Wow, that's good stuff! I have good memories of the 1993 Die Hard 500. It was run of July 25, and that happened to be my younger brother's 14th Birthday. We had a big party and family get-together to commemorate his 14th Birthday that year. My favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt and he ended up winning the race that day, but most importantly; your Grandfather survived his injuries from the horrible crash, that day. Best wishes to you, and your family.
This is the first time ANYWHERE I've seen the footage of Stanley covered in blood on the ground after that wreck. I didn't even know that footage existed. It's amazing he survived A- a basalur skull fracture, B- a ruptured aorta, and C- that much blood loss. Hell, not just survived but raced again and even won a race again. What a badass.
I think a lot of the “blood” is actually fluid mixed with blood from his brain, not any less terrifying but I don’t think he was bleeding that much that it covered his whole upper driving suit
as a kid, you watch compilation of crash video and this one is included… only years later and grow in maturity that you learn the history and the drivers in it.
Looking back, it's like if there was ever a jinxed group of drivers, it had to be the Alabama Gang between 1987-94 (Bobby Allison's scary crash at Talladega that left several fans injured, led to restrictor plates and virtually overshadowed son Davey's 1st win; Bobby nearly losing his life in the crash at Pocono in 1988; Neil Bonnett developing amnesia after his 1990 Darlington crash; all the injuries Davey had in 1992; Davey's brother Clifford being killed in a Busch Series practice crash at Michigan; Davey losing his own life less than a year later; Stanley Smith's close brush with death and finally Neil Bonnett losing his life practicing at Daytona in 1994)
Rick Carelli also survived a basillar skull fracture in 1999 at Memphis in the truck series. A lot of people have no idea just how bad that crash was, especially it being on a short track
Some people wonder what Dale Sr looked like after his crash at Daytona in 01, well what fans seen on TV is basically what all the track workers and Ken Schrader seen. It's just nasty
I remember the horror on Kens face and after seeing that I had no desire to see any of the postmortem photos. I wanted to always remember his grin, not his lifeless body.
When you look up basilar skull fracture in auto racing the main article that pulls up talks about Irvan’s crash in 94 and says how he’s the only driver to survive one. And this is ESPN. Thank you Darian for bringing to light a story that not a lot of people know
Mika Hakkinen crashed during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix and also suffered a basilar skull fracture, he got a tracheotomy in site, and was airlifted to the hospital, he was back at the start of next season, and won 2 world championships in 1998 and 1999.
The eerieness of seeing the firesuit completely red after the wreck just adds to how terrifying those kind of head on wrecks were back then. From DW's words: They are sudden.
Actually all of the 90s and early 2000s, some of the most brutal crashes happened during that time. Russell Phillips, Ayrton Senna, Sébastien Enjolras, and so many more. It was that weird time where we should've known better but still lacked behind in so many ways.
Smith must’ve bought all of the lottery tickets in the world once he got out of the hospital. Few people have survived something that horrible and lived to tell the story.
7:02 Worth noting that Ernie Irvan also had a basilar skull fracture in 1994 at Michigan. He narrowly survived and did return to racing, but had double vision in his left eye that could not be corrected with surgery, forcing him to wear an eyepatch.
Pretty wild, didnt think many people knew about Stan Smith and his dramatic survival from a basil skull fracture. Lucky man, but he dealt with many health issues after the accident as well. Ernie Irvan also suffered a similar injury at MIS and the on track rescue worker performed a tracheotomy IN THE CAR to save Ernie who was choking to death on his own blood. We always bad talk the safety and rescue workers from the 90’s but there were some extremely well trained folks who saved many lives back then.
@@doomusrlc Close! Dr Punch saved Rusty’s life at Bristol. Rusty was unconscious and had his head down, essentially choking his air way. Dr Punch stabilized Rusty’s head and neck allowing Wallace to breath.
I remember this crash very well, I watched the Talladega race as a kid and Jimmy Horton went over the wall and tore that car to pieces and that is what they focused on. But little did I know of Stanley's accident where he hit the wall. That was a wild wreck.
The 1993 DieHard 500 is one of NASCAR's most eventful and consequential races. Thanks for bringing Stanley Smith to light. He often gets forgotten because he was a part-timer and didn't run up front in the Cup Series. Go figure his life-threatening crash occurs when Jimmy Horton crashes more spectacularly, so that's what folks remember.
Also, Stanley had Interstate Batteries before Dale Jarrett and JGR did. Surprised a Darlington throwback has not been driven of Stanley Smith's Interstate Batteries scheme yet.
With how much of the Interstate name either fell into the wheel well or twisted over the rear deck, a throwback to that car might be a rare instance of the forward number improving the design.
Ive seen this accident so many times and didn't realize how serious it was. You just see Horton going over the wall and him being ok. But never how horrifying an injury Smith had. That satellite feed footage was terrifying
it shook me the first time i watched the satellite feed of this race and saw that. i had seen the wreck before that but never knew of smith and his condition. a miracle he survived
1993 - 1994 should have been a wake-up call for NASCAR considering the injuries that occurred over a two-year period but it took until 2001 before they took safety seriously. Of course, after Neil Bonnet died there were calls to create some type of protocols to whether a driver should be allowed back behind the wheel but it faded over time.
