The deadliest accident in motorsport history

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

I am an American. I humbly apologize if all my European pronunciations are not correct.

[@HighLiner15]

Never apologize for being American!! 😋

[@arlieaustin448]

Have done a story on the little know Peshtigo fire that occurred at the same time as the great Chicago fire? As a retired firefighter a little know fact from the great Chicago Fire when help from other cities arrived to help with the Chicago fire none of the assisting fire dept. Could cooperate with the other departments because of the different threads on the fire hoses, the great Chicago fire brought about a National Standard thread for all fire departments

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Arlie Austin kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWXammqbl7R8jdU

[@TommygunNG]

We saved their asses a few times last century. Let them change their languages.

[@randyhutchinson9910]

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered you did very well,

[@gchampi2]

Also worth remembering are the improvements in road safety designed by John Fitch, Levegh's co-driver. Fitch Barriers (basically plastic bins filled with sand), as seen on many US highways, are credited with saving at least 17,000 lives since their introduction in the late 60's...

[@SoloPilot6]

Fitch Barriers, aka BFBs ("Big Fricken Barrels") and its brother, the FUMS, work by ATTENUATING impact, over a very short distance and span of time, rather than being an immovable barrier. The sand, ash, salt pr water in the bins absorb energy as the BFB contents are being slammed into motion..

[@Mazdatree]

Imagine how many more unaccounted

[@Tmrfe0962]

Being a huge racing fan I’ve known of this tragedy and you did a fine job telling it. Thank you for keeping stories alive with your concise and factual episodes.

[@rsr789]

He's so much better than most KZbinrs, who go way too long and state a lot of incorrect information. I saw a video about the history of Porsche the other day that had more wrong information in it than correct information!

[@lenf2]

While living in Germany in the late 50's and early 60's I actually saw one of the Mercedes 300SLR vehicles, and instantly and eternally fell in love with it. To this day I still feel it is the car I would most dearly love to own.

[@PaulZink]

Yes, especially the one with the race number 722-the car driven by the late Sir Sterling Moss to win the 1955 Mille Miglia race. Although having the street version driven by Mercedes race team manager Rudolph Uhlenhaut for his personal use would be nice, too.

[@davkatjenn]

It was one of the most truly beautiful automobiles of all time. I very much understand.

[@Loulovesspeed]

@@PaulZink - I am fortunate to own both of those fine cars - in 1:18 scale diecast made by CMC Models of Germany. If you are not familiar with the brand, they are high end, extremely detailed pre painted and built from more than 1,500 individual parts! I had Stirling sign #722 for me as well as a re print of the 1955 Mille Miglia poster, "Overwhelming Victory of Mercedes Benz." I had John Fitch sign the poster also, as he won the Standard Sports Class in a 300 SL, and Stirling of course won the Sports Racing Class in the 300 SLR. The poster and the car are two of my most prized motor racing artifacts, particularly since both men have passed on. They are gone, but my memories are vivid about conversations with both of these men at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. RIP John and Stirling.

[@rsr789]

Mercedes sold one of them (an SLR) recently to the public, making it the most expensive car publicly sold thus far (over $125 million)... the money will go to charity.

[@Loulovesspeed]

@@rsr789 - It sold for $143 million and the proceeds went to a scholarship foundation for engineers. The buyer remained anonymous.

[@UScarsinSweden]

Later ,Juan Manuel Fangio said about Pierre Levegh rasing his hand to warn him; "It was like he was waving goodbye"

[@gosportjamie]

Levegh was a very experience, and incredibly intelligent, racing driver. Like a number of other great drivers he had the innate ability to read what was happening ahead of him and therefore avoid being involved in someone else's problem. There's little doubt that he knew, but for a miracle, he was going to die but his primary instinct was to warn the vehicles behind to avoid the inevitable crash being worse, which, with other vehicles, mostly lapped traffic, close behind him was a huge risk. This could easily have resulted in multiple vehicles going into the crowd so, as bad as this was, Pierre undoubtedly saved far more lives than this crash ended...

