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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20247765?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&c olor=ff7007" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20247765">Killed Myself When I Was Young</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1720912">The Jalopy Journal</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
Wow... and we still have folks that complain about belts and cages.
I read an interview of a race car driver just after WWI. He was asked if he was scared while racing. His response was "No - for the first time in years, nobody's shooting at me."
Those guys were truly a little crazy. If you read the history of the Indy 500, multiple deaths occurred per year during testing, qualifying and racing.
And to boot, people still refuse to wear seat belts while driving on the street also... just plain stupidity!
Looks like those poor guys had better odds being thrown from the car than being belted in and rolled under it...sure, not good odds but probably somewhat better. Scary stuff.
It's truly amazing to me that our sport/hobby has lasted as long as it has considering it's early beginnings. I remember my parents telling me about going to see a dirt track motorcycle race in the 60's where a guy high-sided and was impaled on the outer railing 10 feet from where they were sitting. He bummed a cigarette from my Dad and then died a few minutes later. Left quite an impression on my parents about racing. Still not a popular choice of hobby for me but I keep telling them we've come a long way in terms of safety....I better be right or I'm in big trouble ;)
BTW - if you haven't seen the movie Senna yet...go see it. The movie didn't really go into it but the F1 doctor he was shown to be friends with is the same guy that went on to invent the HANS device. Many racers at all levels have "tested" it and very likely owe him their lives...feels a little different wearing one while knowing more of the history and people behind it.