Totally agree, it also made me mad that NASCAR didn't take it seriously till Earnhardt's death in 2001, then they decided to take action, between 1997-2000 the following died on the track: John Nemechak, Tony Roper, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr
That last part you said may have been able to save Greg Moore in IndyCar. The day before, he had broken his hand/wrist in the parking lot. One possible reason he crashed was because of this.
That was also during the tire war. Hoosier and Goodyear and it led to a decrease in safety of tires because with tires you want grip, but grip oftentimes means giving up durability.
My father was a respiratory therapist at Carraway around this time. He cared for Smith and Davey. Well every driver that went to the hospital from a crash a Talladega. He cared for.
I remember watching this race on TV with my Dad. Stanley's story faded from the headlines almost as soon as the race was over and his recovery was a small side story on Inside Winston Cup Racing a month or so later. Jimmy Horton went on to his next race with the words, "Air Horton" on his helmet visor.
Stanley was my boss for a number of years and let me tell you he was one tough man. Thank you for such a great video. He was one of the best drivers there was and did a lot for the sport! He was a hell of a man and I loved talking to him about his racing days. He deserves to be known more.
My dad was on the safety crew at talladega at the time and went in through the passenger side window of stanley's car to stop the bleeding. The guys that got to him first were ( not at all downing the guys that got to him first) volunteer firemen and although they did have emt training didn't really know what to do about what was going on with him. All and all stanley was saved but it was scary for sure.
The severity of that injury is well above what an EMT Basic would generally be expected to deal with anyway, well into the full Paramedic zone I'd imagine. I'm sure they did the best they could with what they knew to stabilize him until Paramedics and Doctors arrived, and Stan Smith survived thanks to all of them.
@@BrodyMK64 Mika Hakkinen, although I don't know if it was specifically a basilar skull fracture, but there was a skull fracture and other internal injuries. The doctors on scene had to perform a tracheotomy trackside and restart his heart twice. He recovered in time for the following season and a few years later won two consecutive championships.
This was a great video. As a Davey Allison fan,I remember this entire race like it was yesterday. Never saw the CBS satellite feed though, even though they mentioned very little about Stanley Smiths situation because they focused on Horton going over the wall. Another crazy thing was after Neil Bonnets crash,he ended up back in the TV Booth! Again great video, but I also enjoy all of your work!!
I think that was a deliberate and understandable decision on CBS' part since little was known about the severity of Smith's injuries at the time. They covered him leaving in the helicopter and mentioned that he was in critical condition.
It’s rlly cool to see a driver my family is very close to jimmy Horton in a blackflagsmatter video Jimmy Horton races at my local dirt track that my family goes to yearly and my uncle , rip , worked at. And my mom has meet him many times and my uncle and jimmy were great friends and talked a lot thanks Darian.
Thank you for telling this story. Everyone has heard about Horton going over the wall, but very few know about Smith’s situation. To my knowledge he is part of a very exclusive group that only includes Rick Carelli and Ernie Irvan as drivers who have survived a basilar skull fracture
One other thing I remember from watching this race was how hot it looked that day. You could tell even just watching on TV. I don't know what the temperature was but it had to be over 100. I've watched the race here on UA-cam with the raw satellite feed, so I'd seen the Stanley Smith video before. What you also see (concerning the temperature) is one of the emergency/fire men pulling on his coat as he's going to the wreck, and, when they're loading the stretcher into the medivac, what looked to be Smith's family members on the scene in tears and being comforted by a nurse. I don't think that got on TV in the original broadcast. Also, after the Neil Bonnet crash, which caused more than an hour delay, to fix the fence, which got torn down, he went into the booth and called the rest of the race, because he was a regular in the booth for Ken Squier's company (when he wasn't racing). I always think of this as the most miserable day in NASCAR history. The circumstances right after Davey Allison's death, the very depressing pre-race memorial, the Jimmy Horton-Stanley Smith crash, the lousy weather conditions, Neil Bonnet's crash, the long delay, everything about it was bad. And it would get even worse when a few months later Neil Bonnett was dumb enough to try to get into a race car again. Maybe it's not completely bad that he tried to race again, but it should have been like Stanley Smith did, at a small track, and not at Daytona, and not in the iffy circumstances of driving for a team with a tire company just coming into the sport (Hoosier) at the start of a tire war.
@@MikeG42 It probably would have been all right for him to keep racing, in occasional outings, which was the way the James Finch team ran anyway-a limited schedule. But the mistake was trying his comeback at Daytona & Talladega. The problem was that James Finch's team specialized in the plate tracks, especially at that time (they later expanded their schedule), so if he was going to run for them, it would be Daytona & Talladega. Maybe when trying to come back, it would have been wiser to run a few races in the Busch series first. A completely avoidable tragedy.