[@johnnymurillo2048]

@@gosportjamie very well put

[@JasonLambek]

UScarsinSweden, I heard this story also.

[@Mercmad]

if you do a search,the disaster was caught on film.

[@oldrogue4247]

@@Mercmad Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4GXe4eOd86ch5Y

[@lght5548]

Mercedes retired from motor racing after this tragedy. They didn't participate again until 1989.

[@mrorangepeel659]

When they won again, in the 1989 Le Mans. I was there as a teenager to watch them, although I was cheering on the Jaguars.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

a person complained to Gaston Chevrolet(ca. 1910)about the quality of automobile braking systems,,,,,,,,,,, Gaston's response was,,,,,, "I make them go, I do not make them stop".

[@scottjones2813]

jeffrey mcfadden Enzo Ferrari quoted him when jaguar brought disc brakes le mans

[@rpmhart]

I'm fairly certain that the quote belongs to Gaston's older brother Louis, who was the engineer behind the Frontenac and Monroe racing cars and the original Chevrolet street car...which was NOT part of GM. GM was the brainchild of Bill Durant, who bought out David Buick and Ransom Olds' names and companies and then pretty much forced Louis out, leaving his name behind too. Gaston was killed at the Beverly Hills board track not long after he won the Indy 500 in 1920; Louis began manufacturing racing parts, including the famous Fronty (Frontenac) DOHC head that bolted onto a Model T engine and almost doubled its horsepower. But don't accuse the Chevrolet brothers of any involvement in GM, Branon; that happened after they were gone. The original Chevrolet road car was a fabulous machine, I think the first production car with a V-8 engine; it only became a mass-produced car meant to challenge Ford after Durant took it over.

[@eariamjh71]

"Good brakes encourage bad driving"

[@Loulovesspeed]

And bad brakes encourage DEAD driving!

[@freddyflintstoned913]

And GM cars just shut off when a bump is hit in the road.

[@kurtappley4550]

The accident is something that myself a racing fan has been aware of since my youth. You did an admirable job of describing it.

[@DoomerONE]

Brilliant work sir, I remember researching this many years ago and was truly surprised by the impact it had on racing. Great job telling a very challenging story. Matching safety with the speeds these cars achieve has, and always will be, a deicate balance.

[@brucegreaves3204]

The chain reaction was caused when Hawthorn pulled in front of the Healey then slowed down to pit. Everything else was a result of this action. Sadly

[@dallisb1047]

I wish my father was still alive. He would enjoy watching your channel with me. You are one my favorites. Top 5 for sure.

[@theguyrocks1]

You are a great presenter 'History Guy'. I appreciate your work. Thank You.

[@itsalgud1459]

Thanks for a great description of this tragic moment. I’ve heard the story before, and seen the film (ugh!), and you did great job of summarizing it all.👍

[@donkarnes5946]

I am so glad to find this channel! I love history, thanks for your research and great presentation. Rivals big brother, History channel.

[@taofledermaus]

Did the "5 minute" part of your name cause peoples' heads explode because your videos were longer? Great video!

[@Nightdare]

Bloody hell, and there is TAOFLEDERMOUSE of exotic and obscure shotgun projectile fame If the internet is vast, KZbin is a small world after all

[@whiskeyx-ray4483]

Nightdare right, could have guessed he's into history. Alot of us gun freaks are.

[@carolbates6886]

@@whiskeyx-ray4483 how about modern history? Today a cop died and four were injured. But don't dared knock your 2nd Amendment and your well organized mulitia.

[@andrewdillon7837]

shit does vsauce watch this guy too,?

[@shoeshinegirl101]

Carol Bates next time somebody is shooting someone, you guys be sure to riot, block traffic, yell and call them horrible names. That should solve the problem.

[@joeortiz3455]

The lava lamp is awesome , peace, love dove ,I truly do appreciate all of your studio collectables, there is so much history behind us that truly deserves to be remembered ,thank you and the history lady for all of your sharing of knowledge!

