Added: 5 years ago
From: champcar4ever
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  • Very first Indy 500 I ever watched. This is the race that made me a fan of auto racing.

  • if the front of that car hit the pit wall instead of the engine he would def be dead he is really lucky

  • @Mikeskates97 not necessarily, years earlier somebody hit that head on and survived.

  • ABC director is a bitch to switch to ad break at that moment.

  • How many men does it take to use a bucket?

  • Paul Page said he walked away due to the safety of the cars....geez....if they only knew then what they know now....and they are still death traps in my opinion. They are safer than they were but no way in hell would I ever drive one

  • @jimmylayers well considering only 3 drivers have died in the Indycar Series in the last 20 years, and nobody has died in Formula 1 since 1992 I think it's safe to say they aren't death traps.

  • @erasetoimprove The last formula 1 pilot to die whilst racing was Ayrton Senna, in 1994, actually.

  • @Delixu that's what i meant. 94 not 92

  • Why do they not have Paul Page and Sam Posey announcing again? These new guys just aren't in the same league. Bring back Jackie Stewart too. It absolutely ruins the entire race to have to listen to Goodyear Cheever and the other dork.

  • The most unlucky man in the history of the Indy 500. Guy just got involved in the most weird and stupid crashes.

  • @XLValenciaXL Wasn't it Kevin that was in the middle of the front row one year and ends up crashing into Mario Andretti before the race even started?

  • @auntbecky Yeah that was him. It had rained earlier in the morning and washed away all the rubber + he didn't warm his tires up properly on the warmup laps when the race went green coming out of turn 4 when he shifted it shot to the right and hit mario andretti

  • @XLValenciaXL On the contrary, I think he was VERY lucky. He could have easily been killed, and yet he walked away. The truly "unlucky" ones are those who died over the years, followed by the many who were horribly burned or crippled.

  • @kqr573v2 yeah you're right in a way he was lucky and unlucky at the same time.

  • Darn it, I'm blanking on the wreck from 1991 practice that was almost exactly like this wreck - a car spun off Four, blasted open the concrete wall, then blew away the pit wall abutment. Anyone remember who was in that 1991 melee?

  • @STP43FAN1 Just found it - Mark Dismore. 

  • I remember watching this, and what I remember most clearly is the shot from the end of the pit wall from 1:47 to 1:56. Also, it's pretty shocking seeing the driver climb out of the cockpit with the car's engine lying alongside him!

  • Was he saved 0:30 by the Michelan's Bibendun?

  • he cant even believe that he survived

  • esse cara renasceuuuuuuuuuu

  • This was the first IRL race I ever attended and this wreck happened right in front of me. The whole place went silent when it happened.

  • check out the guy who grabs the runaway tire at 0:08  lol

  • my dad was the observer in turn 4, he told me his name was said on tv, i never believed him til now

  • Kevin Coogan wrecked!

  • You'd be scrambling to get out of your car too when you look directly up while your car is on your side, only to see a discombobulated engine.

  • this is my best friends dad.. he now can only walk if he has his crutch

  • was sitting in turn 4 watching when it happened, ball bearing broke a guys arm 3 rows in front of me, and some dumb ass picked it up and fried his fingers on it! i believe they both went to the hosspitol, and cogan was fine, amazing!

  • @cope3sox he wasn't fine he can't walk anymore

  • So much for safety look at smileys! Very safe! Not!

  • I remember watching this race on TV when i was 12 back when I NEVER missed an Indy 500. I remember being so excited to watch the car hit the camera on the start of the pit lane!

  • what year was this?

  • Carbon Fiber tribute.

  • Look at the top 5 running order at the end of this video. 1) Fittipaldi (2 Indy 500 wins) 2) Mears (4 Indy 500 wins) 3) Mario Andretti (1 Indy 500 win) 4) Al Unser Sr (4 Indy 500 wins) and 5) Al Unser Jr (2 Indy 500 wins)....That's 13 Indy 500 wins between those five men...Legendary.