I was 7 when this race happened and I always wondered what happened to Stanley Smith. That race had one of the biggest wrecks in turn one that I’ve not seen since 2003 Aaron’s 499
As he was recovering we sent some money to try and help with expenses. Later got a card from Stanley thanking us for prayers and support. Cherished racing memory.
Wow... watching them pull him out of the car with his entire suit covered in blood was horrific. God has his angels around Stanley that day for sure. Great video!
I hope the nascar hall of fame could be recognize Stanley smith’s contribution some way in terms of providing a pathway of young pit crewes and staff like Chad Knaus but boy that injury to survive it is a testament to why nascar has improved safety and then some ( I hope nascar take the mild concession with Kurt Busch seriously too).
We've come a long way from Stanley Smith surviving to the worst injury being Kurt Busch receiving a mild concussion and Kevin Harvick breaking his wrist, and I'd rather see concussions and broken wrists instead of drivers being extracted with blood soaked firesuits
What also gets overlooked is Stanley brought Interstate Battery into Cup. He carried their colors until a fella named Joe Gibbs came along and Interstate jumped and launched them.
Early 90s Nascar were some of the most brutal to be seen. However they were also some of the most raw talented, exciting, and pure stock car racing that we shall ever see.
the head and neck devices are whats saving the most drivers, thats what most die from, and keep in mind it took dales passing for that to happen, i dont think he would have ever worn one even after losing friends, just the type of guy he was
Honestly, I didn't remember the drivers in the crash, but I remember seeing that wreck live on TV. I think about that and never really looked it up because everytime I remember it, I could never remember the track or anything. I just remember seeing a car flip over the track wall. I'm pretty sure it was this one but I'm also glad that it happened and not something my brain just made up somehow
Wowwowowo...I imagine another "benefit," besides him surviving and thriving afterwards, was since he's one of the few to experience it and live, he can describe what it was like, maybe other medical information from his situation that can be added to and used for research, new technologies and advancements.
Jimmy Horton was one lucky man that day from flipping over the wall That's something you'll never see in NASCAR ever again since the safety has gotten much much better then it did in 1993
Horton is the reason,there was (and still is) a fence put there, which caught Ricky Cravens car and kept it from going out of the track,like Hortons car 3 years later.
It was a one race situation. Lake Speed was in the car the following race at Watkins Glen, and would remain in the next 2 races before Ernie Irvan took over the ride at Darlington.
@@faithful2thecall thanks for that I did wonder why I never knew, one race deal would explain it I mean so many one offs happen it’s like a “before they were famous”
The inside of Dale Sr's was covered in blood. His uniform was coated. You pretty just saw with Stanley Smith what Ken Schrader saw when he looked in Dale's car. Also the same thing that Jimmy Means saw when he checked on J.D. McDuffie at Watkins Glen in 1991. McDuffie died from a basilar skull fracture as well. There is a reason they covered that car with a tarp when it was towed away on the flatback
He survived *the* injury that kills drivers in otherwise "survivable" situations. Senna, Roland Ratzenberger, Gules Bianci, Dale Sr., among others all passed away in the driver's seat due to that injury, fuckin hell
Smith's top level career more or less ended right when I started watching racing (that Talladega race where Bonnet went flying was the first race i ever saw). That interstate batteries paintscheme he had was GORGE though.
Good video BFM and it is remarkable how Stanley Smith was able to eventually recover from this injury and continue racing. I cant imagine what Smith and the track crews went through on that fateful day. All that blood must have made for a scary situation. At the time I was more concerned about Horton only because his crash looked more dramatic compared to Smith. It also was strange that Smith and Bonnett met each other just before Neil's fatal crash at Daytona. Despite the horrific crashes the race at Talladega had a great finish with Neil back in the broadcast booth after his wreck. Thanks BFM 😁👍
ARCA and Kingsport Speedway driver, Derrick Lancaster survived a Basilar Skull Fracture when his late model car hit the exit of the turn four wall head-on at Kingsport Speedway. Even at short tracks, serious injuries like this can happen.
Whats also horrifyingto watch is, right above the little square duct window on the driver side, you can see a tiny spec of white... That white is Stan Smith's helmet. You can tell its not a piece of the window, because if you watch very closely, it shakes and jolts around a little bit, most like from him convulsing/seizing/twitching, whatever it may have been. Its so sad to watch, even though he did recover. It only breaks my heart more to think of what Dale's was like, especially for Schrader.
Great video!! Thanks for your hard work. I didn't know about him and his wreck/injury but thanks to you, i do now. You should do a video about the baselar skull fracture and it's impact on the sport & drivers who actually survived it, like Smith & Ernie Irvan.
Here we are 29 years later, and I remember seeing that wreck and I absolutely did not remember how badly hurt Stanley Smith was. I remembered Horton flying over the wall and the helicopter shot of the car with most of the sheet metal gone and half-buried in red dirt, and Horton was also covered in Alabama red clay, but not Smith's near-death experience.
