According to Steven Olvey's book "Rapid Response" Olvey says Ongais was lucky because he had a hideous compound open fracture on his right leg and there just happened to be an orthepedic surgeon on hand that day. If not for that, they would've had to amputate.
I was there as well helping Wayne Baker with his BMW 2002 TII injected 914. Ted Fields, owner of the car Danny was driving, had started the race. Danny flew in after qualifying for the Indy 500. The best race I have ever seen. Unbelievable to watch Danny drive.
I was there when it happened. I was seated at the 4th turn. He crashed just after the 3rd turn. The downwind carried the black fiberglass and debris my way and I went home with a small layer of that fiberglass on my skin. That incident scared the crap out of me and will be something I'll never forget.
I don't see anything broken on the car. The slow-motion pretty clearly shows Danny making a shallow entry and understeers out of the groove. As soon as he's out of the groove he's in trouble. He tried to save it but over-corrected. Lucky he didn't hit the same angle as Gordon Smiley did a year later.
@Caveman4860 I concur with mellilore. Castor / camber seem to be within reason as the car slides sideways and the whell is still firmly connected to the spindle (upright). The diagnosis seems to be a broken tie-rod / steering joint on the right side.
Happy karting. I'm a retired multi-time karting champion myself. :)
The R.F. wheel/suspention Broke Before Crash! 3:00 - 3:03. Look at angle of tire @ 3:03 (use Pause, and you'll see it )!! It wasn't His fault, for crash! Why was this "detail", never brought up during investigation? He just left the Pit's, possibly tire wasn't tight? I'm an ASE Master Auto Tech. and Race Kart driver. Your thoughts?
@Caveman4860 I totally agree with you...if you pause it you can tell his RF is broken. The question is did it break while he was trying to correct his spin? He was out of the groove and got loose, but it's hard to tell if the wheel/suspension was already damaged making him get loose.
@Caveman4860 Really hard to tell, however rather than a loose wheel, it looks to me as the right connecting rod of the steer (I apologize, I really don't know how to call it in english, all I know is in italian we call it "braccetto dello sterzo") broke down allowing the R.F. wheel to steer freely... not nice in such a context
Makes one wonder how Stewart can allow himself to give e running commentary on a near fatal crash when you consider how much tragedy he saw in F1, with so many deaths & losing so many friends during his years as a driver? It seems quite cold & clinical when you know he's commentating purely for a fat wad of cash?..You'd think after retiring he'd want to get as far away from it as possible, rather then comment on other drivers crashes? The guy was hardly skint! Mercenary? I think so Sir Jackie!
he stayed in the sport because racing was his life. it's hard to explain really, but he knows nothing else, just like most if not all great race car drivers. i think he would have preferred anything in the world to sitting back and watching the racing world continue without him, to many that would be a worse fate than dieing in a horrible crash such as he was watching here.
You'd also think he can do whatever the fuck he wants. Few knew more about open wheel/single seater racing in that era, and I'd rather have him commentating than those fucking ESPN suits just waiting for their turn to call the college football games.
At Indy, there are these circles of empty stands I noticed. Then I found out what there are. Some chick threw up all over herself and there was this vomit all over the seats. The circe is a vomit circle where people move away from ground zero.
Looks like the driver's fault, he countersteered too soon and too much. Lucky to spin a bit more and avoid hitting the wall like Smiley did... what happened to the spectator though?
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
A friend of ours, Julia Massey, had gone back to our cars to take a leak. Just as she got her shorts and panties down to her ankles, race cat driver Danny Ongais piled into the 3rd turn wall sending all kinds of junk towards her as she was squatted down and letting go. There she was with all this stuff flying around her, while then trying to slip under a car with her pants and panties around her ankles. In those days it wasn't a race, it was a reason to drink. FROM MY BLOG !
smileys crash was really fuckin brutal, man. you could see him gettin proper slammed about after the initial impact. no one could have survived that shit.
This is truly one of the most frightening crashes in speedway history. Because of crashes like his, Gordon Smily, Rick Mears, and Derek Daily they finally moved the driver back in the car.
I must admit though, ABC was not very respectful by showing Ongais exposed like that right after the car came to a stop.
He simply lost it, waited, hesitated, the wheels caught up to him and unspun, lost his momentum, a perfect example of how I turn.................right.. and yeah was that his left leg hanging , dangling out front like that?
