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Brake Fix's History of Motorsports
series is brought to you in part
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by the International Motor Racing
Research Center, as well as the
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Society of Automotive Historians,
the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
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Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
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Television turns its gaze on
motorsports by Preston Lerner.
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Preston Lerner is a freelance
writer who has covered racing
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for the past four decades.
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For many years, he was a regular
contributor to Automobile
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Magazine, as well as Road Track.
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Lerner is also the author and co author
of six books, most recently Shelby
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American, The Renegades Who Built the
Cars, Won the Races, and Lived the Legend.
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The material used in Television Turns
Its Gaze on Motorsports is drawn
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from his upcoming book, The Deadliest
Decade, which examines the safety, which
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examines the safety and the commercial
and technological developments that
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transformed racing from 1964 to 1973.
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Lerner's presentation covers the
early and often controversial
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efforts of TV to bring automobile
racing into American living rooms.
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In 1961, a segment from the Indianapolis
500 time trials was broadcast as a part
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of ABC's new Wild World of Sports program.
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During the first few years, racing
coverage was expanded to include
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Formula One, Le Mans, NASCAR, and
even the USAC dirt track races.
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Television dramatically expanded the
reach of the sport, which in turn
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attracted major commercial sponsors.
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By the 1970s, racing had been
transformed into the global
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commercial engine we know today.
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Yet from the beginning, enthusiasts
had a love hate relationship with ABC.
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On one hand, TV coverage confirmed
that racing was a legitimate sport
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rather than a tawdry carnival sideshow.
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On the other, serious fans found the
broadcasts puerile and sensationalistic.
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The camera work was shaky, the
commentary insipid, and the focus
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on accidents infamously morbid.
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Coverage of the fatal wrecks of
Lorenzo Bendini and Roger Williamson
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inspired widespread disgust that
led to improvements in safety.
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This was an unintended consequence,
but it was a product largely
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of television's unblinking eye.
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Preston Lerner is going to be
talking about his television
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turns its gaze on motorsports.
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So I will be speaking today about a
subject drawn from research I'm doing for
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a book about racing from 1964 to 1973.
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If you discount the tragedy at Le Mans
in 1955, this was the deadliest 10
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year stretch of racing history, and
I'll want to explore why that was the
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case and what the ramifications were.
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So I'll be looking at subjects
ranging from the growth of the safety
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industry, sponsorship, technological
developments, and television.
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And in fact, I plan to devote
two chapters to television.
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The second one will look at
the later years and get to
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the financial nitty gritty.
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The first one, and that's the one
I'll be focusing on here today, is
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about the early years and looking
specifically at the United States.
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In one of those delicious ironies
that makes the study of history so
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delightful, television was invented
in 1927 by a young man who'd grown up
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in a log cabin with no electricity.
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For a quarter century after
that, radio was still king.
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In 1943, there were only 6, 000
television sets in the entire country.
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But by the end of the 1950s, 90
percent of all American households
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had at least one television set.
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From the beginning sports was a
major part of broadcast programming.
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Baseball was the biggie back then.
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It was the national pastime.
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It was relatively easy to cover
from a technical standpoint.
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But television also made major sports
out of boxing and professional wrestling.
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And football fans will tell you that
the 1958 sudden death playoff game
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between the Baltimore Colts and New York
Giants is what put the NFL on the map.
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By the late 50s, there were three
major networks left standing,
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same ones we have today.
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So that would be NBC was the oldest, the
most powerful, and the most profitable.
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CBS was second, but it enjoyed tremendous
influence and prestige thanks to the
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news department headed up by Edward R.
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Murrow.
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ABC was a distant and dismal third.
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So far behind the other two, the
NBC executives joked that ABC stood
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for the almost broadcasting company.
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So in the late 1950s, ABC hired
a Harvard Phi Beta Kappa turned
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TV executive by the name of Edgar
Sherrick to run its sports programming.
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Sherrick was whip smart,
excitable, and inscrutable.
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Colleagues described him as
a high strung, mad hatter.
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One of his first hires was an equally
bright, dapper, politically savvy
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young exec by the name of Rune Arledge.
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You know, Arledge and Sherrick
couldn't have been much different
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in terms of personality, but they
shared a common ambition, and that
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was to raise ABC to a level of being
a legitimate rival to CBS and NBC.
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Problem was, they didn't have
the clout or the money to compete
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with NBC and CBS for major sports.
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So they embarked on a program
of business jujitsu and making a
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strength out of their weakness.
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So what they did was, Instead of chasing
after top tier sports, they went after the
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second and third tier events, ones that
Americans knew little or nothing about.
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Two advantages to this approach.
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First of all, the broadcasting rights were
peanuts, so that fit into their budget.
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Second one was since so few Americans
knew about the sport, or knew much
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about these sports, they wouldn't
know how the games had turned
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out before they got to see them.
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And this was critically important
because Sherrick and Arledge didn't
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have the resources, nor, frankly,
did they have the inclination to
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televise any of these events live.
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The idea was to cover them as they
occurred, and they were doing film in
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those days, this is before videotape.
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The film would go back to New
York, where it would be edited into
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dramatic and digestible segments.
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They could then broadcast on a
sports omnibus show that they planned
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to launch on Saturday afternoons.
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So Arledge ran this concept past Curt
Gowdy, veteran announcer of the day.
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And Gowdy told him, that's the
craziest idea I ever heard of.
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It'll never work.
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The Y World of Sports debuted
on April 29th, 1961, and it
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ran continuously until 1998.
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Jim McKay's famous intro, Thrill of
Victory and Agony of Defeat, became one
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of the best known catchphrases in America.
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From the beginning, programming ranged
from the sublime to the ridiculous.
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Anybody here remember barrel jumping?
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How about Acapulco cliff diving?
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Personal favorite.
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Automobile racing fit perfectly
into the eclectic mix that
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Arledge and Sherrick had in mind.
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So on May 27th, 1961, the fifth
weekly installment of Waterworld of
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Sports featured the Indianapolis 500.
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Time trials, that is, not the race.
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The race had been broadcast on local
Indianapolis television in 1949 and 50.
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But after that, Speedway president
Wilbur Shaw, a three time 500 winner,
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decided that the broadcast was cutting
into ticket receipts at the gate,
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so he banned coverage of the race.
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And in 1961, ABC was reduced
to covering time trials.
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instead of the 500 itself.
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Still, it went over pretty well, and
Sherrick decided to dispatch Arledge to
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Paris to see if he could line something
up for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Arledge recalled, I spoke
almost no French, and in fact
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had almost no money to spend.
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No matter, I believe I was the
first American ever to make a
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pitch for television rights.
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In other words, American Broadcasting
Company, in this instance, worked wonders.
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Arledge secured the rights to French
film of the race for a mere 10, 000.
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He hires a color commentator, Sterling
Moss, who was actually racing in a Ferrari
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250 short wheelbase with Graham Hill.
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And Jimmy Kaye came over from the
States to do the play by play.
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The Brockhouse was a success, so
much so that Arledge and Sherrick now
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decided to turn their attention to
NASCAR and the upcoming Firecracker
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250 at Daytona International Speedway.
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But here they ran into a little problem
in the person of Big Bill France, the
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not so benevolent dictator of NASCAR.
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What had happened was the previous year,
CBS had taken a flyer on a covering speed
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week, and that's the orgy of races that
precede and include the Daytona 500.
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The network sent 50 technicians
and two of their biggest guns to
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Florida, anchorman Walter Cronkite
and director of programming Art Peck.
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They were serious car guys, actually.
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Tech was a founder of the Madison
Avenue Sports Car Driving and
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Chowder Society, which, believe it
or not, was a big deal back then.
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And Cronkite had raced Elantria
at Sebring in the 12 hour in 1960.
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So they knew a lot about car racing.
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Unfortunately, they didn't know
anything about stock car racing,
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and the broadcast was a disaster.
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As Chrissy Kahnemacki recalled,
the reviews were devastating,
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just criminally bad.
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But it got worse for NASCAR.
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Two weeks later, NBC cajoled France into
putting on a special made for TV event
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at Daytona called the Autolite Challenge.
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And after France put it together,
he was unhappy to discover that NBC
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was not going to cover the race in
its entirety, but just give it fewer
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than five minutes on the Today Show.
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So he was pretty peeved after that.
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And after getting burned by the two
bigger networks, he wasn't inclined to
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work with the smaller network at ABC.
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That's it.
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So to placate him, Marla and
Sherrick agreed to hire Konamaki
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to provide expert commentary.
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Much to everybody's surprise, this
shotgun wedding turned into an enduring
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and mutually profitable marriage.
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Ikanoumaki was the owner and
editor in chief of National Speed
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Sport News, which was the bible
of American circle track racing.
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He brought with him a granular
understanding of the racing
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world and access to all levels
of the racing fraternity.
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Also, his ability and personality
and willingness to ask tough
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questions made him a natural for TV.
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So he gave ABC instant credibility
with racers, giving it Katamaki
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that is, a platform in front of
millions of television viewers, ABC
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transformed him into the face of
motorsports for the general public.
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During this year in the 1960s,
racing was largely ignored by what
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we now call the mainstream media.
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Other than the Indy 500 and the Monaco
Grand Prix, the only races to merit
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column inches in daily newspapers were
ones where somebody was killed, and
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preferably as spectacularly as possible.
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Now, the car magazines did a wonderful
job covering racing in this era.
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Much better than they
do today, to be honest.
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Problem was that the race reports
didn't appear on newsstands or arrive
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in subscribers mailboxes until a
month, two months, sometimes three
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months after the races had been run.
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So it was really hard to stay abreast
of what was going on in the racing
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world on a daily or weekly basis, even.
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And if you wanted to actually
see the action, you had to
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attend a race in person.
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Dick Wallen was one of the
first people to figuratively
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bring The Mountain to Muhammad.
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Most of you may know him for his fabulous
books, but during the 1960s, he made a
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living shooting, editing, and selling
movies about USAC open wheel racing, from
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Sprint Cars in the Dirt of Du Quoin to
Roadsters on the Bricks at Indianapolis.
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In the 60s, he recalled, People
were starved for any kind of films
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that showed real racing cars.
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We used to put on shows in the
summer during the racing season.
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I'd go into a town, make arrangements
to rent a hall, do the promotion, sell
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tickets to one or two thousand people,
then split the gate 50 50 with the
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driver who worked the show with me.
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Wallen's projects went off so well
that a company called the Music
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Corporation of America, or MCA,
unveiled closed circuit television
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coverage of the Indy 500 in 1964.
