Re-watching this video made me realize how sad it is that they had on-board cameras that went 360 degrees in 1984 and in 2010 they're always stationary. These on-boards also actually catch everything rather than miss everything.
@@wadesuhr You have to admit that rotating camera captured the wreck more dramatically. In this video you really get the feeling of what the wreck would look like if you were watching it from inside the car..pretty cool.
And he was right. What was that other dude thinking just driving into Bell's car like that? There are too many Nascar drivers who view their sport as some kind of destruction derby where it is okay to wreck other cars at any time in the race. Bloody animals indeed.
Welcome to superspeedway racing at Talladega Derek with the way the draft is there if a car gets a run on you it's best to let them by and continue the race not block on the first lap
Derek Bell was a European Road racing driver, the F1 cars and GT cars from the late 60s to the early 90s were notorious for bursting into flames instantly after an accident, and these accidents were SO much more dangerous then. Even broken legs could kill you (Ronnie Peterson). The prime of his career was during an era where 3 F1 drivers a year were killed. Thats why he's so mad, and why he jumped out of that car so quickly. It saved lives. Completely different era.
Bell tried way to late to shut the door on Bonnet. Bell and who ever it was that came up from the inside should have held their lines. Bonnet much more experienced running Dega but not much running whiny Brits.
I don’t think Bell was blocking, I think he was chasing the car. He was in the middle and backing up. Bonnett went high. Bell went high and when Neil turned left, Bell came back down half a lane. Yeah, Neil could’ve been more patient right there, sure, but those races always had guys lose the draft, and with only 12 cars, there’s no chance to recover. You’re done.
Robin Hill No... they weren’t running restrictor plates yet. They were drafting but the racing was nowhere near as competitive back then on a super speedway. You could get a run on a car without complete reliance on the air. Bell was about to get passed and he thought about blocking but he was too late.
Tony Stewart’s SRX series is basically IROC except it will take place on short tracks and dirt tracks. The cars won’t be going faster than 155mph The first season airs on CBS next year
Ol' Neil was a great Stockcar driver & I've nothing but respect for his driving ability, but he'd be the first to say he just flat screwed up this time. RIP NB🙏
i love how all you guys are calling Bell a pussy. as many people have said in the comments he raced during an era when death was almost considered normal in motor racing. he got out of that car quickly because there was always a risk of fire and leaking petrol and he learned his lesson when he was a stunt driver in Steve McQueen's Le Mans and his car caught fire giving him 3rd degree burns. He's had an extremely successful career going from working on a farm to winning Le Mans 5 times, 2 world sportscar championships, 3 Daytona 24hours and spending 6 years in formula 1. Admitted he was not at home on a NASCAR circuit but he wasn't a NASCAR driver, that's like asking a NASCAR driver to set a competitive time around the Nurburgring on his second try. also for those of you Bonnett fanboys this was both of their faults. Bonnet tried to overtake where there was little to no gap and Bell pulled over to defend too late meanwhile Parsons pulls over closing the gap that Bonnet was trying to make. error from Bell misjudging the distance between him and the car behind and an error from Bonnet for misjudging the space between Bell and Parsons.
Not at home racing stock cars, well that couldn't be more obvious I think you are right he should stick with racing Ferraris at La man's than playing with the big boys, and he got out of the car so fast because he was in shock and his whole body was stinging, it's a common phenominon in car accidents, I'm sure he had some tea and crumpets and was just fine.....
Damn! The only thing spectacular about the crash was the On-Board Camera and controller. That cam was facing straight while the car did 2 360's at speed! And it actually captured the action! Don't usually see that nowadays
EMPiiRE NASCAR got new roof cams for the Cup cars couple of weeks ago and its much better in the sense that doesn't rotate! You can get good perspective of the car because its mounted strait and fixed. As for the switching... they need to record all 3 angles (roof, incar, and rear) then show decide what to show post incident after determining the best angle. It used to be only 1, now its 2 out of 3 (in car is always on) but they need all 3 out of 3 recorded.
EMPiiRE YES! I'm so glad to see someone else point that out. Like you said, they would have an awesome view of an accident then switch to the rear bumper almost every time. Why can't they just do that separately?
Love the video. No need to comment on who did right or who did wrong when... Just miss those days as a kid being awe struck and wanting to win trophies for myself. God bless racing and its drivers.
