in 1987 when Roberto Guerrero hit a tire that came off of Tony Bettenhausen's car and killed a spectator in the turn 3 stands.

[@Demise90Racing]

I can't say I blame you Scott. I would have done the same thing. Although I was young at the time, my father and I were always on the CART side of the split. I never really got into the IRL until all the big named teams started switching over and Sebastian Bourdais pretty much destroyed everyone 4 years in a row after CART became Champ Car.

[@Number-ju1nl]

You make some great videos hope to see you get many more subs. Great stuff man!

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it 👍

[@jeromemyoux1372]

What a great driver set. Many good drivers who have marked the history of motor racing.

[@drummerJ99]

Being a USAC dirt fan from Indiana, I probably have a different view on it than others. I loved the IRL mainly because it gave USAC dirt guys like Tony Stewart a chance that he otherwise never would have gotten in an IndyCar. You could say Stewart still would have been given an opportunity and I'd say just look at Jeff Gordon. His dream was Indy. His quote on the situation is “My dreams of being an Indycar driver got crushed. There really was no doors opening up unless you’re bringing a bunch of money.”

[@anthonydotson8652]

Agree 💯 I remember when many built their own Chassis. It was 10x more Competitive. And Way more Innovation. Past few Years look more fixed than NFL. Indianapolis Resident. 1963 Attended Qualifications for first Time. Parnelli Jones Won.

[@petertoft70]

As a fan in the stands, I thought the race was a good replacement for the IRL disaster.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

This remains the most overblown moment in the Split. Did this race succeed as a substitute for the Indy 500? Not even a little bit. But CART continued to thrive for the next few seasons, continuing to gain sponsor and manufacturer support, continuing to sell out everywhere (aside from Michigan, it must be said), and certainly looking great in comparison to the IRL, which brought a mix of the horrible officiating fans already were used to seeing at the USAC-sanctioned Indy 500 (how about a mid-lap restart? That sounds fun! And who needs to count laps correctly? Let AJ and Arie fight it out in the pits), crossplane V8 powered cars that sounded like tractors and looked like unlicensed toys, and a driver lineup full of CART backmarkers and newcomers who sounded like they were invented by lazy screenwriters (Racin Gardner...it's right there in his name! And what if we had a guy who's also a dentist? And people like Unsers, so let's get one of those...yeah Robby will do, whatever). When the balance did finally shift in the early 2000s it wasn't directly attributable to a bad start at Michigan 5 years prior. It was-and these are chronological, not necessarily weighted by significance: (a) The overall failure to come up with a premiere event for casual fans to latch onto that would generate the sponsor value the Indy 500 had--it would have been nice if the US 500 had done that, but bad start or not, it was never going to do that. Michigan was capable of generating compelling racing for a few laps at a time, but it ground cars and drivers into the earth and rarely finished with more than a handful running. For fans of the series, it was cool to watch the teams and drivers meet a grueling challenge, but if you watched one race only, Michigan was never going to satisfy. Besides, a direct copycat (let's run a superspeedway race in the midwest in May) offered nothing new. What they probably should have done, if they wanted a superspeedway race to be "the big one," was to lean on Fontana for that starting in 1997, since at least it was in a different region and a different time of year. They never gave Fontana quite the same push they had tried to give Michigan in '96. If they had managed to come up with an answer to the Indy 500, then point B might never have happened. (b) Once Ganassi decided to cherrypick the Indy 500 in 2000, and predictably squashed everybody, CART teams (and perhaps even more so their sponsors) were bound to be tempted to try to do the same. After all, the prestige of Indy might have been tarnished a bit by a handful of lean years, but it certainly wasn't lost altogether, and again from the sponsor perspective, there was still no equivalent "if you watch one race all year watch this one" on the CART calendar. Plus Ganassi had demonstrated how a top-tier team could still crush the IRL regulars. Marlboro was no doubt thrilled to have Penske get their brand back in front of all those TV eyes in 2001...and then they had to take the logos off the car because they lost the legal argument that they were still acting as a CART team even though this was an IRL race (tobacco sponsorship still being allowed in racing, but only one series per brand). No doubt this factored heavily into Penske's decision to switch full-time in 2002. And once the two biggest teams were competing full-time on the IRL side (though Ganassi didn't leave CART just yet) there was a huge momentum shift. (c) Concurrently, for a series whose continued stability depended so much on support from the engine manufacturers, CART did not do a great job keeping them happy. Later in 2001 they acted somewhat hastily to respond to Toyota's complaint that Honda and Ford/Cosworth were cheating the popoff valves by tailoring airflow in the intake plenum to create local low pressure where the valve was. At Detroit, CART suddenly made everybody run a spacer under the valve that would erase this advantage. Frankly, if Honda was cheating and getting extra boost, I would say they had no right to get mad when CART made them stop, but morals and big money rarely mix. CART probably needed to approach this more gently than they did. Instead, Honda got so mad that they decided to leave after 2002, and Toyota, who arguably had started the controversy, decided racing against Honda had been the point all along, so they both went to the IRL for 2003.