  • I didn't start watching champcars until 1992 and I've never seen an engine come apart like that, they must of made some changes between '89 and '92 to keep that from happening.

  • he really managed hitting 4 different walls during one single accident!

  • thats why you don't drive high kids...

  • they were pretty safe then as well, although it was still 1980's technology, and crashes like these involved a ton of luck for a driver to survive.

  • dude, these cars arent safe, its usually luck when it comes to hard crashes in Indy car

  • You can just imagine him thinking to himself "I cant believe I just survived that" while walking away.

  • So much for that camera at the end of the pit lane... Glad that the driver survived without any major injuries.

  • lord!! what a miracle!!

  • see the top 5 to bad you wont ever see american drivers in the top 5 at indy anymore

  • The safety of the cars ? In 1989 pah you mean the blind luck of the guy

  • ABC Sports SUCKS!!! The worst race coverage ever and getting worse. This years Indy 500 coverage was pathetic. You SUCK!!!!!

  • @txgirl224 You got that right! I've watched every 500 since 1987 and it seemed that this year there were more commercials than ever.

    I'd pay $50 for closed circuit before I'd put up with all the interruptions. Watching it on tape isn't the same as seeing it live so until enough people who feel the way I do protest, they have their captive audience.

  • This was the start of the 1st Indy 500 I ever attended. He ended up 11 rows directly in front of me. I could not believe it when he got up and walked away. A man in the pits was on fire but nobody was paying attention to him for about a minute, then they put him out. For the next 15 years I never missed a race.

  • @prhana U mean you were in the race ?

  • 1:53

  • Sports Illustrated June5, 1989, P. 39

  • I was stationed in the press box for Associated Press shooting still photos. I got a sequence of this crash from the beginning of the spin through Kogan walking away from the car. One shot of the car flying apart just before hitting the end of the pit wall was published in Spotts Illustrated.

  • @eyes1a That must be a nice sequence to have on film. I don't think I've ever seen a sequence of this accident before. I'll have to see if I can find that Sports Illustrated issue.

  • @champcar4ever this is my 2nd cousin i have his helmet

  • @eyes1a Any chance you got some nice photos of the pace cars used that year? I own one of the replicas and would love some pace car photage from the actual race.  If so email me @ jlarsson@london.com

  • @eyes1a can you send me those pics i want to confirm he being my cousin wheeeliebike17@yahoo.com

  • i remember watching this live on tv...i was 9.....

  • I remember watching this live. Insane to watch this as a little kid.

  • bournout paradise style

    except there are people who can die

  • just imagine if the engine flew to the public!!

  • @ kokodr1lo

    I bet some one would try to catch it like a baseball. Lol. i can see it now.

    "DADDY, DADDY! I GOT IT!"

    -Smash.-

  • Wow, that's back in the day. I actually remember seeing it happen.

  • rofl 0:31 to 0:37 fat medical guy he might need some treatment to lol

  • He was so lucky! Good to see a driver survive such a horrific accident.

  • How about that top 5 at the end of the video? Epic.

  • he got lucky... the engine is so hot! if the engine hit him, the injury's are bigger.

  • The guy in blue is like, "Sit here on the wall..you have GOT to be hurt."

  • was he injured?

  • WoW....he's so lucky the engine block didnt hit him when he hit the last wall....would have crusched him.

  • your right hackney, i realized as i watched the rest of this race last night... i think emmo did bow out of an indy 500 he was leading, just not this one. man he and michael were awesome to watch!

  • 1994 he was leading by an entire lap after just passing Al Unser, Jr., his teammate. He slapped the wall in turn four. It was his last Indy 500 lap. He did not qualify in 1995 and then the split happened.

  • man i was in fifth grade... emerson was dominating after this crash before his car quit, he should've won this one.

  • Emmo did win this race.

  • actually Kevin was a close family friend of mine, his last year was actually 1993 when he drove the blue and white conseco car.

