1971 Indy Pace Car Crash
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furious70
Well-Known Member
Was very sad.
We were privileged to meet Eldon in the 90's as my dad owned the Challenger convertible that was Eldon's assigned car for the parade. Not one of the 383 cars prepped for actual pace work but one of the couple 340 cars used during the parades and track festivities.
We were privileged to meet Eldon in the 90's as my dad owned the Challenger convertible that was Eldon's assigned car for the parade. Not one of the 383 cars prepped for actual pace work but one of the couple 340 cars used during the parades and track festivities.
XS22J8R
Well-Known Member
Not driven by a professional driver, 4 wheel drum brakes, what could possibly go wrong with that plan?
chargervert
Well-Known Member
If you watch the video closely, he was going faster than the Indy cars were coming up to speed. You see the Challenger go blazing by,then the first of the Indy cars.
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The Mopar Action magazine version was that there was a pylon/road cone set at a point where the pace car was to turn, then someone moved the cone. The driver overshot the turn and was obviously going too fast. Plenty of blame to go around.
chargervert
Well-Known Member
I believe that the cone was to tell Eldon when to start braking and someone removed the cone,so he never started braking until it was too late,he panic braked causing the Challenger to go into a full blown skid.
furious70
Well-Known Member
His instructions were to maintain pace speed down the pits in the event the start had to be delayed, he could pick the field back up.
There was a cone to denote the place to begin braking, which was after the race would have been a go. Cone was moved, he realized too late.
There was a cone to denote the place to begin braking, which was after the race would have been a go. Cone was moved, he realized too late.
I went to the 1973 Indy 500 with some friends and it was the worst disastrous
race ever! We camped in a family's back yard and the 14 year old boy was a smoothe
operator! It kept raining and the kid was getting us better and better tickets every day.
By the time the race was run, we had seats in the pits! There was a crash at the last turn
and an ambulance came out of the pits at the end of the wall and made a U-turn onto the
track traveling against the direction that the race cars were going. Right in the middle of
the pits, a guy was looking up-track at the accident and jumped over the pit wall right in
front of the ambulance. BANG! Done. Didn't know what hit him. Before that, there was a
wreck in the first turn and when the cars hit the wall, Methanol splashed up on the spectators
and critically burned a bunch of them. Terrible Terrible race.
race ever! We camped in a family's back yard and the 14 year old boy was a smoothe
operator! It kept raining and the kid was getting us better and better tickets every day.
By the time the race was run, we had seats in the pits! There was a crash at the last turn
and an ambulance came out of the pits at the end of the wall and made a U-turn onto the
track traveling against the direction that the race cars were going. Right in the middle of
the pits, a guy was looking up-track at the accident and jumped over the pit wall right in
front of the ambulance. BANG! Done. Didn't know what hit him. Before that, there was a
wreck in the first turn and when the cars hit the wall, Methanol splashed up on the spectators
and critically burned a bunch of them. Terrible Terrible race.
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