(Photo: IMS Motorsport Museum) – Bill Simpson’s headstone will document 79 years of life when it is carved but the truth is that Bill Simpson lived 800 years. The man who reshaped the way that racers protect themselves in competition was a fantastic racer himself, competing in multiple forms of racing but perhaps having the most pride as a competitor at the 1974 Indy 500 where he finished 13th. He raced in more than 50 USAC champ car events over the course of his career and helped launch the careers of racers like Rick Mears who he hired as a rookie to race at the 1976 Ontario 500 in California.

But it is not accomplishments on the race track that defined the legacy of Bill Simpson it was the things he innovated and created off of it to keep competitors safe that truly changed the world. More than 200 safety innovations care credited to Simpson and befitting of his outsized life and personality, he knew the best way to market them was to show them in action. He famously set himself on fire many times to prove the efficacy of his fire suits and equipment. He did it in front of cameras and crowds. He did it for the spectacle and to prove to any doubters that his stuff was the absolute best.

Simpson pioneered the use of Nomex in racing, something that seems so standard now was exotica back then and it came about because of the work that Simpson did with NASA developing umbilical cords that allowed astronauts to do space walks and perform other tasks. Astronaut Pete Conrad who was a racer told Simpson about Nomex and he immediately saw its potential and it became the industry standard after he introduced it across his line of products.

Simpson was an early proponent and adopter of parachutes for drag racing cars and had a significant role in the refinement of their design to fit the needs of racers. Don Prudhomme was one of Simpson’s best friends and their relationship has spanned the course of their lives, their successes, their failures, and their aging.

Some of the darkest days of Simpson’s life followed the death of Dale Earnhardt in a NASCAR accident about 20 years ago. His products were called into question, his reputation, his business, and all he had worked for his whole life were on the table before him. Simpson fought like a bear and in the end won, being exonerated of any type of product problem when it was investigated and revealed his products were not being used correctly which allowed for the worst possible outcome of a racing crash.

Hot headed, irascible, and never one to shy away from a bar brawl, Simpson’s book, “Racing Safely and Living Dangerously” is an absolute must read for anyone interested in his story. It is full throttle, it is wild, it is honest, and it tells his own story in his own words.

Simpson had a massive stroke last Friday and never recovered, passing away on the morning of December 16,2019.

Bill Simpson is the kind of maverick we’re not seeing anymore in racing. Some would call him a dinosaur in the modern world but he was as hard working, forward thinking, and balls out as anyone in the history of racing. He saved so many lives, he changed so many things, and his impact will be felt for decades long after his passing.