Gordon Smiley

Gordon Eugene Smiley (born April 20, 1949 in Omaha , † May 15, 1982 in Indianapolis ) was an American racing driver .

Career

Smiley drove his first races at the age of 19 and competed in various SCCA racing series , where he was champion four times. In 1974 he became a professional racing driver and drove in the racing series "Formula Atlantic", CanAm , Formula 5000 and Formula Super Vee . There he was able to win several races and set a total of 25 course records.

In 1979 he moved to the Aurora AFX Formula 1 series in Europe, where he competed in eleven races for the Surtees team and won the Bradford & Bingley Trophy race on the Silverstone Circuit . In 1980 he switched to Team Patrick Racing , for which he drove in the IndyCar series and in 1980 and 1981 took part in the traditional Indy 500 round race .

Accidental death

On May 15, 1982, Gordon Smiley had a fatal accident as part of the pre-qualification for the starting grid of the Indianapolis 500.

In turn 3 of the track, he lost control of his vehicle due to a driving error at a speed of 320 km / h and hit the wall with the nose of the racing car first without braking. His racing car was literally "pulverized" on impact and only 3 remnants remained, which, among other things, tumbled across the track with his body. Gordon Smiley died instantly on impact.

The accident is still considered to be one of the most terrible and brutal accidents in American racing.

Honors

In 2000, Gordon Smiley was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gordon Smiley Career Stats. Official site of the Indianapolis 500, accessed June 23, 2009 . 
2. ↑ Terry Reed: Indy: the race and ritual of the Indianapolis 500 . Brassey's, 2005, ISBN 978-1-57488-907-9 , pp. 173 .

Web links

• Gordon Smiley at Find A Grave (English)
• Short biography of Gordon Smiley. Nebraska Auto Hall of Fame, accessed June 23, 2009 .