[@paulsontag9233]

Great stuff. You didn't mention another IRL flaw...the TV commentator.Bob Varsha was superb while Paul Page was horrible with his annoying patronizing voice and mispronouncing every possible foreign name or word ( he couldn't even say paddock for him it was two words ).

[@de-fault_de-fault]

@@paulsontag9233 At the time especially, I thought Varsha was a huge improvement, and as I have a habit of binging old races a whole season at a time, his commentary is really good (I’m actually in the middle of the 1998 season currently). I have to admit Paul Page (and his goofy Great Lakes accent, with poe-ulls for the fast qualifiers and pad-hocks for them to park in afterwards) has grown on me over the years of rewatching old races, maybe because nostalgia is a powerful drug. But I’ve actually noticed as I get older that he had kind of a dad-joking sense of humor that makes him more palatable now that I’ve noticed it. I think he was better when he had Derek Daly or Parker Johnstone with him, vs. Bobby Unser (I won’t speak ill of Sam Posey because I think he was better than people at the time gave him credit for). Page’s IRL days are best forgotten, though, especially because I’d rather start a Dr. Jack Miller fan club than listen to Tom Sneva.

[@paulsontag9233]

@@de-fault_de-fault None of those others really irked me except Bobby Unser. He did my local race once (probably the 1997 Vancouver one) as colour man on Canadian tv and he was falling down drunk I swear. Sam Posey was a little bit out there trying to be a poet but he and those others never grated like Paul Page! 😂 Also Page had the classic face for radio but still they had to show us that mug occasionally!

[@RRaquello]

You're missing one important point that makes some race fans uncomfortable: the almost complete purging of American drivers from the CART series. Some fans will say, "What difference does the driver's nationality make?", but it makes a damned big difference to some fans when drivers of a nationality, particularly if that nationality is the home nationality of the series, are systematically disqualified from a racing series. After the split, except for Jimmy Vasser, I'm hard pressed to name an American driver at all in the CART series. Maybe the ghost of Al Unser Jr. for a couple of years, and Michael Andretti. And Bryan Herta, who became a favorite whipping boy of the CART elite. Certainly no new, young drivers were given the chance until AJ Allmendinger somehow won a couple of races (it must have been an accident), and then he left right away for NASCAR, knowing there was no future for American drivers in CART. This is why I stopped following the series. I did continue to follow the IRL, though it was always a pretty cut-rate series (especially the cars, which were very uninspiring). The racing was usually pretty good, they were willing to try new things (like racing at Dover & Richmond, which didn't work out, but were worth a try), and at least guys like Sam Hornish, Greg Ray, Billy Boat & Buddy Rice were given a look. As was Tony Stewart, thought by the CART afficianadoes to be a trifling talent, but who by himself towered in fame and accomplishment every driver who drove in the CART series in their entire post-split era. The IRL ultimately ended up being a great frustration even for its supporters like me, because it never delivered what it promised, and the frustration continued after the series were re-united, because we've seen the Indy racing Series just become a minor league Formula One instead of having its own identity, which it had up till the 1980's. The conclusion to be drawn from all this is that you can't go back in time.

[@ajeade08]

The money lost by CART in the texas fiasco in 01 was also a massive factor in the IRL winning the split

[@BradPlaysEverything]

Cool vid for a smaller channel dude - Keep it up for sure this was a great rundown

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks Brad. Appreciate it 👍

[@bartleymollohan1090]

I was sitting in turn four and had a wonderful view of the pre-start crap show!