From what I understand he was frustrated because he was in good position when something went wrong in the pits and took a lot of time and that probably contributed to the crash. I remember me and a friend watching the tape delayed footage, seeing him slumped over and shouting "He's dead, he's dead!" It's a damn miracle that we were wrong!
I remember seeing this on the HAVOC videos as a kid, and although I knew then he hadn't died every time I see this crash I almost expect him to, it's so horrible.
Smiley died because he hit the wall head on at a more-or-less 90 degree angle. Ongais' car managed to rotate just a little bit more to make it a more shallow angle.
I think that is the corner where Smiley died.Where simular to him crashed Ongais.Just overcorected and head on in the wall.See his head.Miracle he wasn't dead
At 3:04 you can actually see his head whip towards the wall. This crash was very reminiscent of Gordon Smiley's. Rear end jumped out, and he overcorrected it, into the wall. Incredibly lucky.
holy shit. Gordan Smiley died in a crash just like this. they both started sliding and overcorrected into the outside wall. does anyone else see the similarities or is it only me?
The truth is that it(he,she) is incredible as not died Danny Ongais... I am of Argentine and this one is the first time that I see this accident and the first thing that pense was that habia deceased. To think that in indy there was accident that they seem to be less serious than this but the pilot dies... Marry Jovy Marcelo...
Regards from Argentine and endurance Helio Castroneves!
The last year Ongais drove at Indy was 1996. He served as a last-minute replacement for the late Scott Brayton who lost his life in an accident on Carburetion Day. Because of the driver change, he started 33rd on the grid.Without any practice time,Ongais brought the car home in 7th (1 lap down).He did a great job considering he hadn't driven at Indy since 1987,where he was injured during practice. His replacement went on to win his 4th "500",Al Unser sr.Last I heard he was living in Santa Ana.
Charlotte Motor Speedway held an Indy event around 1981 or so, and Ongias started at the back of the field in a jet black car with no sponsorship decals. He methodically (and maniacially) worked his way through the field passing at least one car or two on every lap. The crowd of NASCAR fans could not believe what we were seeing - it was surreal. He crashed with very few laps to go, and we all stood around asking "how did he make it this far". He was/is an intense driver with incredible talent.
Still races or at least he was still running in tranz am and sports cars quite recently. Certainly still racing in 2005. He has raced everything - can't think of anyone who has raced more classes. Indycar, Formula 1, Le mans 24 hour, can am, tranz am, sports cars, porsche 934/935 racers, grand am and as said previously top drag racer and in fact he raced motorcycles first ! Huge natural ability but a real go hard and sometimes too hard. Called Danny "on the gas" and the "flyin hawaian"
Thanks so much for your response....I totally agree. Have a old friend of his from Hawaii looking for him...trying to track him down. Santa Ana is the last I heard, so will look for him there...any one know...contact me....thanks.
Yes e521 he was exposed.. More nasty Indy crashes with driver exposure all on YouTube is Salt Walther 1973 indy 500 - Swede Savage also Indy 1973 - Stan Fox Indy 500 mid 90s - The most vicious is Gordon Smiley 1982 Indy qualifing where the car went to a zillion pieces and Gordon was throw out on the track with the parts bouncing along with him.. Check them out. But They are not pretty.
yea waltsa i seen gordon smileys crash and its brutal hard to even look at but i never seen salt walther or stan fox crash or whatever its just amazing what happens when one of these cars crash.
Did you know Walther is in prison in Ohio? I guess he became addicted to pain killers after his crash and even up through the 90's was addicted to a wide assortment of drugs.
uindy, Yes I had read about Salt Walther being in prison. Hard to believe a guy who drove Indy from a wealthy family could get to such a low. Guess that is what drugs can do for a guy... Sad.... I would love to run at Indy one time even if I finished last!
holy shit at 3:08, look at the left top of the screen and see how high that piece of debris is from hitting the wall...that gentleman is lucky to walk away from that, now thats staring death in the eyes.
I think what happend was that he overtook the car in front of him and maybe he was running some laps before the crash in the turbulant air of that car. So after he had passed the guy in front of him he was in clean air coming into turn 3 and he had not expected the car to push to the outside. He tryed to correct the understear and in that very moment the car gained grip and he lost control. Thats very much the same thing that happen to Gordon Smiley one year later with fatal consequences.
That's oversteer not understeer. Danny had it and you're right, Smiley had the exact same crash but hit the wall head on. Ongias was lucky to be alive.