[@bengerman9648]

I love your channel. When I was in school as a child I hated history class, now I can't get enough. I look forward to the end of a long work day when I can kick back and learn something new. Keep up the good work! 👍

[@jonathanmejia7516]

Thank you for creating this channel. This has become my favorite channel. I enjoy listening to your excellent narration and for keeping history alive. Once again, Thank You for what you do!

[@Mattthewanderer]

This caught my full attention immediately since the catastrophe has been widely referenced in many publications but a comprehensive breakdown of the event has not been forthcoming. Thank you for helping illuminate this event so we can hopefully continue to improve safety at these events and at lesser ones which also need good sense to reduce risks.

[@Chopwoodcarrywater]

it's hard to thumbs up a video about 83 people dying.... good vid, though.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

I've read it was actually closer to 100 than 83. Some of the walking wounded suffered collapsed lungs and other injuries associated with an explosion and died at the hospital a day or two later. Still nobody knows the exact figure.

[@gkess7106]

Well Spoiler Alert! Stay away from the Titanic videos and any starting with “WW...”.

[@leoortiiiz]

@@gkess7106 ?

[@crazydave951]

It means you like the content, not liking the fact people died. Most normal people don't like that.

[@johnnymurillo2048]

@@leoortiiiz The pass is given by a black person, I'm just selling it....means exactly what to you?

[@boraborabob1]

My mother and father were at the race. They went to get a beer. The accident happened where they had been standing moments before. My father was on Montgomery's staff at NATO at the time. He retired a few years later as a 2 star general (air force). I was in school in Switzerland at the moment.

[@mlt3258]

I've been a Nascar dedicated fan since 1978-79. Always watch other racing her and there. Got back into F1 racing last year and have not missed a thing since then. Your absolutely correct in stating this race should be remembered. Interestingly I'm a Silver Arrow fan, more now knowing this race history.

[@davidcopperfield-notthemag397]

Wow. What a tragedy! I had never heard of this wreck. Terrible.

[@theadventuresofjavier8698]

Excellent. Love motorsports. Perhaps you can touch the subject of Reno air race catastrophes. I was present when Miss Ashley 2 crashed. Sad day.

[@195511SM]

I moved to Reno in 2010, so that was my 1st year. I was out there in 2011, the day BEFORE the 'Galloping Ghost' crash. The USAF Thunderbirds were only scheduled to perform on that 1 day, if I'm remember correctly. I didn't want to miss it. I heard that they lost 3 pilots during the 2007 races. Was that the year 'Miss Ashley 2' crashed?

[@randyhutchinson9910]

Javier 86 did you see the Gray Ghost, P 51 Mustang crash, I met him 1 day before it happened

[@wbradburn8871]

Thank you for covering this, and so many other little known bits of history. The MB 300 SLR photo frequently shown in the video is of the Fangio/Kling driven team car (#19)...the car following Levegh's #20. Thank you again!

[@doc.voltold4232]

I love this channel sooooo much

[@meglioeducation]

The cars were so beautiful back then.

[@Entsy16]

Wow, I've never even heard of this before. Certainly taught me something.

[@prof2yousmithe444]

How is it that when I miss a day of your videos I feel the intense need to get back asap! I don't know either but you are a terrific story-teller! Simply enjoy this channel!!!!

[@thomas316]

I'm a huge Motorsport fan and did know but still enjoyed the presentation. There was a similar disaster in the 1957 Mille Miglia where a Ferrari killed 10 or 12 people (inc. both drivers.) Motorsports in the 50s was extremely dangerous but forged some of the greatest names in racing like Fangio, Moss, Ascari, Brabham, Hulme etc.

[@modelleg]

There is film footage of the mercedes engine careening though the crowd. What a horror.

[@covercalls88]

Great videos, when I have a few moments and need to unwind, I watch a few. Keep up the good work.

[@beast1624]

As an avid Motorsports fan I appreciate this episode! This story has parallels to the 2001 Daytona 500 where we lost Dale Earnhardt that spurred so many safety changes in NASCAR. Thank you for sharing! Would love to see future history stories on this subject.