@@x-man5056 True, but in this case Bell was likely aware of the low car count and that those cars were 2.66 miles from returning to the crash scene while under caution. Plus, the accident occurred at the rear of the field.
@@x-man5056 you ever race a stocker? i have. if you haven't, you really shouldn't speak about what you don't know. and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that when you start at the back and don't pass anyone then all the cars must be in front of you. fire is a real concern and bell had every right to be a tad gun shy about it, he had, after all, received serious burns in a previous accident.
@@tymcfadden8496 Only pitted and Officiated Pro Stocks but raced Winged Midgets for 6 years. Been upside down and stuck in car with fuel running "up" my leg onto my chest. Not fun. Luckily, it was Methanol. I don't think any of that is related to what happened here. Bell was just pissed and jumped out of the car recklessly, no pun intended. But I've done WRONG things when I was pissed too so point taken anyway. He did the wrong thing in this circumstance but I fully get why. Peace fellow wheelman.
Hoppyjock bell track blocking he moved up when he saw bonnet coming so bonnet said ok ill go down and got his nose up by back bumper as bell decided to try to come back down and as in any case track blocking to late causes crashes most his wins where because others fell out if races
Yeah, because safety was not as advanced in technology yet. What was "stupid" were the times when NASCAR and other racing organizations did Not care about safety or rules/regulations of a car. Back in the 60s, before I was born. No window nets, you can run whatever engine block you wanted as long as it meets weight and size specifications, you could have the roll cage as thin as you wanted it to be in accordance to NASCAR standards (which was a joke in the early days of stock car racing), etc. What is sad is it took deaths to convince NASCAR, as well as the other racing circuits, to get with the program and make the cars more stable and safer. Even today, head eck restraints and `soft' walls have been required with drivers and tracks to lessen the severity of the G-Forces on the body and take away the energy of a hit so it would not be as bad
Robert Gough Yeah, and it took the dual deaths of Earnhardt Sr. and Blaise Alexander for NASCAR to implement the neck and head restraints as mandatory.
Iroc was one exciting series. 8 don't remember too much of it but it was fun to see the different cars and drivers from different series. It's actually because of the iroc series that Blue-ish purple is one of my favorite colors because there was a good amount that were that color. Now, on the game Wreckfest, I use the speeddemon and have it painted Blue-ish purple with the number 94 on the side to honor ot
racing incident, bonnett had a run and took it and bell got loose and hit bonnetts right front. If i had a run like that i wouldnt have stopped either. he just ran out of room, 2 guys going for the same piece of track.
Driving very fast is like slow motion, when something goes wrong it speeds up all the sudden. That car that hit the wall and ran across the track, wow.
Maybe Derek Bell should had checked the tape he wasn’t hit in the rear he came off the corner high and came down on Neil Bonnet’s car the front nose clip was under Bell before he came down
@systematicchaos NASCAR didn't used to make everyone wait 3 hours for a jet dryer to dry the track. The 1979 Daytona 500 got the green while the track was still damp looking. Even in 2001 they started the All-Star under somewhat damp conditions, which resulted in every car spinning in turn 1.
Well when you race every lap likes "white flag" lap , and you're in it to win it , there's no telling what may happen . But you need to remember one thing when you dive down to block a man on his home track then you wreck like a bloody idiot .... Neil, God speed buddy . Thanks for the memories .
This wreck was on Bell and Bell's spotter. Bell went high, Bonnett immediately saw the gap and moved into middle position of 3-wide. Bell then came back down from the high line, but his spotter didn't communicate Bonnett was below. Bell said someone hit him "from behind". Wrong! Bell's rear left quarter panel initiated contact with Bonnett's right front quarter panel. Bonnett had position, Bell was wrong for coming low into Bonnett. Bell's whining and the commentator's comment are both inaccurate. Shoulda yelled at his spotter. Dumbkopf...
My first take was Bell blocked him from going high and when Bonnett went low he stopped his high move causing Bonnett to clip his rear. Maybe you shouldn’t be blocking on the first lap Mr. Bell. Whom I have major respect for. His career speaks for itself but he was out of his element at talladega
The car on the bottom was taking his natural line out towards the wall, Neil had a run going and Bell kinda went high then as Neil tried to thread the needle, Bell came back down and all three just kinda met, reminds me of two superspeedway races in 1991 & 92 where Ernie Irvan stuck his nose in the middle of two cars that were taking their natural lines off the turns side by side and a mess occurred.