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What happened was they beamed black and
white footage to 161 venues all over the
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country, talking about movie theaters,
sports arenas, convention centers,
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wherever they could really get a hall
big enough to justify the broadcast.
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MCA would continue to offer full
circuit coverage until 1970.
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Frankly, they were never a big hit.
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They were just marginal in terms
of attendance and mediocre in
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terms of production values.
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Problem was, people didn't really
want to see racing in movie theaters.
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They wanted to see it in the
comfort of their living rooms.
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And this was an itch that
only television could scratch.
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In the three years after it launched, Y
World of Sports showcased a dozen races.
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IndyCar races, NASCAR races,
Formula 1 races, Le Mans.
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In 65, they went all in on motorsports
with four NASCAR races, two Grand Prixs
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from Monaco and the Nürburgring, a champ
car race on the dirt in Sacramento,
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00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:04,789
and, for the first time ever, a
national broadcast of the Indy 500.
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00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,110
No, it wasn't live.
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00:11:06,230 --> 00:11:09,040
And when the footage was aired the
week after the fact, the race had been
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00:11:09,050 --> 00:11:11,970
edited down to a 45 minute segment
that shared the time slot with the
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00:11:11,970 --> 00:11:13,599
World Pocket Billiards Championship.
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00:11:13,815 --> 00:11:16,725
Even so, it was a big deal, and
ABC would continue to broadcast
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the NBC 500 every year until 2019,
when it lost the contract to NBC.
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In 1967, ABC decided to raise the ante
by broadcasting a race in glorious color.
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00:11:26,464 --> 00:11:26,984
Ooh!
227
00:11:27,839 --> 00:11:28,980
Now this was a big deal back then.
228
00:11:29,219 --> 00:11:30,040
Again, hard to believe.
229
00:11:30,209 --> 00:11:31,110
Sort of ancient history.
230
00:11:31,540 --> 00:11:34,820
For this grand experiment, they decided
to showcase the most glamorous race
231
00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:36,620
on the schedule, Monaco Grand Prix.
232
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,160
Now students of Formula 1 history
already know that the 67 edition
233
00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,900
of Monaco was one of the darkest
in the long history of the race.
234
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,610
On lap 82 of 100, Lorenzo Bandini was
running second in his Ferrari three 12.
235
00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,240
He came out of the tunnel, the top of
fifth gear, bent his car into the chicane,
236
00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:52,980
which was much faster than it is now.
237
00:11:53,130 --> 00:11:54,840
His left side tires clipped the curb.
238
00:11:55,020 --> 00:11:58,980
This sent him Caram into a wooden barrier
on the right, and he bounced back pinball
239
00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:02,250
style to the left towards the quay
overlooking the harbor, and hit at the
240
00:12:02,250 --> 00:12:07,740
precise spot where Alberto Ascari had lost
control of his launch of D 50 in 1955.
241
00:12:08,050 --> 00:12:12,340
Ascari, you may recall, his car actually
flew over the quay, into the harbor,
242
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,380
and he had to be rescued by Frogman, who
had been stationed in the water below.
243
00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:18,860
Had there been a guardrail at this spot,
Bandini's Ferrari would have glanced off
244
00:12:18,860 --> 00:12:20,080
and he probably wouldn't have been hurt.
245
00:12:20,220 --> 00:12:23,180
But there was no guardrail,
because in 1967, no one paid
246
00:12:23,180 --> 00:12:24,660
serious attention to safety.
247
00:12:24,689 --> 00:12:28,200
Not safety of the drivers, not safety of
race officials, not safety of the fans.
248
00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:31,620
So instead of the guardrail, there
was a wall, and I use that term
249
00:12:31,710 --> 00:12:33,670
euphemistically, a wall of hay bales.
250
00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,120
Bandini's Ferrari sheared right
through this wall of hay bales and
251
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,380
clobbered a large iron bollard.
252
00:12:39,590 --> 00:12:42,760
This sheared a wheel off the car,
the Ferrari flipped over a caught
253
00:12:42,780 --> 00:12:45,610
fire, Bandini was trapped in the
cockpit underneath while it burned.
254
00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:49,550
The rescue operation that followed
reached a level of ineptitude that
255
00:12:49,739 --> 00:12:51,019
verged on criminal negligence.
256
00:12:51,369 --> 00:12:55,280
As David Phipps wrote acidly in his
year end review in Autocourse, Lorenzo
257
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,540
Bandini was allowed to die at Monaco.
258
00:12:57,810 --> 00:13:01,380
Firefighters didn't arrive at the scene
for a minute after the accident occurred.
259
00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:03,570
They weren't wearing any protective
gear, so they couldn't get
260
00:13:03,570 --> 00:13:06,380
close enough for their puny fire
extinguishers to have any effect.
261
00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:10,010
Meanwhile, a helicopter, shooting footage
of the event, was hovering overhead,
262
00:13:10,019 --> 00:13:11,729
and its blades were fanning the flames.
263
00:13:12,059 --> 00:13:14,600
Four minutes passed before they
were able to right the car and
264
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:15,920
yank Bandini out of the cockpit.
265
00:13:16,070 --> 00:13:19,570
He was dumped on the pavement like
a sack of potatoes, whereupon the
266
00:13:19,580 --> 00:13:23,820
fuel tank exploded, and the car, and
Bandini, caught fire for a second time.
267
00:13:24,190 --> 00:13:27,090
Why World of Sports caught it
all on film, in grisly color.
268
00:13:27,270 --> 00:13:30,340
The coverage was so egregious that
it captured the attention of New York
269
00:13:30,380 --> 00:13:34,150
Times television critic Jack Gould, who
eviscerated the network in his column.
270
00:13:34,330 --> 00:13:37,689
As he wrote, The manner of the
reportage, particularly since there
271
00:13:37,689 --> 00:13:40,969
was time to do whatever editing might
be dictated by the requirements of
272
00:13:40,969 --> 00:13:42,839
good taste, left much to be desired.
273
00:13:42,999 --> 00:13:46,329
To replay the scene in the stop action
technique common to televised sports
274
00:13:46,329 --> 00:13:49,790
was quite unnecessary, and the scenes
of Bandini's body being dragged down
275
00:13:49,790 --> 00:13:53,150
the street and then being covered by
flames for a second time bordered on the
276
00:13:53,150 --> 00:13:55,749
macabre, especially in vivid color TV.
277
00:13:56,010 --> 00:13:59,370
I should acknowledge, detailed
coverage of wrecks is still a
278
00:13:59,370 --> 00:14:00,660
big part of racing coverage.
279
00:14:00,850 --> 00:14:03,579
Frankly, if you're not involved,
everyone loves a wreck, except
280
00:14:03,699 --> 00:14:05,020
somebody gets seriously hurt.
281
00:14:05,239 --> 00:14:06,420
In that case, all bets are off.
282
00:14:06,569 --> 00:14:09,429
Protocol these days is for television
directors to cut away from the
283
00:14:09,430 --> 00:14:12,000
action as soon as they think
somebody has been seriously injured.
284
00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:14,909
They would never think of showing
emergency crews cutting somebody
285
00:14:14,909 --> 00:14:17,579
out of a cockpit or administering
CPR or something like that.
286
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,770
But that wasn't the way things
were done in the 1960s and 1970s.
287
00:14:20,770 --> 00:14:23,500
So what you have to understand
is that sensationalism
288
00:14:23,510 --> 00:14:24,740
wasn't a bug in the program.
289
00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:26,050
It was the program.
290
00:14:26,300 --> 00:14:29,480
Why World of Sports was in the business
of electrifying its audience, which is
291
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,570
why Evel Knievel was such a regular guest.
292
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,039
The lurid spectacle was fundamental
to racing's appeal to ABC.
293
00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:38,100
The daunting consequences of
failure also make racing seem like
294
00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:40,800
a more serious endeavor than other
Why World of Sports staples like
295
00:14:40,830 --> 00:14:42,340
wrist wrestling and log rolling.
296
00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:45,509
Bandini's death was the first automotive
fatality to be broadcast on the
297
00:14:45,510 --> 00:14:47,030
program, but it wouldn't be the last.
298
00:14:47,349 --> 00:14:50,759
A year later, while covering the Rex
Mays 300 IndyCar race at Riverside,
299
00:14:50,810 --> 00:14:54,379
ABC demonstrated just how blithely
it had ignored Gould's condemnation.
300
00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,489
Lew Sell, a local dentist and a very fine
driver, was coming down the back straight,
301
00:14:58,499 --> 00:15:01,989
fastest part of the track in his Eagle,
lost control under braking for turn 9, and
302
00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:06,805
then in a Gould ish reprise of Bandini's
accident, His car turned over, caught
303
00:15:06,805 --> 00:15:08,185
fire, and he was trapped in the cockpit.
304
00:15:08,395 --> 00:15:11,655
Once again, it took firefighters
far too long to get the fire out.
305
00:15:11,834 --> 00:15:14,754
The camera lingered lovingly on
the scene, then zoomed in for a
306
00:15:14,754 --> 00:15:17,685
close up on the cockpit as the
mangled car was turned over.
307
00:15:17,884 --> 00:15:21,164
I'm certainly afraid of what we're
going to see now, he said in a
308
00:15:21,164 --> 00:15:22,214
hushed tone on the broadcast.
309
00:15:22,435 --> 00:15:26,225
Miraculously, Sel was still alive, and
he laboriously levered himself out of the
310
00:15:26,235 --> 00:15:28,755
cockpit to reveal a badly charred uniform.
311
00:15:29,045 --> 00:15:32,275
Well, that's a pleasant surprise,
isn't it, Ikonomaki said cheerfully?
312
00:15:32,495 --> 00:15:32,945
Was it?
313
00:15:33,145 --> 00:15:35,975
In the production booth, I can imagine
the director gnashing his teeth because
314
00:15:35,985 --> 00:15:37,355
the shot hadn't been more gruesome.
315
00:15:37,665 --> 00:15:40,415
Ironically, ABC's most scathing
critics weren't people like
316
00:15:40,415 --> 00:15:41,534
Jack Gould's New York Times.
317
00:15:41,615 --> 00:15:43,655
You know the type, people who
hate everything about racing.
318
00:15:43,945 --> 00:15:46,804
No, the people who complain the
most bitterly were the fans who
319
00:15:46,804 --> 00:15:49,845
love the sport, like the late,
great columnist Brock Yates.