[@thecontemptuous]

God i wish you had a tv show with a decent budget. Your content is already so good i would love to see what you could do with more resources at your disposal

[@dennis8445]

Thanks for the education. If I watch your channel I can always say I learned something new today.

[@pythagorasaurusrex9853]

Great stuff! Could you pls make a video of the Ramstein (Germany) air show disaster on 28th August 1988?

[@debbicks3793]

Love your channel. I've learned a lot and you are a wonderful presenter. 🦋

[@irgski]

Another fantastic history lesson! I recently saw a YT video on this very subject that had actual videos of the crash. In addition, the early days of automobiles saw, as mentioned, increases in horsepower but the roads themselves were not in very good shape to handle the faster cars.

[@UraTrowelie]

Great video! But I miss, "Its History THAT deserves to be remembered"

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Eric C. That tagline was too long for YT.

[@workingguy6666]

Your audience doesn't think so, sir - you hooked us on that line. Keep up the good work, and don't take YT analytics as gospel. It's the unique presentations and channels that deserve to be watched, and deserve to be remembered.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

That guy who cannot abide I mean literally, YT rejected the tag as having too many characters. The tag was too long for the system.

[@UraTrowelie]

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembere Wow, who knew? Still a fantastic channel! Very happy to have found it.

[@thadnipper9411]

I read about this many years ago in grade school very good presentation enjoyed it!

[@shaindaman13]

I live in NASCAR country but I’m here to tell ya, my recent interest in La Mans since the Ford GT in 2017 and this past weekends race with the NASCAR Garage 56 entry to which I’ve looked forward to for a year…all has garnered a new Fan in myself with this particular endurance race. I just never really took the time to learn and appreciate the rich heritage of true racing that have ran at La Mans for the past century. Real REAL Racing Car Drivers. Not “Racers” like the old school Guys in Stock Car Racing referred to em as or nowadays as just simply “Drivers”. These Men that have ran in France are TRUE, gritty, bare-knuckles, no holds barred, racing car drivers. Much MUCH respect from me for all of them. Especially the late Great Ken Miles. My personal very favourite!

[@flybyairplane3528]

Many years after that accident, I saw it again, but when it happened, it was shown in the movie newsreels , as there was no tv where lived in that timeframe , I still NEVER FORGOT THAT TRADEGY.

[@Keithbarber]

Those who present would never forget it

[@2thewilderness]

The information on your channel is awesome!

[@alec7568]

Oh wow! Some motorsport content from the history guy!

[@BReal-10EC]

As a long time "car guy" and former F1 fan, I already knew of this crash. But you did an excellent job of telling the story.. I knew of the crash, but had forgotten the specifics. I think the track kink is mainly to blame for the massive casualties. With most modern Motorsports and displays of speed, the vehicle momentum is kept parallel to the spectators so if one loses control they are not headed at the spectators, and if they crash there will not be parts and hot fluids flying into the crowds. NASCAR and IndyCar are two racing series that race ovals at high speed- which means they must have tall safety fences to keep a wreck from flying into the crowd, and also limit top speeds somehow to keep them from having too much momentum to clear/punch through the fences. There was a time when race drivers accepted the dangers of racing, but now I think you are more likely to get hurt in the stands by drunk and angry fans that actually driving on the track. Rally driving excluded.

[@philgiglio9656]

Tell that to the marshal killed when Giles Villenvue crashed...you can actually Giles being thrown from the car

[@conradcougar2019]

Wow! That was awesome. You should also do the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium Disaster where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death.

[@ceck.8843]

Hang in there sir, your channel will grow. Quality history lessons each and every episode ;)

[@gardensofthegods]

83 spectators dead... too bad they didn't think to make the sport safer for the spectators BEFORE that happened .

[@DrJReefer]

It's always the way. Safely laws are changed only after a bunch of people die.

[@frequentlycynical642]

Man, those cars were so beautiful! I remember them well, that was my childhood era. That 300SLR also had mechanical direct fuel injection!

[@flagship1701e]

I am amazed that the history channel and especially Audible.com don't sponsor this great channel.