I think it is a very similar crash to the fatal crash Gordon Smiley suffered one year later. It was the same spot and Ongais just hit the wall in a little different angle, but it made very different result.
It's the very same spot and he lost control the same way Smiley did. Ongais was just fortunate that he did a near full spin instead of the car righting itself and shooting him into the wall like Smiley.
I was watching that in 1981. It is a freaking miracle that he survived consider others have been in less serious accidents and have been killed! What a risky sport!
I am a long time fan of Danny, and I was there in the 3rd turn seats. I looked up to see pieces of his car falling from the sky. I was horrified. This was his out lap from a pit stop. He was in the lead before the stop, and while pitting, there was a problem. It made the stop long, and he left mad. He came flying around the track and entered turn 3 too fast, dove under the other car (when he shouldn't have) and lost it. That was probably the best chance he had to win the 500.
After all these years, this is the first time I have seen the WRTV footage, which shows Danny actually losing control of the car. I had always seen the ABC coverage, which shows him just after impact. Looks like he lost ground effects passing that other car and the back end just broke loose. In retrospect, Ongais was pretty lucky.
I don't think it was a suspension break. As he passed that other car he messed up his line into the turn and drifted out into the gray. The right rear wheel slipped, Danny overcorrected and the car hooked right into the wall. Just a little less rotation and he would have hit head-on like Gordon Smiley did in the same place a year later, and we all know that story.
The difference between Ongais and Smiley is that Ongais didn't over correct like Smiley did. From this video, Ongais knows he's losing it and tries to ride the car higher. He eventually spins it into the wall, but not like Smiley. Smiley tried to understeer his car down low in the middle of a corner.
Jackie Stewert seems to be a staple of all my racing memories from my childhood, seemed like he was on ABC all the time.
He Did not understand why Indy was called The Brickyard. Thought it was due to the hard walls, was due to the track hacing been paved with bricks back in the old days,.
I was in the photo stand in turn 3 when this happened. We were essentially sitting exactly yey level to the track where he hit the wall..He came right up the wall into us. It looked like the was a suspension break, he caught it for an instant and then lost it. For an instant, the photo stand was engulfed in a fireball. The Track workers under the photo stand were burned. (Shown in the clip) Needless to say, I never sat there again.
To the two twits doing the Indy F1 sparring. I could give you 50 reasons why F1 is better and then give you another 50 reasons to change your mind to Indy, and so on.
Noh he was lucky to have lost it earlier on in the turn, Smiley lost it later in th corner and went in head on - Ongais span slightly more and hit it side on.
To the two above, can we PLEASE not get into the "my series sucks more than yours argument?" Take it to a message board, not where a driver almost died.
In Dr. Olvey's book says that part of his tibia that was missing the next day outside of the speedway. Also, for those in the know, this was the first accident that Terry Trammel worked on...
F1 = Drivers who can't drive without Traction control and driver aids. Indy until the 90s is where the best raced. Deal with it. BTW F1 was darn good before the 80s and the aids came in.
The ABC camera is right below where we sat in "L" stand for so many years. Where he got the wall was way earlier than most turn 3 accidents. I got the Indy Star the next day and after seeing the pics I couldn't believe he survuved it.
Hi, thanks for posting this crash. I saw it in person and thought the "Flyin' Hawaiin" was dead. That was the last of several car totaling crashes for him. I think he tried to race some more but car owners were leary of losing a car. Ongais was a fan favorite for his racy style. BTW this video was hard to find. Try adding Indy 500 to title and 500 to tags.
IIRC, he was actually called up by John Menard to take the late Scott Brayton's seat for the 1996 500 after Brayton's fatal practice session accident, and finished 7th in the race. Not bad for a 54-year-old.
BTW, credit should go to the forums at tbk.fameflame.dk, where Wildturnip operates.
