Crazy Crazy stuff, hit the link...

[video:google]http://devour.com/video/vintage-race-car-crashes/[/video]

No rollbars, no seatbelts, some in the early days didn't even wear helmets. A lot of guys got killed & maimed in those days.

I'm thinking seat belts work, huh?

And the roll bar too...

Wow..........that was quite a compilation of wrecks. To see some of the guys get up and walk/run away from the pile-up is something else!

Those were the days!

That guy that burned up had a bad day!

Speeds back then were far slower than today. Can you imagine some of those rollovers at 150 mph? The flying drivers would have been thrown into orbit.

Not as slow as you'd think. There were cars that did a good 120mph with NO crash technology whatsoever. You'd be safer on a motorcycle. At least when you fling off the motorcycle, it won't roll over you and crush you with 2 tons of steel.

Bob was a friend of mine about 25 years ago, and was a tech inspector for vintage races. He was working an event at Watkins Glen when a Ferrari driver wiped out in the bootleg. Later, in the paddock, with his wrecked car on the rollback, Bob approached the driver, who was joking about the accident. When Bob asked him how he could laugh off the wreck of a rare classic, the gentlemen agreed that, yes, it was one of only three of that model ever made - but, he said - "I own the other two."

I follow motorcycle grand prix (MotoGP) racing, and you'd be surprised the "offs" they regularly survive. There are regular injuries, to be sure, such as broken bones, etc. And there seems to be a death every few years. But generally, provided there isn't a barrier to stop a motorcyclist who has been dismounted, they will survive wrecks in excess of 150 mph.

The key is in how quickly (or rather, slowly) you are decelerated.

Friend of mine drag raced nitro-burning motorcycles. He said he felt safer racing those than cars because if something went wrong with a bike he could let go and "bail off the back".

I raced Triumph TR-3s back before fuel tank bladders. Cars went up like grenades back then, and I watched several drivers get BBQd. We used cotton driving suits dipped in borax as flame retardant.

There was a major leap ahead in the 1960s in safety equipment that saved a lot of lives and injuries...Nomex, fuel tank bladders, full-across role bars, the better Bell helmets, five-point seat belts...

These showed up all about the same time and about the time I quit after watching a friend burn to death at Riverside.

That was quite a compilation and sometimes hard to watch.

That was painful to watch. The need for speed is powerful for some.

In the early 60's I had a nice 1956 Corvette with the racing package that included two four barrel carbs, fast steering and a 3.55 final drive.





There is a sports car racing track nearby and if I joined a local sports car club I could race there in the 'cruising' race that allowed passing on the straight which was long.

I was up against those tiny MG's and maybe a Jag 120.

I paid the $10 entry fee and I was in the paddock waiting my turn as others finished their turn.

Into the paddock came a Porsche with corkscrew gouges all along one side from brushing with another cars wire wheel spinner!

I went up and asked for my $10 back!

I love adrenaline, and adventure,

but the fear of dying, extreme pain, and being burnt alive ,

often negates the first two.

Like I said up top, Crazy Crazy stuff.