Of course, risk always exists when cars are turning laps over 230 mph. “I’d have a lot better legs if the cars were as good back then as they are today,” Johncock said. Better car designs reduced energy inside the cockpit, too, lowering the risk of serious injuries. HANS devices, which stabilized heads and necks of drivers, became mandatory, as did tethered tires to prevent them from flying into the stands and more recently, head-protecting aeroscreens.
Ind圜ar introduced the world to traveling safety teams in 1981 and SAFER barriers in 2002. “It was an inflection point for safety,” speedway president Doug Boles said when asked about the impact of 1973.Įventually, cockpits were repositioned to protect the legs and feet of drivers and tubs were made of stronger, safer materials. (Foyt) and I have lost so many friends in the business.” “I don’t know what the rest of the guys thought, but I thought, ‘Let’s just get this damn thing over, you know, this has not been good,’” Rutherford recalled. And roughly a dozen spectators were burned when Salt Walther’s fuel tanks ruptured as his spinning car destroyed part of the catch fence. In the chaos after Savage’s wreck, pit-sign board holder Armando Teran was fatally struck by a safety truck. David Savage died from injuries sustained in a terrifying race-day crash. Rutherford won the pole with a record-breaking, four-lap average speed of 198.413 mph and Johncock wound up with the first of his two Indy wins, but it was a grim across the rest of Gasoline Alley.Īrt Pollard was killed in a pole day crash.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock delivered spectacular results at the 1973 Indianapolis 500 that were overshadowed by perhaps the worst month in the history of the storied race.
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