The car is still behind his chelsea shop, i race a latemodel car and bought out the rest of his wheels from his estate while they were cleaning the rest of his racing stuff out after his passing.
In the satellite feed you can hear Ken Squier and Ned Jarrent saying things like "oh gosh" and making noises like they saw a feed from one of the cameras focused on Smith's car as they pulled him out covered in blood......
Ya know, I never knew about Stanley Smith much at all, as he was a fairly laidback driver in terms of performance, usually in the back quarter of the pack. It’s insane how a stock car driver who was barely recognized became so praised for surviving one of the most painful and brutal body injuries you can have. Let alone, getting one. I had never seen what Stanley looked like after, but it was so hard to look at. My prayers are with Stanley, and his family, after he survived the near impossible. God, he was a gift.
The aorta is the largest artery and is in the chest. The artery in the neck, on each side is the carotid. I guess you MIGHT call the topmost loop of the aorta "in the neck", but it is below the collarbone. Sorry if I'm being pedantic...
I have not forgotten ! It was ubelievable that he managed to survive a basial skull fracture, and just so unlucky to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time .
1994 & 1973 was definitely one of the darkest years of Motorsports Seeing Smith lying on the ground covered in blood reminded me so much of Tom Pryce. When they took him out of his Shadow.
There were a few, but not many. Others have cited Ernie Irvan (spelling?) in NASCAR, a driver in the truck series named Rick Carelli, and possibly Mika Hakkinen in F1 (he had a skull fracture but I don't know if it was basilar. Likely that it was, given the nature of his wreck and it also being pre-HANS device).
Stanley Smith was the luckiest survivor of NASCAR to older fans, and with the safety precautions we have today, it’s obvious that there’ll never be another great survivor like the late Stanley Smith.
Basilar skull fracture is one of the most fatal injuries that can happened to a race car driver. People who survived it are basically very lucky to even survive, let alone return to racing. Thank Goodness for the better safety equipments today
Thank you for making this beautiful video of my grandfather! You are keeping his legacy and passion for racing alive!
I saw him race at Talladega and many short tracks in the 80's and 90's. Alabama gang forever. Was your mother the one in Miss America?
Wow, that's good stuff! I have good memories of the 1993 Die Hard 500. It was run of July 25, and that happened to be my younger brother's 14th Birthday. We had a big party and family get-together to commemorate his 14th Birthday that year. My favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt and he ended up winning the race that day, but most importantly; your Grandfather survived his injuries from the horrible crash, that day. Best wishes to you, and your family.
It's a very informative video. Although it could do without the hip-hop backing track.
I remember seeing him at the Nashville fairgrounds, hell of a wheelman and just as skilled as any big time nascar star.
Hi sister love you
This is the first time ANYWHERE I've seen the footage of Stanley covered in blood on the ground after that wreck. I didn't even know that footage existed. It's amazing he survived A- a basalur skull fracture, B- a ruptured aorta, and C- that much blood loss. Hell, not just survived but raced again and even won a race again. What a badass.
its on the Diehard 500 satellite feed video on UA-cam
I think a lot of the “blood” is actually fluid mixed with blood from his brain, not any less terrifying but I don’t think he was bleeding that much that it covered his whole upper driving suit
They administered 12 units of blood to Stanley. Average body hold 10 units.
Same..never saw this before.
as a kid, you watch compilation of crash video and this one is included…
only years later and grow in maturity that you learn the history and the drivers in it.
Looking back, it's like if there was ever a jinxed group of drivers, it had to be the Alabama Gang between 1987-94 (Bobby Allison's scary crash at Talladega that left several fans injured, led to restrictor plates and virtually overshadowed son Davey's 1st win; Bobby nearly losing his life in the crash at Pocono in 1988; Neil Bonnett developing amnesia after his 1990 Darlington crash; all the injuries Davey had in 1992; Davey's brother Clifford being killed in a Busch Series practice crash at Michigan; Davey losing his own life less than a year later; Stanley Smith's close brush with death and finally Neil Bonnett losing his life practicing at Daytona in 1994)
Rick Carelli also survived a basillar skull fracture in 1999
at Memphis in the truck series. A lot of people have no idea just how bad that crash was, especially it being on a short track
And he was conscious for most of it. He said he felt warm around his ears. It was blood coming out of them that he felt. Then he passed out
If I remember right the truck looked pancaked because of how hard it was.
Some people wonder what Dale Sr looked like after his crash at Daytona in 01, well what fans seen on TV is basically what all the track workers and Ken Schrader seen. It's just nasty
I can't imagine what was going through Ken Schrader's mind when he saw Dale
There are images of the car after they got Dale out and its blood stains everywhere in the cockpit.
I remember the horror on Kens face and after seeing that I had no desire to see any of the postmortem photos. I wanted to always remember his grin, not his lifeless body.
