Gordon Smiley Interviews Before 1982 Indy 500
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Before the 1982 Indy 500, Gordon Smiley was a guest on the WIBC radio show, The Talk From Gasoline Alley. He gives an ominous interview about needing to be aggressive during qualifying and running the car past its limits. Tragically, Gordon lost his life during qualifying on May 15th. Video of his graphic crash has been posted repeatedly to the point where we lose sight that there was a person at the center. These clips are to humanize the man, so that he does not remain someone whose life is reduced to a 10 second video clip.
This audio was originally in the program Beyond the Bricks in May 2021. Listen to the full program here:
www.1075thefan...
Despite what ultimately happened, I truly believe Gordon understood what he was doing and what was necessary to to do in order to get to 200 m.p.h. He was very experienced in set-up and experienced in driving many cars, including Formula 1. Yes, he was having issues with the car, that is well-known and I spoke with him personally about it. His solution as indicated was well intended; however, the steer to the right was an attempt to get more load to the front right of the car. Unfortunately, ground effects were too powerful or perhaps he hit that bump he was referring to and that off-set what he was trying to do.
I am sick and tired of him being "trashed" on the Internet. He is not here to defend himself.
Yeah, he is bashed a little much but he is an example of the "Maverick syndrome." He was trying things he wasn't quite ready for yet because he was aging and impatient. And he did overcorrect, and yeah it could be because he was airborne, but just what does one think will happen if those tires catch when turned to the wall? Better to spin out than to go straight into the wall. Horrific death but it's an example for drivers to be patient and listen to the vets.
@@icaanul Hello, I understand and respect what you are saying and he'd probably admit he should have let it spin in hindsight. I feel he did have the experience to take it to the next level as Tom Sneva. He was very much in contention to win in 81, the crash wasn't his fault. He was very daring and paid dearly for it. My personal goal is for others to recognize his vast accomplishments, not to bash him when he's not here to defend himself. He has a long history outside of Indy and F1 as you probably know. I've always thought he was a "new-age" driver during that time in my aspects. His sponsors, the financial partners he brought in, then the major sponsors. He knew how to promote, he understood journalism, he was an amazing speaker, he was genuine to his fans and made himself available. There are many drivers who've made an error, he was just the one who went down in history because of it.
As someone who has studied motorsports history his entire life, and has been to every 500 he's been allowed to attend since his father first took him as a boy in 1991, I rank Gordon Smiley's raw driving ability and lost potential for future major success up there with Swede Savage, and even Johnny Thomson. If not for the 1982 crash, the history of motorsport in the 1980s might have been quite different.
I completely agree. It is unfortunate that people only remember Gordon Smiley for his tragic crash and not for the talent and passion he had for racing. He was a person with a life and legacy that deserves to be remembered and honored. Reducing someone to a single moment does not do justice to their character and accomplishments.
@@AdamsBrew78 Well said. Thank you
Crazy when you look at that last interview and realize 18 hours later he'd be pulling out for his last run...
After winning the 1982 Indy 500, Gordon Johncock was being interviewed by Chris Economaki of ABC Sports, when one of his pit crew placed an Intermedics hat on his head. Intermedics was Gordon Smiley's team and sponsor. It was a gesture of honor and respect.
RIP.
After Gordon's accident the team owner pulled out of the race and Intermedics transferred it's sponsorship to the Patrick team as a secondary sponsor.
Not only honor and respect - he and Mario carried Intermedics logo on their visors and were paid to do so.
Thanks for posting this. I've always wanted to know more about this gentleman, and there are a few great clips on UA-cam now that humanise the man who was Gordon Smiley.
Talented guy in many ways. Too bad he was lost in probably the most horrific single car crash in Indy history.
Two words: Dave MacDonald.
Fascinating interview. From reading about Gordon and learning about his accomplishments and what he hoped to do, I think he had a good chance to be a perennial contender for many years to come.
he was still on warmup. Full speed was 200+. The crash resulted from his mistaken use of a dirt car manuever to try to correct himself.
He was very talented for sure and fearless! Sad day i will never forget the sound of the impact. R.I.P.🏁
🏁🏁 Oh wow, I remember this interview like it was yesterday! 🏁🏁
Thank you very much for posting this interview. Like many other people i only first knew about his tragic incident at first and wanted to see and hear more of him. Glad to see more interviews and especially the last few seconds showing him in person. May he rest in peace.