I don't like the angle that Bell took into the wall from that accident. Looks just like Earnhardt in 2001. I'm guessing the IROC cars in those days rarely went over 160 MPH, so I'd think it would be harder for Bell to have suffered a basal skull fracture.
Aj Mattei Earnhardt died because seat belt broke and threw his face and chest into steering wheel. There are pictures of inside the car after the crash. He hit steering wheel so hard it bent the spoke in middle and covered it with blood. Hans device wasn't gonna save him , if anything it may have ripped his head off when his body flew forward from not having seatbelt that worked. 150+ at point of impact and no seatbelt. That's gonna be unsurvivable in any vehicle
@@VanIsleNuckFan restrictions to engine sizes and such, im sure more factors are at play as well. The late 1980s was fast, Bill elliot set the fastest overall lap speed at 213 miles an hour. However at Michigan in particular, cars were entering the turns close to 220, 230 MPH. Once Bobby allison Tore out the catch fence at 210? The heads of nascar realized that anything past 200 was wayyyy to dangerous for "safety" equipment in the 1980s. Safer barriers, HANS devices, the way cars are designed now. Everything would allow for faster speeds. However its the danger to the fans thats keeping it from happening. If the grandstands weren't so close, we'd be racing at 250+ by now
@@VanIsleNuckFan restrictions to engine sizes and such, im sure more factors are at play as well. The late 1980s was fast, Bill elliot set the fastest overall lap speed at 213 miles an hour. However at Michigan in particular, cars were entering the turns close to 220, 230 MPH. Once Bobby allison Tore out the catch fence at 210? The heads of nascar realized that anything past 200 was wayyyy to dangerous for "safety" equipment in the 1980s. Safer barriers, HANS devices, the way cars are designed now. Everything would allow for faster speeds. However its the danger to the fans thats keeping it from happening. If the grandstands weren't so close, we'd be racing at 250+ by now
watching the whole thing carefully, i can realize that it was a major mistake on Bell's part, as he failed to hold his line, "blocking" the late Bonnett -which appears to be injured from a previous accident- and therefore crashing into Parsons...... as the great Bobby Allison would say "that's the story; let's stick to it"
@Lights0ut1109 he was wearing belts he had undone them as the car slid to a stop so he could get out faster and with out the hans device and large headrests like the cars of today have he was able to pop right out of the car
Anyone notice much in the way of "safety" features in these cars? And driving with no gloves? Yea, man, 1984 was a different time....not a bad time; just different. Today's NASCAR is in its death throws, when, back then, everyone would have tuned in to this IROC race. "Bloody Animals".....
@ToroRosso20 I know that Martin Brundel was in IROC in 1990 (mabey other years) and F1 in the 1990's im not sure he wa running in both in the same year.
no you don't see driver getting out quickly for a few reason one is because they have to deal with the steering wheel the molded seat and the Hans device the radio attach to the helmet and air supply to keep them cool.also the rules change in NASCAR after a crash you stay in your race car until safety crew shows up and if your ok you put your window net down to let the official know your okay..
Back when racing was real! Love seeing the IROC Zs, brings back so many good memories, me and my buddies and our girls, watching on the edge of our seats as our favorite drivers battled it out in REAL cars you could by a civilian version of. Man, those were good times. The crap they call NASCAR today is a joke! Stopped watching in 2000, and its just gotten worse!
I can understand where Bell is coming from, to a point. It *IS* stupid to be racing so hard that there's an accident on the first lap, but this IROC format was different from NASCAR/IRL. This particular race was only about 32 laps. You *HAD* to start racing one another for position from the second the green flag waved. The short amount of laps left drivers no choice. That was one of the big problems with IROC, in my opinion.
Re-watching this video made me realize how sad it is that they had on-board cameras that went 360 degrees in 1984 and in 2010 they're always stationary.
These on-boards also actually catch everything rather than miss everything.
Yes, a great Australian invention, that camera.
Now it’s 2020 we use drones!
Some cars had one camera. Now all NASCAR vehicles have multiple on board cameras. No need to rotate to get another angle.
@@jimmycline4778 Why would you put a drone in a car?
