I keep seeing ads for an upcoming documentary on the Discovery Velocity channel that will analyze and study the horrifying 1955 LeMans crash that killed more than 80 people and sent shockwaves through the world, placing auto racing in a horrible light. Any time I think of that nightmare, I immediately think of Pierre Levegh and Lance Macklin. It was Levegh who hit Macklin and flew into the stands, moving down spectators in stunningly awful fashion. I always feel bad for those two guys. Macklin actually lived until 2002 (and was involved in another wreck after LeMans where he was unscathed and two other racers were killed).
There are lots of guys who have climbed to great heights but ended up going out on a sour note. Take John DeLorean for example. During the 1960s he was lauded as one of the greatest, most rebellious, most forward thinking and ballsy automotive executives ever. By the time he went through the wringer over the DeLorean car company failure and was nearly jailed by the feds, he was a broken man. There are countless tales of early automotive pioneers that went from broke to insanely wealthy, to broke again as companies rose and fell during that wild era in the industry. There are men like Virgin Exner who designed some amazing stuff but are largely remembered for the weird, odd, and strange things that they had their name attached to. Hell, how about the kid that crashed into and killed James Dean. Imagine living with that for the rest of your life?!
Those are a couple of examples that we can think of, but there have to be dozens, maybe hundreds more. Who else will go down in automotive eternity with a sadly negative connotation attached to their name?
Question of the Day: Who is the most sympathetic figure in automotive history?
Davey Allison. He narrowly lost the Winston Cup championship due to a crash that wasn’t his fault (in a season when he won the All-Star Race in a crash that put him in the hospital). Then he died in a helicopter crash during the next season.
Alan Kulwicki is also a tragic figure because he died in a plane crash after he won the championship that Allison lost. Kulwicki’s death marked the end of the “little guy” era in NASCAR. The superteams took over from that point forward.
Gilles Villeneuve. Probably the greatest driver who ever lived, won six Grands Prix in cars that had no business even being on the track… 11+ seconds quicker than any driver in the rain at Watkins Glen… once finished 3rd in a race with THREE wheels… And was involved in the greatest race in F1 history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2tIFxSEGA
Then lost his life in 1982 just as his career was taking off, before he could prove it.
+ 1
Edsel Ford.
He was the guy that championed virtually all of the great 1930s styling that traditional Bangshifters still appreciate. . . . Model A . . . ’32 Ford . . . fat fender Fords . . . Zephyr . . . Continental . . . ’40 Mercury. . . .
But his overly-controlling and demeaning father and unpasturized milk caused him to die prematurely of stomach cancer and undulant fever — before he ever had the chance to succeed his father and show us what he could really do.
Then, his name was sullied by placing it on a laughingstock failure of a car.
How about this one , directly related as it is to the accident in question .
John Fitch
If it hadn’t been for Levegh’s accident and Mercedes Benz subsequent withdrawal from the race .. John Fitch was set to win the event hands down
But then Fitch has had a fairly great life ever since . . . Corvette test driver hand-picked by Zora . . .
Inventor of the ubiquitious Fitch Barrier system, the Fitch Compression Barrier, the Fitch Displaceable Guardrail, the DeConti Brake . . . .
Winner of the Kenneth Stonex Award from the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences for his lifelong contributions to road-traffic safety . . .
Builder of the Fitch Corvair Sprint, the Fitch Firebird, the Fitch Toronado Phantom, the Fitch Phoenix sports car . . . .
A nonagenarian!
And who can forget the Fitch Fuel Catalyst . . . .
True . But watch the video ” Gullwing at Twilight ” That LeMans bit sticks in his craw well into his 90’s and he still talks about with with a fair amount of regret , disappointment and anger in his voice .
Hence , despite the mighty fine life he’s had since my including him here .
BTW you forgot his most recent attempts with a Gullwing at Bonneville …. in his 90’s
” Old Guys Rule ‘
I don’t think you can narrow down to just one so I’d like to add Darrell Gwynn to this list.
His name came to my mind also, but he really doesn’t fit the question asked:
“Who else will go down in automotive eternity with a sadly negative connotation attached to their name?”
But the owner of the Santa Pod Rraceway in England where Gwynn had is accident – HE would fit. Gwynn was at the top of his career when it happened.
LOL – If Kurt Busch doesn’t get HIS act together and soon, he will definitely be on the list.
Whit Bazemore
What did ever happen for him to leave Drag Racing BTW ?
Anyone have a clue what the man’s up to now ?
He didn’t “leave” Drag Racing per se. His big mouth and bad attitude got him in trouble to the point that no team owner wanted him as a driver after 2007. He got the reputation as the “L’enfant Terrible” after the 2007 season.
Too bad too. He really does fit the question of the day here. He won 20 NHRA events and two U.S. Nationals titles
What I’d heard back then from a track photographer that knew Whit is that he was royally screwed by certain influential individuals within the greater NHRA that were not too happy about Whit’s candid comments to the press about the inner workings etc at the time .
Which in light of the mans talents and race records as well as his acceptance by the fans was and still is a pretty stupid move by the very Small Minds that did this
The last I saw him he was doing tv spots from the pits for ESPN2 during the NHRA playoffs last year.
How about Pete Robinson. He was a very creative innovator and outside the box thinker. He was killed in his top fuel dragster at the ’71 Winternationals when a ground effects experiment went bad.
Malcom Bricklin – The Bricklin SV-1. Went down the same road that Tucker and DeLorean did. Then created the Yugo whose reputation as being the worst car ever to be manufaturered still stands today.
Ford Special Products Division General Manager Richard Krafve – the man who named the 1958 Ford Edsel – Ford’s biggest flop. LOL – he reviewed 8,000 suggested names, then decides to use Henry Ford’s son Edsel B. Ford as the name of this brand new wonder car. Oops!
Jackie Steward
fought for safety
Gave up racing because of a friends death; but, he stayed on as a voice for racing & safety
He was a truly a legendary driver.
Mike Sorokin. Died doing what he loved when that clutch blew up and cut the car in half. And Denny Miliani a few years earlier. Both gone way too soon.