[@vandal21891]

I was in turn four as well! Man, after all the build up to that race and being the big CART supporter I was/still am, bragging to the IRL/Tony George fans I knew who went to Indy that day how the men were going to show the boys how it's done... what a disappointment. Still shake my head when I watch these videos of the start.

[@Fabrimon]

dude that greg moore's spin looks eerily familiar. Great video btw

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks man. Very eerie indeed. Fontana is nearly identical to Michigan. He would spin the same way in the same corner, but this time he wasn't so fortunate. RIP Greg Moore.

[@willracer1jz]

@@Demise90Racing not the same corner. Greg Moore's fatal accident happened at Fontana (aka at the time California Speedway) and not at Michigan.

[@Demise90Racing]

@@willracer1jz I never said it was Michigan. I literally mentioned Fontana and its similarity in my comment..... The same corner as referring to turn two. Re-reading my comment I realize I didn't really clarify that.

[@miguelgonzalez5964]

Only seen Greg's crash once, on Sportscenter the day it happened. To this day I haven't seen, and won't see Alex Zanardi's crash.

[@rickydeathtower]

@@Demise90Racing I knew what ya meant lol but I’m also very familiar with that horrible horrible crash. Great video, got a sub from me!!

[@randolph.carter.]

Where you can get all this footage of old races like these? Or is it possible to watch full races of this Season online?😅

[@Demise90Racing]

A lot of old races including this one are posted in full on the official IndyCar KZbin page. They don't have every race from every season but they do have a lot of old CART races.

[@randolph.carter.]

@@Demise90Racing Thanjs bro👍🏻

[@danielhenderson8316]

Check out asopher2 's channel as well. What IndyCar hasn't published, he's got the original US broadcast back to about 1988.

[@djbrohawk]

This video stumbled upon my home page and I'm glad I watched it, good stuff! One of the first races I ever remember watching was the 1992 Indy 500, a lot of names from that in this race! Also, good job explaining some of the rift between IRL and CART, I've never really looked up why they both were a thing, so that was a nice mini history lesson

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks DJ, I appreciate it man 👍

[@julianlymond975]

That Crash Was A Total Embarrassment For CART.

[@tomrobinson199]

Indy at mis was absolutely insane though, as a child I remember being so in aww at the speeds around that place

[@miguelgonzalez5964]

In the end they needed each other, the Indy 500 prevailed, and so did road course racing, as the IRL was to be an all oval series.

[@danielhenderson8316]

Yep. Twelve years of unCivil War gave us CART lite.

[@vinewood8295]

The official start of the IndyCar Cold War as perpetuated by Tony George, thanks a lot... That dude set professional open wheel racing in America back by 10 years...

[@jeffjackson4343]

Not really. Penske was dominating and the same drivers were winning every race. I was a contractor for Penske at the time and even at that, got tired of same-old same-old. If it wasn't for the split Helio wouldn't be a 4x winner and today's drivers wouldn't be heard of to this day. Not even Tony Kanaan.

[@raylsullivan]

The official start of the cold war was initiated by the CART chairman position becoming a revolving door. This led to objectives changing every two years. Tracks that were not controlled by CART board members or tight with the board got kept at arms length: IMS, Phoenix, New Hampshire. Milwaukee was kept at arms length until Carl Has got the lease via CART threatening to leave. There were car owners willing to run both series until Andrew Craig, CART CEO, sabotaged their sponsorships and agreements with equipment suppliers. The owners of Phoenix International Raceway and New Hampshire International Speedway were happy to leave CART and go with Tony George.

[@shredhead4604]

@@jeffjackson4343 couldn’t have said it any better my friend 👍🏎🏁

[@Popsracer2010]

That cold war started in the 1970s long before Tony George had control over IMS. The split started in 79 with the formation of CART as they seized control over all the races but Indy.

[@Cerberus2342]

God I loved watching this race implode. The sheer hubris of scheduling this on the same day as the Indy 500. I’ve never considered any driver who only raced in CART between 1996 and 2003 to be “IndyCar drivers”.