320
00:15:50,099 --> 00:15:53,610
Car and driver in the wake of Sell's
accident, he wrote sarcastically.
321
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:54,480
Thanks Mr.
322
00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,839
Arledge, for another triumph and good
taste and our best wishes to you and
323
00:15:57,839 --> 00:16:00,990
your crew, and your eager search to
find violence and bloodshed in sport.
324
00:16:01,079 --> 00:16:03,420
Perhaps on some quiet week in
the future, you could bring back
325
00:16:03,420 --> 00:16:07,140
your wondrous footage of the 1967
Lorenzo Bandini Crash at Monaco.
326
00:16:07,260 --> 00:16:10,380
Sort of a golden oldie for all the sickies
out there who missed it the first time.
327
00:16:10,895 --> 00:16:14,135
While it's easy, and I think fair, to
criticize the network for its morbid
328
00:16:14,205 --> 00:16:17,535
coverage, it's worth noting that
the attitudes about death were much
329
00:16:17,535 --> 00:16:18,615
different then than they are now.
330
00:16:18,735 --> 00:16:22,784
The 1960s were only a generation
away from World War II, and we were
331
00:16:22,784 --> 00:16:24,215
still fighting in Southeast Asia.
332
00:16:24,404 --> 00:16:26,835
In fact, combat footage from
Vietnam was routinely being
333
00:16:26,835 --> 00:16:28,264
broadcast on the nightly news.
334
00:16:28,670 --> 00:16:31,550
What rankled racing fans even more
than the fixation on death was the
335
00:16:31,550 --> 00:16:33,500
perceived incompetence of the broadcasts.
336
00:16:33,550 --> 00:16:35,740
From cameras that always seem
to be in the wrong place, to
337
00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:38,459
broadcasters who always seem to be
commenting about the wrong thing.
338
00:16:38,579 --> 00:16:40,989
And there's also a sense that the
broadcasts were being dumbed down for
339
00:16:40,990 --> 00:16:42,620
viewers who didn't know much about racing.
340
00:16:42,690 --> 00:16:45,839
You know, you think about baseball
games, nobody bothers to explain
341
00:16:45,839 --> 00:16:48,569
what a relief pitcher is or
how the infield fly rule works.
342
00:16:48,910 --> 00:16:51,140
And in football games, they don't
tell you what a pass interference and
343
00:16:51,199 --> 00:16:52,780
penalty is or how you get a first down.
344
00:16:52,949 --> 00:16:55,430
But at ABC, the producers behaved
as though the audience consisted
345
00:16:55,430 --> 00:16:56,809
mostly of aliens from outer space.
346
00:16:56,909 --> 00:16:59,319
Every broadcast seemed to feature
a breakdown of how a pit stop
347
00:16:59,319 --> 00:17:02,550
worked, or an explanation, with
graphics no less, of drafting.
348
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,140
The audience was treated like
third graders rather than adults,
349
00:17:05,380 --> 00:17:06,349
and that was really annoying.
350
00:17:06,589 --> 00:17:10,130
By the end of the decade, ABC faced
competition in the racing space.
351
00:17:10,510 --> 00:17:13,390
Again, back then they weren't covering
an entire series the way they do now.
352
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,090
They were just cherry picking the
races that they thought would sell
353
00:17:16,090 --> 00:17:17,740
well or that fit their schedule.
354
00:17:17,930 --> 00:17:20,160
This meant that there were a lot of
races that weren't covered at all.
355
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:23,200
And promoters of these races and
the sanctioning bodies of series
356
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,609
that weren't covered, you know, they
wanted a piece of the television pie.
357
00:17:25,850 --> 00:17:29,449
So they began contracting with small
production companies who put together
358
00:17:29,499 --> 00:17:32,409
racing broadcasts of their own and
sold them to independent TV stations.
359
00:17:32,990 --> 00:17:35,100
The good news was this meant
more television coverage.
360
00:17:35,570 --> 00:17:38,790
Bad news was, since these companies
had fewer resources and less
361
00:17:38,790 --> 00:17:42,090
experience than ABC, their coverage
was, if anything, even worse.
362
00:17:42,300 --> 00:17:45,629
Here's AutoWeek after watching a
particularly pathetic IndyCar broadcast.
363
00:17:46,134 --> 00:17:49,314
Nickel Dime operations being anchored
by announcers who are woefully
364
00:17:49,324 --> 00:17:52,415
ignorant about either racing or
television production or both have
365
00:17:52,415 --> 00:17:53,995
resulted in a string of real dozers.
366
00:17:54,334 --> 00:17:57,764
Shows that rightly end up behind
reruns of Tarzan and the Enraged
367
00:17:57,854 --> 00:18:01,624
Springboks in audience surveys and
could send racing to the same limbo
368
00:18:01,654 --> 00:18:04,995
as roller derby unless somebody takes
the time to learn what it's all about.
369
00:18:05,165 --> 00:18:07,245
The recent Trenton 200 is a case in point.
370
00:18:07,485 --> 00:18:11,155
Two hours of spoon players on the Ted
Mack show wouldn't have approached
371
00:18:11,155 --> 00:18:12,754
it for sheer boring inefficacy.
372
00:18:13,175 --> 00:18:13,425
Ouch.
373
00:18:14,055 --> 00:18:17,255
There was even a fear in some circles
that too much television was a bad thing.
374
00:18:17,425 --> 00:18:21,515
The fear was that television would suck
the magic out of racing and homogenize
375
00:18:21,515 --> 00:18:25,215
it and turn it into a dull, predictable,
made for the boob tube spectacle like
376
00:18:25,244 --> 00:18:26,775
bowling or professional wrestling.
377
00:18:27,195 --> 00:18:30,205
Yates, for example, used his
bully pulpit at Car and Driver to
378
00:18:30,205 --> 00:18:33,335
rail repeatedly about the dangers
posed by promoters and sanctioning
379
00:18:33,335 --> 00:18:36,475
bodies who were, in his opinion,
selling their souls for television.
380
00:18:36,925 --> 00:18:39,565
He thought it was better for
fans to attend races rather than
381
00:18:39,804 --> 00:18:43,014
subsisting on the pre digested
morsels sold out on the airways.
382
00:18:43,345 --> 00:18:47,604
As he wrote, we may be disorganized and
confused, and we may lack status with the
383
00:18:47,614 --> 00:18:50,965
so called sports establishment, but at
least we in motor racing don't have the
384
00:18:50,965 --> 00:18:54,594
leeches from television on our backs, and
for that we can be abundantly grateful.
385
00:18:54,949 --> 00:18:55,629
Uh, yes and no.
386
00:18:55,870 --> 00:18:58,219
I would characterize the
relationship between TV and the
387
00:18:58,219 --> 00:19:01,090
racing community as can't live
with them, can't live without them.
388
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,950
After decades of being marginalized
as the boorish devotees of a de classe
389
00:19:04,970 --> 00:19:08,370
blood sport, racing fans couldn't help
but feel validated by the attention
390
00:19:08,370 --> 00:19:09,820
suddenly being paid to motorsports.
391
00:19:10,230 --> 00:19:13,060
And speaking personally, I've got to
say that even though I would complain
392
00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:16,000
all the time about how bad the coverage
was, I watched every race I could see,
393
00:19:16,460 --> 00:19:18,140
because that was the only game in town.
394
00:19:18,180 --> 00:19:20,919
Watching races on television was
better than not watching them at all.
395
00:19:21,330 --> 00:19:23,990
Eventually, even Yates came
around, and he was seduced by the
396
00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:25,410
siren song of network television.
397
00:19:25,649 --> 00:19:29,400
So after years of relentlessly slamming
ABC and print for a wide variety of
398
00:19:29,410 --> 00:19:33,290
sins, he embarked on a second career
of his own, doing on air TV commentary
399
00:19:33,420 --> 00:19:35,390
for CBS, and later SpeedVision.
400
00:19:35,780 --> 00:19:36,360
And why not?
401
00:19:36,690 --> 00:19:40,130
During the 1960s and 70s, television
broadened the reach of the sport
402
00:19:40,150 --> 00:19:43,000
to an extent that would have been
unfathomable a generation earlier.
403
00:19:43,170 --> 00:19:45,900
This period marked the dawn of
an age when television viewers,
404
00:19:46,020 --> 00:19:48,889
rather than paying spectators,
were the sport's principal drivers.
405
00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:52,209
TV brought racing to millions of
fans who had never seen it before
406
00:19:52,410 --> 00:19:55,479
and weren't likely to travel to
Indy, much less Watkins Glen or
407
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:56,740
the Terre Haute action track.
408
00:19:57,110 --> 00:19:59,179
These new eyeballs suddenly
made racing more attractive
409
00:19:59,239 --> 00:20:00,560
to sponsors large and small.
410
00:20:00,669 --> 00:20:03,239
Two of the major advertisers
on wide world of sports were R.
411
00:20:03,239 --> 00:20:03,449
J.
412
00:20:03,449 --> 00:20:04,749
Reynolds and Brandon Williamson.
413
00:20:04,939 --> 00:20:08,379
In years to come, money from these and
other tobacco companies will become
414
00:20:08,379 --> 00:20:09,959
the lifeblood of the racing industry.
415
00:20:10,249 --> 00:20:11,409
And that was progress, wasn't it?
416
00:20:11,659 --> 00:20:13,350
More fans meant more advertisers.
417
00:20:13,509 --> 00:20:15,039
More advertisers meant more money.
418
00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:18,590
More money meant more professionalism
and R& D, which translated into
419
00:20:18,590 --> 00:20:21,520
more speed, which led to more
excitement and more competition.
420
00:20:21,749 --> 00:20:24,649
But with all these shiny benefits
came one sinister consequence.
421
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,500
Put all the ingredients together and
you had a recipe for more danger, more
422
00:20:28,500 --> 00:20:30,320
accidents, more death and destruction.
423
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,440
According to a wonderful website,
Motorsports Memorial, every year between
424
00:20:34,450 --> 00:20:39,830
1964 and 69 there was on average more than
150 deaths at racetracks around the world.
425
00:20:40,429 --> 00:20:40,799
150.
426
00:20:40,890 --> 00:20:44,479
It's a staggering number and it's sort
of inconceivable, I think, to fans now
427
00:20:44,499 --> 00:20:48,190
who've grown up with a no tolerance
attitude towards fatalities in racing.