@@nascarfanFlatTire you do not want to see those pic, nor should you want to see those pics
Yeah
When you look up basilar skull fracture in auto racing the main article that pulls up talks about Irvan’s crash in 94 and says how he’s the only driver to survive one. And this is ESPN. Thank you Darian for bringing to light a story that not a lot of people know
Rick Carelli also survived one in 1999. He sustained it in a crash during a NASCAR Truck Series race at Memphis
Mika Hakkinen crashed during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix and also suffered a basilar skull fracture, he got a tracheotomy in site, and was airlifted to the hospital, he was back at the start of next season, and won 2 world championships in 1998 and 1999.
I always knew Ernie Ervan had suffered a severe head injury, but I never knew it was THAT one! I'm a NASCAR LIFER, but I learned a lot here today!
The eerieness of seeing the firesuit completely red after the wreck just adds to how terrifying those kind of head on wrecks were back then. From DW's words: They are sudden.
Imagine suffering the same injury that took so many drivers lives and coming back to win again. Absolute feel good story.
1993/1994 were some of the darkest years in motorsports racing, and (save for the late 60's and 2001) remain among the darkest of all time.
Actually all of the 90s and early 2000s, some of the most brutal crashes happened during that time. Russell Phillips, Ayrton Senna, Sébastien Enjolras, and so many more. It was that weird time where we should've known better but still lacked behind in so many ways.
@@cbj4sc1 The technology to go extremely fast was well ahead of the engineering tech to keep drivers safe.
Smith must’ve bought all of the lottery tickets in the world once he got out of the hospital. Few people have survived something that horrible and lived to tell the story.
I always pulled for the underdogs, they struggled to keep it real. He was a hell of a dude, fought for his hobby n passion
7:02 Worth noting that Ernie Irvan also had a basilar skull fracture in 1994 at Michigan. He narrowly survived and did return to racing, but had double vision in his left eye that could not be corrected with surgery, forcing him to wear an eyepatch.
Pretty wild, didnt think many people knew about Stan Smith and his dramatic survival from a basil skull fracture. Lucky man, but he dealt with many health issues after the accident as well.
Ernie Irvan also suffered a similar injury at MIS and the on track rescue worker performed a tracheotomy IN THE CAR to save Ernie who was choking to death on his own blood.
We always bad talk the safety and rescue workers from the 90’s but there were some extremely well trained folks who saved many lives back then.
Wasn't it Jerry Punch who did that? For some reason I feel like it was.
@@doomusrlc Close! Dr Punch saved Rusty’s life at Bristol. Rusty was unconscious and had his head down, essentially choking his air way. Dr Punch stabilized Rusty’s head and neck allowing Wallace to breath.
@@chasefollett4107 ah right. Was during qualifying wasn't it? Heard the crash, looked over and saw Rusty needed help so he ran over there
I remember this crash very well, I watched the Talladega race as a kid and Jimmy Horton went over the wall and tore that car to pieces and that is what they focused on. But little did I know of Stanley's accident where he hit the wall. That was a wild wreck.
The 1993 DieHard 500 is one of NASCAR's most eventful and consequential races. Thanks for bringing Stanley Smith to light. He often gets forgotten because he was a part-timer and didn't run up front in the Cup Series. Go figure his life-threatening crash occurs when Jimmy Horton crashes more spectacularly, so that's what folks remember.
Also, Stanley had Interstate Batteries before Dale Jarrett and JGR did. Surprised a Darlington throwback has not been driven of Stanley Smith's Interstate Batteries scheme yet.
With how much of the Interstate name either fell into the wheel well or twisted over the rear deck, a throwback to that car might be a rare instance of the forward number improving the design.
Ive seen this accident so many times and didn't realize how serious it was. You just see Horton going over the wall and him being ok. But never how horrifying an injury Smith had. That satellite feed footage was terrifying
it shook me the first time i watched the satellite feed of this race and saw that. i had seen the wreck before that but never knew of smith and his condition. a miracle he survived
1993 - 1994 should have been a wake-up call for NASCAR considering the injuries that occurred over a two-year period but it took until 2001 before they took safety seriously. Of course, after Neil Bonnet died there were calls to create some type of protocols to whether a driver should be allowed back behind the wheel but it faded over time.
Totally agree, it also made me mad that NASCAR didn't take it seriously till Earnhardt's death in 2001, then they decided to take action, between 1997-2000 the following died on the track: John Nemechak, Tony Roper, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr
That last part you said may have been able to save Greg Moore in IndyCar. The day before, he had broken his hand/wrist in the parking lot. One possible reason he crashed was because of this.
That was also during the tire war. Hoosier and Goodyear and it led to a decrease in safety of tires because with tires you want grip, but grip oftentimes means giving up durability.
@@vintvarner16As soon as the death of Neil on happened, it should have been taken more seriously.
My father was a respiratory therapist at Carraway around this time. He cared for Smith and Davey. Well every driver that went to the hospital from a crash a Talladega. He cared for.