[@1ls376]

We were there. I couldn't remember all the details. Thanks for posting.

[@BobbyOfEarth]

6th place was Eddie Lawson's (4 time 500cc MotoGp champion) best finish, while racing IndyCars. Eddie later decided to go race 250cc super-karts with his friend and also, past 500cc MotoGp champion, Wayne Rainey.

[@kg0173]

I like the huge tires, makes the cars look more serious.

[@bromidedrag]

Were they bigger than what they ride now? I just figured the cars now are bigger and make the wheels look smaller. They certainly cover up the rear wheels more.

[@markko17]

Everybody talks about how messed up this was, but no one ever talks about what happened on the last lap at Indy. Guerrero, Salazar, and Zampedri all got involved in a major crash, it was just luck no one was killed, but Zampedri did end up having part of his left foot amputated.

[@sebastianjoseruizmorales8534]

The 1996 US 500, also called the motorsports equivalent of 2017 Justice League

[@mrmark-oe6qt]

more like poetic justice league

[@miguelgonzalez5964]

It wasn't a failure because of any crash or DNF, that's racing, it was a failure because it wasn't Indianapolis on Memorial weekend, as the debacle of 1982 didn't faze the Indy 500 one bit.

[@kmurphy739]

It was a failure bc the drivers were just as incompetent as the irl. This opening lap was an embarrassment for cart as they failed to upstage the Indy 500.

[@miguelgonzalez5964]

@@kmurphy739 They could've gone caution free at Michigan and still wouldn't have been the greatest spectacle in racing.

[@kmurphy739]

@@miguelgonzalez5964 it was about bragging rights, being the,better series. They were trying to make a statement, you have the Indy 500 but we have the better series..... epic fail!!!!!

[@RRaquello]

@@kmurphy739 The problem was that by this time, NASCAR had so far passed IndyCar (whatever series you mean) in popularity that besides the Indy 500, IndyCar racing was completely a niche sport, mostly just for specialists. Casual fans who might turn on a race would watch NASCAR and the only Indy car race they ever heard of was the Indy 500, so if they turned on THAT race, they didn't know or care about the split, who the drivers or teams were, which was the best series. They were watching the Indy 500 because it was THE famous event. They didn't know or care who Jimmy Vasser was or who Buddy Lazier was, or Hemelgarn racing from Chip Ganassi because it was the only IndyCar race they'd watch all year. So all the bragging and boasting of who was the best or more professional in the IndyCar world meant nothing to 90% of the people watching the Indy 500.

[@sammurray3108]

They were billing it "The Stars and Their Cars"....there was many an audible chuckle in the stands at Indy when those listening on the radio told people around them about the start.....

[@conrailman]

Interesting to hear the voice of Scott Goodyear helping Bob Varsha call that race.

[@NotSteveCook]

He was recovering from injury at Rio de Janeiro in March. Otherwise he would've been in the race for Derrick Walker.

[@berke2336]

Paul Tracy has looked like a 25 year old Monster chugging Kyle ever since the 90s.

[@tilley31]

Man, I love those 90s ESPN graphics...

[@mikelewis495]

Damn... highlights of Jeff Krosnov and Greg Moore back to back. RIP.

[@TuberOnTheLoose]

I seem to remember that the very first magazine article I read about the IRL when it was still only a concept said they would only compete on ovals and only in the off-season from CART. I was actually excited about it. As it turns out this was not the case. Tony George used The Indy 500 as leverage to kill CART. I have not and will never watch an IRL race. I am content to watch youtube videos of the races up to 1985.

[@longcaster]

I miss hearing Bob Varsha call races.

[@__deebzz__]

Yt finally recommended an actual good video

[@Demise90Racing]

Wow I appreciate it. Thank you.

[@davidcane7211]

Funny how your memory can play tricks on you. I've always remembered that start crash happening on TV Indy race, not Michigan. Only today have I realised I remembered that wrong for 28 years 😅😂

[@thequadzillaking]

I had forged pit passes . Sat at Bobby Rahals tent.

[@Demise90Racing]

Lmao that's amazing.