428
00:20:48,545 --> 00:20:51,445
It was easy to blame television for
spotlighting the carnage with such
429
00:20:51,445 --> 00:20:54,735
apparent glee, but ABC wasn't the
reason that the drivers and track
430
00:20:54,735 --> 00:20:57,915
officials and fans were being killed
at rates never seen before or since.
431
00:20:58,175 --> 00:21:00,215
Its coverage was a symptom, not a cause.
432
00:21:00,585 --> 00:21:03,105
The first step in any addiction
recovery program is to admit
433
00:21:03,105 --> 00:21:03,875
that you have a problem.
434
00:21:04,085 --> 00:21:07,025
Nothing was going to change in racing
until the leaders of the motorsports
435
00:21:07,045 --> 00:21:11,275
world, sanctioning bodies, promoters,
race officials, spectators, and
436
00:21:11,285 --> 00:21:14,525
yes, even the racers themselves,
admitted that something was wrong.
437
00:21:14,685 --> 00:21:17,974
Then, after acknowledging the enormity
of the problem, they would have to
438
00:21:17,975 --> 00:21:21,025
look inward and ask some awkward
questions about their seemingly
439
00:21:21,055 --> 00:21:22,665
endless tolerance for tragedy.
440
00:21:22,835 --> 00:21:27,085
Until then, public outrage would continue
to grow as the plots in the motorsports
441
00:21:27,095 --> 00:21:28,655
graveyard continued to multiply.
442
00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:31,155
If anybody has any questions,
I'll do my best to answer them.
443
00:21:38,215 --> 00:21:40,445
How did you get all
those archival material?
444
00:21:40,804 --> 00:21:41,854
I'm doing a lot of research.
445
00:21:41,905 --> 00:21:46,205
At this point, I've been doing book
and uh, magazine research from the era.
446
00:21:46,405 --> 00:21:47,485
Done a couple interviews.
447
00:21:47,604 --> 00:21:50,655
I'm actually finishing up doing Motorsport
Magazine, the British publication.
448
00:21:50,695 --> 00:21:53,195
Hoping to start doing real
interviews next couple of weeks.
449
00:21:53,354 --> 00:22:02,044
You were mentioning the failed ABC
broadcast of the 1961 Firecracker 400.
450
00:22:02,215 --> 00:22:06,275
If I'm not mistaken, NASCAR just
released the footage of that
451
00:22:06,275 --> 00:22:08,405
on YouTube not too long ago.
452
00:22:08,515 --> 00:22:13,704
So you can actually see just how clunky
and awkward and horrible the footage was.
453
00:22:13,765 --> 00:22:17,675
I believe it was, I think Keith
Jackson was the host, but that
454
00:22:17,675 --> 00:22:18,884
material is now out there.
455
00:22:18,924 --> 00:22:20,564
And actually, I haven't seen
that particular broadcast.
456
00:22:20,565 --> 00:22:24,115
The funny thing is, is I try to avoid
watching crash videos on YouTube.
457
00:22:24,325 --> 00:22:26,505
And that's been one of the
unfortunate things about this project.
458
00:22:26,755 --> 00:22:28,465
I sort of, I'm required.
459
00:22:28,645 --> 00:22:31,445
You know, I had to watch the Bandini
footage, watch the Lucille footage.
460
00:22:31,445 --> 00:22:32,794
I mean, it's, it's just dreadful.
461
00:22:32,925 --> 00:22:36,215
It's hard to believe that that was
standard practice 50, 60 years ago.
462
00:22:36,495 --> 00:22:40,064
If you haven't read his book that
came out very recently on Shelby
463
00:22:40,064 --> 00:22:42,165
American, the renegades behind it.
464
00:22:42,185 --> 00:22:43,225
That's a great book.
465
00:22:43,274 --> 00:22:44,024
Very interesting.
466
00:22:44,034 --> 00:22:45,194
He's got another one coming out.
467
00:22:45,225 --> 00:22:47,675
He's been working on for a
while that I think will be an
468
00:22:47,684 --> 00:22:49,125
interesting read, The Deadly Years.
469
00:22:49,390 --> 00:22:50,770
Thank you so much, Preston.
470
00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:53,400
I'm so happy that you're one
of our presenters this year.
471
00:22:54,010 --> 00:22:54,070
Thank you.
472
00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:02,460
This episode is brought to you
in part by the International
473
00:23:02,460 --> 00:23:03,870
Motor Racing Research Center.
474
00:23:04,060 --> 00:23:06,560
Its charter is to collect,
share, and preserve the
475
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,449
history of motorsports spanning
continents, eras, and race series.
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00:23:10,649 --> 00:23:14,160
The center's collection embodies
the speed, drama, and camaraderie
477
00:23:14,290 --> 00:23:16,930
of amateur and professional motor
racing throughout the world.
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00:23:17,105 --> 00:23:21,564
The Center welcomes serious researchers
and casual fans alike to share stories of
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race drivers, race series, and race cars
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brought to life through a regular calendar
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To learn more about the Center, visit www.
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org.
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This episode is also brought to you by
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They encourage research into any
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The SAH actively supports the
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organizational records, print
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as well as to broaden and deepen
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wheeled land transportation through
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For more information
about the SAH, visit www.
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autohistory.
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org.
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We hope you enjoyed another awesome
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of this would be possible.
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Brake Fix's History of Motorsports
series is brought to you in part
2
00:00:04,180 --> 00:00:07,640
by the International Motor Racing
Research Center, as well as the
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00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,449
Society of Automotive Historians,
the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
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00:00:11,449 --> 00:00:13,570
Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
5
00:00:16,749 --> 00:00:20,550
Television turns its gaze on
motorsports by Preston Lerner.
6
00:00:21,105 --> 00:00:23,715
Preston Lerner is a freelance
writer who has covered racing
7
00:00:23,724 --> 00:00:25,235
for the past four decades.
8
00:00:25,435 --> 00:00:28,325
For many years, he was a regular
contributor to Automobile
9
00:00:28,325 --> 00:00:30,365
Magazine, as well as Road Track.
10
00:00:30,474 --> 00:00:34,934
Lerner is also the author and co author
of six books, most recently Shelby
11
00:00:34,935 --> 00:00:38,694
American, The Renegades Who Built the
Cars, Won the Races, and Lived the Legend.
12
00:00:39,220 --> 00:00:43,180
The material used in Television Turns
Its Gaze on Motorsports is drawn
13
00:00:43,190 --> 00:00:47,630
from his upcoming book, The Deadliest
Decade, which examines the safety, which
14
00:00:47,630 --> 00:00:51,439
examines the safety and the commercial
and technological developments that
15
00:00:51,439 --> 00:00:54,630
transformed racing from 1964 to 1973.
16
00:00:54,830 --> 00:00:57,829
Lerner's presentation covers the
early and often controversial
17
00:00:57,830 --> 00:01:01,830
efforts of TV to bring automobile
racing into American living rooms.
18
00:01:02,165 --> 00:01:06,975
In 1961, a segment from the Indianapolis
500 time trials was broadcast as a part
19
00:01:06,975 --> 00:01:09,865
of ABC's new Wild World of Sports program.
20
00:01:10,285 --> 00:01:13,325
During the first few years, racing
coverage was expanded to include
21
00:01:13,325 --> 00:01:17,885
Formula One, Le Mans, NASCAR, and
even the USAC dirt track races.
22
00:01:18,184 --> 00:01:21,915
Television dramatically expanded the
reach of the sport, which in turn
23
00:01:21,935 --> 00:01:23,685
attracted major commercial sponsors.
24
00:01:23,835 --> 00:01:26,965
By the 1970s, racing had been
transformed into the global
25
00:01:26,965 --> 00:01:28,575
commercial engine we know today.
26
00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:32,740
Yet from the beginning, enthusiasts
had a love hate relationship with ABC.
27
00:01:33,130 --> 00:01:36,870
On one hand, TV coverage confirmed
that racing was a legitimate sport
28
00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:39,100
rather than a tawdry carnival sideshow.
29
00:01:39,350 --> 00:01:43,590
On the other, serious fans found the
broadcasts puerile and sensationalistic.
30
00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:47,360
The camera work was shaky, the
commentary insipid, and the focus
31
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:49,430
on accidents infamously morbid.
32
00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:53,060
Coverage of the fatal wrecks of
Lorenzo Bendini and Roger Williamson
33
00:01:53,070 --> 00:01:56,500
inspired widespread disgust that
led to improvements in safety.
34
00:01:56,670 --> 00:02:00,679
This was an unintended consequence,
but it was a product largely
35
00:02:00,699 --> 00:02:02,720
of television's unblinking eye.
36
00:02:03,289 --> 00:02:06,370
Preston Lerner is going to be
talking about his television
37
00:02:06,370 --> 00:02:09,240
turns its gaze on motorsports.
38
00:02:09,525 --> 00:02:13,725
So I will be speaking today about a
subject drawn from research I'm doing for
39
00:02:13,734 --> 00:02:16,885
a book about racing from 1964 to 1973.
40
00:02:16,984 --> 00:02:21,964
If you discount the tragedy at Le Mans
in 1955, this was the deadliest 10
41
00:02:21,964 --> 00:02:25,614
year stretch of racing history, and
I'll want to explore why that was the
42
00:02:25,614 --> 00:02:27,104
case and what the ramifications were.
43
00:02:27,289 --> 00:02:31,039
So I'll be looking at subjects
ranging from the growth of the safety
44
00:02:31,039 --> 00:02:34,969
industry, sponsorship, technological
developments, and television.
45
00:02:35,189 --> 00:02:38,069
And in fact, I plan to devote
two chapters to television.
46
00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:40,069
The second one will look at
the later years and get to
47
00:02:40,069 --> 00:02:41,389
the financial nitty gritty.
48
00:02:41,559 --> 00:02:44,439
The first one, and that's the one
I'll be focusing on here today, is
49
00:02:44,439 --> 00:02:47,519
about the early years and looking
specifically at the United States.
50
00:02:48,095 --> 00:02:51,424
In one of those delicious ironies
that makes the study of history so
51
00:02:51,424 --> 00:02:56,054
delightful, television was invented
in 1927 by a young man who'd grown up
52
00:02:56,054 --> 00:02:57,815
in a log cabin with no electricity.
53
00:02:58,035 --> 00:03:00,704
For a quarter century after
that, radio was still king.
54
00:03:00,984 --> 00:03:05,274
In 1943, there were only 6, 000
television sets in the entire country.
55
00:03:05,554 --> 00:03:09,095
But by the end of the 1950s, 90
percent of all American households
56
00:03:09,095 --> 00:03:10,524
had at least one television set.