According to Steven Olvey's book "Rapid Response" Olvey says Ongais was lucky because he had a hideous compound open fracture on his right leg and there just happened to be an orthepedic surgeon on hand that day. If not for that, they would've had to amputate.
mohawkman251988 4 months ago
I was there as well helping Wayne Baker with his BMW 2002 TII injected 914. Ted Fields, owner of the car Danny was driving, had started the race. Danny flew in after qualifying for the Indy 500. The best race I have ever seen. Unbelievable to watch Danny drive.
jadedlake 5 months ago
Lucky he kind of slid towards the back end of the car when he hit the wall avoiding a direct impact. He wouldve been killed if he went head on.
utheman01 9 months ago
0:13 Holy Shit
MageofDarkness1984 9 months ago
I was there when it happened. I was seated at the 4th turn. He crashed just after the 3rd turn. The downwind carried the black fiberglass and debris my way and I went home with a small layer of that fiberglass on my skin. That incident scared the crap out of me and will be something I'll never forget.
gypsyqueen64 1 year ago
I don't see anything broken on the car. The slow-motion pretty clearly shows Danny making a shallow entry and understeers out of the groove. As soon as he's out of the groove he's in trouble. He tried to save it but over-corrected. Lucky he didn't hit the same angle as Gordon Smiley did a year later.
manthing43 1 year ago
Thank You All!, that have posted, as to my findings. I've Yet to get a reply, from USAC.
Caveman4860 1 year ago
@Caveman4860 I concur with mellilore. Castor / camber seem to be within reason as the car slides sideways and the whell is still firmly connected to the spindle (upright). The diagnosis seems to be a broken tie-rod / steering joint on the right side.
Happy karting. I'm a retired multi-time karting champion myself. :)
Plan9Kart 1 year ago
@Plan9Kart bragging about winning a club championship in go karts is like winning the special olympics brah.
brazil111 5 months ago
Jim Mckay was "the voice" of indy and the olympics
chickabuka 1 year ago
That wheel was determined to keep racing
snappy452 1 year ago
The R.F. wheel/suspention Broke Before Crash! 3:00 - 3:03. Look at angle of tire @ 3:03 (use Pause, and you'll see it )!! It wasn't His fault, for crash! Why was this "detail", never brought up during investigation? He just left the Pit's, possibly tire wasn't tight? I'm an ASE Master Auto Tech. and Race Kart driver. Your thoughts?
Caveman4860 1 year ago
@Caveman4860 I totally agree with you...if you pause it you can tell his RF is broken. The question is did it break while he was trying to correct his spin? He was out of the groove and got loose, but it's hard to tell if the wheel/suspension was already damaged making him get loose.
mnap11 1 year ago
@Caveman4860 Really hard to tell, however rather than a loose wheel, it looks to me as the right connecting rod of the steer (I apologize, I really don't know how to call it in english, all I know is in italian we call it "braccetto dello sterzo") broke down allowing the R.F. wheel to steer freely... not nice in such a context
mellilore 1 year ago
lucky man
drlargepants 1 year ago
Jackie Stewarts voice is the goods!
mad122780 1 year ago
I'm wondering why the cars are still circling?? How about a freakin' red flag??
Fastball2000 1 year ago
The fact is Danny Ongais cars never had any brakes. Well, if they had any, he never used them.
I remember watching him race, he was doomed. Balls to the walls 24/7 will finish you off eventually.
But damn, he was exciting.
Xdust3 1 year ago
That could have been just like Gordon Smileys wreck but it happend just a tad short of that.
mad122780 2 years ago
the spectators did survive as wel ?
VBPSucks 2 years ago
Comment removed
erasetoimprove 1 year ago
@erasetoimprove Wrong, none of them died.
cj52racers 1 year ago
I had never seen the video at 2:46....he was very lucky that he lived.
penske369 2 years ago
LMAO U.S.A.C. oficials are uncertain why the crash occured ! (when is a usac oficial ever certain why anything occurs!)
supersevenn 2 years ago
The old guy in street clothes first on the scene with the fire extinguisher had guts. Great work.
PihaSandDunes 2 years ago
He had more luck as Smiley!
jockey83 2 years ago
Comment removed
Waitingforriki 2 years ago
i think i read her eon the the 'net that Smiley was high on Cok when he crashed
goerge4 2 years ago
Makes one wonder how Stewart can allow himself to give e running commentary on a near fatal crash when you consider how much tragedy he saw in F1, with so many deaths & losing so many friends during his years as a driver? It seems quite cold & clinical when you know he's commentating purely for a fat wad of cash?..You'd think after retiring he'd want to get as far away from it as possible, rather then comment on other drivers crashes? The guy was hardly skint! Mercenary? I think so Sir Jackie!
