The Day I Quit Watching Car Racing --- 5/15/82

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I have never been a huge racing fan but when I was a kid I always enjoyed the Indy 500. It was one of three sporting events that my papaw and I watched together every year. The other two were the Army-Navy football game and the Kentucky Derby. But I don't remember much , if any, racing after May 15, 1982 , the day Gordon Smiley lost his life during a qualifying run. He lost control and slammed into the wall at approximately 185 mph. He was killed instantly. Part of his torso was found still buckled in, while the remainder of him was found scattered all over the racetrack. Fluid, initially thought to be motor oil was determined to some of Smiley's brain matter. He was scalped by flying debris.

To this day, it is still the worst single vehicle crash I have ever seen. I never want to see anything to like it again. It was truly horrific and definitely left an impression on me as a young person.


Sports always carries some risk, especially auto racing. Does anyone else remember the Smiley crash or another crash that made an imprint on your memory? I know Dale Earnhardt affected a lot of folks. I was long over racing by the time of the Earnhardt crash. What about a non-racing event? Is there another sporting event that went terribly wrong and left a lasting impression on you?


Here's the Smiley crash. It's pretty horrible. No adjectives really do it justice.



https://youtu.be/2s2Cdo8xyXs