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Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
Originally posted by 67prostreetWhy would he even need a cone? Should have started slowing down as soon as he entered the pit road. DUMB ASS.
X 100when in doubt,.. throttle out
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
That was freakin awesome!
Im glad no one got killed and it sucks that people got hurt.
We have all been watching that video over and over laughing at the guy. We are all trying to figure out what the hell was going through his head?
If you notice, I am pretty sure that he beats the race cars to the stripe! Hell, he should have stayed out, it looked like he was doing pretty good!
No one here had ever heard of the pace car crash befor this.
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
I had heard about it and then it flashed into my deranged brain and I searched it out on YouTube.
I was freaking astounded at the pit wall view of that car running flat out by the camera. I think your're right, that crazy son of a bitch was leading the race!
I bet John Glenn (a passenger in the pace car!) was thinking, "I went to frigging space strapped to the top of a bomb and I'm gonna bite it in a Dodge convertible?!"
BrianThat which you manifest is before you.
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
My dad recently told me the story of this race. He is by no means a race junkie or gear head but he went to the Indy 500's in 1971, 72, and 73 consecutively. The glory years. He was a student at Purdue in those days and a member of their famous marching band... yea he was a band geek. Purdue plays at the race each year and it's as big an institution as the winner milk. He even said that Eldon's daughter (i dont remember what he said her name was) was living in his dorm building at the time and she grew to have a reputation after her father's pace car crash. He said in those days the state of Indiana practically shut-down when the races were in session. My dad and his friends would pile into his huge Buick Electra convertible and buy $.50 sub sandwiches from the gas station to watch the qualifiers in the grand stands. On race day freshman year, he went along with the band to play for the show but had to take the bus back to campus halfway through the race with the other freshman thanks to a chemistry final :-\. Either way, he still got to shake Al Unser's hand just before the race that he ended up winning in 1971. Im really glad i got to hear this story from him because i knew he played at the races but he never really told me about any of those things. After he told me the story i showed him the Youtube video and I think its so cool that this ended up being an article on Bangshift. My dad's kinda cool
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
Being as I'm from Central Indiana, and have lived in Indy for almost 20 of my 35 years, I can attest to Black Steelies' statement on how big of a deal "the race" used to be.
I'm thinking Eldon Palmer supplied the Stealth(and the actual pace car, the Viper) in the 1990's...for obvious reasons, he wasn't behind the wheel for the pace laps.
Man, that Challenger was haulin' the mail down Pit Row....he HAD to have the pedal firewalled!
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
As I've mentioned before he had a display there at the track with some other cars from the lot. I think they were 3-4 Hemi cars. One was a Red Dodge Charger Super Bee w/ black vinyl top . This was the "get a way car" that he used to leave the track. He drove it to the lot . Sat there till a friend from work bought it. Was always his pride and joy . Sold it couple of years ago with something like 17 000 originial miles. He couldn't take the preasure of owning something that expensive anymore . The car was totally stock and original. Never restored never wreaked.
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
It was almost like that guy got scared and didn't know what to do. It is absolutely amazing how fast he was traveling down pit row. Maybe he just wanted to show off a little....well, that didn't work did it? I bet he caught hell at work on Monday morning. I don't think I could go back to work on Monday morning. I'd have been so embarrassed that I would have left town.
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
That picture (to the left of the article) of the Challenger Pace Car looks quite familiar........ I took it a few years back in front of Mount Monadnock in southern NH.... it is my car!
I think the "story" of the crash has lost some of its accuracy over the years. Palmer had practiced "flying" into the pits for a few weeks before the race. He had a flag (not cone) along pit row to give him a spot to either hit the brakes, or roar back onto the track if there were a restart. He would have to watch the the flagman's signal for start or restart. Of course, on race day the crowd blocked the warning flag and actual starter of the race...so Palmer had lost his perspective of when to hit the brakes when the race actually started. The rest is history..... he crashed into the stands at about 15 mph. I have pix of the crashed car after the race. The damage was not that great. With regards to the brakes, many, many people preferred the heavy duty drums over discs in those days. I am surprised as to the number of hemi Challengers, Cudas, Roadrunners etc with drums at car shows. Even my Pace Car has heavy duty drums.
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Re: Wild Video: The Infamous 1971 Indy 500 Pace Car Crash
Originally posted by genciuI have pix of the crashed car after the race. The damage was not that great.
Post 'em up for us then, I'm sure everyone would love to see them.
;)
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