Field of 33 Most Memorable Indy 500 Crashes

In this year’s “Month of May” series, on each day leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, a different topic about the race or about Indianapolis will be discussed. Each of these topics will be ranked to create special “fields of 33” regarding the Indy 500. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you learn something about Indianapolis and the Indy 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Crashes. It comes with the territory of racing the fastest cars in the world. It’s going to happen. And each time a car goes into the wall, 400,000 hearts drop at once, hoping and praying that the soul onboard is not seriously injured. In 96 years of running the Indianapolis 500, 15 drivers have been killed during the race (and another 25 during practice or qualifications for the race). 5 mechanics (plus 7 more in practice crashes) have perished during the Indy 500. Three track personnel died during the 500 and 9 spectators have died at or around the speedway since its opening in 1909. Death surrounds racing. There is no doubt about that. And to those 64 souls lost surrounding this race, we send our thoughts and prayers.

That being said, crashes are one of the most spectacular parts of any automobile race. Everybody who goes to the race or watches it on TV each year has a specific crash that will linger in their minds forever. Some of these crashes (like J.R. Hildebrand in 2011) are not deadly or even injury-causing, but are significant to the race as a whole. Others (like Scott Brayton in 1996) helped create revolutionary new safety features. And others (like Mike Conway in 2010) will give you chills every time you think about the accident. Here is the Field of 33 Most Memorable Indy 500 Crashes.

Row 11

33. 2003 – Mario Andretti.  This is the ten-year anniversary of Mario Andretti’s practice run gone wrong. He was testing for his son Michael’s team when his car hit a piece of debris on the track. The car went airborne, flipping three full times before landing back on its wheels. That was some wild wide for the 1969 Indy 500 champ! 

32. 1994 – Nigel Mansell and Dennis Vitolo.  Not a spectacular crash, but certainly an odd one. How do two cars end up on top of each other like that?

31. 1930 – Newsreel Wreck. This crash was used over the following few decades in numerous movies. Sadly youtube doesn't seem to have a good copy of it.

Row 10

30. 2002 – Tomas Scheckter. He led 85 laps in his 2002 rookie Indy 500. However, while leading the race, he got a bit lackadaisical and missed his marks in turn four. He hit the outside wall and crashed. He was leading with 27 laps to go but got too high in turn four and his day was done. What makes this crash even more memorable is when he did the same a few years later, running near the front but making a careless mistake in turn four.

29. 1939 – Floyd Roberts. A firey inferno collecting multiple cars, Roberts ends up the worst of the bunch and perishes from his injuries.

28. Every Year – Snake Pit. There’s always some sort of accident or a car on fire in the snake pit! C’mon!

Row 9

27. 1989 – Kevin Cogan. His car splits in two and then hits hard into the division between pit road and the racetrack. Wow. Thankfully he ends up in pit lane as safety crews are right there for him.

26. 1996 – Roberto Guerrero and Alessandro Zampedri. As winner Buddy Lazier takes the checkered flag, a massive crash behind him in turn 4 takes over the attention. Guerrero loses it, collects Zampedri and takes him airborne into the fence. Eliseo Salizar has to literally duck in his cockpit to avoid the crash.

25. 2005 – Danica Patrick. About to restart and the accordion effect forces Danica to slam on the brakes. She gets spun around and makes contact. Three or four cars end up out of the race, but not her. She pits, battles, and ends up challenging Dan Wheldon for the race win.

Row 8

24. 1997 – Row 5. As the field exits turn 4 about to receive the green flag, somebody in row 5 decides to swerve and warm up his tires some more. He collects the car beside him, and the result is all three cars (Stephan Gregoire, Affonso Giaffone, Kenny Brack) out of the race before the race even begins. (start at 45:00)

23. 1972 – Jim Malloy.  Not sure what caused Malloy's car to swerve into the wall, but the injuries sustained caused his death in this practice crash.

22. 2007 – Marco Andretti. The most aggressive driving comes late in the race. It becomes even more aggressive when rain is just moments away and everybody is battling for position. Combine that with a restart where everybody is close together, and you have a recipe for a major crash. Andretti gets tangled with Dan Wheldon in the chaos and ends up flipping on the backstretch. He sustained only minor injuries.

Row 7 – Qualifying/Practice Crashes

21. 1992 – Nelson Piquet, Rick Mears. These two practices in practice/qualifying remind you that, even when you're on your own, it doesn't take much for you to end up in the wall dangerously.

20. 1996 – Scott Brayton. He had a fast car, the pole position in the fastest field in Indy history. But an innocent-looking practice crash kills Brayton. A tire blows and that's all it takes.

19. 1992 – Gordon Smiley.   An absolutely terrible crash during qualifications. This crash, which destroyed the car in a fiery inferno, began the questions of whether or not cars were going too quickly. 

 

Row 6

18. 1975 – Tom Sneva. This crash goes forgotten by too many. Right in front of the turn two suites...

17. 1958 – 15 Car Crash. Just, wow.

16. 1982 – Kevin Cogan. A second-year starter begins on the front row. He takes out two fan-favorites and former winners before the green flag drops.

Row 5 – Dramatic Race-Ending Crashes

15. 1993 – Al Unser, Jr. Battling for the lead, the two touch in turn 3 with the white flag about to fly. Unser crashes, Emerson Fittipaldi somehow holds on. Well, Little Al explains it best. “I wanted to flip him off!” But in the end, it’s a good thumbs up to Emo. Such class.