57
00:03:10,839 --> 00:03:14,470
From the beginning sports was a
major part of broadcast programming.
58
00:03:14,679 --> 00:03:16,160
Baseball was the biggie back then.
59
00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:17,369
It was the national pastime.
60
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,989
It was relatively easy to cover
from a technical standpoint.
61
00:03:20,139 --> 00:03:24,100
But television also made major sports
out of boxing and professional wrestling.
62
00:03:24,279 --> 00:03:28,209
And football fans will tell you that
the 1958 sudden death playoff game
63
00:03:28,209 --> 00:03:32,010
between the Baltimore Colts and New York
Giants is what put the NFL on the map.
64
00:03:32,310 --> 00:03:35,630
By the late 50s, there were three
major networks left standing,
65
00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:36,690
same ones we have today.
66
00:03:36,890 --> 00:03:41,110
So that would be NBC was the oldest, the
most powerful, and the most profitable.
67
00:03:41,550 --> 00:03:46,619
CBS was second, but it enjoyed tremendous
influence and prestige thanks to the
68
00:03:46,619 --> 00:03:48,180
news department headed up by Edward R.
69
00:03:48,210 --> 00:03:48,640
Murrow.
70
00:03:48,919 --> 00:03:50,969
ABC was a distant and dismal third.
71
00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:55,140
So far behind the other two, the
NBC executives joked that ABC stood
72
00:03:55,140 --> 00:03:57,030
for the almost broadcasting company.
73
00:03:57,500 --> 00:04:02,119
So in the late 1950s, ABC hired
a Harvard Phi Beta Kappa turned
74
00:04:02,119 --> 00:04:05,420
TV executive by the name of Edgar
Sherrick to run its sports programming.
75
00:04:05,730 --> 00:04:08,550
Sherrick was whip smart,
excitable, and inscrutable.
76
00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,850
Colleagues described him as
a high strung, mad hatter.
77
00:04:12,199 --> 00:04:16,940
One of his first hires was an equally
bright, dapper, politically savvy
78
00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:18,969
young exec by the name of Rune Arledge.
79
00:04:19,370 --> 00:04:21,820
You know, Arledge and Sherrick
couldn't have been much different
80
00:04:21,899 --> 00:04:24,979
in terms of personality, but they
shared a common ambition, and that
81
00:04:24,979 --> 00:04:30,489
was to raise ABC to a level of being
a legitimate rival to CBS and NBC.
82
00:04:30,860 --> 00:04:34,219
Problem was, they didn't have
the clout or the money to compete
83
00:04:34,220 --> 00:04:36,780
with NBC and CBS for major sports.
84
00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:40,260
So they embarked on a program
of business jujitsu and making a
85
00:04:40,260 --> 00:04:41,380
strength out of their weakness.
86
00:04:41,490 --> 00:04:45,875
So what they did was, Instead of chasing
after top tier sports, they went after the
87
00:04:45,885 --> 00:04:49,405
second and third tier events, ones that
Americans knew little or nothing about.
88
00:04:49,645 --> 00:04:50,945
Two advantages to this approach.
89
00:04:51,005 --> 00:04:54,335
First of all, the broadcasting rights were
peanuts, so that fit into their budget.
90
00:04:54,585 --> 00:04:58,544
Second one was since so few Americans
knew about the sport, or knew much
91
00:04:58,564 --> 00:05:00,724
about these sports, they wouldn't
know how the games had turned
92
00:05:00,724 --> 00:05:01,895
out before they got to see them.
93
00:05:02,185 --> 00:05:05,605
And this was critically important
because Sherrick and Arledge didn't
94
00:05:05,605 --> 00:05:08,715
have the resources, nor, frankly,
did they have the inclination to
95
00:05:08,715 --> 00:05:10,535
televise any of these events live.
96
00:05:10,815 --> 00:05:14,135
The idea was to cover them as they
occurred, and they were doing film in
97
00:05:14,135 --> 00:05:15,635
those days, this is before videotape.
98
00:05:15,845 --> 00:05:18,724
The film would go back to New
York, where it would be edited into
99
00:05:18,724 --> 00:05:21,035
dramatic and digestible segments.
100
00:05:21,385 --> 00:05:25,034
They could then broadcast on a
sports omnibus show that they planned
101
00:05:25,035 --> 00:05:26,645
to launch on Saturday afternoons.
102
00:05:27,025 --> 00:05:30,945
So Arledge ran this concept past Curt
Gowdy, veteran announcer of the day.
103
00:05:31,105 --> 00:05:33,845
And Gowdy told him, that's the
craziest idea I ever heard of.
104
00:05:34,045 --> 00:05:34,815
It'll never work.
105
00:05:35,305 --> 00:05:38,915
The Y World of Sports debuted
on April 29th, 1961, and it
106
00:05:38,915 --> 00:05:40,755
ran continuously until 1998.
107
00:05:40,965 --> 00:05:44,504
Jim McKay's famous intro, Thrill of
Victory and Agony of Defeat, became one
108
00:05:44,505 --> 00:05:46,195
of the best known catchphrases in America.
109
00:05:46,375 --> 00:05:49,795
From the beginning, programming ranged
from the sublime to the ridiculous.
110
00:05:50,104 --> 00:05:51,525
Anybody here remember barrel jumping?
111
00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:53,710
How about Acapulco cliff diving?
112
00:05:53,930 --> 00:05:54,510
Personal favorite.
113
00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,719
Automobile racing fit perfectly
into the eclectic mix that
114
00:05:57,719 --> 00:05:58,940
Arledge and Sherrick had in mind.
115
00:05:59,250 --> 00:06:03,730
So on May 27th, 1961, the fifth
weekly installment of Waterworld of
116
00:06:03,730 --> 00:06:05,510
Sports featured the Indianapolis 500.
117
00:06:05,699 --> 00:06:07,020
Time trials, that is, not the race.
118
00:06:07,390 --> 00:06:11,940
The race had been broadcast on local
Indianapolis television in 1949 and 50.
119
00:06:12,450 --> 00:06:16,070
But after that, Speedway president
Wilbur Shaw, a three time 500 winner,
120
00:06:16,189 --> 00:06:19,080
decided that the broadcast was cutting
into ticket receipts at the gate,
121
00:06:19,090 --> 00:06:20,570
so he banned coverage of the race.
122
00:06:20,729 --> 00:06:23,770
And in 1961, ABC was reduced
to covering time trials.
123
00:06:24,095 --> 00:06:25,285
instead of the 500 itself.
124
00:06:25,585 --> 00:06:29,195
Still, it went over pretty well, and
Sherrick decided to dispatch Arledge to
125
00:06:29,205 --> 00:06:32,805
Paris to see if he could line something
up for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans.
126
00:06:33,135 --> 00:06:36,345
Arledge recalled, I spoke
almost no French, and in fact
127
00:06:36,355 --> 00:06:37,814
had almost no money to spend.
128
00:06:38,095 --> 00:06:41,185
No matter, I believe I was the
first American ever to make a
129
00:06:41,185 --> 00:06:42,334
pitch for television rights.
130
00:06:42,545 --> 00:06:46,245
In other words, American Broadcasting
Company, in this instance, worked wonders.
131
00:06:46,675 --> 00:06:51,405
Arledge secured the rights to French
film of the race for a mere 10, 000.
132
00:06:51,685 --> 00:06:55,955
He hires a color commentator, Sterling
Moss, who was actually racing in a Ferrari
133
00:06:55,995 --> 00:06:57,805
250 short wheelbase with Graham Hill.
134
00:06:57,965 --> 00:07:00,385
And Jimmy Kaye came over from the
States to do the play by play.
135
00:07:00,534 --> 00:07:04,344
The Brockhouse was a success, so
much so that Arledge and Sherrick now
136
00:07:04,344 --> 00:07:07,935
decided to turn their attention to
NASCAR and the upcoming Firecracker
137
00:07:08,465 --> 00:07:09,895
250 at Daytona International Speedway.
138
00:07:10,075 --> 00:07:13,745
But here they ran into a little problem
in the person of Big Bill France, the
139
00:07:13,765 --> 00:07:15,805
not so benevolent dictator of NASCAR.
140
00:07:16,115 --> 00:07:19,365
What had happened was the previous year,
CBS had taken a flyer on a covering speed
141
00:07:19,365 --> 00:07:23,335
week, and that's the orgy of races that
precede and include the Daytona 500.
142
00:07:23,565 --> 00:07:26,505
The network sent 50 technicians
and two of their biggest guns to
143
00:07:26,505 --> 00:07:30,274
Florida, anchorman Walter Cronkite
and director of programming Art Peck.
144
00:07:30,555 --> 00:07:32,155
They were serious car guys, actually.
145
00:07:32,379 --> 00:07:35,569
Tech was a founder of the Madison
Avenue Sports Car Driving and
146
00:07:35,569 --> 00:07:38,429
Chowder Society, which, believe it
or not, was a big deal back then.
147
00:07:38,629 --> 00:07:42,469
And Cronkite had raced Elantria
at Sebring in the 12 hour in 1960.
148
00:07:42,710 --> 00:07:43,939
So they knew a lot about car racing.
149
00:07:44,269 --> 00:07:46,999
Unfortunately, they didn't know
anything about stock car racing,
150
00:07:47,219 --> 00:07:48,769
and the broadcast was a disaster.
151
00:07:49,104 --> 00:07:51,974
As Chrissy Kahnemacki recalled,
the reviews were devastating,
152
00:07:52,155 --> 00:07:53,224
just criminally bad.
153
00:07:53,675 --> 00:07:54,765
But it got worse for NASCAR.
154
00:07:54,865 --> 00:07:59,745
Two weeks later, NBC cajoled France into
putting on a special made for TV event
155
00:07:59,904 --> 00:08:02,245
at Daytona called the Autolite Challenge.
156
00:08:02,765 --> 00:08:06,444
And after France put it together,
he was unhappy to discover that NBC
157
00:08:06,714 --> 00:08:09,575
was not going to cover the race in
its entirety, but just give it fewer
158
00:08:09,575 --> 00:08:11,395
than five minutes on the Today Show.
159
00:08:11,605 --> 00:08:12,985
So he was pretty peeved after that.
160
00:08:13,105 --> 00:08:16,175
And after getting burned by the two
bigger networks, he wasn't inclined to
161
00:08:16,175 --> 00:08:17,835
work with the smaller network at ABC.
162
00:08:17,835 --> 00:08:18,244
That's it.