Waitingforriki 2 years ago
he stayed in the sport because racing was his life. it's hard to explain really, but he knows nothing else, just like most if not all great race car drivers. i think he would have preferred anything in the world to sitting back and watching the racing world continue without him, to many that would be a worse fate than dieing in a horrible crash such as he was watching here.
anthonystuart69 2 years ago 5
Comment removed
Waitingforriki 2 years ago
You'd also think he can do whatever the fuck he wants. Few knew more about open wheel/single seater racing in that era, and I'd rather have him commentating than those fucking ESPN suits just waiting for their turn to call the college football games.
fearbeforefearbefore 2 years ago
At Indy, there are these circles of empty stands I noticed. Then I found out what there are. Some chick threw up all over herself and there was this vomit all over the seats. The circe is a vomit circle where people move away from ground zero.
dkw12002 2 years ago
Is that your lame attempt to be funny?? Epic fail.
porksniffer 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I'd like to bang Jackie Stewart's head against a wall at an acute angle....what a blowhard
rushipooki 2 years ago
Looks like the driver's fault, he countersteered too soon and too much. Lucky to spin a bit more and avoid hitting the wall like Smiley did... what happened to the spectator though?
hristoitchov 2 years ago
notice how even 30 yrs ago open wheel was WAY ahead of NECK racing
coby1873 2 years ago
Whats NECK racing?
Swartzie6 2 years ago
Look at the old man w/ the floods run up to the car They would never allow that shit no more
GOCUBBY 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
A friend of ours, Julia Massey, had gone back to our cars to take a leak. Just as she got her shorts and panties down to her ankles, race cat driver Danny Ongais piled into the 3rd turn wall sending all kinds of junk towards her as she was squatted down and letting go. There she was with all this stuff flying around her, while then trying to slip under a car with her pants and panties around her ankles. In those days it wasn't a race, it was a reason to drink. FROM MY BLOG !
mesillahills 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Danny Ongais had such shitty luck with crashes at Indy.
It also sounds like the ABC broadcast is oing over the Speedway speakers.
Jackie Stewart should just STFU!!
racefan32 2 years ago
He had another accident during practice at Indy similar to one at Indy that put him in the hospital.
afannell 2 years ago
Does anyone know if the spectator survived?
TwistedArmco 2 years ago 2
He did. There wasn't a spectator killed that year. There was in 1987.
Dietpepsivanilla 2 years ago
Cool, thanks.
TwistedArmco 2 years ago
Just think one year later Gordon Smiley has a fatal crash almost the same way Ongais hit the wall.
ToroRosso20 2 years ago
smileys crash was really fuckin brutal, man. you could see him gettin proper slammed about after the initial impact. no one could have survived that shit.
mandem251 2 years ago 2
that crash looks like the crash that killed Smiley i think his name was. but alot less violent. im glad he lived just wish Smiley had the same result
malcolmyoungi 2 years ago
when i saw this live i yeeled "holy fuck balls"
nintendonerdgoodbad2 2 years ago
I remember watching this as a kid...awful awful crash
tegrimm 2 years ago
This is truly one of the most frightening crashes in speedway history. Because of crashes like his, Gordon Smily, Rick Mears, and Derek Daily they finally moved the driver back in the car.
I must admit though, ABC was not very respectful by showing Ongais exposed like that right after the car came to a stop.
DavidSkywalker01 2 years ago
He simply lost it, waited, hesitated, the wheels caught up to him and unspun, lost his momentum, a perfect example of how I turn.................right.. and yeah was that his left leg hanging , dangling out front like that?
nudracr 2 years ago
Someone was watching out for him. There is no way he should be alive today.
CourtyardPigeon 2 years ago
From what I understand he was frustrated because he was in good position when something went wrong in the pits and took a lot of time and that probably contributed to the crash. I remember me and a friend watching the tape delayed footage, seeing him slumped over and shouting "He's dead, he's dead!" It's a damn miracle that we were wrong!
SIGMAMAN69 2 years ago
did any of u guys notice his legs??? they pretty much stopped the car
SRQshark 2 years ago
OUCH!
Billika442 2 years ago
WTF...Danny you're VERY LUCKY
TheMasterGate 2 years ago
Danny recovered,and won a sportscar race at Daytona that fall.
vince065us 2 years ago 2
Ongais was one lucky, lucky boy
WSBT960 3 years ago
I remember seeing this on the HAVOC videos as a kid, and although I knew then he hadn't died every time I see this crash I almost expect him to, it's so horrible.
suspendingdisbelief1 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
couldn't he park his car properly?