  • wow really? is kevin cogan related to Ho Cogan?

  • 20 years ago this month!

  • DAMN DUDE!! That was insane!! Thank God he was alright!!

  • He almost crashed like Swede Savage, thank God he survived. That has always been a bad spot.

  • I got some comment that doesn't even exist apparently... "deagla" sent me a comment on this video that made no sense at all and it's not even here o_0 .....

  • YouTube's comment system is a bit buggy. The previous comment was a reply to deejayfantazy's, three posts down from this one :)

  • wow he's super lucky. that is a crazy crash

  • this is one of the craziest crashes i've ever seen.... more impressive that he survived uninjured.... and in that year... look back to f1 where till 1994 riders died in not that bad looking crashes... so i think indycar/champcar or if you will the american racing series were much safer in that time than f1 was... but after all today all series are very safe so that the chance to survive is really good... see kubica or mcnish or others who had bad crashes...

  • Absolutely. In 1989, the drivers were already sitting much lower in the car in indycar then they were in f1, protecting their heads better against sideways impacts. On the other hand, often most simple looking crashes are the most deadly ones and in this one a lot of energy is absorbed on 3 different impacts. And he was lucky, very very lucky.

  • wow!!!! this guy is lucky!!!!

  • I remember watching this in the hospital waiting room while my first grandchild was being born. I thought this guy was going to be seriously injured if not killed. That car absolutely shattered as he hit the wall that seperates the pit from the track. The ABC camera didn't fare too well.

    Emerson Fittipaldi went on to win.

  • impresive !

  • pretty much a who's who of 1980's indycar racing!

  • at 2:20 nice top 5

  • I think this crash was used in the 1992 intro for the 500

  • Now Sam Posey....he's another story....

  • Love him or not...It's good to hear Paul Page as the Voice of the 500!

  • he IS the voice of american motorsport

  • I agree. Be it taking over for Sid Collins (Bless his soul) on the Radio Network, or for his stint on TV for the voice of the Indy 500, he is the one I remember most, as would many other fans of my age.

    Paul Page's voice, like Mr. Collins, is so indelibly associated with the 500. I thought that the way in which he was dropped was insulting to him and to his many fans.

  • The definition of luck.

  • agreed

  • yep... if that car broke in half where he was sittin we'd be saying definition of bad luck

  • some people are just tough....I doubt he can be killed in any crash..I read somewhere he was pissed the car didn't explode in flames cause he was somewhat cold.

  • Clueso456 ..... the cars are designed to break apart. if the cockpit, which was designed off of fighter jets gets detached from theengine/other components the driver is less prone to be killed by fire and gas. idiot. these cars are indeed the safest raceing cars.

  • I think you have a point. But Cogan´s crash looks much worse than those of Brayton and Marcelo´s, which killed both. I remember watchin it as a kid and I did think Cogan couldn´t make it after such a crash. An impressive one, despite not fatal.

  • Exactly, the announcer too is actually a bit misleading in his comments in saying the car broke it two. The chassis has done its job perfectly. The engine broke away as did other suspension etc. but the tub stayed intact. The most stark example was Car and Driver journalist Pat Bedard in the '84 Indy. Nobody who saw it would ever forget it. All that remained was the bare carbon tub with Bedard sitting in it mid track. No engine, suspension, bodywork - nothing. Bedard was not seriously hurt.

  • What amazing save

    I'd to visit indianapolis 500 one day

  • yes...in the end he walked away without a scratch.

  • Wow, that is amazing how Cogan survived virtually uninjured (I think) and was able to get out under his own power because you can see how fast he hit that divider

  • Does he was o.k? He seem o.k.

    Shit, now I understand why this wall seem a bit weird at Indy now...

  • that race was my first indy 500 n i didn't realized till i watched this crash 19yrs later n i can't believe he still alive n walked away from that new fatal crash

  • Marty Reid is probably one of the worst commentators i've ever heard.....Paul Page was awesome

  • listen how paul says that there is a crash. Today they probably would be over doing it.