@@wadesuhr You have to admit that rotating camera captured the wreck more dramatically. In this video you really get the feeling of what the wreck would look like if you were watching it from inside the car..pretty cool.
Bell should be awarded the prize for fastest exit of a wrecked race car. IROC racing was some of the best ever.
Some of the best ever?....There's an IROC race every Sunday now....AND IT SUCKS!
@@tomlangley6236 It sucks, can't watch anymore.
Pissed Bob Ross Geezus Christ man!
@@tomlangley6236 an iroc race every sunday now? really? cuz the series went bankrupt 13 years ago and folded.
@@tomlangley6236 You're thinking about NASCAR.
"I thought I was in there with professional drivers, but they're like bloody animals out there."
And he was right. What was that other dude thinking just driving into Bell's car like that? There are too many Nascar drivers who view their sport as some kind of destruction derby where it is okay to wreck other cars at any time in the race. Bloody animals indeed.
Jason Pridgen Bell WAS blocking a bit
Welcome to superspeedway racing at Talladega Derek with the way the draft is there if a car gets a run on you it's best to let them by and continue the race not block on the first lap
Hearing Bell be honest like that just highlights the inept commentary in NASCAR etc where they NEVER blame any driver for anything.
Derek Bell was a European Road racing driver, the F1 cars and GT cars from the late 60s to the early 90s were notorious for bursting into flames instantly after an accident, and these accidents were SO much more dangerous then. Even broken legs could kill you (Ronnie Peterson). The prime of his career was during an era where 3 F1 drivers a year were killed. Thats why he's so mad, and why he jumped out of that car so quickly. It saved lives. Completely different era.
KyleP133 Derek Bell is grandfather ofl Cristopher Bell?
@@heitorportella7123 No.
Bell tried way to late to shut the door on Bonnet. Bell and who ever it was that came up from the inside should have held their lines. Bonnet much more experienced running Dega but not much running whiny Brits.
Hes a fuckin crybaby
Matt Whitmire Calling it like it is, not a crybaby. You and I have no idea what it’s like to race in the era he did.
I'm no racer but it seems to me that Bonnett was trying to fit where he didn't belong on this one. This is an extremely fun video to watch!
Bell acts oblivious to the fact that he threw a sluggish block on Bonnett. Bonnett had a run on Bell.
Looks more like Bell got loose and lifted or lost his line and tried to block Bonnet from getting it.
I don’t think Bell was blocking, I think he was chasing the car. He was in the middle and backing up. Bonnett went high. Bell went high and when Neil turned left, Bell came back down half a lane. Yeah, Neil could’ve been more patient right there, sure, but those races always had guys lose the draft, and with only 12 cars, there’s no chance to recover. You’re done.
Robin Hill No... they weren’t running restrictor plates yet. They were drafting but the racing was nowhere near as competitive back then on a super speedway. You could get a run on a car without complete reliance on the air. Bell was about to get passed and he thought about blocking but he was too late.
@@fivehead6675
They never used plates in IROC
That's an insane starting lineup
MurphyMonster and the non-NASCAR drivers were competitive too.
@@PYLrulz1984 Not Bell.
MurphyMonster That’s wha it was all about. NEED to bring back something similar.
They were the worlds top drivers, of the era.
Tony Stewart’s SRX series is basically IROC except it will take place on short tracks and dirt tracks. The cars won’t be going faster than 155mph The first season airs on CBS next year
1:45-1:46 = the coolest shot i've seen in racing
>:o( cool huh? Imagine that happening to you. Would it still be cool neanderthal?
waffles266 yes
Far from it.
@@waffles266 Hell chill out he could probably drive better than Neil did that day!!
Looks as if it’s out of a movie
@1:25 The late Chris Economaki commentating along Ken Squier.
Ol' Neil was a great Stockcar driver & I've nothing but respect for his driving ability, but he'd be the first to say he just flat screwed up this time. RIP NB🙏
i love how all you guys are calling Bell a pussy. as many people have said in the comments he raced during an era when death was almost considered normal in motor racing. he got out of that car quickly because there was always a risk of fire and leaking petrol and he learned his lesson when he was a stunt driver in Steve McQueen's Le Mans and his car caught fire giving him 3rd degree burns. He's had an extremely successful career going from working on a farm to winning Le Mans 5 times, 2 world sportscar championships, 3 Daytona 24hours and spending 6 years in formula 1. Admitted he was not at home on a NASCAR circuit but he wasn't a NASCAR driver, that's like asking a NASCAR driver to set a competitive time around the Nurburgring on his second try. also for those of you Bonnett fanboys this was both of their faults. Bonnet tried to overtake where there was little to no gap and Bell pulled over to defend too late meanwhile Parsons pulls over closing the gap that Bonnet was trying to make. error from Bell misjudging the distance between him and the car behind and an error from Bonnet for misjudging the space between Bell and Parsons.