14. 2011 – J.R. Hildebrand. A rookie is one turn away from winning the Indy 500. Dan Wheldon is charging from behind but still three seconds back. Hildebrand has to get around Charlie Kimball, who is out of fuel. He calmly goes on the outside, but gets into the marbles and crashes just a half-mile away from the checkered flag. He keeps the foot on the gas and crosses the finish line, but Wheldon was able to cross first and get the win. This is only the second time that the leader on lap 199 does not win the race. Such a heartbreaking defeat for Hildebrand and Panther (runner-up finishers in three straight).

13. 2012 – Takuma Sato. He went for the bonsai move on the last lap. He got loose under leader Dario Franchitti and lost the rear of the car. Franchitti narrowly avoided the crash and went on to victory. What a dramatic finish!(And no way could I go without bringing out the Japanese commentary!)

Row 4

12. 2003 – Dan Wheldon. Wheldon gets loose and into the wall in turn 3. He flips and skids upside-down all the way to turn 4. What this crash shows me is just how safe these cars can be and just how amazing the safety crew is. It took 30 seconds after Wheldon hit the wall for the crews to reach him and get the car back on its wheels.

11. 1955 – Bill Vukovich.  The two-time defending champion was leading the race. Instead of being the only three-peat winner in history, he got caught up in an accident in front of him. Vukovich’s car hit the wall and went cartwheeling outside the track. He died before anybody could reach him. 

10. 1966 – Opening Lap Pile Up.  This crash was used in the film Winning by Paul Newman. 14 cars are involved.

 

Row 3

9. 1971 – Pace Car Crash.  As the field takes the green, the pace car won’t decelerate going through pit lane. It skids out of control and crashes into a photographer’s stand. Luckily nobody is seriously injured. 

8. 1991 – Mark Dismore. It’s really lucky that more accidents don’t happen like this with a car hitting the barrier between the racetrack and pit lane.  Similar to Cogan's crash in 1989.

7. 1995 – Stan Fox. The camera operators were being told to stay away from Fox’s car because “he is likely dead.” His legs were sticking out of the car as the front nose was torn off of his machine. He survived, however. 

Row 2

6. 1973 – Salt Walther.  This crash involved over a dozen cars and forced the race to be stopped for the day. Fuel was sprayed all over the track and into the crowd of spectators. Due to this accident, cars were then required to carry less fuel and alcohol-based fuel.

5. 2010 – Mike Conway.  This is the crash that I personally cannot think about without getting chills. He ramps over Ryan Hunter-Reay and into the catch fence where the car disintegrates. Conway escaped with only a broken leg and returned to win a race the following year. But to see a crash that intense right in front of your eyes…that image will never go away. 

4. 1964 – Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald. Both drivers were killed in this terrible crash. MacDonald spun in turn 4 on the second lap, his car exploding when it hit the inside wall. It then went back into the path of traffic, right into the path of Sachs, killing him instantly. MacDonald was declared dead in the infield hospital soon after. 

Row 1

3. 1984 – Patrick Bedard. Unbelievable how destructive and dangerous these accidents are....

2. 1973 – Swede Savage.  He would miraculously survive the crash, but died over a month later in the hospital. Speculation is that he actually passed due to an infection from a bad blood transfusion than from the injuries sustained in the actual crash. Also making this worse is the death of a pit crew member Armando Teran. He was sprinting up pit lane to help at the crash site in turn four. A fire truck also went driving the wrong way up pit lane. The fire truck hit Teran, tossing him 50 feet into the air and killing him. Combine this with the opening lap crash with Salt Walther, and the ’73 Indy 500 is one we all wish we could forget.

1. 1981 – Danny Ongais. That is a tangled mess of steel. It's scary. This crash and the need of the jaws of life to get him free is what makes this so bad. Also, spectators were injured from flying debris.

The Field of 33 – Most Memorable Crashes

Row 1	1. 1981 – Danny Ongais	2. 1973 – Swede Savage	3. 1984 – Patrick Bedard
Row 2	4. 1964 – Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald	5. 2010 – Mike Conway	6. 1973 – Salt Walther
Row 3	7. 1995 – Stan Fox	8. 1991 – Mark Dismore	9. 1971 – Pace Car
Row 4	10. 1966 – Opening Lap Pile Up	11. 1955 – Bill Vukovich	12. 2003 – Dan Wheldon
Row 5	13. 2011 – J.R. Hildebrand	14. 2012 – Takuma Sato	15. 1993 – Al Unser, Jr.
Row 6	16. 1982 – Kevin Cogan	17. 1958 – 15-Car Crash	18. 1975 – Tom Sneva
Row 7	19. 1982 – Gordon Smiley (qualifications)	20. 1996 – Scott Brayton (practice)	21. 1992 – Nelson Piquet, Rick Mears (qualifications)
Row 8	22. 2007 – March Andretti	23. 1972 – Jim Malloy	24. 1972 – Row 5 Crash
Row 9	25. 2005 – Danica Patrick	26. 1996 – R. Guerrero and A. Zampedri	27. 1989 – Kevin Cogan
Row 10	28. Snake Pit – Car on Fire	29. 1939 – Floyd Roberts	30. 2002 – Tomas Scheckter
Row 11	31. 1930 – Newsreel Crash	32. 1994 – Nigel Mansell, Dennis Vitolo	33. 2003 – Mario Andretti (practice)