The 1996 US 500 Disaster at Michigan 

Once in a while YT's recommendation algorithm gets it right. This video was one of those occasions. Cheers.

one of the great things about 500 mile races was they were a battle of attrition and test of reliability . you had to balance pushing the car for speed and nursing it to make the distance . it made the races exciting and unpredictable in a totally different way to 15 drivers on the lead lap pack racing we got in the modern era . just finishing the race was an achievement and often one that rewarded pretty well with a good placing and pay day .

I was at this race working as a series sponsor. It was cold that day, in the 50s with blustery winds. One of those spring days in Michigan that feels like you could have snow flurries. What was most memorable to me was at 1:00 p.m. EST, when I was in pit lane, hanging around with Greg Moore at the Players/Forsythe Racing timing stand. There were about 10 or 12 of us huddled around the TV monitors watching the start of the Indy 500. As the Indy 500 field was completing its pace laps at IMS, Players/Forsythe team owner Gerry Forsythe blurted out "This is SO goddamn weird." It really was. So many of these racing vets had been at Indy every year for the last 20? 30? 40 years? And here they were watching it on a 12-inch video monitor. Some big shots were sort of like zombies, with these 1000 yard stares. Roger Penske trying to keep his game face on as owner of the track, Rahal, Herta, and the whole Unser family looked stricken. No one was having fun. I was still in the pits when the race started, and while it was certainly dramatic, in person it did not feel like a huge embarrassing blunder like the media has made it out to be. I mean, was anyone embarrassed for USAC when huge start line crashes happened at Indy over the last 100 years? (1973, for example). Drama and stress and fear for peoples' lives on occasion, but not embarrassment. When Kevin Cogan took out Andretti and Foyt before the green flag in 1982, did anyone blame the race? Anyway, the attrition during the race was crazy-high, maybe because several cars were the backup cars, after the crash at the start. There was a funny moment (one of very few that day) after the checkered flag when the track PA announcer, upon seeing that so few cars finished, said, "Attention teams: All cars still running - please report to the podium." Haha. There was not much partying after the race, just a rental car race to the airport. It was a weekend to forget. Like many others, I blamed Tony George for this whole IRL/CART fiasco. Not only because it put many of us sponsors in a tough spot. I can’t tell you how many times that, when communicating the sponsorship perks to senior execs, board members and assorted other VIPS, they would say, “I’m so excited! Which skybox did we buy at Indy?! Fun conversations followed. Ugh ... But a couple of years later I had the chance to meet with Tony several times when we negotiated with him for naming rights at IMS. As you can imagine, there are always a few hundred gigantic brands who want their name at the top of the pagoda. Tony could have power-played this big ticket exposure, but he did not. He came across as a guy who did his homework, and someone with a deep love for the IMS brand. But from start to finish, he was fair, he was kind, and I believe he really wanted to build a partnership with an organization who would get as much value out of a deal as he did. We did that, and I was very proud that we held those rights for several years. I think Tony was under a TON of pressure from his family, not all of which were nearly as invested in ensuring Indy had a long future of success, including with the Brickyard 400 and Formula One. But Tony really cared. That’s why it was tough to see him unceremoniously removed as chairman by his own family. But I digress. Where was I? Oh right: The US500 was a total mess! 😉

The Michigan 500 used to be the 2nd best oval track racing in the CART Series!

I was at this race and was sitting at turn 4. I remember during the start when all the wreck happened all the tires popping . Sounded like gunshots going off. It was crazy.

The opening of this just reminds me how great a broadcaster Bob Varsha was.

As an Italian and a Zanardi fan since his F1 years, I remember watching both races in a row (Indy500 first). Italian broadcast chose to show both. I was 7 and loved every minute of it, shame about the bad injury for Zampedri.

Those cars were monsters, and man were they gorgeous!

Tony George would has done a lot less damage if he sold the whole damn thing to Roger Penske 25 years earlier.

Two years later at the US 500 (no longer on Memorial Day), Fernandez was involved in a crash that killed 3 fans and was eerily similar to one at this year's Indy 500, but luckily the tire missed the grandstand.