Thanks for sharing this despite the outcome... Hopefully the newer race fans, junkies and actual racers understand the evolutions in the years following his untimely death.. RIP in the Holy fast lanes!
I feel for his family who live with not only Gordon's passing, but also with the footage forever in existence. Same for all cases, 911 and all other fatal tragedies caught on film. We are mostly spared this huge extra level of awareness, as if the knowledge of a loved one getting killed isnt hard enough to bear on it's own.
I was there at qualifications that fateful day. I have never heard this radio broadcast before.
I was also there with my father. We were sitting on the inside of the front straightaway when he came by on warmup lap. Then Tom Carnegie said the car had hit the wall or something to that effect. No one suspected a thing and everyone sitting around us were in the dark. Then I remember a guy with a radio telling my father and I "the car had disintegrated" and that's the first time my radar went up. Then we see the ambulance coming down the main straightaway with no lights on and not really in a hurry.
me too. still remember the announcement.
I was there with my father in the snake pit when this took place
Thanks For Uploading ☺😎
And thanks to me for paying to have the content digitized from the original cassettes and putting it in the show so it could be ripped off here. 🙄
@@mikethomsen3718 You can bet Gordon wouldn't want to be archived out of the public domain...
Wow. Given his untimely death this is almost spooky to listen to. Thanks to OP for providing this historical gem.
Best I can tell is his drift racing experience served him poorly at IMS.
Rest Easy Gordon...
R.I.P
Like Tommy said, Gordon would’ve made a great announcer and play-by-play analyst/interviewer after his career. He was also a talented bloke and could very well have won the 500 and maybe even got to f1 given the right circumstances. Shame he let his pride get in the way.
I agree, he was amazing with the media, very much liked. He was ahead of his time in a "good ole' boys" arena of mentality. I attended an Intermedics Symposium in 1981 where he spoke to a room full of surgeons and others. His speech was amazing, it was tailored to compare racing with their area of expertise.
@@rhondamims-brown Respecting elders/vets isn't a "good ole' boys mentality." Listen to those that have survived and succeeded and you are most likely to survive and succeed. Jump the gun and well.... you don't do so well.
His crash did not happen at full speed. He was on a warmup lap.
Yea but he pushed the car almost at full speed in the warm up. Estimated speed was 185mph when he hit the wall. Terrible crash.
Does it matter what speed the outcome was the same 🙄
Doesn’t matter when he ignored the warmup lap and was flying down the track with cold tires.
Whelp, guess there won't be any more rare audio posted on Beyond The Bricks. 🙄
RIP
I was a 11 year old paper boy selling Indianapolis star at the track that very sad day .
probably he didn't know well the starting point of the porpoising, the speed that makes it start, he confused the porpoising with a bump in the track, single effect or the two things added up. we'll never know
I was at that race the video and stills are nothing compared to seeing and hearing it live, he that wall so hard it sounded like five or six sticks of dynamite exploding at the same time.
He clearly had an awful 'fast friday' with the car not even starting and continued handling problems. The car he seemed determined to go with was a 1981 March Chassis and I always thought this was odd considering he did have a brand new 1982 car at his disposal and it was a car George Snider would later have no trouble at qualifying well over 195. I believe his accident was a case of him feeling pressure and simply overextending himself.
Duh!! Interviews after 1982 won’t include smiley . Wake up
Yeah, his technique didn't work.
The other drivers warned him repeatedly that he was driving the track all wrong and also warned him that you could NOT USE dirt track or rally car techniques for catching the rear if it breaks loose.
Back then, turning into a slide was a death sentence because the car bites just as it's pointing at the wall.
Yep Smileys Car Overturned And Tried to Correct Himself, Then The Car Blasted Into The Wall, The Car Decenigrated Smiley Died Instantly In The Crash He Was 33 When He Died, RIP GS
36
Éste piloto corrió en la fórmula Aurora creo.
Doesn’t sound cocky like Dr. Olvey claimed. Sounds like a cool down to earth guy.
I agree! So many people use that description of him. I threw Dr. Olvey's book in the trash can. I've known a lot of race car drivers in my life and never knew one who wasn't cocky. Gordon was very personable.
The equivalent of counter steering on Superbike racing.