Not at home racing stock cars, well that couldn't be more obvious I think you are right he should stick with racing Ferraris at La man's than playing with the big boys, and he got out of the car so fast because he was in shock and his whole body was stinging, it's a common phenominon in car accidents, I'm sure he had some tea and crumpets and was just fine.....
I used to race sprint cars and fire was always my biggest fear! I felt relatively safe from everything else but fire was just plain scary
@Deep Creek Smoke lol imagine thinking you have to be his fan to realize he's right
petrol? You mean race gas.
Derek Bell is one helluva driver. Oval and circle tracks are a whole different ball game
Miss this series. Wish they would bring it back. When the cars actually looked like the cars they "Say" they are.
Tony Stewart and Ray Everhamn are bringing a version of it back next year!
What model are they? I can see the Chevy logo, perhaps an older Monte Carlo?
@@santiagomachado7378 its the z28 camaro. i just sold a 84 camaro lol it doesnt look like these iroc cars tho
Damn I miss IROC... Always enjoyed watching it
Bonnett did a hair brained move there...
Damn! The only thing spectacular about the crash was the On-Board Camera and controller. That cam was facing straight while the car did 2 360's at speed! And it actually captured the action! Don't usually see that nowadays
Oh hello there
Don't you hate how nowadays, they feel the need to move the camera around, or switch to the stupid rear bumper cam? They always miss the action now.
EMPiiRE NASCAR got new roof cams for the Cup cars couple of weeks ago and its much better in the sense that doesn't rotate! You can get good perspective of the car because its mounted strait and fixed. As for the switching... they need to record all 3 angles (roof, incar, and rear) then show decide what to show post incident after determining the best angle. It used to be only 1, now its 2 out of 3 (in car is always on) but they need all 3 out of 3 recorded.
EMPiiRE YES! I'm so glad to see someone else point that out. Like you said, they would have an awesome view of an accident then switch to the rear bumper almost every time. Why can't they just do that separately?
Love the video. No need to comment on who did right or who did wrong when...
Just miss those days as a kid being awe struck and wanting to win trophies for myself. God bless racing and its drivers.
Derek Bell is a legend.
Man he got outa that car as if his ass was on fire!
That was unwise also. You stay in the car until your certain all the other cars are done flying by.
@@x-man5056 True, but in this case Bell was likely aware of the low car count and that those cars were 2.66 miles from returning to the crash scene while under caution. Plus, the accident occurred at the rear of the field.
@@nascage Those are all famous last words.
@@x-man5056 you ever race a stocker? i have. if you haven't, you really shouldn't speak about what you don't know. and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that when you start at the back and don't pass anyone then all the cars must be in front of you. fire is a real concern and bell had every right to be a tad gun shy about it, he had, after all, received serious burns in a previous accident.
@@tymcfadden8496 Only pitted and Officiated Pro Stocks but raced Winged Midgets for 6 years. Been upside down and stuck in car with fuel running "up" my leg onto my chest. Not fun. Luckily, it was Methanol.
I don't think any of that is related to what happened here. Bell was just pissed and jumped out of the car recklessly, no pun intended. But I've done WRONG things when I was pissed too so point taken anyway. He did the wrong thing in this circumstance but I fully get why. Peace fellow wheelman.
The "Alabama International Motor Speedway" haha thats going way back
miss these races especially the trans am those things looked so good driving around the track. Wish IROC would come back.
It's coming back. Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham are starting it back up.
"They need their brains testing..." LOL
I think his brains were scrambled lol....I think he's more apt to tea and crumpets than stock car racing....
@Craig G you can clearly see Bell was using blocking tactics
And leaning on those skinny umbrellas!😂😂😂
@@badmonkey2222 Parson's drove right into him moron; that's not racing that crap. Bell is 100 times the driver parson ever was.