Being a USAC dirt fan from Indiana, I probably have a different view on it than others. I loved the IRL mainly because it gave USAC dirt guys like Tony Stewart a chance that he otherwise never would have gotten in an IndyCar. You could say Stewart still would have been given an opportunity and I'd say just look at Jeff Gordon. His dream was Indy. His quote on the situation is “My dreams of being an Indycar driver got crushed. There really was no doors opening up unless you’re bringing a bunch of money.”

Man, I love these "essay" style videos! I remember watching these races a kid with my dad and you cover them in great detail! 10/10 will continue to subscribe :)

That Crash Was A Total Embarrassment For CART.

I saw the text "in memory of Scott Brayton" written on Jeff Krosnoff's car. 1996 was a sad year....

This really takes me back to that day watching it live, somehow. Sounds similar to what’s happening to pro golf today! Cheers!

I had forged pit passes . Sat at Bobby Rahals tent.

I was there!!! First indy 500 was 86, didn't miss a one till this year. Haven't been back. Thanks again Tony!

So great to hear Bob Varsha's voice again. The BEST open-wheel TV announcer ever!

Oh man, do I miss CART/Champ Car. The series went international, racing in Mexico, Brazil, UK, Germany and Japan (from what I remember). I wish Indycar would do the same. At least come to Mexico, Pato will surely draw the crowds (and it will be an affordable alternative to F1 with their massive price tag)

Jarring to hear all these names and knowing some would die later in crashes, or at least horribly injured.

Great video, thanks! Every time I see footage of the start, I keep hoping they wouldn't have that embarrasing wreck this time 😀

Fascinating piece of history! Great content, congrats.

I was Pennzoil's Indy Car photographer for 10 years and I was there covering the event. I shot the first start from outside turn one. With the red flag stopping the evet my client called me on the radio and said; "Come back to the pits and get me coverage of the team working on the Jim Hall racing car". All the teams could work on their cars. I spend the balance of the day using the team scooter visiting all the good shooting locations at MIS.

dude that greg moore's spin looks eerily familiar. Great video btw

As a fan in the stands, I thought the race was a good replacement for the IRL disaster.

These were the golden years of Cart before it got wrecked by the IRL , it was never the same after that.

Tony George is really the worst. The sport never recovered. It's unbelievable how, in real time, it felt like a crushing blow they could never recover from...and they never did.

I was sitting in turn four and had a wonderful view of the pre-start crap show!

I was at the race, not foo far ahead of the start/finish line. From my perspective, the debacle on the start was caused by polesitter Vasser. Understand that the speeds at MIS were considerably higher than at Indy The cars were set up with aero which really began working at Extremely high numbers. Without checking, my recollection was that average lap speeds were in the 230mph range. Vasser should have brought the field down the back straight and corners 3 and 4 at 180 at least... But it certainly looked more like 140... WAY too slow. Edit: Another thing I remember about the race is that the "Gurney Flap" wicker bill on the rear wing was a fairly recent addition, and at speeds of 230+ (240 on the back straight) the hole punched in the air made drafting exceptionally effective. Slingshot passing was awesome to watch!

Great video, love IRL/CART content!

Another fascinating race recap - thank you so much!

It wasn't a failure because of any crash or DNF, that's racing, it was a failure because it wasn't Indianapolis on Memorial weekend, as the debacle of 1982 didn't faze the Indy 500 one bit.

What a great driver set. Many good drivers who have marked the history of motor racing.

The official start of the IndyCar Cold War as perpetuated by Tony George, thanks a lot... That dude set professional open wheel racing in America back by 10 years...

This video stumbled upon my home page and I'm glad I watched it, good stuff! One of the first races I ever remember watching was the 1992 Indy 500, a lot of names from that in this race! Also, good job explaining some of the rift between IRL and CART, I've never really looked up why they both were a thing, so that was a nice mini history lesson

As a resident of Indiana and going to the Indy 500 every year, our family gave up our tickets at Indy and went to Michigan instead. Looking back I now know it was not a good idea. The last year we went to the US 500 was in 1998, the year the tire went over the fence into the stands. The race was moved that year to July and I have never been back to that track since that day.

In the end they needed each other, the Indy 500 prevailed, and so did road course racing, as the IRL was to be an all oval series.