  • They screwed Paul Page over! He was a good voice of the Indy 500. I hate what they did to him. I am sure it was a replacing of the guard, i.e. age discrimination. So sad.

  • Bob Varsha is the best I've ever heard, period. Too bad he's on Speed. Or too bad the idiot grandson couldn't get EARL races on Speed instead of Versus. Yup, the league is really making some headway. Thank god we've got ALMS.

  • Marty Reid does a good job in both NHRA and IndyCar, but, Paul Page is better, Paul does a good job in NHRA, despite this his 2nd full year.

  • ten years before that,that could of killed him.

  • Paul Page!!!! Come back!!!

  • He should come back to IndyCar racing, he really doesn't do a good job with NHRA drag racing

  • He was on last weekend from the Brandemere race in Denver and wasn't all that bad.

  • I was at the race that year and seated directly across the track from where the driver's cage came to a rest. We all held our breath and were amazed as he quickly extricated himself.

  • Unless I am mistaken wasn't it this wreck and Mark Dismore's that caused them to shorten the wall on pit road.

  • what year is this? and yes Paul Page needs to be back I miss his voice its not the same.

  • Can you imagine what's in his head as he turns back to look at the car?

    I think that would have scared me straight right there.

    Unrelated: How I miss Paul Page on my indycar broadcasts -_-

  • you the man kevin

  • Wow.....I remember watching that live.

  • Schaefer, that's my brew.

  • What a lucky guy! There were at least 3 moments in this accident where he could have been killed! The first hit, the 2nd and then when the motor slid alond when the car was on it's side! Amazing that he wasn't seriously injured or killed!

  • ha, thanks for the corrections...I've never been really good with Indy announcers ...  Nascar fan myself, so I'm at least lucky to remember Paul Page...

  • I believe the tv broadcast announcers is Paul Page and Jackaroo who is usually the pit road reporter..can't remember his first name though. They both use to Telecast the IROC series as well when it was on ABC or ESPN.

  • The commentators are Paul Page, Sam Posey, and Bobby Unser in the booth. Jack Arute was in the pits.

  • who were the commentators?

  • That damn coogan!

  • haha to quote ol' AJ Foyt in 1982 when Cogan blew the start. Funny because coogan is my last name

  • Holysh.. what an impact! Good to see the guy was ok!

  • boy its a good thing they are learning year by year, those guys holding up the signs for their drivers could have been injured from debris or the frame of the car as those impact rails deflected his car down pit lane. Kevin probably was like "wtf! my engine is suppose to be behind me!" glad he's okay! go racing!

  • Everytime I see a Indycar video with Kevin Cogan, he seems to have taken himself out of a race in a car-destroying fashion. . .

    Wonder if ABC ever sent Cogan a bill for the camera he took out. . .

  • hahahahaaa! back then probably not, but today? i dunno, i wouldn't put anything past anyone in this money hunger world we've created!

  • Notice how almost 100 people scurry away like mice just before he hits the wall?

  • lol..recalling a line from a classic Bob & Tom Album, "I wasn't sure what the yellow light was for but someone who drew Kevin Cogan in the office pool was taking his and the Lord's name in vain."

  • that dam cogan my favorte quote from aj foyt in 1982 after he caused the pace lap crash he is one sorry sob coudnt drive worth crap hell i dont think he even won with penske

  • poor camera!

  • Regular production cars sometimes are built with flaws, thus recalls are made by companies.

    Even NASA makes mistakes with spaceships, you're stupid to assume that everything is perfectly made.

  • that damm coogan!

  • Well, he's go out and the engine at is side...

  • nasty!

  • Damn Sam Posey were is sam today?

  • At what speed approx.did he spin?