Looks like the new NASCAR qualifying format. Except the only difference is that I like this.
Hoppyjock bell track blocking he moved up when he saw bonnet coming so bonnet said ok ill go down and got his nose up by back bumper as bell decided to try to come back down and as in any case track blocking to late causes crashes most his wins where because others fell out if races
lol I agree what the hell was Neil Bonnet thinking
Hold my 🍺
He was thinking you block a stock car driver you get turned
This series might have been the best ever. Always fun to watch IROC back in the day
Welcome to the world of stock car racing, Brit!
People died in accidents like that back then, stop being stupid.
Yeah, because safety was not as advanced in technology yet. What was "stupid" were the times when NASCAR and other racing organizations did Not care about safety or rules/regulations of a car. Back in the 60s, before I was born. No window nets, you can run whatever engine block you wanted as long as it meets weight and size specifications, you could have the roll cage as thin as you wanted it to be in accordance to NASCAR standards (which was a joke in the early days of stock car racing), etc. What is sad is it took deaths to convince NASCAR, as well as the other racing circuits, to get with the program and make the cars more stable and safer. Even today, head
eck restraints and `soft' walls have been required with drivers and tracks to lessen the severity of the G-Forces on the body and take away the energy of a hit so it would not be as bad
Robert Gough
Yeah, and it took the dual deaths of Earnhardt Sr. and Blaise Alexander for NASCAR to implement the neck and head restraints as mandatory.
mllerrah666 Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin as well.
@@mllerrah666
That was because Earnhardt refused to wear it! Ironic huh?
Love those old Iroc body styles..WOW :O :)
Yes bud looks slick and mean
Instant classic
@drgonzo767 Bonnett never could catch a break could he? Kinda like Steve Park, a nice guy that seemed to always be getting injured.
Iroc was one exciting series. 8 don't remember too much of it but it was fun to see the different cars and drivers from different series. It's actually because of the iroc series that Blue-ish purple is one of my favorite colors because there was a good amount that were that color. Now, on the game Wreckfest, I use the speeddemon and have it painted Blue-ish purple with the number 94 on the side to honor ot
They need to bring the IROC back. Let’s see the AllStar race again. That’s exciting
at the time this crash (and Bell's angry interview) made it onto ITN news in Britain!
I remember watching this live- seems like yesterday.
racing incident, bonnett had a run and took it and bell got loose and hit bonnetts right front. If i had a run like that i wouldnt have stopped either. he just ran out of room, 2 guys going for the same piece of track.
Great video!
How the hell did he get out of the car so fast he must have undid his latch while he was still crashing
Meth!!!!
That 360-degree spin on the in-car camera is dizzying!
Driving very fast is like slow motion, when something goes wrong it speeds up all the sudden. That car that hit the wall and ran across the track, wow.
Lol to the person that said Bonnet is 100x the driver Bell was. Bell won 5 Le Mans races, 3 Daytona 24hr races and 2 World Sportscar championships. .
Your point?
EMPiiRE The point is; Bell isn't a mug that the commentor tried to make him out to be, having won two of the most iconic races in the world.
@@DerrickRG and bonnett bought the farm.
Obviously Bell sucked at American stock car racing.
Maybe Derek Bell should had checked the tape he wasn’t hit in the rear he came off the corner high and came down on Neil Bonnet’s car the front nose clip was under Bell before he came down
"Bloody Animals out there!" lol
Thanks UA-cam again for setting me up to watch more cars take left turns 👌😂
Bill France's dream come true. ..that Nascar would become every driver using the same equipment
I miss those 360 degree camera views racing was racing back then
I’d say Bonnet made a bad judgment.
Bring IROC back
Tony Stewart is
Se realizassem corridas da fórmula Indy nesse circuito de Talladega seria bom também,esse circuito é fantástico 👍👍👍👍.
@systematicchaos NASCAR didn't used to make everyone wait 3 hours for a jet dryer to dry the track. The 1979 Daytona 500 got the green while the track was still damp looking. Even in 2001 they started the All-Star under somewhat damp conditions, which resulted in every car spinning in turn 1.
Well when you race every lap likes "white flag" lap , and you're in it to win it , there's no telling what may happen . But you need to remember one thing when you dive down to block a man on his home track then you wreck like a bloody idiot .... Neil, God speed buddy . Thanks for the memories .