163
00:08:18,405 --> 00:08:21,495
So to placate him, Marla and
Sherrick agreed to hire Konamaki
164
00:08:21,525 --> 00:08:22,915
to provide expert commentary.
165
00:08:23,289 --> 00:08:26,420
Much to everybody's surprise, this
shotgun wedding turned into an enduring
166
00:08:26,450 --> 00:08:28,070
and mutually profitable marriage.
167
00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:31,149
Ikanoumaki was the owner and
editor in chief of National Speed
168
00:08:31,149 --> 00:08:34,640
Sport News, which was the bible
of American circle track racing.
169
00:08:34,890 --> 00:08:37,659
He brought with him a granular
understanding of the racing
170
00:08:37,789 --> 00:08:41,090
world and access to all levels
of the racing fraternity.
171
00:08:41,324 --> 00:08:44,084
Also, his ability and personality
and willingness to ask tough
172
00:08:44,084 --> 00:08:46,235
questions made him a natural for TV.
173
00:08:46,495 --> 00:08:50,084
So he gave ABC instant credibility
with racers, giving it Katamaki
174
00:08:50,095 --> 00:08:53,105
that is, a platform in front of
millions of television viewers, ABC
175
00:08:53,105 --> 00:08:56,105
transformed him into the face of
motorsports for the general public.
176
00:08:56,395 --> 00:08:59,905
During this year in the 1960s,
racing was largely ignored by what
177
00:08:59,964 --> 00:09:01,405
we now call the mainstream media.
178
00:09:01,655 --> 00:09:05,475
Other than the Indy 500 and the Monaco
Grand Prix, the only races to merit
179
00:09:05,475 --> 00:09:08,655
column inches in daily newspapers were
ones where somebody was killed, and
180
00:09:08,655 --> 00:09:10,785
preferably as spectacularly as possible.
181
00:09:11,219 --> 00:09:14,489
Now, the car magazines did a wonderful
job covering racing in this era.
182
00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:16,229
Much better than they
do today, to be honest.
183
00:09:16,420 --> 00:09:20,810
Problem was that the race reports
didn't appear on newsstands or arrive
184
00:09:20,810 --> 00:09:24,680
in subscribers mailboxes until a
month, two months, sometimes three
185
00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:26,269
months after the races had been run.
186
00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,000
So it was really hard to stay abreast
of what was going on in the racing
187
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:30,810
world on a daily or weekly basis, even.
188
00:09:31,030 --> 00:09:33,150
And if you wanted to actually
see the action, you had to
189
00:09:33,210 --> 00:09:33,970
attend a race in person.
190
00:09:34,300 --> 00:09:36,910
Dick Wallen was one of the
first people to figuratively
191
00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:38,060
bring The Mountain to Muhammad.
192
00:09:38,150 --> 00:09:42,139
Most of you may know him for his fabulous
books, but during the 1960s, he made a
193
00:09:42,140 --> 00:09:45,980
living shooting, editing, and selling
movies about USAC open wheel racing, from
194
00:09:46,100 --> 00:09:49,689
Sprint Cars in the Dirt of Du Quoin to
Roadsters on the Bricks at Indianapolis.
195
00:09:49,979 --> 00:09:53,265
In the 60s, he recalled, People
were starved for any kind of films
196
00:09:53,305 --> 00:09:54,535
that showed real racing cars.
197
00:09:54,765 --> 00:09:57,285
We used to put on shows in the
summer during the racing season.
198
00:09:57,415 --> 00:10:01,345
I'd go into a town, make arrangements
to rent a hall, do the promotion, sell
199
00:10:01,345 --> 00:10:04,715
tickets to one or two thousand people,
then split the gate 50 50 with the
200
00:10:04,715 --> 00:10:05,795
driver who worked the show with me.
201
00:10:06,195 --> 00:10:09,444
Wallen's projects went off so well
that a company called the Music
202
00:10:09,485 --> 00:10:13,725
Corporation of America, or MCA,
unveiled closed circuit television
203
00:10:13,725 --> 00:10:16,674
coverage of the Indy 500 in 1964.
204
00:10:16,754 --> 00:10:20,784
What happened was they beamed black and
white footage to 161 venues all over the
205
00:10:20,784 --> 00:10:24,274
country, talking about movie theaters,
sports arenas, convention centers,
206
00:10:24,274 --> 00:10:27,295
wherever they could really get a hall
big enough to justify the broadcast.
207
00:10:27,750 --> 00:10:31,180
MCA would continue to offer full
circuit coverage until 1970.
208
00:10:31,330 --> 00:10:32,790
Frankly, they were never a big hit.
209
00:10:32,950 --> 00:10:36,810
They were just marginal in terms
of attendance and mediocre in
210
00:10:36,810 --> 00:10:38,150
terms of production values.
211
00:10:38,410 --> 00:10:41,450
Problem was, people didn't really
want to see racing in movie theaters.
212
00:10:41,550 --> 00:10:43,849
They wanted to see it in the
comfort of their living rooms.
213
00:10:44,149 --> 00:10:46,550
And this was an itch that
only television could scratch.
214
00:10:47,030 --> 00:10:50,180
In the three years after it launched, Y
World of Sports showcased a dozen races.
215
00:10:50,180 --> 00:10:53,443
IndyCar races, NASCAR races,
Formula 1 races, Le Mans.
216
00:10:53,443 --> 00:10:57,859
In 65, they went all in on motorsports
with four NASCAR races, two Grand Prixs
217
00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:01,710
from Monaco and the Nürburgring, a champ
car race on the dirt in Sacramento,
218
00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:04,789
and, for the first time ever, a
national broadcast of the Indy 500.
219
00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,110
No, it wasn't live.
220
00:11:06,230 --> 00:11:09,040
And when the footage was aired the
week after the fact, the race had been
221
00:11:09,050 --> 00:11:11,970
edited down to a 45 minute segment
that shared the time slot with the
222
00:11:11,970 --> 00:11:13,599
World Pocket Billiards Championship.
223
00:11:13,815 --> 00:11:16,725
Even so, it was a big deal, and
ABC would continue to broadcast
224
00:11:16,725 --> 00:11:21,035
the NBC 500 every year until 2019,
when it lost the contract to NBC.
225
00:11:21,035 --> 00:11:26,295
In 1967, ABC decided to raise the ante
by broadcasting a race in glorious color.
226
00:11:26,464 --> 00:11:26,984
Ooh!
227
00:11:27,839 --> 00:11:28,980
Now this was a big deal back then.
228
00:11:29,219 --> 00:11:30,040
Again, hard to believe.
229
00:11:30,209 --> 00:11:31,110
Sort of ancient history.
230
00:11:31,540 --> 00:11:34,820
For this grand experiment, they decided
to showcase the most glamorous race
231
00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:36,620
on the schedule, Monaco Grand Prix.
232
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,160
Now students of Formula 1 history
already know that the 67 edition
233
00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,900
of Monaco was one of the darkest
in the long history of the race.
234
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,610
On lap 82 of 100, Lorenzo Bandini was
running second in his Ferrari three 12.
235
00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,240
He came out of the tunnel, the top of
fifth gear, bent his car into the chicane,
236
00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:52,980
which was much faster than it is now.
237
00:11:53,130 --> 00:11:54,840
His left side tires clipped the curb.
238
00:11:55,020 --> 00:11:58,980
This sent him Caram into a wooden barrier
on the right, and he bounced back pinball
239
00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:02,250
style to the left towards the quay
overlooking the harbor, and hit at the
240
00:12:02,250 --> 00:12:07,740
precise spot where Alberto Ascari had lost
control of his launch of D 50 in 1955.
241
00:12:08,050 --> 00:12:12,340
Ascari, you may recall, his car actually
flew over the quay, into the harbor,
242
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,380
and he had to be rescued by Frogman, who
had been stationed in the water below.
243
00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:18,860
Had there been a guardrail at this spot,
Bandini's Ferrari would have glanced off
244
00:12:18,860 --> 00:12:20,080
and he probably wouldn't have been hurt.
245
00:12:20,220 --> 00:12:23,180
But there was no guardrail,
because in 1967, no one paid
246
00:12:23,180 --> 00:12:24,660
serious attention to safety.
247
00:12:24,689 --> 00:12:28,200
Not safety of the drivers, not safety of
race officials, not safety of the fans.
248
00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:31,620
So instead of the guardrail, there
was a wall, and I use that term
249
00:12:31,710 --> 00:12:33,670
euphemistically, a wall of hay bales.
250
00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,120
Bandini's Ferrari sheared right
through this wall of hay bales and
251
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,380
clobbered a large iron bollard.
252
00:12:39,590 --> 00:12:42,760
This sheared a wheel off the car,
the Ferrari flipped over a caught
253
00:12:42,780 --> 00:12:45,610
fire, Bandini was trapped in the
cockpit underneath while it burned.
254
00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:49,550
The rescue operation that followed
reached a level of ineptitude that
255
00:12:49,739 --> 00:12:51,019
verged on criminal negligence.
256
00:12:51,369 --> 00:12:55,280
As David Phipps wrote acidly in his
year end review in Autocourse, Lorenzo
257
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,540
Bandini was allowed to die at Monaco.
258
00:12:57,810 --> 00:13:01,380
Firefighters didn't arrive at the scene
for a minute after the accident occurred.
259
00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:03,570
They weren't wearing any protective
gear, so they couldn't get
260
00:13:03,570 --> 00:13:06,380
close enough for their puny fire
extinguishers to have any effect.
261
00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:10,010
Meanwhile, a helicopter, shooting footage
of the event, was hovering overhead,
262
00:13:10,019 --> 00:13:11,729
and its blades were fanning the flames.
263
00:13:12,059 --> 00:13:14,600
Four minutes passed before they
were able to right the car and
264
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:15,920
yank Bandini out of the cockpit.
265
00:13:16,070 --> 00:13:19,570
He was dumped on the pavement like
a sack of potatoes, whereupon the
266
00:13:19,580 --> 00:13:23,820
fuel tank exploded, and the car, and
Bandini, caught fire for a second time.
267
00:13:24,190 --> 00:13:27,090
Why World of Sports caught it
all on film, in grisly color.
268
00:13:27,270 --> 00:13:30,340
The coverage was so egregious that
it captured the attention of New York
269
00:13:30,380 --> 00:13:34,150
Times television critic Jack Gould, who
eviscerated the network in his column.