You make some great videos hope to see you get many more subs. Great stuff man!

Funny how your memory can play tricks on you. I've always remembered that start crash happening on TV Indy race, not Michigan. Only today have I realised I remembered that wrong for 28 years 😅😂

The 1996 US 500, also called the motorsports equivalent of 2017 Justice League

This remains the most overblown moment in the Split. Did this race succeed as a substitute for the Indy 500? Not even a little bit. But CART continued to thrive for the next few seasons, continuing to gain sponsor and manufacturer support, continuing to sell out everywhere (aside from Michigan, it must be said), and certainly looking great in comparison to the IRL, which brought a mix of the horrible officiating fans already were used to seeing at the USAC-sanctioned Indy 500 (how about a mid-lap restart? That sounds fun! And who needs to count laps correctly? Let AJ and Arie fight it out in the pits), crossplane V8 powered cars that sounded like tractors and looked like unlicensed toys, and a driver lineup full of CART backmarkers and newcomers who sounded like they were invented by lazy screenwriters (Racin Gardner...it's right there in his name! And what if we had a guy who's also a dentist? And people like Unsers, so let's get one of those...yeah Robby will do, whatever). When the balance did finally shift in the early 2000s it wasn't directly attributable to a bad start at Michigan 5 years prior. It was-and these are chronological, not necessarily weighted by significance: (a) The overall failure to come up with a premiere event for casual fans to latch onto that would generate the sponsor value the Indy 500 had--it would have been nice if the US 500 had done that, but bad start or not, it was never going to do that. Michigan was capable of generating compelling racing for a few laps at a time, but it ground cars and drivers into the earth and rarely finished with more than a handful running. For fans of the series, it was cool to watch the teams and drivers meet a grueling challenge, but if you watched one race only, Michigan was never going to satisfy. Besides, a direct copycat (let's run a superspeedway race in the midwest in May) offered nothing new. What they probably should have done, if they wanted a superspeedway race to be "the big one," was to lean on Fontana for that starting in 1997, since at least it was in a different region and a different time of year. They never gave Fontana quite the same push they had tried to give Michigan in '96. If they had managed to come up with an answer to the Indy 500, then point B might never have happened. (b) Once Ganassi decided to cherrypick the Indy 500 in 2000, and predictably squashed everybody, CART teams (and perhaps even more so their sponsors) were bound to be tempted to try to do the same. After all, the prestige of Indy might have been tarnished a bit by a handful of lean years, but it certainly wasn't lost altogether, and again from the sponsor perspective, there was still no equivalent "if you watch one race all year watch this one" on the CART calendar. Plus Ganassi had demonstrated how a top-tier team could still crush the IRL regulars. Marlboro was no doubt thrilled to have Penske get their brand back in front of all those TV eyes in 2001...and then they had to take the logos off the car because they lost the legal argument that they were still acting as a CART team even though this was an IRL race (tobacco sponsorship still being allowed in racing, but only one series per brand). No doubt this factored heavily into Penske's decision to switch full-time in 2002. And once the two biggest teams were competing full-time on the IRL side (though Ganassi didn't leave CART just yet) there was a huge momentum shift. (c) Concurrently, for a series whose continued stability depended so much on support from the engine manufacturers, CART did not do a great job keeping them happy. Later in 2001 they acted somewhat hastily to respond to Toyota's complaint that Honda and Ford/Cosworth were cheating the popoff valves by tailoring airflow in the intake plenum to create local low pressure where the valve was. At Detroit, CART suddenly made everybody run a spacer under the valve that would erase this advantage. Frankly, if Honda was cheating and getting extra boost, I would say they had no right to get mad when CART made them stop, but morals and big money rarely mix. CART probably needed to approach this more gently than they did. Instead, Honda got so mad that they decided to leave after 2002, and Toyota, who arguably had started the controversy, decided racing against Honda had been the point all along, so they both went to the IRL for 2003.

Cool vid for a smaller channel dude - Keep it up for sure this was a great rundown

Paul Tracy has looked like a 25 year old Monster chugging Kyle ever since the 90s.

6:19 record for throwing a steering wheel.