[@RobbieHatley]

I'm guessing that the reason 2/3 of the field was DNF by the finish is because they were using "backup" cars, which tend to be older, slower cars with already-heavily-used engines, as opposed to the "main" cars (most of which were destroyed on Lap 1) which were each team's fastest car with best available engine. If that pileup on Lap 1 had _not_ occurred, I think the "attrition" would have been much less, about 1/3 instead of 2/3.

[@Demise90Racing]

I would have to agree with you. Back then it was really costly to be in a backup car. It worked out for Jimmy Vasser but not so much for others. Today the backup is equally as good as the primary, and teams have very little engine failures. It definitely made things more interesting back then, that's for sure.

[@Demise90Racing]

Do you guys remember the 1996 US 500?

[@Mario_Ramirez]

Like it was yesterday!

[@walterfox4761]

Yep, this is where CART's downfall began. It hit rock bottom almost 5 years later at Texas Motor Speedway.

[@jerrypetercheff3075]

I remember people calling it the bogUS 500.

[@Sphoam]

awesome video :) YT algorithm did well today

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@kg0173]

Who was the highest finisher who didn't crash on the start?

[@JReaLBiz86]

Ngl, Adrian Fernandez looks like he got paid to cause that wreck at the beginning. No idea why he was so close to Jimmy at the start (you can see it like 10 seconds before they actually try to take off), and when everyone is offered the chance to get a backup car his team just... says no? lol I'm kidding ofc, but still that situation was just weird.

[@adolfomartinezcarazo3099]

I don't understand safety on Indycar ovals and on some F-1 circuits. Hitting walls, a concrete wall is harder than a car. Why aren't softer materials used than the car? that they dissipate the energy within the limits of physics and the human body. I think there is not enough awareness, maybe the organizer's son would have to run to see how dangerous he is. Now that the danger of fire had been greatly reduced (in the 60s, 70s and 80s the risk was tremendous).

[@Kevin_40]

I havent seen that intro since the 90s so nostalgic

[@genecrucean9975]

This is a wonderful presentation ...

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks Gene. I appreciate it 👍

[@scottsaum8442]

This race divided our family. My wife and her family from Columbus, Ohio went to M.I.S. that day for the US 500. I, with a tough decision to make, on the other hand, took a close friend to I.M.S. with not one but two sets of tickets (one set from my absent in-laws and a second set of my own). At Indy, my friend and I watched the prerace hoopla plus the first 60 laps from my father-in-laws seats in Paddock grandstand. Then we walked to turn 3 (Northeast Vista) to view the rest of the race from my double letter seats. Afterwards, we ate the traditional (for us) smoked turkey leg. M.I.S. didn't have the smoked turkey legs which easily swung the decision for me. Scott Saum

[@stacye8408]

This race was so cringe for CART. You did good covering the split and the dynamics of the weekend. It was a PR turd show for months before, with people and networks throwing their weight around and losing all sight of the fan base as a whole. This race was a debacle, a true 💩 show that presented CART, and Indy racing in general, as a novelty sport to the major networks and casual fans. It could not have lived up to the hype if it went perfect, but definitely was an embarrassment as presented. Teams were glad to leave Michigan that day. Great job covering this race, and the backstory 💯

[@michaelhazen3153]

Both USAC and CART were very stubborn and selfish as to what direction the open wheel racing in America would go. This controversy was brewing for years and both sides were equally at fault. They were at polar ends as CART for years had been cutting back on oval track races almost to the point that there would be the Indy 500 and the rest street or road courses. With the rise of NASCAR, USAC wanted a 50/50 split on street and road courses to ovals. There used to be every year races at Atlanta, Phoenix, Indy, Milwaukee, Michigan, Nazareth, & Pocono. Not all of them 500 milers. CART w/o the Indy 500 prestige and money kept a few on the schedule for a few more years. USAC wanted to go back to the roots of American open wheel racing with ovals. Neither would budge an inch and compromise and open wheel racing fans suffered. It wasn't all Tony George's fault as this commentator says.I just say thank God it's over.

[@tilley31]

Yeah. IRL wanted ovals only. Now they run mostly in road courses. It was about power and money. It was never about oval racing.