[@michaelmartinez1345]

This was a very bad day in motor racing history... Many safety standards have been improved witj the vehicles, the track, the weather conditions, etc. Since this took place... A real learning experience...

[@rippinaroundeverywhere9249]

Excellent content History-Guy!!...great channel due to experience growth very soon!

[@RoxHardy]

While spectator safety did start to improve at Le Mans and other tracks because of this horrific accident, it still took a couple more decades for driver safety to take a serious hold. For years after 1955, it was common to lose several racing drivers every year.

[@RajaReign78]

Just found your channel and wanna thank you for NOT showing the awful footage or pictures of this event. While I have a strange fascination with tragic accidents like this; I really wanna hear the stories or see the pictures of live people from these I don’t wanna see actual dead or dying bodies. So I really appreciate getting a good history lesson without the gore. 😬

[@MikeyD22]

Another excellent and very interesting video. Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@Mesa3077Boogie]

Why are you providing kph instead of mph? Great video

[@msnovtue]

Great video, but a few things: the engineers at Mercedes-Benz had not developed disc brakes at the time, which is why the 300SLR didn't have them; in fact, it was Jaguar who developed them. Also, Mercedes withdrew due to John Fitch's urging--there's another video on KZbin showing him talking about it a few years before he died. Finally, it's worth mentioning that there was no safety or catch fencing at all, just a few hay bales. Catch fencing was something that was developed because of the LeMans disaster. Racing safety did improve markedly after LeMans, but only for the spectators--it would be another 20 years or more before major changes were made concerning safety for the drivers. It was mostly driven by the combination of the beginning of international live TV coverage plus activist drivers who got tired of watching their friends die year after year, the 2 main proponents being Sir Jackie Stewart and, after Stewart retired from F1, Emerson Fittipaldi.

[@run4funorgo4dough]

I had a difficult time upvoting this particular piece of history but it does deserve to be respectfully remembered.

[@samhianblackmoon]

This one is truly one of my favorites👍🏽

[@bcaffrey98]

The 1955 Le Mans accident was a "watershed" moment for auto racing. From that incident thru today, not only has technology changed for the race cars, but it has vastly improved for spectators too. Early fences were adequate for on-track accidents. But a series of NASCAR and other accidents where cars went airborne and through the fences caused the development of "catch fences" designed to protect spectators and keep the cars on the track. These have improved over the years thanks to new technologies in metals and better designs.

[@p28-e7j]

I learned about Le Mans early in my life. 40 odd years later the footage remains just as shocking and horrific to me. Without doubt the darkest of darkest days in motor sport.

[@scoobycarr5558]

If I'm not mistaken, Pontiac had a car by the name of LeMans in the 1970s (corrupted from Lemans because of the race). It's possible that GM named the car in honor of history's deadliest motorsports disaster.

[@Loulovesspeed]

@@scoobycarr5558 - I highly doubt that was GM's intention when naming the car. I believe the performance image John DeLorean was creating with the Pontiac prompted them to use the name of the most famous endurance race in the world to build up their own image! Funny thing is, to my knowledge, no Pontiac ever raced at Le Mans. Lol

[@theobserver9131]

I found it difficult to thumbs up this tragic story, but as usual, it was masterfully told.

[@asd36f]

The ban on racing in Switzerland is the reason why the 1975 and 1982 Swiss Formula 1 Grand Prix races were held at the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France, close to the Swiss border. Keeping on the sports theme, would you consider doing an episode on the "Timeless" cricket Test Match between South Africa and England at Durban in 1939. Both teams played for 10 days (with two rest days in between), and yet no-one won, as England had to abandon the game (which was declared a draw), as they had to catch the train from Durban in order to catch the boat from Cape Town to get back home to England! It was the last "timeless" Test Match - since then all Test Matches have had a 5 day limit. Thw whole absurdity of playing for 10 days without a winner deserves an episode.

[@candyflair7946]

Oh my, how terrifying that would have been.