  • verrry verrry fast

  • He was probably going apx. 200-215 mph at the time of the spin, but luckily for him, he was going a bit slower when he hit, and as Sam Posey said, he hit the wall at the rear, which saved his life. He was also lucky when he hit the pit wall at and even the last impact, though soft, would have probably been fatal had he hit at a different angle. So he was really lucky in all 3 impacts of the crash.

  • Thx! I recall Mario Andretti sayng"...that's what happens when you're having your driving school in an Indy car"-

  • I miss those old cars, back when Indy meant something :(

  • I though, as i looked at this for a second time, that there was possibly contact between Cogan and the car behind him. But as the replays show there most certainly wasn't, his car just took a dead left. Possibly a flat left front tire. A broken axle could also be a solution, What ever it was Cogan came SO close to being crashed between the engine and the pit road wall at the end of the crash. Very scary.

  • it one thing to say i saw it on TV, because millions did, and they all had the same view. But it seems that people say the typical "i was there this happened right in front of me" or " i was 3 and my dad took me to this one" or the original "if you look closely you can see me sitting int he stands" Yeah if i look closely enough i may also see the other 35000 people there too. Its not hard to say that and lie about it. Stop trying to act important. (its almost as annoying as chain comments)

  • Well, you never know. There are 250-300,000 people at Indy every year. So there are an awful lot of people who can make the claim "I was there" and be telling the truth. But I agree with what your saying.

  • thank god... he's alive!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • "Small neck pain" ...he's lucky to even have a head after that

  • I think they added foam blocks also to help protect the driver. That wall is like a guillotine just waiting to take out a car.

  • The 1982 Indy 500 Cogan crash, seconds before the green flag (referred to in this video), is still one of the weirdest wrecks I've ever seen. For absolutely no apparent reason, his car suddenly swerves wildly out of control and takes out legends Foyt and Andretti both! Unreal. Still don't get it. (Can't find it anywhere on YouTube, but I'm sure many readers will remember).

  • I think I remember that one, but really the most memorable thing about that race was the finish.

  • Oh, for sure. And as I've commented in a different YouTube column, I think Johncock's was perhaps the coolest looking racecar ever! (my taste)

  • BTW, ever notice that "racecar" spelled backwards spells "racecar"? (Just thrown in for everyone's amusement).

  • Almost like Steave Park's crash at darlington a few years ago. Under caution his car takes a sudden left turn and is t-boned by a car coming around to get the lap. People still think parks was an axle that broke, mabey the same happened in 1982.

  • Excellent comparison, HM1. Cogan's '82 crash was VERY like the one you mentioned. And a broken axle seems as good a guess as any. Strange, but I never did hear a clear explanation as to what happened, though I would've expected to. Maybe I just missed it (?)

  • And BTW, Hendrick, (relating to your other posts)I hope you know I am NOT claiming to have been there in person. Just a television image that has remained w/me all these years.

  • Just thought it shows you what a fluke a motorsport death is. Every crash vid I have ever watched on here the commentator says something like "... blah blah goes to show how safe these cars are...", but then a fatality always sparks so much safety talk.

    Look at the engine hanging off the back of this car - it could have clocked him in the head. Just goes to show what a lottery it is.

  • isnt kinda cool that every crash in racing on youtube, at least 1 of the same 3 people are at every one of them. Its kinda rediculous, im not saying you wernt there, but i highly doubt that some people say they were at crashes that happened 40 years ago... which is fine exept apparently they were at ever major crash since, and it always happened right there... gets old guys.

  • ....the phenomena of "youtube false authority", very very common. I think people like to make them and/or their comments more important by claiming to know people or, in this case, "been there".

  • Awesome.

  • I was there and it happened right in front of me. I'll never forget that crash, nor seeing him climb from his car virtually unscathed. I feared the worst when I saw that car explode into pieces.

  • wow hes lucky he survived that... his car split in half wow

  • It's weird to see the guys with the C02 extinguishers. I wonder if they still use them at Indy, or if they just use buckets of water like in CART.