Everybody talks about how messed up this was, but no one ever talks about what happened on the last lap at Indy. Guerrero, Salazar, and Zampedri all got involved in a major crash, it was just luck no one was killed, but Zampedri did end up having part of his left foot amputated.

I like the huge tires, makes the cars look more serious.

Indy at mis was absolutely insane though, as a child I remember being so in aww at the speeds around that place

Ngl, Adrian Fernandez looks like he got paid to cause that wreck at the beginning. No idea why he was so close to Jimmy at the start (you can see it like 10 seconds before they actually try to take off), and when everyone is offered the chance to get a backup car his team just... says no? lol I'm kidding ofc, but still that situation was just weird.

We were there. I couldn't remember all the details. Thanks for posting.

I seem to remember that the very first magazine article I read about the IRL when it was still only a concept said they would only compete on ovals and only in the off-season from CART. I was actually excited about it. As it turns out this was not the case. Tony George used The Indy 500 as leverage to kill CART. I have not and will never watch an IRL race. I am content to watch youtube videos of the races up to 1985.

Interesting to hear the voice of Scott Goodyear helping Bob Varsha call that race.

This race was so cringe for CART. You did good covering the split and the dynamics of the weekend. It was a PR turd show for months before, with people and networks throwing their weight around and losing all sight of the fan base as a whole. This race was a debacle, a true 💩 show that presented CART, and Indy racing in general, as a novelty sport to the major networks and casual fans. It could not have lived up to the hype if it went perfect, but definitely was an embarrassment as presented. Teams were glad to leave Michigan that day. Great job covering this race, and the backstory 💯

I miss hearing Bob Varsha call races.

6th place was Eddie Lawson's (4 time 500cc MotoGp champion) best finish, while racing IndyCars. Eddie later decided to go race 250cc super-karts with his friend and also, past 500cc MotoGp champion, Wayne Rainey.

Man, I love those 90s ESPN graphics...

It’s sad to think these names were not at Indy that day and not because of their failures, but of those above them. At least the sport agreed to disagree and settled their differences for the better of the sport as shown today

I remember watching this race's start, and flipping the channel back to Indy after this crash.

Yt finally recommended an actual good video

God I loved watching this race implode. The sheer hubris of scheduling this on the same day as the Indy 500. I’ve never considered any driver who only raced in CART between 1996 and 2003 to be “IndyCar drivers”.

I don't understand safety on Indycar ovals and on some F-1 circuits. Hitting walls, a concrete wall is harder than a car. Why aren't softer materials used than the car? that they dissipate the energy within the limits of physics and the human body. I think there is not enough awareness, maybe the organizer's son would have to run to see how dangerous he is. Now that the danger of fire had been greatly reduced (in the 60s, 70s and 80s the risk was tremendous).

"Not sure what Adrian Fernandez was thinking, he had plenty of space at the right". Bro...what space? Both Herta and Vasser sandwiched him. The track was not as wide as Indy where 3-car rows can be done.

Damn... highlights of Jeff Krosnov and Greg Moore back to back. RIP.

I was there and 12 years old. We saw the stands clearing and my dad heard a good amount of the chatter on his radio that he used to listen to communications

awesome video :) YT algorithm did well today

I'm guessing that the reason 2/3 of the field was DNF by the finish is because they were using "backup" cars, which tend to be older, slower cars with already-heavily-used engines, as opposed to the "main" cars (most of which were destroyed on Lap 1) which were each team's fastest car with best available engine. If that pileup on Lap 1 had _not_ occurred, I think the "attrition" would have been much less, about 1/3 instead of 2/3.

This is one of the many reasons why Indycar/Cart/NA open-wheel declined and failed to have any form of clout to compete against F1 in the minds of the international, and eventually, US public. This era was the last time they had a chance to. Shame, great cars then.

I remember it as yesterday. Couldn’t believe a bunch of amateur racers were taking over the 500

Those 2.65L V8s blew up spectacularly.