[@donb7113]

In the mid seventies I was engaged to, but did not marry, the daughter of Athol Graham, a Bonneville Salt Flats racer. In 1960 Athol Graham was killed when at approximately 400 MPH, his tire on the Spirit of Salt Lake City blew. I think it would be interesting to do a history not only on Mr. Graham, but the Salt Flats altogether.

[@nickgough6904]

I have seen the video of this horrific crash once and that is more than enough for me. As you mention, the safety rules for race cars (and even street cars) dramatically improved over the next 10 years, as well as track designs. Eventually, after numerous tragedies in F1 racing with the deaths and injuries of many drivers, including one of the most famous drivers, Ayrton Senna, racing became much safer with car designs that today can withstand incredible damage without killing or severely injuring the driver in almost all cases of crashes. This crash caused Mercedes to pull out of racing for quite awhile, but not until they launched their CLK-based (very loosely so to be named CLR GT1) LeMans cars in the late 90's, did they have another incident which caused them to rethink their racing strategy in the LeMans series. (Obviously, they continued to support F1 through McLaren at that time in the late 90's and until they reformed their own F1 team which has been quite successful ever since.) It was in 1999 that Mark Webber and Peter Dumbreck experienced frightful flight at over 220mph. I saw that part of the race live on TV and it was shocking event. Fortunately, no one was killed due to the safety measures of the car's structure and where these cars took flight, but seeing Dumbreck's car sail into the air from behind the Toyota and then do flips until landing many yards away from the track, missing the trees and landing on its wheels in a clearing, was breathtaking and shocking. Since this had been the second time that week where one of the CLRs nosed up and became airborne, Mercedes withdrew its 3rd car and called it quits. Webber's accident in testing led Mercedes to alter their design a bit, which they used on the remaining 2 cars, but it was an inherent design quirk which allowed too much air underneath the front of the car at the higher speeds on the Mulsanne Straight that caused these cars to take flight. They were, undoubtedly, the fastest cars at that race, but could not be controlled at the insane speeds which they reached at that course. Racing today is safer and drivers likely focus more on the competitiveness of the sport rather than on the risk of being severely injured or killed, but unusual accidents can occur in the heat of competition.

[@stevemcdonnell2922]

Awesome Video. Would love to see more F1 content. BTW, The voiceover voice level is way too low compared to the music at the end of each of your videos and only the music can really be heard.

[@joslynstuff]

What a fantastic channel!

[@acepaul407]

I don't think there is one person who is responsible for this tragedy, there is plenty of blame to go around. The most important take-away is that this was the catalyst for safety.

[@The1973Drummer]

Research the story of Lennie Pond. He was an independent NASCAR driver who's only career win was in the 1978 Talladega 500. Until Buddy Bakers win in the 1980 Daytona 500, it was the fastest 500 mile race in history.

[@Clintreid75]

Thanks, History Guy! New subscriber right here my friend.

[@FelonyVideos]

So sad! Just heartbreaking.

[@AlastorTheNPDemon]

Holy fuck! Forty-five horsepower in 1903?! Those must have been insane back in the day when everything else was cutting about with barely ten.

[@WilliamParmley]

I recall an automotive writer (this must have been back in the late 60s) saying, in effect, "Imagine the headlines if Mercedes had not withdrawn and had then won: 'Germans march to victory over French dead'." (The accident was only ten years after VE Day.)

[@tripillthreat]

These old cars are so slippery-looking.

[@mytech6779]

In 1999 Mercedes again quit the race due to accidents. 3 of their cars flipped... not sideways but backwards, flying a hundred feet through the air over the barriers. Some aerodynamic flaw that was triggered by changes in the slip stream of certain other cars. I remember seeing it live.