270
00:13:34,330 --> 00:13:37,689
As he wrote, The manner of the
reportage, particularly since there
271
00:13:37,689 --> 00:13:40,969
was time to do whatever editing might
be dictated by the requirements of
272
00:13:40,969 --> 00:13:42,839
good taste, left much to be desired.
273
00:13:42,999 --> 00:13:46,329
To replay the scene in the stop action
technique common to televised sports
274
00:13:46,329 --> 00:13:49,790
was quite unnecessary, and the scenes
of Bandini's body being dragged down
275
00:13:49,790 --> 00:13:53,150
the street and then being covered by
flames for a second time bordered on the
276
00:13:53,150 --> 00:13:55,749
macabre, especially in vivid color TV.
277
00:13:56,010 --> 00:13:59,370
I should acknowledge, detailed
coverage of wrecks is still a
278
00:13:59,370 --> 00:14:00,660
big part of racing coverage.
279
00:14:00,850 --> 00:14:03,579
Frankly, if you're not involved,
everyone loves a wreck, except
280
00:14:03,699 --> 00:14:05,020
somebody gets seriously hurt.
281
00:14:05,239 --> 00:14:06,420
In that case, all bets are off.
282
00:14:06,569 --> 00:14:09,429
Protocol these days is for television
directors to cut away from the
283
00:14:09,430 --> 00:14:12,000
action as soon as they think
somebody has been seriously injured.
284
00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:14,909
They would never think of showing
emergency crews cutting somebody
285
00:14:14,909 --> 00:14:17,579
out of a cockpit or administering
CPR or something like that.
286
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,770
But that wasn't the way things
were done in the 1960s and 1970s.
287
00:14:20,770 --> 00:14:23,500
So what you have to understand
is that sensationalism
288
00:14:23,510 --> 00:14:24,740
wasn't a bug in the program.
289
00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:26,050
It was the program.
290
00:14:26,300 --> 00:14:29,480
Why World of Sports was in the business
of electrifying its audience, which is
291
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,570
why Evel Knievel was such a regular guest.
292
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,039
The lurid spectacle was fundamental
to racing's appeal to ABC.
293
00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:38,100
The daunting consequences of
failure also make racing seem like
294
00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:40,800
a more serious endeavor than other
Why World of Sports staples like
295
00:14:40,830 --> 00:14:42,340
wrist wrestling and log rolling.
296
00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:45,509
Bandini's death was the first automotive
fatality to be broadcast on the
297
00:14:45,510 --> 00:14:47,030
program, but it wouldn't be the last.
298
00:14:47,349 --> 00:14:50,759
A year later, while covering the Rex
Mays 300 IndyCar race at Riverside,
299
00:14:50,810 --> 00:14:54,379
ABC demonstrated just how blithely
it had ignored Gould's condemnation.
300
00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,489
Lew Sell, a local dentist and a very fine
driver, was coming down the back straight,
301
00:14:58,499 --> 00:15:01,989
fastest part of the track in his Eagle,
lost control under braking for turn 9, and
302
00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:06,805
then in a Gould ish reprise of Bandini's
accident, His car turned over, caught
303
00:15:06,805 --> 00:15:08,185
fire, and he was trapped in the cockpit.
304
00:15:08,395 --> 00:15:11,655
Once again, it took firefighters
far too long to get the fire out.
305
00:15:11,834 --> 00:15:14,754
The camera lingered lovingly on
the scene, then zoomed in for a
306
00:15:14,754 --> 00:15:17,685
close up on the cockpit as the
mangled car was turned over.
307
00:15:17,884 --> 00:15:21,164
I'm certainly afraid of what we're
going to see now, he said in a
308
00:15:21,164 --> 00:15:22,214
hushed tone on the broadcast.
309
00:15:22,435 --> 00:15:26,225
Miraculously, Sel was still alive, and
he laboriously levered himself out of the
310
00:15:26,235 --> 00:15:28,755
cockpit to reveal a badly charred uniform.
311
00:15:29,045 --> 00:15:32,275
Well, that's a pleasant surprise,
isn't it, Ikonomaki said cheerfully?
312
00:15:32,495 --> 00:15:32,945
Was it?
313
00:15:33,145 --> 00:15:35,975
In the production booth, I can imagine
the director gnashing his teeth because
314
00:15:35,985 --> 00:15:37,355
the shot hadn't been more gruesome.
315
00:15:37,665 --> 00:15:40,415
Ironically, ABC's most scathing
critics weren't people like
316
00:15:40,415 --> 00:15:41,534
Jack Gould's New York Times.
317
00:15:41,615 --> 00:15:43,655
You know the type, people who
hate everything about racing.
318
00:15:43,945 --> 00:15:46,804
No, the people who complain the
most bitterly were the fans who
319
00:15:46,804 --> 00:15:49,845
love the sport, like the late,
great columnist Brock Yates.
320
00:15:50,099 --> 00:15:53,610
Car and driver in the wake of Sell's
accident, he wrote sarcastically.
321
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:54,480
Thanks Mr.
322
00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,839
Arledge, for another triumph and good
taste and our best wishes to you and
323
00:15:57,839 --> 00:16:00,990
your crew, and your eager search to
find violence and bloodshed in sport.
324
00:16:01,079 --> 00:16:03,420
Perhaps on some quiet week in
the future, you could bring back
325
00:16:03,420 --> 00:16:07,140
your wondrous footage of the 1967
Lorenzo Bandini Crash at Monaco.
326
00:16:07,260 --> 00:16:10,380
Sort of a golden oldie for all the sickies
out there who missed it the first time.
327
00:16:10,895 --> 00:16:14,135
While it's easy, and I think fair, to
criticize the network for its morbid
328
00:16:14,205 --> 00:16:17,535
coverage, it's worth noting that
the attitudes about death were much
329
00:16:17,535 --> 00:16:18,615
different then than they are now.
330
00:16:18,735 --> 00:16:22,784
The 1960s were only a generation
away from World War II, and we were
331
00:16:22,784 --> 00:16:24,215
still fighting in Southeast Asia.
332
00:16:24,404 --> 00:16:26,835
In fact, combat footage from
Vietnam was routinely being
333
00:16:26,835 --> 00:16:28,264
broadcast on the nightly news.
334
00:16:28,670 --> 00:16:31,550
What rankled racing fans even more
than the fixation on death was the
335
00:16:31,550 --> 00:16:33,500
perceived incompetence of the broadcasts.
336
00:16:33,550 --> 00:16:35,740
From cameras that always seem
to be in the wrong place, to
337
00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:38,459
broadcasters who always seem to be
commenting about the wrong thing.
338
00:16:38,579 --> 00:16:40,989
And there's also a sense that the
broadcasts were being dumbed down for
339
00:16:40,990 --> 00:16:42,620
viewers who didn't know much about racing.
340
00:16:42,690 --> 00:16:45,839
You know, you think about baseball
games, nobody bothers to explain
341
00:16:45,839 --> 00:16:48,569
what a relief pitcher is or
how the infield fly rule works.
342
00:16:48,910 --> 00:16:51,140
And in football games, they don't
tell you what a pass interference and
343
00:16:51,199 --> 00:16:52,780
penalty is or how you get a first down.
344
00:16:52,949 --> 00:16:55,430
But at ABC, the producers behaved
as though the audience consisted
345
00:16:55,430 --> 00:16:56,809
mostly of aliens from outer space.
346
00:16:56,909 --> 00:16:59,319
Every broadcast seemed to feature
a breakdown of how a pit stop
347
00:16:59,319 --> 00:17:02,550
worked, or an explanation, with
graphics no less, of drafting.
348
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,140
The audience was treated like
third graders rather than adults,
349
00:17:05,380 --> 00:17:06,349
and that was really annoying.
350
00:17:06,589 --> 00:17:10,130
By the end of the decade, ABC faced
competition in the racing space.
351
00:17:10,510 --> 00:17:13,390
Again, back then they weren't covering
an entire series the way they do now.
352
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,090
They were just cherry picking the
races that they thought would sell
353
00:17:16,090 --> 00:17:17,740
well or that fit their schedule.
354
00:17:17,930 --> 00:17:20,160
This meant that there were a lot of
races that weren't covered at all.
355
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:23,200
And promoters of these races and
the sanctioning bodies of series
356
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,609
that weren't covered, you know, they
wanted a piece of the television pie.
357
00:17:25,850 --> 00:17:29,449
So they began contracting with small
production companies who put together
358
00:17:29,499 --> 00:17:32,409
racing broadcasts of their own and
sold them to independent TV stations.
359
00:17:32,990 --> 00:17:35,100
The good news was this meant
more television coverage.
360
00:17:35,570 --> 00:17:38,790
Bad news was, since these companies
had fewer resources and less
361
00:17:38,790 --> 00:17:42,090
experience than ABC, their coverage
was, if anything, even worse.
362
00:17:42,300 --> 00:17:45,629
Here's AutoWeek after watching a
particularly pathetic IndyCar broadcast.
363
00:17:46,134 --> 00:17:49,314
Nickel Dime operations being anchored
by announcers who are woefully
364
00:17:49,324 --> 00:17:52,415
ignorant about either racing or
television production or both have
365
00:17:52,415 --> 00:17:53,995
resulted in a string of real dozers.
366
00:17:54,334 --> 00:17:57,764
Shows that rightly end up behind
reruns of Tarzan and the Enraged
367
00:17:57,854 --> 00:18:01,624
Springboks in audience surveys and
could send racing to the same limbo
368
00:18:01,654 --> 00:18:04,995
as roller derby unless somebody takes
the time to learn what it's all about.
369
00:18:05,165 --> 00:18:07,245
The recent Trenton 200 is a case in point.
370
00:18:07,485 --> 00:18:11,155
Two hours of spoon players on the Ted
Mack show wouldn't have approached
371
00:18:11,155 --> 00:18:12,754
it for sheer boring inefficacy.
372
00:18:13,175 --> 00:18:13,425
Ouch.
373
00:18:14,055 --> 00:18:17,255
There was even a fear in some circles
that too much television was a bad thing.
374
00:18:17,425 --> 00:18:21,515
The fear was that television would suck
the magic out of racing and homogenize
375
00:18:21,515 --> 00:18:25,215
it and turn it into a dull, predictable,
made for the boob tube spectacle like
376
00:18:25,244 --> 00:18:26,775
bowling or professional wrestling.
377
00:18:27,195 --> 00:18:30,205
Yates, for example, used his
bully pulpit at Car and Driver to
378
00:18:30,205 --> 00:18:33,335
rail repeatedly about the dangers
posed by promoters and sanctioning
379
00:18:33,335 --> 00:18:36,475
bodies who were, in his opinion,
selling their souls for television.