Jesteria78 3 years ago
Youre Stupid
MICHAELRG7321 2 years ago 2
Smiley died because he hit the wall head on at a more-or-less 90 degree angle. Ongais' car managed to rotate just a little bit more to make it a more shallow angle.
jimmicampkin 3 years ago
Reverb on TV comments? lol good job
benn1182 3 years ago
Danny "On the Gas"
IamZardoz 3 years ago
I think that is the corner where Smiley died.Where simular to him crashed Ongais.Just overcorected and head on in the wall.See his head.Miracle he wasn't dead
mar4eloser4e 3 years ago
simUlar?
therealdirkdiggler 3 years ago
I remember this. It was a miricle he wasn't killed.
TheNiceMeanMan 3 years ago 2
At 3:04 you can actually see his head whip towards the wall. This crash was very reminiscent of Gordon Smiley's. Rear end jumped out, and he overcorrected it, into the wall. Incredibly lucky.
dsmcclellan 3 years ago
They show Danny as dead on another youtube.
I'm glad to hear that he is still alive.
josephdupont 3 years ago
What about the spectators?
liobeking 3 years ago
is he dead?
Sheliza94 3 years ago
No he survived and was racing again the next year.
7mgtesup 3 years ago
he survived and raced again..what a tough dude
goerge4 3 years ago 3
ongias, one of the best drag racers ever, yes he used to drag race to!
nemodapimpfish 3 years ago
holy shit. Gordan Smiley died in a crash just like this. they both started sliding and overcorrected into the outside wall. does anyone else see the similarities or is it only me?
crankworx42 3 years ago
yeah, that definitely looked like Smiley's crash, Ongais didn't hit the wall quite as head on as Smiley did though
steveconesus 3 years ago
yeah thats probably what saved him.
crankworx42 3 years ago
The truth is that it(he,she) is incredible as not died Danny Ongais... I am of Argentine and this one is the first time that I see this accident and the first thing that pense was that habia deceased. To think that in indy there was accident that they seem to be less serious than this but the pilot dies... Marry Jovy Marcelo...
Regards from Argentine and endurance Helio Castroneves!
Estara bien traducido?
excu11 3 years ago
I stand corrected it was '81...(oops!)
thevmanvj 3 years ago
Announcer heard here, Jim McKay, Died on Saturday.. He was certainly one of the best! Know from ABC's Wide World Of Sports...
waltsa200 3 years ago 13
It was in 1981. I was there and it's the only Indy 500 I've been to.
Singe61 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
The Danny Ongais crash took place in 1983... not 1981
thevmanvj 3 years ago
You are incorrect..it was 81
dpate23 3 years ago 3
And amazingly Ongias was back racing in 1982
fueldragster 3 years ago
anyone know where he is now????
iamawesm 3 years ago
The last year Ongais drove at Indy was 1996. He served as a last-minute replacement for the late Scott Brayton who lost his life in an accident on Carburetion Day. Because of the driver change, he started 33rd on the grid.Without any practice time,Ongais brought the car home in 7th (1 lap down).He did a great job considering he hadn't driven at Indy since 1987,where he was injured during practice. His replacement went on to win his 4th "500",Al Unser sr.Last I heard he was living in Santa Ana.
thevmanvj 3 years ago
Charlotte Motor Speedway held an Indy event around 1981 or so, and Ongias started at the back of the field in a jet black car with no sponsorship decals. He methodically (and maniacially) worked his way through the field passing at least one car or two on every lap. The crowd of NASCAR fans could not believe what we were seeing - it was surreal. He crashed with very few laps to go, and we all stood around asking "how did he make it this far". He was/is an intense driver with incredible talent.
inescapegoat 3 years ago 7
the original flyin' hawaiian.
alouistheman 3 years ago
Still races or at least he was still running in tranz am and sports cars quite recently. Certainly still racing in 2005. He has raced everything - can't think of anyone who has raced more classes. Indycar, Formula 1, Le mans 24 hour, can am, tranz am, sports cars, porsche 934/935 racers, grand am and as said previously top drag racer and in fact he raced motorcycles first ! Huge natural ability but a real go hard and sometimes too hard. Called Danny "on the gas" and the "flyin hawaian"
gcmc2 3 years ago 3
oops - Forgot Formula 5000 ( or Formula A ) REAL racer - race anything on wheels.
gcmc2 3 years ago 3
Thanks so much for your response....I totally agree. Have a old friend of his from Hawaii looking for him...trying to track him down. Santa Ana is the last I heard, so will look for him there...any one know...contact me....thanks.