[@Lotus49b]

Great video. I'm a huge motorsports fan, and I can't help but to nitpick on a few things.. It was once said that motor racing was invented the moment the second car rolled off the assembly line LeMans is pronounced "lay-mau" 3:11 isn't a real car, it's from a video game Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans also known as Circuit de la Sarthe Forgot to mention the the 3.7 mile Mulsanne Straight Speeds on the straight by the Group C prototypes reached over 400 km/h (250 mph) during the late 1980s. At the beginning of the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans race, Roger Dorchy driving for Welter Racing in a "Project 400" car, which sacrificed reliability for speed, was clocked by radar travelling at 407 kilometres per hour (253 mph). Mispronouncing Mille Miglia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmille ˈmiʎʎa], or ( Millemiglia) 9:40 mispronouncing " Juan Manuel Fangio" Wan Manuel Fon-Gio Hehe other than that I loved the effort and research you put into it.. and plans for other motorsports history? Maybe the death of Ayrton Senna?

[@morriscaudle4317]

This horrible accident coupled with the tragic death of Bill Vukovich in May of 1955 at the Indianapolis 500 prompted US congress to attempt to ban auto racing in the US. As a footnote Bill Vukovich was from my home town of Fresno Ca. and my uncle John (Johnny) Boyd was one of the drivers involved in the fatal crash.

[@scottnicholson1236]

If i remember correctly the material the body work was made from burned pretty badly. As i recall, the material acted in such a way that the more water they poured on the car to put the fire out the hotter, and longer, it burned due to the reaction between water and the material the car was made from. That type of material has not been used in racing ever since, if i recall correctly.

[@robertkeefer7791]

The American Automobile Association was the sanctioning body for the Indianapolis 500 until 1955 when Bill Vukovich was killed in the 1955 race. The United States Auto Club (USAC) took over form there.

[@hcwcars1]

NASCAR needs to be forgotten they took the money road and left us fans at the side of the road

[@moonytheloony6516]

Maria Schick Forgotten is a bit harsh, but I agree they have fallen quite a bit since the late ‘90’s to the early 2000’s, when they were through the roof in attendance and TV viewership. In my opinion playoff system is a mistake, as it really provides second chances to drivers and teams who would not have a chance in the original points system. So what happens is NASCAR rewards mediocrity which racing generally stood alone as a sport that didn’t do that. Besides that, the cars became harder to tell apart, they looked almost the same and drivers themselves seemed to lack personality. It’s as if most of them or nearly all of them go to the same barber as well. In addition NASCAR track building became a bit cookie cutter as many of the 1.5 ovals appear identical so they lack personality. Even the bigger track in Fontana is a virtual copy of the original track in Brooklyn, Michigan...so much for thinking outside of the box. A few more road course events would be nice including a course in Europe somewhere would be exciting. The rules are bit complicated to follow, I was watching a race in which there is a “winner” for the first stage of a race or something like that. I didn’t get it. It didn’t makes sense to me. Lastly, the season is very long. It should be shortened. What we have is a product in which cars go in circles for hours and in the era of short attention spans thanks to hand held devices, NASCAR needs to shorten their season a bit. Running from Feb thru Nov is ridiculously lengthy and it runs well into the NFL season which they can’t compete with head to head. If I had my way the season would end by Labor Day Weekend, no playoff system, I’d bring back the North Wilkesboro track, encourage drivers to develop personslity and change up their style a bit (much like the AFL did when competing with the NFL-players were encouraged to wear longer hair, sideburns, etc to connect with the younger generations to build interest and marketability) , attract more diverse talent regarding African American and Hispanic drivers (I know they have at least one of each now but they need more) and competitive women drivers racing for competitive teams. Danica Patrick was marketable and could go fast but she couldn’t win therefore her long term impact was severely limited. She was no Shirley Muldowney unfortunately. Anyway, just my opinions, you’re right though, NASCAR is lacking.

[@MrPorsche91730]

They need to take out downforce, make power around 900hp and tires have less grip. Make it like it was in the 90s where it was where dirty air didn't exist

[@geek49203]

Has nothing to do w/ the billions that Winston spent back in the day, huh?

[@theredbaronlives9889]

Once they banned the confederate flag and shunned it's southern influence,it became just another boring corporate tvshow.

[@jacktattis143]

@@theredbaronlives9889 Did they ban he Confederate Flag that would infuriate Southern fans and isn't the south where it started

[@robertdavis5714]

Well done Sir, and I like your backdrop as well.