Thank Him for us
I remember watching this race on TV with my Dad. Stanley's story faded from the headlines almost as soon as the race was over and his recovery was a small side story on Inside Winston Cup Racing a month or so later. Jimmy Horton went on to his next race with the words, "Air Horton" on his helmet visor.
Remember the name vaguely, when it doesn't get repeated often, as you point out, forgotten... Thanks for this memorial/tribute
Stanley was my boss for a number of years and let me tell you he was one tough man. Thank you for such a great video. He was one of the best drivers there was and did a lot for the sport! He was a hell of a man and I loved talking to him about his racing days. He deserves to be known more.
I can’t believe he survived that.
My dad was on the safety crew at talladega at the time and went in through the passenger side window of stanley's car to stop the bleeding. The guys that got to him first were ( not at all downing the guys that got to him first) volunteer firemen and although they did have emt training didn't really know what to do about what was going on with him. All and all stanley was saved but it was scary for sure.
The severity of that injury is well above what an EMT Basic would generally be expected to deal with anyway, well into the full Paramedic zone I'd imagine. I'm sure they did the best they could with what they knew to stabilize him until Paramedics and Doctors arrived, and Stan Smith survived thanks to all of them.
Crazy that Stanley Smith survived with a BSF
The only other driver to my knowledge to ever survive one was Ernie Irvan.
@@michaelhall736 and Rick carelli in the truck series
@@jmitt25 pretty sure an F1 driver survived as well
@@BrodyMK64 Mika Hakkinen, although I don't know if it was specifically a basilar skull fracture, but there was a skull fracture and other internal injuries. The doctors on scene had to perform a tracheotomy trackside and restart his heart twice. He recovered in time for the following season and a few years later won two consecutive championships.
Ah yes... This was a very interesting & unique story. It's good that Stanley not only survived, but also got his redemption.
This was a great video. As a Davey Allison fan,I remember this entire race like it was yesterday. Never saw the CBS satellite feed though, even though they mentioned very little about Stanley Smiths situation because they focused on Horton going over the wall. Another crazy thing was after Neil Bonnets crash,he ended up back in the TV Booth! Again great video, but I also enjoy all of your work!!
I think that was a deliberate and understandable decision on CBS' part since little was known about the severity of Smith's injuries at the time. They covered him leaving in the helicopter and mentioned that he was in critical condition.
@@faithful2thecall and after watching this video I can understand why.
The older history of nascar always interests me. Thanks for posting BFM.
It’s rlly cool to see a driver my family is very close to jimmy Horton in a blackflagsmatter video
Jimmy Horton races at my local dirt track that my family goes to yearly and my uncle , rip , worked at. And my mom has meet him many times and my uncle and jimmy were great friends and talked a lot thanks Darian.
I remember that he had another really bad one at Atlanta in an ARCA race in the mid 90's.
I was at Talladega that day. You nailed it perfectly.
Thank you for telling this story. Everyone has heard about Horton going over the wall, but very few know about Smith’s situation. To my knowledge he is part of a very exclusive group that only includes Rick Carelli and Ernie Irvan as drivers who have survived a basilar skull fracture
One other thing I remember from watching this race was how hot it looked that day. You could tell even just watching on TV. I don't know what the temperature was but it had to be over 100. I've watched the race here on UA-cam with the raw satellite feed, so I'd seen the Stanley Smith video before. What you also see (concerning the temperature) is one of the emergency/fire men pulling on his coat as he's going to the wreck, and, when they're loading the stretcher into the medivac, what looked to be Smith's family members on the scene in tears and being comforted by a nurse. I don't think that got on TV in the original broadcast. Also, after the Neil Bonnet crash, which caused more than an hour delay, to fix the fence, which got torn down, he went into the booth and called the rest of the race, because he was a regular in the booth for Ken Squier's company (when he wasn't racing).
I always think of this as the most miserable day in NASCAR history. The circumstances right after Davey Allison's death, the very depressing pre-race memorial, the Jimmy Horton-Stanley Smith crash, the lousy weather conditions, Neil Bonnet's crash, the long delay, everything about it was bad. And it would get even worse when a few months later Neil Bonnett was dumb enough to try to get into a race car again. Maybe it's not completely bad that he tried to race again, but it should have been like Stanley Smith did, at a small track, and not at Daytona, and not in the iffy circumstances of driving for a team with a tire company just coming into the sport (Hoosier) at the start of a tire war.
I understand Neil's love for racing but I wish he just remained in the broadcast booth because he was good at that and had a great commentating style.
@@MikeG42 It probably would have been all right for him to keep racing, in occasional outings, which was the way the James Finch team ran anyway-a limited schedule. But the mistake was trying his comeback at Daytona & Talladega. The problem was that James Finch's team specialized in the plate tracks, especially at that time (they later expanded their schedule), so if he was going to run for them, it would be Daytona & Talladega. Maybe when trying to come back, it would have been wiser to run a few races in the Busch series first. A completely avoidable tragedy.