This wreck was on Bell and Bell's spotter. Bell went high, Bonnett immediately saw the gap and moved into middle position of 3-wide.
Bell then came back down from the high line, but his spotter didn't communicate Bonnett was below.
Bell said someone hit him "from behind". Wrong! Bell's rear left quarter panel initiated contact with Bonnett's right front quarter panel. Bonnett had position, Bell was wrong for coming low into Bonnett. Bell's whining and the commentator's comment are both inaccurate. Shoulda yelled at his spotter. Dumbkopf...
My first take was Bell blocked him from going high and when Bonnett went low he stopped his high move causing Bonnett to clip his rear. Maybe you shouldn’t be blocking on the first lap Mr. Bell. Whom I have major respect for. His career speaks for itself but he was out of his element at talladega
The car on the bottom was taking his natural line out towards the wall, Neil had a run going and Bell kinda went high then as Neil tried to thread the needle, Bell came back down and all three just kinda met, reminds me of two superspeedway races in 1991 & 92 where Ernie Irvan stuck his nose in the middle of two cars that were taking their natural lines off the turns side by side and a mess occurred.
A high level of respect for all of them or they wouldn't be there! Things happen so fast it's hard to truly blame any one driver.
Such an awesome series. Where else do you have Ickx, Earnhardt, Fittipaldi, and Indy drivers like Johncock and Rutherford racing against each other.
Bell had his harness off and was out of the car while it was still moving. I'd like to know what he was thinking. God...
He was thinking that he didn't want to be trapped in a car that may catch fire.
@Saikano2012 The memory of Roger Williamson lives on in British drivers.
Damn, that was a scary crash. Good thing he was alright
Surprisingly, the dude is still alive!
What an camera view on bell hitting the wall, I'm glad he got out of that car on his own. I agree with bell on this crash.
I can hear my father on the public address. He used to love calling these races.
with the new car and spec chassis coming out, this is what NASCAR is about to look like
Looks like Derek got his **put on sunglasses** BELL rung!
I miss IROC
I don't like the angle that Bell took into the wall from that accident. Looks just like Earnhardt in 2001.
I'm guessing the IROC cars in those days rarely went over 160 MPH, so I'd think it would be harder for Bell to have suffered a basal skull fracture.
Aj Mattei Earnhardt died because seat belt broke and threw his face and chest into steering wheel. There are pictures of inside the car after the crash. He hit steering wheel so hard it bent the spoke in middle and covered it with blood. Hans device wasn't gonna save him , if anything it may have ripped his head off when his body flew forward from not having seatbelt that worked. 150+ at point of impact and no seatbelt. That's gonna be unsurvivable in any vehicle
It still blows me away how these cars can slide across the track like an air hockey puck once the tires break loose.
So I guess these IROC Camaros have the 185 HP/305 Cross-fire Injection.
I remember James Hunt ran it in the late 70s. Have a photo of him waiting at Daytona with a duffel bag.
3:45 That's gotta be Sharlto Copley.
Back when the walls were concrete and no one ever heard of a restrictor plate. True balls to the wall racing.
I'm pretty sure they had restrictor plates after the 1970 season in which the Dodge Daytona and Plymouth superbird were dominant at well over 200mph
@@VanIsleNuckFan uhhhh no... restrictor plates were implemented in Nascar after Bobby Allisons crash at Talladega in 1988.
@@JackTheripper911 Cool! What slowed them down post 70?
@@VanIsleNuckFan restrictions to engine sizes and such, im sure more factors are at play as well. The late 1980s was fast, Bill elliot set the fastest overall lap speed at 213 miles an hour. However at Michigan in particular, cars were entering the turns close to 220, 230 MPH.
Once Bobby allison Tore out the catch fence at 210? The heads of nascar realized that anything past 200 was wayyyy to dangerous for "safety" equipment in the 1980s.
Safer barriers, HANS devices, the way cars are designed now. Everything would allow for faster speeds. However its the danger to the fans thats keeping it from happening. If the grandstands weren't so close, we'd be racing at 250+ by now
@@VanIsleNuckFan restrictions to engine sizes and such, im sure more factors are at play as well. The late 1980s was fast, Bill elliot set the fastest overall lap speed at 213 miles an hour. However at Michigan in particular, cars were entering the turns close to 220, 230 MPH.