iamawesm 3 years ago
Jackie Clark?
uindy 3 years ago
Jackie Stewart talking with Jim McKay...
waltsa200 3 years ago 2
yeah that's what I meant...
uindy 3 years ago
HOLY SHITTTTTT HE WAS HANGING OUT I REMEMBER WHATCHING THIS ON espn CLASSIC BIG TICKET THAT THEY SHOW CLASSIC THINGS ON SUNDAY NIGHTS
e521soediv 3 years ago
Yes e521 he was exposed.. More nasty Indy crashes with driver exposure all on YouTube is Salt Walther 1973 indy 500 - Swede Savage also Indy 1973 - Stan Fox Indy 500 mid 90s - The most vicious is Gordon Smiley 1982 Indy qualifing where the car went to a zillion pieces and Gordon was throw out on the track with the parts bouncing along with him.. Check them out. But They are not pretty.
waltsa200 3 years ago 2
yea waltsa i seen gordon smileys crash and its brutal hard to even look at but i never seen salt walther or stan fox crash or whatever its just amazing what happens when one of these cars crash.
e521soediv 3 years ago
Did you know Walther is in prison in Ohio? I guess he became addicted to pain killers after his crash and even up through the 90's was addicted to a wide assortment of drugs.
uindy 3 years ago
uindy, Yes I had read about Salt Walther being in prison. Hard to believe a guy who drove Indy from a wealthy family could get to such a low. Guess that is what drugs can do for a guy... Sad.... I would love to run at Indy one time even if I finished last!
waltsa200 3 years ago
holy shit at 3:08, look at the left top of the screen and see how high that piece of debris is from hitting the wall...that gentleman is lucky to walk away from that, now thats staring death in the eyes.
ss4gg092 3 years ago
Your rigth it's overstear, i'm sorry ;-)
Dimage25 3 years ago
I think what happend was that he overtook the car in front of him and maybe he was running some laps before the crash in the turbulant air of that car. So after he had passed the guy in front of him he was in clean air coming into turn 3 and he had not expected the car to push to the outside. He tryed to correct the understear and in that very moment the car gained grip and he lost control. Thats very much the same thing that happen to Gordon Smiley one year later with fatal consequences.
Dimage25 3 years ago
That's oversteer not understeer. Danny had it and you're right, Smiley had the exact same crash but hit the wall head on. Ongias was lucky to be alive.
MiniCHAMP7 3 years ago
I think it is a very similar crash to the fatal crash Gordon Smiley suffered one year later. It was the same spot and Ongais just hit the wall in a little different angle, but it made very different result.
Dimage25 3 years ago
You're right man!
Holdudiladio 3 years ago
It's the very same spot and he lost control the same way Smiley did. Ongais was just fortunate that he did a near full spin instead of the car righting itself and shooting him into the wall like Smiley.
SIGMAMAN69 3 years ago
I was watching that in 1981. It is a freaking miracle that he survived consider others have been in less serious accidents and have been killed! What a risky sport!
SIGMAMAN69 4 years ago
I am a long time fan of Danny, and I was there in the 3rd turn seats. I looked up to see pieces of his car falling from the sky. I was horrified. This was his out lap from a pit stop. He was in the lead before the stop, and while pitting, there was a problem. It made the stop long, and he left mad. He came flying around the track and entered turn 3 too fast, dove under the other car (when he shouldn't have) and lost it. That was probably the best chance he had to win the 500.
iamthedrumm 4 years ago
After all these years, this is the first time I have seen the WRTV footage, which shows Danny actually losing control of the car. I had always seen the ABC coverage, which shows him just after impact. Looks like he lost ground effects passing that other car and the back end just broke loose. In retrospect, Ongais was pretty lucky.
stantak1 4 years ago
I don't think it was a suspension break. As he passed that other car he messed up his line into the turn and drifted out into the gray. The right rear wheel slipped, Danny overcorrected and the car hooked right into the wall. Just a little less rotation and he would have hit head-on like Gordon Smiley did in the same place a year later, and we all know that story.
cgdale 4 years ago
The difference between Ongais and Smiley is that Ongais didn't over correct like Smiley did. From this video, Ongais knows he's losing it and tries to ride the car higher. He eventually spins it into the wall, but not like Smiley. Smiley tried to understeer his car down low in the middle of a corner.