I was 7 when this race happened and I always wondered what happened to Stanley Smith. That race had one of the biggest wrecks in turn one that I’ve not seen since 2003 Aaron’s 499
It’s incredible how they saved Stanley from dying considering how badly injured he was
As he was recovering we sent some money to try and help with expenses. Later got a card from Stanley thanking us for prayers and support. Cherished racing memory.
Wow... watching them pull him out of the car with his entire suit covered in blood was horrific. God has his angels around Stanley that day for sure. Great video!
I hope the nascar hall of fame could be recognize Stanley smith’s contribution some way in terms of providing a pathway of young pit crewes and staff like Chad Knaus but boy that injury to survive it is a testament to why nascar has improved safety and then some ( I hope nascar take the mild concession with Kurt Busch seriously too).
We've come a long way from Stanley Smith surviving to the worst injury being Kurt Busch receiving a mild concussion and Kevin Harvick breaking his wrist, and I'd rather see concussions and broken wrists instead of drivers being extracted with blood soaked firesuits
Amazing that Stanley was able to survive that even back then when safety wasn’t what it is today.
Happy early bday man!
What also gets overlooked is Stanley brought Interstate Battery into Cup. He carried their colors until a fella named Joe Gibbs came along and Interstate jumped and launched them.
Probably the most unbelievable crash that someone has survived knowing the severity of his injuries
Another awesome Video! Thank you so much for this content
Early 90s Nascar were some of the most brutal to be seen. However they were also some of the most raw talented, exciting, and pure stock car racing that we shall ever see.
Safety has came so far in Nascar so accidents like this will hopefully be wont happen again.
the head and neck devices are whats saving the most drivers, thats what most die from, and keep in mind it took dales passing for that to happen, i dont think he would have ever worn one even after losing friends, just the type of guy he was
Honestly, I didn't remember the drivers in the crash, but I remember seeing that wreck live on TV. I think about that and never really looked it up because everytime I remember it, I could never remember the track or anything. I just remember seeing a car flip over the track wall. I'm pretty sure it was this one but I'm also glad that it happened and not something my brain just made up somehow
I think Ernie Irvan also survived from an basiliar skull fracture, and going off to F1 for a sec, Phillippe Streiff as well.
Wowwowowo...I imagine another "benefit," besides him surviving and thriving afterwards, was since he's one of the few to experience it and live, he can describe what it was like, maybe other medical information from his situation that can be added to and used for research, new technologies and advancements.
Wow, never knew that about this crash. You’d think the guy that hit the wall roof first and then rolled outside the track would 100% be the worst off!
It's a miracle he survived that
Jimmy Horton was one lucky man that day from flipping over the wall
That's something you'll never see in NASCAR ever again since the safety has gotten much much better then it did in 1993
*charlotte turn three*
Did you know Horton still races today? Primarily races in dirt modifieds at Orange County Fair Speedway for Halmer Friesen Racing.
@@rodneyproductions5044 and until kasey took out some trees we could have seen it at pocono
Horton is the reason,there was (and still is) a fence put there, which caught Ricky Cravens car and kept it from going out of the track,like Hortons car 3 years later.
@@crystaljon wait really?
Good for him
I hope he's doing good
Another bit of forgotten history there, I genuinely forgot Robby Gordon drove Daveys car after his tragic death
It was a one race situation. Lake Speed was in the car the following race at Watkins Glen, and would remain in the next 2 races before Ernie Irvan took over the ride at Darlington.
@@faithful2thecall thanks for that I did wonder why I never knew, one race deal would explain it I mean so many one offs happen it’s like a “before they were famous”
The inside of Dale Sr's was covered in blood. His uniform was coated. You pretty just saw with Stanley Smith what Ken Schrader saw when he looked in Dale's car.
Also the same thing that Jimmy Means saw when he checked on J.D. McDuffie at Watkins Glen in 1991. McDuffie died from a basilar skull fracture as well. There is a reason they covered that car with a tarp when it was towed away on the flatback
He survived *the* injury that kills drivers in otherwise "survivable" situations. Senna, Roland Ratzenberger, Gules Bianci, Dale Sr., among others all passed away in the driver's seat due to that injury, fuckin hell
Smith's top level career more or less ended right when I started watching racing (that Talladega race where Bonnet went flying was the first race i ever saw). That interstate batteries paintscheme he had was GORGE though.
Good video BFM and it is remarkable how Stanley Smith was able to eventually recover from this injury and continue racing. I cant imagine what Smith and the track crews went through on that fateful day. All that blood must have made for a scary situation. At the time I was more concerned about Horton only because his crash looked more dramatic compared to Smith. It also was strange that Smith and Bonnett met each other just before Neil's fatal crash at Daytona. Despite the horrific crashes the race at Talladega had a great finish with Neil back in the broadcast booth after his wreck. Thanks BFM 😁👍
Solid vid bro keep it up
Thank you for doing this! It's a story I followed a lot especially after the deaths of Irwin, Petty, Earnhardt. So cool to see you do this!
