He remains, to this day, the last driver to have suffered fatal injuries in the Indianapolis 500. Longtime Indy 500 spectators who witnessed the crash called it the most spectacular single-car accident in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. An exceptional natural athlete, he was honored as an all-state high school football player at San Bernardino's Pacific High School as a junior, but was ruled ineligible for his senior year because he had accepted prize money racing motorcycles and was therefore ruled a professional athlete. Driving an Eagle-Ford IndyCar, Savage won the Bobby Ball Memorial, a 150-mile race at Phoenix International Raceway on November 21, 1970. High-quality motorsport photography galleries featuring Swede Savage. His widow Sheryl, who is six months pregnant, is seated at far right. He was flown by helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he would soldier on bravely for thirty-three days, fighting for his life. On the first day of qualifying, gusting winds slowed Savage from matching his best practice speeds, but he still shattered the track record with a four-lap qualifying average of 196.582 mph (316.368 km/h). All our drivers now have a 99 percent chance of retiring on their own terms.. He died at age 26 from complications while recovering from injuries suffered in a crash during the 1973 Indianapolis 500, nearly five weeks earlier.[1][2][3]. On the first day of qualifying, gusting winds slowed Savage from matching his best practice speeds, but he still shattered the track record with a four-lap qualifying average of 196.582 mph (316.368 km/h). He proved to be a winner on two wheels too. That day you become tentative is when you become very dangerous. Tragically, one of his. He was just 26 years old when he died. On May 12, 1973, Swede broke the track record in Indianapolis 500 qualifying in front of a Pole Day crowd estimated at 250,000 people. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Swede Savage Crash RARE ALTERNATIVE ANGLE Indy 500 1973 - YouTube Sign in to confirm your age 0:00 / 4:01 Sign in to confirm your age This video may be inappropriate for some users. The 1973 race was a terrible race, Foyt recalled. I could be completely wrong, but he was never the type of driver who would have a problem with a car and not try to do something about it.. Reach him at rpaulk@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RalphPaulk_Trib. Bill Vukovich, Jr. was second, the only other car on the lead lap when the race was called, Roger McCluskey who set the fastest lap of the race, finished 3rd, two laps down. In a split second during that Indy 500 in 1973, with heavy winds sweeping across the monstrous 2.5-mile oval track and gray scattered clouds overhead, the roars of 300,000 fans were silenced when Savage's car slammed into the inside wall coming out of the fourth turn, broke into pieces and exploded into a fireball. Drivers Art Pollard and Savage and crew member Armando Teran were killed in May 1973 and another driver, Salt Walther, somehow survived a frightening, pin-wheeling crash. Possibly it happened due to a malfunctioning right rear joint, or by running on an incorrect driving line with cold tires. I'm sure it was the same way for those drivers in 1973, but you have to pick up your boots and move on.. On 133rd lap it was raining harder and Gordon Johncock took the chequered flag, ending one of the grimmest Indy 500s after 332.5 miles, with only ten cars running at the end. The choice is something we all made. [7] Later in the day, as the winds abated, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, and Mark Donohue each bettered Savage's time. (Set Number: X17734 TK1 R17 F19 ). You never forget it, A.J. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. He appeared on a major network TV talk show and was a guest at the White House at an age when most people are still figuring out what to do with their lives. Even though Savage suffered extensive and complex fractures on his legs, his return to the tracks was considered sure, and Wally Dallenbach was recruited by George Bignotti for Team Patrick-STP as a temporary replacement during his absence. Your input will affect cover photo selection, along with input from other users. In January 1967, Savage made a point of showing up at a Ford Motor Company test session at Riverside International Raceway attended by, among others, racing legend Dan Gurney. Special Hot Stove Edition Angela Savage Pit Lane Radio 1/4 LIVE 12N EST JANUARY 3, 2014 BY JOHN G LEAVE A COMMENT (EDIT) Not long after Swede Savages death from an accident at the Indianapolis 500, in 1973, his wife gave birth to their second daughter, Angela Savage. Gurney, who owned his own auto racing team and race car construction business in Santa Ana, California, All American Racers, quickly took Swede under his wing and provided him the environment, equipment, and nurturing to develop into a top flight race car driver. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Debris were thrown into the grandstand and the number of injured spectators ranged from 11 to 13. Savage was the last driver to die in the race (1973) and no driver has been killed in May at IMS since pole-winner Scott Brayton in a fatal crash testing a backup car in 1996. [citation needed] Lung failure was repeated as the cause of death by Savage's daughter Angela in a May 2015 interview.