[@danielhenderson8316]

Tony George hit the nuclear button. His idea of negiotiating was "My Way or the Highway." He presented multiple "final offers" to the CART board to change to the IRL "or else." Part of it was control and part of it was Tony George actually scared CART was going to replace Indy if he didn't stop it. Check out "Indy Split" by John Oreovicz and Al Unser Jr's biography by Jade Gurss for some of the info that was happening at the time.

[@tilley31]

@@danielhenderson8316 The funny thing is that CART did try to replace the Indy 500 but failed miserably. Not sure how the start of the US 500 affected it. It was going ok but when the first CART team "jumped the fence" and bought IRL equipment, it was over. I remember how back in 2001 when CART teams finished all in the top 6 it was all "see? It's over. CART is just better". It was over indeed. CART died in the following 5 years.

[@michaelhazen3153]

@@shaneevans2064 I could write a book about what has destroyed racing as a sport and the split would only be a small chapter and a positive one. Al Unser Jr would be a much bigger chapter as what was wrong with the sport with a major tobacco sponsor responsible for the deaths of.illions paying a driver so much money he thought he had the right to be a drunken fool spending his nights at strip bars and cruising the streets searching for hookers to pick up and assault. A cold calculated liar with a boyish face and a deceiving smile.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@tilley31 Now we're back into chicken or the egg or self-fulling prophecy argument.

[@johngreskamp4739]

Half shaft broke.......more like the front row was incompetent.

[@deancrawford6116]

My take is who ever came in the highest position with there original car "not a backup one" won the race.

[@ElectoneGuy]

Those 2.65L V8s blew up spectacularly.

[@RRaquello]

Then they had those pop-off valves, which seemed to always be a problem. If I remember correctly, the sanctioning body randomly issued the pop-off valves, so if you got a lemon it would completely screw up your race and it wasn't even your fault.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@RRaquello Every car was issued pop off valves, just not all of them worked correctly.

[@NotSteveCook]

@@RRaquello Popoff valves weren't a frequent issue in CART races, though there was an occasional problem. USAC seemed to be clueless about properly managing those valves; there tended to be as many popoff vales snafus during the month of May as there were for the rest of the season.

[@RRaquello]

​@@NotSteveCook Maybe it was something that was talked about more than it really happened. It's such a long time ago, it just seems like it happened a lot, but I just remember it being a talking point by the commentators in every race, even if the problems weren't that frequent.

[@tigerphid9677]

I remember watching this race's start, and flipping the channel back to Indy after this crash.

[@sundance81677]

FF to 05:50.

[@leondraw1766]

Narrated by my ten year old great grandson. Make me proud.

[@MGJDMNJ]

I was there and 12 years old. We saw the stands clearing and my dad heard a good amount of the chatter on his radio that he used to listen to communications

[@greydood]

my god the intro with the title sends shivers

[@ralphwilliams2396]

Didn't ABC still have the indy 500 also? And I thought it was the Michigan 500?

[@danielhenderson8316]

ABC ran the Indy 500 while ESPN 2 showed the US 500. This was also before ESPN 2 made it to most cable companies as well.

[@ralphwilliams2396]

@@danielhenderson8316 thanks

[@NotSteveCook]

The Michigan 500 (labelled the Marlboro 500 at the time) was run as per usual in July. The US 500 was simply an additional race at MIS, and the name US 500 was moved to the July 500-miler in 1997.

[@StuartH2709]

CART from 96-01 was, in my opinion, the best racing series in the world. Used to love watching the races on Sunday evenings live in the UK.

[@scottyp1348]

🤣🤣🙈

[@repetitivemotion]

The series from the late 70’s up to 1995 was better, in my opinion and as one who was there to witness it firsthand. At the beginning of this period we had greats like AJ Foyt, Johnnie Rutherford, Dick Simon, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and Al Unser Sr. There was still great innovation and diversity of engines and chassis. Later in this period we had racers like Rahal, Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr. Of course arguably the greatest aspect of those days was the engine. The turbo charged V8’s were glorious to listen to.

[@StuartH2709]

@@repetitivemotion I can't disagree with that so I will respect your opinion! I was 14 in 96 and that season was the first season which CART was available here in the UK. For me it had everything at that point: top class drivers, different circuits (road/ovals etc.), great racing, great looking cars, and as you say, glorious sounding cars. Such a shame we probably won't ever hear that sound again. I also think 98/99/00 CART cars could be the prettiest race cars ever.