These cars were absolute rocketships

Both USAC and CART were very stubborn and selfish as to what direction the open wheel racing in America would go. This controversy was brewing for years and both sides were equally at fault. They were at polar ends as CART for years had been cutting back on oval track races almost to the point that there would be the Indy 500 and the rest street or road courses. With the rise of NASCAR, USAC wanted a 50/50 split on street and road courses to ovals. There used to be every year races at Atlanta, Phoenix, Indy, Milwaukee, Michigan, Nazareth, & Pocono. Not all of them 500 milers. CART w/o the Indy 500 prestige and money kept a few on the schedule for a few more years. USAC wanted to go back to the roots of American open wheel racing with ovals. Neither would budge an inch and compromise and open wheel racing fans suffered. It wasn't all Tony George's fault as this commentator says.I just say thank God it's over.

Where you can get all this footage of old races like these? Or is it possible to watch full races of this Season online?😅

I havent seen that intro since the 90s so nostalgic

Fantastic job by the YT algorithm to recommend this

CART was much better than the IRL but this race was not it's brightest moment

Half shaft broke.......more like the front row was incompetent.

Honestly? I don't get the issue with them allowing the use of backup cars for the restart; if the race had already started, then _absolutely_ it would be a DNF. But as the race hadn't even _started_ yet, IMO that start - and any consequences of that crash - should have been stricken off the record (except perhaps the one who started the pileup in the first place).

Remember that race all to well Was there with my girlfriend what a disaster it was, scary to see that in person

My take is who ever came in the highest position with there original car "not a backup one" won the race.

This is a wonderful presentation ...

You have 666 subs and your channel is too good for such a number so imma have to do my part and subscribe to get that bad number off the channel. Team player checking in!

This has to have been one of the funniest races of all time. I can't believe they couldn't even manage to get the start right. I can't believe they let teams work on their cars and even put in backup cars during the red flag. What a joke. Karma's a b**ch.

To be fair, you could make the argument (discounting parc ferme restrictions) that since they did not take the green flag, cars should be allowed to rejoin

Narrated by my ten year old great grandson. Make me proud.

I have a feeling that Parker Johnston ended up with skid mark on his car from a tire that hit not far from his head during the big start crash. He made a comment something like "Could have technically been a very bad thing."

my god the intro with the title sends shivers

IRL will never be the series that CART was. This one chassie spec series sucks.

9:16 Gugelman?? Hmmm......😂😂 Nice one ESPN!!

That race was close to being a real disaster for another reason as some of the tires with suspension parts separated in that pre-start crash made contact with at least two cars near the cockpit area.

Tony George - his ego was far ahead of his brain. After this split, I permanently left open-wheel racing and only watched NASCAR, which I have also mostly abandoned as of the last five years or so.

I hate Tony George! When CART/Indy were in a great rivalry with F1 he did it.

Imagine if Twitter had been around… Tony George (Owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway) would’ve been “twitting” stuff laughing his a$$ off about this race as it happened

This race divided our family. My wife and her family from Columbus, Ohio went to M.I.S. that day for the US 500. I, with a tough decision to make, on the other hand, took a close friend to I.M.S. with not one but two sets of tickets (one set from my absent in-laws and a second set of my own). At Indy, my friend and I watched the prerace hoopla plus the first 60 laps from my father-in-laws seats in Paddock grandstand. Then we walked to turn 3 (Northeast Vista) to view the rest of the race from my double letter seats. Afterwards, we ate the traditional (for us) smoked turkey leg. M.I.S. didn't have the smoked turkey legs which easily swung the decision for me. Scott Saum

I didn't know James Allen work for espn after the crashes race was an marathon with engines blowups

I was at this race. I agree this day was disaster!!! Not only did the race take forever, but it took over 5 hours to get out of the parking lot.

Looks like they had a big crowd. Never see the engines blow up like this anymore.

Bernie Ecclestone is laughing his little bollocks off to this day

Where is Tony today? He was fired by his own family because he was a incompetent bumbler who runied open wheel racing in North America. Allowing prissy Penske to lap up every thing! The series sucks!!

I honestly like competition between Indianapolis 500 and another race ! Everyone that enjoys these kind of cars racing can’t always go to Indy and this gets attention for another event ! Indy hated the competition with another race!

It’s insane Indy/kart used to be popular. Watch a race now it looks like a practice session. Racing died in the 2000’s

Every one of the drivers was wishing they were at Indy.