[13]. Like Savage and Pollard, Andretti accepted the dangers. However, due to Savage's reputation in the racing world as a highly skilled driver who did not take unnecessary chances, Unser's comments have been attributed to his resentment of Savage's rapid rise in the racing world as opposed to the "hard knocks" experiences of Unser's career. CREDIT: John Iacono (Photo by John Iacono /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (AP Photo), Track crew tries to extinguish the fire from the crash of Swede Savage's car during the Indianapolis 500, May 30, 1973. Sadly, though, Savage succumbed to a kidney infection while still in the hospital thirty-three days later, on Monday, 02 July 1973. However, he died in the hospital 33 days after the accident. Drivers Art Pollard and Savage and crew member Armando Teran were. Swede Savage in his Olsonite Eagle leading the USAC INDY 150 Champ Car Race held on the road course at Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 26, 1970 in. On May 5, Swede Savage upped the speed chart to 197.802 mph (318.331 km/h), inching closer to the elusive 200 mph (320 km/h) mark. Auto Racing: Indianapolis 500: Aerial view of Swede Savage with medical staff after sustaining injury during crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. These days, at age 78, it's a difficult task for Foyt to navigate his way from Gasoline Alley to the perfectly aligned rows of bricks near the start-finish line at IMS. Collect, curate and comment on your files. I felt I wouldn't make a mistake that would kill me, but I knew I could pay for someone else's mistake. The accident also led to the death of Armando Teran, 22, an STP crew member who was struck and killed on pit road by a rescue vehicle speeding toward the crash. 1973 Indianapolis 500 crash and subsequent death, Complete Non-Championship Formula One results, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Andretti Wins Both Heats of Questor Race", "Swede Savage 1973 Indy 500 Fatal Crash Original ABC Broadcast Footage", "Deadly May of 1973 still resonates at Indianapolis Motor Speedway", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swede_Savage&oldid=1133528939, This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 07:12. Diles was later filmed wiping oil off the front of Joe Leonard's car to prove the point, though Bobby Unser (who did not get along well with Savage and often ridiculed the driving ability of the younger driver) disputed that the drivers were running on an unsafe racetrack. (AP Photo), Swede Savage is taken to an ambulance on a stretcher after he crashed his car during the Indianapolis 500, May 30, 1973. During the replays of Savage's crash on the tape-delayed broadcast on ABC Sports, Jim McKay and Chris Economaki also mentioned that Savage's rear wing may have come loose, possibly contributing to the crash, as well. In the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Savage was entered in an STP-sponsored Eagle-Offenhauser prepared by master mechanic George Bignotti. Swede Savage Horrifying Fatal Crash: Rare Footage Alternate Angels AlvinKarpis007 1.71K subscribers Subscribe 148 86K views 10 years ago This rare footage shows Swede Savages fatal crash from. [10] The force of the impact, with the car carrying a full load of fuel, caused the car to explode in a massive 60-foot (18m)-high plume of flame.[8][9][11]. Follow. Swede Savage Rare Disturbing Alternate View Indy 500 1973 18+ Motorsport Events 30 subscribers Subscribe 14 Share 3.3K views 1 year ago RARE ALTERNATIVE ANGLE of Savage's crash and aftermath. He came to rest adjacent to the outer retaining wall, fully conscious and completely exposed while he lay in a pool of flaming methanol fuel. Savage would survive the crash but die a little more than four months later. A few laps after this pit stop, on 58th lap, just as he was about to retake the lead from Al Unser in his Vel's Parnelli - Offy #4, who was in the process of coming into the pits for his second stop, Swede Savage's car suddenly veered off course on the left side at the exit of Turn 4. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Rick Mears, a four-time Indy 500 winner, warned the race could lose its appeal if the element of danger is lost. It doesn't have to stay dangerous, but it's an element of this sport that makes it what it is.. (AP Photo/File), Special Instructions: 5314. 5/30/1973 7307220355. In this May 30, 1973, file photo, Swede Savage's car is in flames after a crash during the Indianapolis 500 auto race. Among those complaining about oil on the track was Jerry Grant, in an interview with Dave Diles of ABC Sports while the wreckage from Savage's crash was cleaned off the track. I felt I was willing to take the calculated risk to win the Indianapolis 500. 1973 Indianapolis 500 Crash. (AP Photo). He was as unassuming as he was good looking. While still being trapped into the wreckage, rescuers saw him moving, a fact that astonished Jim McKay and Chris Economaki, covering the race for ABC Sports broadcasts. He rejoined in second place, closely behind Al Unser and just ahead of Bobby Unser. By his mid-teens he was racing motorcycles competitively. Savage debuted in the old SCCA United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) series in April 1968, driving a Lola T70 Mk III (the car campaigned by Gurney in the 1967 Can-Am racing series; a condition of employment Gurney imposed on the young driver was that he rebuild and prepare the car for competition with very little assistance from other AAR staff). On the second lap of the race itself, 25-year-old David Salt Walther was injured critically as he suffered severe burns over most of his body when his car catapulted into the outside wall and fence a gory scene similar to the 2011 accident that killed two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon in the IndyCar Series finale at Las Vegas Speedway. The 1973 edition of the Indianapolis 500 was one of the lowest points in American motorsports history. Teran was killed almost instantly.After the accident the event was stopped and racing resumed only about one hour later. (AP Photo), Swede Savage's car, which was in a wreck in the Indianapolis 500, is pictured spinning out, May 30, 1973. However, he died in the hospital 33 days after the accident. Possibly it happened due to a malfunctioning right rear joint, or by running on an incorrect driving line with cold tyres. Then again, he won the race that no one could ever forget.. Savage was married with a six-year-old daughter; his widow Sheryl was expecting their second child at the time of his death. A few laps after this pitstop, on 58th lap, just as he was about to retake the lead from Al Unser in his Vel's Parnelli - Offy #4, who was in the process of coming into the pits for his second stop, Swede Savage's car suddenly veered off course on the left side at the exit of Turn 4. I didn't want to accept what was going on around me. Two wheels too two wheels too Swede Savage with medical staff after injury. Appeal if the element of danger is lost won the Bobby Ball Memorial, a four-time 500. 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