Gordon Eugene Smiley (April 20, 1946 – May 15, 1982) was an American
race car driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
who was killed in a single-car crash at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
.
He was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.
SCCA and road racing career
Driving his first race at age 19, Smiley was an accomplished road racer. He raced
SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
Formula Ford,
Formula Atlantic,
Formula 1000
Formula 1000 (F1000) is an open wheel class of Formula car racing, with professional and amateur series worldwide. Formula 1000 gets its name from the 1000 cc (1.0 L) super-bike engine used to power a single seat, open wheel race car with f ...
,
Can-Am
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
History
Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
,
Formula 5000 and
Formula Super Vee, winning in each series while setting 25 track records, winning the SCCA Midwest Divisional Championship four times. He recorded two pole positions at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, with a best finish of second in Formula Ford in 1971.
In 1979, he raced in the
British Formula One Championship (sometimes called the "Aurora Formula One Championship") for the Surtees Team, and in 11 races he had eight top-10 finishes, including a win, which is the last by an American in an FIA sanctioned event, at Silverstone, England in 1979. He also disputed the F1 non-championship
1979 Race of Champions
The 1979 Race of Champions was a Formula One non-championship motor race held at Brands Hatch, United Kingdom on 15 April 1979. The field was made up of seven Formula One cars that competed in the World championship while the rest of the field usu ...
in
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
, finishing 10th with a
Tyrrell.
Indy career
Smiley raced in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
twice, in 1980 and 1981, and was killed while trying to qualify for a third in 1982.
In the
1980 Indianapolis 500
The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. Afte ...
, Smiley qualified Patrick Racing's Valvoline Phoenix/Cosworth in 20th position. His race ended when the turbocharger blew on lap 47, causing him to finish 25th. In the
1981 Indianapolis 500
The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the winne ...
, Smiley qualified the Patrick Racing Intermedics Wildcat VIII/Cosworth, qualifying 8th and led 1 lap, but finishing 22nd after a crash on lap 141. His crash set up the
controversial finish to the Indy 500 between teammate
Mario Andretti and
Bobby Unser
Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. Fo ...
.
After the 1981 CART season ended, Smiley was released from Patrick Racing, but was essentially traded to a Patrick-affiliated ride, Fletcher Racing.
Death
In 1982, record speeds were being set during qualification for the
1982 Indianapolis 500
The 66th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1982. Gordon Johncock, who had previously won the rain-shortened 1973 race, was the winner. Polesitter Rick Mears finished second by a m ...
. Both
Kevin Cogan and
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...
set new single lap and 4-lap records in their attempts.
Smiley went out for a qualifying attempt an hour later. On the second warm up lap his car began to
oversteer while rounding the third turn, causing the car to slightly slide. When Smiley steered right to correct this, the front wheels gained grip suddenly, sending his car directly across the track and into the wall nose first at nearly . The impact shattered the March chassis, which completely disintegrated, causing the fuel tank to explode, and sent debris, including Smiley's exposed body, into the catch fence and then back onto the track, tumbling hundreds of feet across the short-chute connecting turns 3 and 4. Smiley died instantly from massive trauma inflicted by the severe impact. His death was the first at Indy since 1973 when
Art Pollard
Artle Lee Pollard, Jr. (May 5, 1927 – May 12, 1973), was an American racecar driver.
Born in Dragon, Utah, and raised in the Portland, Oregon area, Pollard drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965–1973 seasons, with 84 ...
and
Swede Savage
David Earl "Swede" Savage Jr. (August 26, 1946 – July 2, 1973) was an American race car driver. He died at age 26 from complications while recovering from injuries suffered in a crash during the 1973 Indianapolis 500, nearly five weeks
Early ...
were killed and, to date, the last driver to die during qualifying.
Smiley's funeral was held on May 20, 1982 and he was buried in his birth location in Nebraska.
CART medical director Steve Olvey, who was on staff at the time, discussed the crash in his 2006 autobiography, ''Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver'':
Olvey later said in his book that in the aftermath of the wreck, he and the IndyCar paramedic team declared Smiley to have died at the scene. It caused a circus and led to the racing standard of not declaring a driver dead at the track unless he is incinerated or decapitated.
Smiley's team-mate
Desiré Wilson
Desiré Randall Wilson (born 26 November 1953) is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non ...
was in the pit garage when the remains of his car were brought back. In 2010, she recounted:
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Indianapolis 500 results
See also
*
List of fatalities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The following is a list of 73 individuals killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 42 drivers, one motorcyclist, 13 riding mechanics, and 17 others including a pit crew member, track personnel, and spectators. All fatalities are related to Cham ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiley, Gordon
1946 births
1982 deaths
Atlantic Championship drivers
Filmed deaths in motorsport
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska
Racing drivers from Nebraska
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in Indiana
Trans-Am Series drivers
SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers
British Formula One Championship drivers
Champ Car drivers