380
00:18:36,925 --> 00:18:39,565
He thought it was better for
fans to attend races rather than
381
00:18:39,804 --> 00:18:43,014
subsisting on the pre digested
morsels sold out on the airways.
382
00:18:43,345 --> 00:18:47,604
As he wrote, we may be disorganized and
confused, and we may lack status with the
383
00:18:47,614 --> 00:18:50,965
so called sports establishment, but at
least we in motor racing don't have the
384
00:18:50,965 --> 00:18:54,594
leeches from television on our backs, and
for that we can be abundantly grateful.
385
00:18:54,949 --> 00:18:55,629
Uh, yes and no.
386
00:18:55,870 --> 00:18:58,219
I would characterize the
relationship between TV and the
387
00:18:58,219 --> 00:19:01,090
racing community as can't live
with them, can't live without them.
388
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,950
After decades of being marginalized
as the boorish devotees of a de classe
389
00:19:04,970 --> 00:19:08,370
blood sport, racing fans couldn't help
but feel validated by the attention
390
00:19:08,370 --> 00:19:09,820
suddenly being paid to motorsports.
391
00:19:10,230 --> 00:19:13,060
And speaking personally, I've got to
say that even though I would complain
392
00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:16,000
all the time about how bad the coverage
was, I watched every race I could see,
393
00:19:16,460 --> 00:19:18,140
because that was the only game in town.
394
00:19:18,180 --> 00:19:20,919
Watching races on television was
better than not watching them at all.
395
00:19:21,330 --> 00:19:23,990
Eventually, even Yates came
around, and he was seduced by the
396
00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:25,410
siren song of network television.
397
00:19:25,649 --> 00:19:29,400
So after years of relentlessly slamming
ABC and print for a wide variety of
398
00:19:29,410 --> 00:19:33,290
sins, he embarked on a second career
of his own, doing on air TV commentary
399
00:19:33,420 --> 00:19:35,390
for CBS, and later SpeedVision.
400
00:19:35,780 --> 00:19:36,360
And why not?
401
00:19:36,690 --> 00:19:40,130
During the 1960s and 70s, television
broadened the reach of the sport
402
00:19:40,150 --> 00:19:43,000
to an extent that would have been
unfathomable a generation earlier.
403
00:19:43,170 --> 00:19:45,900
This period marked the dawn of
an age when television viewers,
404
00:19:46,020 --> 00:19:48,889
rather than paying spectators,
were the sport's principal drivers.
405
00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:52,209
TV brought racing to millions of
fans who had never seen it before
406
00:19:52,410 --> 00:19:55,479
and weren't likely to travel to
Indy, much less Watkins Glen or
407
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:56,740
the Terre Haute action track.
408
00:19:57,110 --> 00:19:59,179
These new eyeballs suddenly
made racing more attractive
409
00:19:59,239 --> 00:20:00,560
to sponsors large and small.
410
00:20:00,669 --> 00:20:03,239
Two of the major advertisers
on wide world of sports were R.
411
00:20:03,239 --> 00:20:03,449
J.
412
00:20:03,449 --> 00:20:04,749
Reynolds and Brandon Williamson.
413
00:20:04,939 --> 00:20:08,379
In years to come, money from these and
other tobacco companies will become
414
00:20:08,379 --> 00:20:09,959
the lifeblood of the racing industry.
415
00:20:10,249 --> 00:20:11,409
And that was progress, wasn't it?
416
00:20:11,659 --> 00:20:13,350
More fans meant more advertisers.
417
00:20:13,509 --> 00:20:15,039
More advertisers meant more money.
418
00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:18,590
More money meant more professionalism
and R& D, which translated into
419
00:20:18,590 --> 00:20:21,520
more speed, which led to more
excitement and more competition.
420
00:20:21,749 --> 00:20:24,649
But with all these shiny benefits
came one sinister consequence.
421
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,500
Put all the ingredients together and
you had a recipe for more danger, more
422
00:20:28,500 --> 00:20:30,320
accidents, more death and destruction.
423
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,440
According to a wonderful website,
Motorsports Memorial, every year between
424
00:20:34,450 --> 00:20:39,830
1964 and 69 there was on average more than
150 deaths at racetracks around the world.
425
00:20:40,429 --> 00:20:40,799
150.
426
00:20:40,890 --> 00:20:44,479
It's a staggering number and it's sort
of inconceivable, I think, to fans now
427
00:20:44,499 --> 00:20:48,190
who've grown up with a no tolerance
attitude towards fatalities in racing.
428
00:20:48,545 --> 00:20:51,445
It was easy to blame television for
spotlighting the carnage with such
429
00:20:51,445 --> 00:20:54,735
apparent glee, but ABC wasn't the
reason that the drivers and track
430
00:20:54,735 --> 00:20:57,915
officials and fans were being killed
at rates never seen before or since.
431
00:20:58,175 --> 00:21:00,215
Its coverage was a symptom, not a cause.
432
00:21:00,585 --> 00:21:03,105
The first step in any addiction
recovery program is to admit
433
00:21:03,105 --> 00:21:03,875
that you have a problem.
434
00:21:04,085 --> 00:21:07,025
Nothing was going to change in racing
until the leaders of the motorsports
435
00:21:07,045 --> 00:21:11,275
world, sanctioning bodies, promoters,
race officials, spectators, and
436
00:21:11,285 --> 00:21:14,525
yes, even the racers themselves,
admitted that something was wrong.
437
00:21:14,685 --> 00:21:17,974
Then, after acknowledging the enormity
of the problem, they would have to
438
00:21:17,975 --> 00:21:21,025
look inward and ask some awkward
questions about their seemingly
439
00:21:21,055 --> 00:21:22,665
endless tolerance for tragedy.
440
00:21:22,835 --> 00:21:27,085
Until then, public outrage would continue
to grow as the plots in the motorsports
441
00:21:27,095 --> 00:21:28,655
graveyard continued to multiply.
442
00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:31,155
If anybody has any questions,
I'll do my best to answer them.
443
00:21:38,215 --> 00:21:40,445
How did you get all
those archival material?
444
00:21:40,804 --> 00:21:41,854
I'm doing a lot of research.
445
00:21:41,905 --> 00:21:46,205
At this point, I've been doing book
and uh, magazine research from the era.
446
00:21:46,405 --> 00:21:47,485
Done a couple interviews.
447
00:21:47,604 --> 00:21:50,655
I'm actually finishing up doing Motorsport
Magazine, the British publication.
448
00:21:50,695 --> 00:21:53,195
Hoping to start doing real
interviews next couple of weeks.
449
00:21:53,354 --> 00:22:02,044
You were mentioning the failed ABC
broadcast of the 1961 Firecracker 400.
450
00:22:02,215 --> 00:22:06,275
If I'm not mistaken, NASCAR just
released the footage of that
451
00:22:06,275 --> 00:22:08,405
on YouTube not too long ago.
452
00:22:08,515 --> 00:22:13,704
So you can actually see just how clunky
and awkward and horrible the footage was.
453
00:22:13,765 --> 00:22:17,675
I believe it was, I think Keith
Jackson was the host, but that
454
00:22:17,675 --> 00:22:18,884
material is now out there.
455
00:22:18,924 --> 00:22:20,564
And actually, I haven't seen
that particular broadcast.
456
00:22:20,565 --> 00:22:24,115
The funny thing is, is I try to avoid
watching crash videos on YouTube.
457
00:22:24,325 --> 00:22:26,505
And that's been one of the
unfortunate things about this project.
458
00:22:26,755 --> 00:22:28,465
I sort of, I'm required.
459
00:22:28,645 --> 00:22:31,445
You know, I had to watch the Bandini
footage, watch the Lucille footage.
460
00:22:31,445 --> 00:22:32,794
I mean, it's, it's just dreadful.
461
00:22:32,925 --> 00:22:36,215
It's hard to believe that that was
standard practice 50, 60 years ago.
462
00:22:36,495 --> 00:22:40,064
If you haven't read his book that
came out very recently on Shelby
463
00:22:40,064 --> 00:22:42,165
American, the renegades behind it.
464
00:22:42,185 --> 00:22:43,225
That's a great book.
465
00:22:43,274 --> 00:22:44,024
Very interesting.
466
00:22:44,034 --> 00:22:45,194
He's got another one coming out.
467
00:22:45,225 --> 00:22:47,675
He's been working on for a
while that I think will be an
468
00:22:47,684 --> 00:22:49,125
interesting read, The Deadly Years.
469
00:22:49,390 --> 00:22:50,770
Thank you so much, Preston.
470
00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:53,400
I'm so happy that you're one
of our presenters this year.
471
00:22:54,010 --> 00:22:54,070
Thank you.
472
00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:02,460
This episode is brought to you
in part by the International
473
00:23:02,460 --> 00:23:03,870
Motor Racing Research Center.
474
00:23:04,060 --> 00:23:06,560
Its charter is to collect,
share, and preserve the
475
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,449
history of motorsports spanning
continents, eras, and race series.
476
00:23:10,649 --> 00:23:14,160
The center's collection embodies
the speed, drama, and camaraderie
477
00:23:14,290 --> 00:23:16,930
of amateur and professional motor
racing throughout the world.
478
00:23:17,105 --> 00:23:21,564
The Center welcomes serious researchers
and casual fans alike to share stories of
479
00:23:21,564 --> 00:23:26,105
race drivers, race series, and race cars
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480
00:23:26,105 --> 00:23:29,794
brought to life through a regular calendar
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481
00:23:30,124 --> 00:23:33,024
To learn more about the Center, visit www.
482
00:23:33,074 --> 00:23:34,214
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483
00:23:34,544 --> 00:23:34,945
org.
484
00:23:35,175 --> 00:23:38,814
This episode is also brought to you by
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485
00:23:39,014 --> 00:23:42,225
They encourage research into any
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486
00:23:42,324 --> 00:23:46,405
The SAH actively supports the
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487
00:23:46,750 --> 00:23:50,210
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488
00:23:50,330 --> 00:23:53,320
as well as to broaden and deepen
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489
00:23:53,379 --> 00:23:56,839
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490
00:23:57,070 --> 00:24:00,780
For more information
about the SAH, visit www.
491
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:01,580
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492
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org.
493
00:24:07,020 --> 00:24:11,350
We hope you enjoyed another awesome
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494
00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:13,230
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495
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