[@sparky6086]

I guess the difference between the drum brakes of the mercedes and the disc brakes of the Jaguar in those days, are like nowadays, the difference between plain disc brakes and ant-lock brakes. When I drive an old car without anti-lock brakes, I always need to remember to keep extra distance between me and the car, which I am following makes a panic stop, since most cars nowadays, in the US and many other places, have anti-lock brakes, so probably stop in half the distance.

[@conspiraciesarejustgreatst2059]

Nobody was responsible for the crash. You can't blame any driver. It really was just a circumstance of racing to win, at such high speeds. It was a terrible tragedy and something that we probably won't see, ever again.

[@cjcoleman7372]

I'm a gearhead at heart. Even though this was a tragic event I love to hear about racing history! On an unrelated note... who is in the picture on the wall by the hats?

[@davidjames666]

I have the same bookcase! I bought mine at Costco in 1999

[@williamford9564]

For anyone wanting to know more about this subjectt, there are two good books out there. If you had to choose one, I think "LeMans '55 " by Christopher Hilton ( Breeden Books 2004) is the best. There is also "Death Race LeMans 1955) by Mark Kahn ( Barrie & Jenkins 1976).

[@neilpuckett359]

God bless all those who lost their lives that day.

[@MichaelJohnson-lz7rk]

History Guy,2020!!! Who's with me?!!😎 Merry Christmas to all my history buffs out there!! Binging out with the history guy today! Yes, it's Christmas & yes I have friends & family, after my 30 something phone calls today, I'm taking some me time, gotta recharge my batteries, back to work tomorrow, know what I mean? Hey history guy, have you ever considered letting ordinary people come on your show to tell their favorite & inspiring history story? Like you, I know some cool, true history also?! Just saying!!😎😎👍

[@Schroer71]

Well done my friend...JS

[@stevemcdonnell2922]

The Isle of Man TT Motorcycle race (the most dangerous/lethal race) which is held on normal roads and allows amateur riders would be a great video. On average about 3 people a year die.

[@JasonFerguson1283]

How the hell did Mercedes get away with the choice of magnesium as a body component?

[@tjonessc]

A nice retrospective but a couple of points of contention: 1. there is VIDEO of the 1955 Lemans Crash that deserves to be shown, as for safety F1 still did not put a lot of value on the concept as in the 1960's into the 70's the tour averaged burying one driver a month. Imagine that in this day and age. It took the giants of the sport like Jackie Stewart, Nicki Lauda, and the tragic death of Ayarton Sienna before they really got it...

[@omt2360]

Love your channel! How about Goran ivanesivic winning Wimbledon? I swear he was the only wildcard to win the whole tournament?!

[@lauradaly8020]

A scary situation.

[@iflick7235]

Pierre Lavegh's Wikipedia entry lists his age at 49. However, there are those in France, still alive who claim his actual age was 54. The Mercedes SLR was simply too much car for him.

[@01sapphireGTS]

An old steam engine powered car on Jay Leno's garage had only 30 horse power, but had 1,750 foot pounds of torque.

[@cj_m2477]

My understanding is that they were unable put out the fire because of the magnesium body, so the Mercedes burned all night.

[@peteranderson037]

USAC was created because AAA left all motorsport sanctioning due to this event. Yes, that's the same AAA that you may use when you have to tow your car to the shop. They used to sanction most motorsports events in the US, including the Indianapolis 500. However, they never sanctioned any motorsport events in Europe and had no direct connection to the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which organizes that event. That's how much of an impact this crash had on racing worldwide. It caused the largest motorsport organizing body in the US, which had no direct connection to the crash at all, to completely leave the field of motorsport sanctioning, forcing many people to scramble to pick up the pieces in order to keep automotive racing alive in the US.

[@thinkcivil1627]

Note to Switzerland: Regarding banning auto racing, except for electric cars. Electric race cars are now capable of speeds approaching gas engines.

[@skippydippy4350]

In this video, the magnesium fires are not mentioned. Many died from the fumes.