Once Bobby allison Tore out the catch fence at 210? The heads of nascar realized that anything past 200 was wayyyy to dangerous for "safety" equipment in the 1980s.
Safer barriers, HANS devices, the way cars are designed now. Everything would allow for faster speeds. However its the danger to the fans thats keeping it from happening. If the grandstands weren't so close, we'd be racing at 250+ by now
watching the whole thing carefully, i can realize that it was a major mistake on Bell's part, as he failed to hold his line, "blocking" the late Bonnett -which appears to be injured from a previous accident- and therefore crashing into Parsons......
as the great Bobby Allison would say "that's the story; let's stick to it"
@Craig G bonnet held his line and even dipped more left, while bell didn't hold the line at all and cut into bonnet. Maybe you're the blind one.
1:46 I like how the camera man sitting in back seat never lost the view of the other car crashing! 😂
That's what happens when you try to win on lap 1.
Never knew EMEROSON was in this what the hell. A F1 champ and 500 winner
Neil Bonnet should have asked Bell for his windshield so he could finish the race! 👍 That would be the right thing to do!😁
Welcome to oval track
"Bloody animals out there" 😂 he should have been angry, by the way...
Damn he was getting out the car before it even stopped
bonnet driving with a broken wrist, what could go wrong??
Is it me or is the track still a bit damp in spots?
Welcome to Alabama, Derek
@Lights0ut1109 he was wearing belts he had undone them as the car slid to a stop so he could get out faster and with out the hans device and large headrests like the cars of today have he was able to pop right out of the car
Anyone notice much in the way of "safety" features in these cars? And driving with no gloves? Yea, man, 1984 was a different time....not a bad time; just different. Today's NASCAR is in its death throws, when, back then, everyone would have tuned in to this IROC race.
"Bloody Animals".....
@ToroRosso20 I know that Martin Brundel was in IROC in 1990 (mabey other years) and F1 in the 1990's im not sure he wa running in both in the same year.
Derek freaking Bell!!!!!
Tell us how you really feel Derek
interesting 80s camera tech.
@dot350 In 01 during that race it was still raining.
WOW you're right!!! Holy EFF!!!
1:49 Camera is contra-rotating at the perfect speed.
Back when the cars still looked production cars.👍
@dot350 One word: ESPN.... They can't even catch things on the grandstand cameras...
1:45. i swear to god he was traveling 4,578 mph aftee he hit the wall
Derek Bell.....at Talladega..... WHAT??!?! Haha. And CRAZY that back Then , they happened to be On Board with the car that causes the accident.
no you don't see driver getting out quickly for a few reason one is because they have to deal with the steering wheel the molded seat and the Hans device the radio attach to the helmet and air supply to keep them cool.also the rules change in NASCAR after a crash you stay in your race car until safety crew shows up and if your ok you put your window net down to let the official know your okay..
pretty idiotic move by the driver at 1:40 trying to split
DUMBASS move by bell to try to block
LOL!! That dude got out of the car real fast, You don't see that anymore.
@dot350 well in the case of the All-star race it was pouring in turn 1 and nobody realized it until they all started hydro-planing.
Anyone else notice Neil Bonnett was wearing any gloves? Talk about old school.
Casted wrist!
Coasted wrist or not they would make him wear them today, he would have to have special ones made
Back when racing was real! Love seeing the IROC Zs, brings back so many good memories, me and my buddies and our girls, watching on the edge of our seats as our favorite drivers battled it out in REAL cars you could by a civilian version of. Man, those were good times. The crap they call NASCAR today is a joke! Stopped watching in 2000, and its just gotten worse!
I can understand where Bell is coming from, to a point. It *IS* stupid to be racing so hard that there's an accident on the first lap, but this IROC format was different from NASCAR/IRL. This particular race was only about 32 laps. You *HAD* to start racing one another for position from the second the green flag waved. The short amount of laps left drivers no choice. That was one of the big problems with IROC, in my opinion.
storyofcory true, but at the same time, that was probably a move Bonnett was best holding off on.
1:43 + the dark car has a hand in this by sideswiping Bell, why is no one mentioning this ?
i was thinking the same thing
Just seems to me ol Neil had no business driving a race car.
Bonnet is not wearing gloves, that wouldn't happen now
Good times man
Is this the day before Sr won by beating Terry Labonte on the final lap?
Bring it back!