Brock Yates is now and forever will be one of my favorite automotive journalists. From his books like Sunday Driver and Cannonball to his work for various magazines and his television coverage of racing and the automotive industry, the guy was everywhere and more often than not, spot on. In this one minute clip from the 1982 Daytona 500 Yates talks about what happens when a large wreck occurs and how racing fans react and absorb what they have just seen. I found this clip by complete coincidence and it fits my experience over the last week after the Larry Dixon wreck at the NHRA Gatornationals.
I got some texts from people proclaiming how “awesome” the crash was. Unfortunately they were not using the word in the context I would have because it was indeed awesome but only in the sense that it did create a sense of sickening awe when we first saw it. Dixon’s health and well being certainly took the edge off of seeing the replays but I’ll admit to being frustrated and responding with some shortness and anger to the people who seemed happy about what they had seen. Here’s where Brock Yates comes in.
With far more clarity and forcefulness than I think I could muster, Yates delivers a beautiful and 100% true commentary about what true fans of racing and motorsports think and feel after seeing something horrid happen in front of them. This is passionate, it is off the cuff, it is not scripted, and it is 100% true. Survival is the thing to be celebrated, not the carnage and catastrophe itself. I may keep this thing on “speed dial” to send to people the next time (and I am not dumb enough to think that there won’t be a next time) that something of this nature happens.
Brock Yates crushes it in just over a minute. This guy is a hall of famer in every sense.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO HEAR A GREAT ONE MINUTE COMMENTARY BY BROCK YATES –
Once again Brock Yates is the voice of reason. I hate seeing crashes. The racer in me gets uneasy when such things are celebrated and the fan/picture taker in me drops the camera and hopes for the best, you will NEVER see a photo of a wreck from me on BS. There is, in my opinion, way too much crash and burn here already.
The true sadness is that altimers (spl) has taken B.Y. voice and future words from us all………….
That very broadcast could have been the one that I learned I was a true fan.
Having road raced motorcycles for a large portion of my life along with drag racing various cars, and announcing drag racing and bike racing for years, I’ve seen some nasty crashes over the years. Still boggles my mind how people almost orgasm over the damage and how the rider/driver becomes secondary. This is one reason I can’t deal with NASCAR anymore. The fans want to see carnage/death/mayhem and watch every race finish under caution.
Another great post Brian………..
Brock is 1000% correct. I was at Englishtown when Scott Kalitta was killed. The excited mood of the crowd completely changed when it became obvious that Scott was in trouble, even he ran into the barrier at the end of the shut down area. There were gasps of horror all around me, some screams and yells, and then a pall fell over the crowd accompanied by a silence. There wasn’t any bloodlust in evidence. Nobody was cheering or laughing, and no one looked happy. When it became obvious that Scott was seriously injured, if not dead, the fans started drifting away from the stands and headed to their cars. We didn’t need an announcement to tell us it was time to leave. Only the most depraved, soulless degenerates would take pleasure in watching another human being die.
Crashing sucks, period. I raced BMX for years, and following a wreck, the only folks not clapping when a rider got up after a wreck were the people who didn’t know a crash occured. Bloodlust fans are the same fanboys who think they have a shot in an MMA cage, but couldn’t punch their way out of a paper bag, plain and simple.