From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gordon Eugene Smiley (April 20, 1946 - May 15, 1982) was an American race car driver from Omaha, Nebraska who was killed in a crash while attempting to qualify for the 1982 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. While rounding Indianapolis Motor Speedway's third turn, his car began to oversteer. When Smiley steered right to correct this, the front wheels gained traction suddenly, sending his car head-on into the wall at nearly 200 mph. The impact shattered and completely disintegrated the vehicle, which tumbled in pieces -- including Smiley's exposed body -- across the short-chute connecting turns 3 and 4. Smiley died instantly from massive internal trauma inflicted by the severe impact. Smiley is the last driver to date who died at Indianapolis during a qualifying attempt.
[edit] Indy 500 results
| Year |
Car |
Start |
Qual |
Rank |
Finish |
Laps |
Led |
Retired |
| 1980 |
70 |
20 |
186.848 |
9 |
25 |
47 |
0 |
Turbocharger |
| 1981 |
60 |
8 |
192.988 |
13 |
22 |
141 |
1 |
Crash T4 |
| Totals |
188 |
1 |
|
|
| Starts |
2 |
| Poles |
0 |
| Front Row |
0 |
| Wins |
0 |
| Top 5 |
0 |
| Top 10 |
0 |
| Retired |
2 |
|
[edit] See also
Gordon Smiley hailed from Grapevine, Texas.
[edit] External links