Troylito 4 years ago
Jackie Stewert seems to be a staple of all my racing memories from my childhood, seemed like he was on ABC all the time.
He Did not understand why Indy was called The Brickyard. Thought it was due to the hard walls, was due to the track hacing been paved with bricks back in the old days,.
Zoomer30 4 years ago 5
is that jackie stewart commentating???
mybizuk 4 years ago
Yes, Jim McKay & Jackie Stewart.
RealRunner7 4 years ago
I was in the photo stand in turn 3 when this happened. We were essentially sitting exactly yey level to the track where he hit the wall..He came right up the wall into us. It looked like the was a suspension break, he caught it for an instant and then lost it. For an instant, the photo stand was engulfed in a fireball. The Track workers under the photo stand were burned. (Shown in the clip) Needless to say, I never sat there again.
dustyraebaker 4 years ago
It seems to me this video is on a faster speed.
esjclipes 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Formula 1 N1 >>>THE BEST<<<AIGHT AIGHT 500 sucks
icemen77 4 years ago
Was the spectator OK?
LeicesterCityFoxes 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
e521soediv SUCKS His Father's cock
Raffini 5 years ago
e521soediv SUCKS
pilipukas123 5 years ago
To the two twits doing the Indy F1 sparring. I could give you 50 reasons why F1 is better and then give you another 50 reasons to change your mind to Indy, and so on.
captainbeecher 5 years ago
Noh he was lucky to have lost it earlier on in the turn, Smiley lost it later in th corner and went in head on - Ongais span slightly more and hit it side on.
rb417 5 years ago
f1 sucks
e521soediv 5 years ago
Is the guy with the Scottish accent Jackie Stewart?
Efrasnel 5 years ago
yeah
word360 5 years ago
yes it is
leather3 4 years ago
Jackie Stewart has the Scottish Accent and Jim McKay has the American accent.
RealRunner7 4 years ago
To the two above, can we PLEASE not get into the "my series sucks more than yours argument?" Take it to a message board, not where a driver almost died.
word360 5 years ago
Too late. See above.
Ferndoc1 5 years ago
In Dr. Olvey's book says that part of his tibia that was missing the next day outside of the speedway. Also, for those in the know, this was the first accident that Terry Trammel worked on...
gofastandwynn 5 years ago
F1 = Drivers who can't drive without Traction control and driver aids. Indy until the 90s is where the best raced. Deal with it. BTW F1 was darn good before the 80s and the aids came in.
JMartinez777 5 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Indy = series for drivers who cant succes in F1.
hesusiili 5 years ago
wanker
stradlin21 5 years ago
We were in turn four that day, when he came sliding out along the wall with his legs exposed we all of course thought the worse.
indyjim1969 5 years ago
nasty one that, thank fuck he survived.very good quality for when it happened.good video and thanks.
tomofnoise1 5 years ago
The ABC camera is right below where we sat in "L" stand for so many years. Where he got the wall was way earlier than most turn 3 accidents. I got the Indy Star the next day and after seeing the pics I couldn't believe he survuved it.
CoachVCard4life 5 years ago
wow...very similar to gordon smiley's crash some years later. lukily, danny survived though. still, thats one hell of an impact
rathofkaine 5 years ago
It was definitely fortunate that Ongais survived that wreck. Very eerie that it was nearly identical. BTW, Smiley's accident was a year after this.
OWfan 5 years ago
Ongais was very lucky he didn't slam the wall EXACTLY head on like Smiley did, or it would have came out with the same tragic results. Very lucky!
word360 5 years ago
yeh Stewart was commentating
f1diva 5 years ago
Jackie Stewart is one of the commentators right? Anyway that looked nasty, glad he survived that.
word360 5 years ago
Hi, thanks for posting this crash. I saw it in person and thought the "Flyin' Hawaiin" was dead. That was the last of several car totaling crashes for him. I think he tried to race some more but car owners were leary of losing a car. Ongais was a fan favorite for his racy style. BTW this video was hard to find. Try adding Indy 500 to title and 500 to tags.
frontlobo 5 years ago
IIRC, he was actually called up by John Menard to take the late Scott Brayton's seat for the 1996 500 after Brayton's fatal practice session accident, and finished 7th in the race. Not bad for a 54-year-old.
BTW, credit should go to the forums at tbk.fameflame.dk, where Wildturnip operates.
cerberus1981 5 years ago