[@repetitivemotion]

@@StuartH2709 I watched both leagues after the split and enjoyed both. The IRL cars were different so that was interesting. I’ve been attending the Indy 500 since 1981 and I live within 45 minutes from the Milwaukee Mile and 2 hours of Road America. So I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of Indycar racing live.

[@danielhenderson8316]

I'd just say the whole decade from 1990-2000 was the greatest. They found a format that worked the best and are now following that with a smaller price tag.

[@codileger4876]

It’s sad to think these names were not at Indy that day and not because of their failures, but of those above them. At least the sport agreed to disagree and settled their differences for the better of the sport as shown today

[@SaltyChip]

You have 666 subs and your channel is too good for such a number so imma have to do my part and subscribe to get that bad number off the channel. Team player checking in!

[@Demise90Racing]

Hahaha thank you very much. No bad juju here 😂

[@SaltyChip]

@@Demise90Racing up to 741! I had a few vids go big, not like what you are going with your own content, but I LOVED the analytics that the YT app gives ya! It’s fun to see who is watching and where they are coming from.

[@Avofan]

Just imagine that driver line up at that time.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

Honestly? I don't get the issue with them allowing the use of backup cars for the restart; if the race had already started, then _absolutely_ it would be a DNF. But as the race hadn't even _started_ yet, IMO that start - and any consequences of that crash - should have been stricken off the record (except perhaps the one who started the pileup in the first place).

[@99somerville]

Looks like they had a big crowd. Never see the engines blow up like this anymore.

[@truthhurts1754]

These cars were absolute rocketships

[@mikulitsi1819]

Fantastic job by the YT algorithm to recommend this

[@Look_Dad_Old_Tunes]

16::44 *What* field?

[@PeterMayer]

Despite the awful beginning, and ended up being a great race. We were there.

[@alexrebmann1253]

IRL will never be the series that CART was. This one chassie spec series sucks.

[@robertmusgrave9236]

Thanks IMS for meddling in CARTs better business model at the time.

[@coyboybc]

I honestly like competition between Indianapolis 500 and another race ! Everyone that enjoys these kind of cars racing can’t always go to Indy and this gets attention for another event ! Indy hated the competition with another race!

[@jatzbethstappen9814]

I have no opinion either way about this whole thing (as an Aussie) but I appreciate this video explaining it all to me!

[@Demise90Racing]

Glad you enjoyed it Jatz 👍

[@roboticus71]

I have a feeling that Parker Johnston ended up with skid mark on his car from a tire that hit not far from his head during the big start crash. He made a comment something like "Could have technically been a very bad thing."

Is any chance bring back Michigan in Indycar?

[@thethirdman225]

6:19 record for throwing a steering wheel.

[@LancasterResponding]

12:59 That guy on the right is literally everyone’s grandfather.

[@brandensimmons653]

I didn't know James Allen work for espn after the crashes race was an marathon with engines blowups

[@seandoyle9216]

At the time, James Allen was hired by Eurosport as commentator to fill in between ad breaks for all the 1996 IndyCar races. he was pit lane reporter that day for ESPN. I think ESPN hired him to be pit lane reporter for F1 races.

[@brandensimmons653]

@@seandoyle9216 oh okay gotcha

[@chriscosby6612]

I remember it as yesterday. Couldn’t believe a bunch of amateur racers were taking over the 500

[@tilley31]

"Not sure what Adrian Fernandez was thinking, he had plenty of space at the right". Bro...what space? Both Herta and Vasser sandwiched him. The track was not as wide as Indy where 3-car rows can be done.

[@bromidedrag]

Without knowing the politics behind the split, as a teenager I remember being so bummed these big name were no longer at Indy.

[@Demise90Racing]

Absolutely, I was even younger and I didn't understand why CART didn't race the Indy 500.

[@jwrailve3615]

It’s insane Indy/kart used to be popular. Watch a race now it looks like a practice session. Racing died in the 2000’s

[@jmreeves89]

To be fair, you could make the argument (discounting parc ferme restrictions) that since they did not take the green flag, cars should be allowed to rejoin

[@Skipz0rz]

Great vid

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks Tanner. Appreciate it 👍