ARCA and Kingsport Speedway driver, Derrick Lancaster survived a Basilar Skull Fracture when his late model car hit the exit of the turn four wall head-on at Kingsport Speedway. Even at short tracks, serious injuries like this can happen.
I had no idea about how serious that accident was at the time. Glad he was able to survive and live fully after that
Didn't know you were a Wu Tang Clan fan.
RZA's "Tragedy" playing as background music. #suuuuuu #wutang 👐🐝
The story of smith is overshadowed by Horton crash
Great video bro like always 🤘🏾✊🏾
Great piece Very well done
Whats also horrifyingto watch is, right above the little square duct window on the driver side, you can see a tiny spec of white... That white is Stan Smith's helmet. You can tell its not a piece of the window, because if you watch very closely, it shakes and jolts around a little bit, most like from him convulsing/seizing/twitching, whatever it may have been. Its so sad to watch, even though he did recover. It only breaks my heart more to think of what Dale's was like, especially for Schrader.
It was a miracle that Stanley Smith survived that sort of injury. 9/10 times a basilar skull fracture is fatal
Great video!! Thanks for your hard work. I didn't know about him and his wreck/injury but thanks to you, i do now. You should do a video about the baselar skull fracture and it's impact on the sport & drivers who actually survived it, like Smith & Ernie Irvan.
Here we are 29 years later, and I remember seeing that wreck and I absolutely did not remember how badly hurt Stanley Smith was. I remembered Horton flying over the wall and the helicopter shot of the car with most of the sheet metal gone and half-buried in red dirt, and Horton was also covered in Alabama red clay, but not Smith's near-death experience.
Absolutely brilliant video,well done👍👍👍👍
Wow that’s so cool, I can’t believe this happened. Great video.
The car is still behind his chelsea shop, i race a latemodel car and bought out the rest of his wheels from his estate while they were cleaning the rest of his racing stuff out after his passing.
Neck injuries kills a lot. I wore a HANS device when I raced and it was the only thing that saved my life.
Once again thank God for the HANS device!
Another great story. Once again, you never fail to impress me.
In the satellite feed you can hear Ken Squier and Ned Jarrent saying things like "oh gosh" and making noises like they saw a feed from one of the cameras focused on Smith's car as they pulled him out covered in blood......
Thanks for doing Stanley’s story
Thanks for bringing this story!
You have some fresh video ideas. Flag you're back!
Jimmy Horton...a dirt track legend in the northeast
Nice video!
Ya know, I never knew about Stanley Smith much at all, as he was a fairly laidback driver in terms of performance, usually in the back quarter of the pack. It’s insane how a stock car driver who was barely recognized became so praised for surviving one of the most painful and brutal body injuries you can have. Let alone, getting one. I had never seen what Stanley looked like after, but it was so hard to look at. My prayers are with Stanley, and his family, after he survived the near impossible. God, he was a gift.
Also strange seeing Robby Gordon driving the 28
The aorta is the largest artery and is in the chest. The artery in the neck, on each side is the carotid. I guess you MIGHT call the topmost loop of the aorta "in the neck", but it is below the collarbone. Sorry if I'm being pedantic...
I've seen this full race on UA-cam, I remember seeing under a commercial break his uniform covered and I couldn't believe he lived through it.
Ill never forget hortons comment after the wreck: "i knew i was in trouble when the 1st guy that got to the car had a beer in his hand"
I have not forgotten ! It was ubelievable that he managed to survive a basial skull fracture, and just so unlucky to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time .
1994 & 1973 was definitely one of the darkest years of Motorsports
Seeing Smith lying on the ground covered in blood reminded me so much of Tom Pryce.
When they took him out of his Shadow.
I didn't even know that injury was survivable
I have never in my 57 years heard of a driver SURVIVING a basilar skull fracture. That's akin to surviving being HANGED. Absolutely miraculous.
There were a few, but not many. Others have cited Ernie Irvan (spelling?) in NASCAR, a driver in the truck series named Rick Carelli, and possibly Mika Hakkinen in F1 (he had a skull fracture but I don't know if it was basilar. Likely that it was, given the nature of his wreck and it also being pre-HANS device).
I'm not a NASCAR fan, but these are entertaining. Thanks.
Wasn't the first race I saw but it's the first I clearly remember. Seemed like a gladiator event to me as a kid
I was 11 when this race happened and remember every single detail of it. It was wild...
Man I knew about this guy cause of Jesse kings Talladega video
Rest in peace stanley smith
How did they not have a fence up around the track by then? Unreal
About the Alabama gang I got to meet Red Farmer at a short track
Stanley Smith was the luckiest survivor of NASCAR to older fans, and with the safety precautions we have today, it’s obvious that there’ll never be another great survivor like the late Stanley Smith.
Basilar skull fracture is one of the most fatal injuries that can happened to a race car driver. People who survived it are basically very lucky to even survive, let alone return to racing. Thank Goodness for the better safety equipments today
That was a huge crash and safety has come a long way here for nascar
God damn those wrecks are brutal. I’m glad Smith survived that.