Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys

Camille du Gast wasn't the first woman to get behind the wheel of a race car, but she was the first woman who gained international recognition for doing so when she began taking part in grand epreuves as early as 1901. She was the first woman in France to earn a driver's license, the first woman to hold an official role in the Automobile Club de France.

But to call Camille du Gast a racer and nothing else would be to diminis...

If you're a fan of the Indianapolis 500, then there's a good chance you know who won the first race back in 1911: It was Ray Harroun behind the wheel of a Marmon Wasp, the only driver in the field to opt against using a riding mechanic and running solo — albeit with a little help from a relief driver.

What if I told you that might not be true? What if I told you that we don't actually know with 100% certainty who won the...

On August 21st, 1909, the 300-mile Wheeler-Schebler race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was waved off — not because that weekend's racing had claimed the lives of five drivers, mechanics, and spectators, but because, after the racing had continued, yet another car crashed into a pedestrian bridge crossing the racing surface.

No one was killed in that crash. No; the real reason the race was being flagged was because so many spect...

On May 12, 1957, a group of locals from Guidizzolo, Italy gathered in front of their homes to watch some of the world's finest sports cars flash by en route to the finish line that would mark the end of the grueling Mille Miglia. For 30 years, other locals and previous generations stood alongside that very same ribbon of road, watching that very same race.

But on May 12, a Ferrari 335 S scythed through the crowd, and in an insta...

In April of 1978, a chartered plane full of USAC officials crashed just outside of Indianapolis, killing everyone on board. With American open-wheel racing already in disarray as team owners began to demand greater accountability from their sanctioning body, the plane crash only served to accelerate a battle we've come to know as the Split.

What role did that plane crash play in the ultimate fracturing of CART (Championship ...

From the moment his father died behind the wheel of a race car, Alberto Ascari was haunted by loss. Against his mother's wishes, he pursued a racing career of his own and went on to become Formula 1's first-ever back-to-back World Champion with Ferrari. Still, he was unable to shake the feeling that he was following in his father's footsteps — right down to wondering if he, too, would die behind the wheel.

Throughout his...

When we last left the Formula 1 scene, the 1977 season was underway. Over a decade had passed since the formation of the Formula One Constructors Association — an organization first formed to guarantee better starting, prize, and travel money for low-budget teams, but that had morphed into a powerful force that could challenge for control of the sport.

In this special two-part feature on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're g...

Many of the defining characteristics of modern Formula 1 — two-car teams, limits on who can enter the sport, big-money broadcasting deals, and so much more — are the direct result of a decades-long battle between the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA, which represented the teams) and the Federation du Sport Automobile (FISA, a subsidiary of the FIA). 

Fans have likely heard of the FISA/FOCA war, but truly understanding how ...

In the mid-1960s, the Chevrolet Corvair became the most reviled car in the United States of America. The automotive press loved this zippy rear-engined machine for its crisp handling and its race-y feel — but it didn't take long before the machine to become the center of hundreds of lawsuits alleging that the car was not only responsible for injuring and killing its drivers and passengers, but that General Motors had known that wou...

Enzo Ferrari. Merely speaking his name aloud conjures up grandiose images of a titan of motorsport: his towering presence, the dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. He is the man behind the legendary Scuderia Ferrari, a team that has competed in every single Formula 1 season since the sport was born in 1950, and whose legacy extended back decades even before. Even today, the inimitable Enzo still casts a broad shadow over the motorsp...

On May 2, 1982, the green flag flew for the NASCAR Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and among a grid of legends like Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Benny Parsons, and more was a mystery racer no one had ever heard of before: L. W. Wright.

Wright managed to nab a competition license, a race car, and some positive press, but there was just one problem. He wasn't a race car driver. He was a conman with a big dream and studied co...

The AAA Contest Board was the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the United States until 1956, but the organization that sanctioned the Indy 500 refused to allow Black drivers to compete in its disciplines. Those barriers, however, didn't stop Rajo Jack from pursuing his dream of racing competitively — and he became one of the most influential Black racers in early American motorsport history.

To find out more about Dea...

Motorsport safety is an ever-evolving process, but American open-wheel was ground zero for some of the most exceptional innovations in motorsport medical history — be that in the form of a traveling medical staff, a permanent infield hospital, or a mobile medical center capable of handling severe trauma. This is the story of how IndyCar's groundbreaking safety team came to fruition.

To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terri...

Achille Varzi is one of the most iconic pre-war racing drivers of all time — but we know so little about him outside of his fierce rivalry with Tazio Nuvolari. Why? Perhaps because Varzi nearly lost his career to a morphine addiction that saw him disappear from the public eye and be shunned from polite society.

Varzi's story is as complex as his legacy, and today, we're delving in to learn more.

To find out more about Deadl...

The motorsport world is full of fantastic and particular experiences, but there is one driver's life story that has always particularly fascinated me — that of Roberta Cowell.

See, Cowell was a fighter pilot, a prisoner of war, and a racing driver, which alone would have been enough to build up an impressive resumé. However, she was also the first documented person to receive gender affirming surgery in the United Kingdom, maki...

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, or FIA, is one of the most powerful sanctioning bodies in all of motorsport — but its control has rarely included racing in the United States. Why, then, did the FIA step in to kill the Chaparral 2J, a car that raced OUTSIDE of its jurisdiction? 

Today on DPTJ, we're covering the story of Jim Hall, one of motorsport's most innovative minds, and his Chaparral 2J, the car so ...

At the 1977 Firecracker 400, NASCAR invited two of Europe's most exceptional female racers — Christine Beckers and Lella Lombardi — to make their Cup Series debut… but its goals may not have been particularly noble. Janet Guthrie, who was also competing in that race, felt that NASCAR was attempting to end her career by paying foreign talent to take her down. Today on "Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys," we're delving...

On June 11, 1955, Pierre Levegh's Mercedes-Benz 300SLR launched off the back of Lance Macklin's Austin Healey and into a crowd of spectators gathered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Over 80 people were killed, with an additional 120 injured. It was a tragedy, and it was one that instantly transformed the racing world. 

Today on "Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys," we're delving into the complex aftermath of this hor...

We all know motorsport is dangerous, but for many years, one profession was more dangerous than the rest: Riding mechanics. These men were effectively passengers tasked with making repairs on the fly, keeping an eye on traffic, and even feeding the drivers. Unfortunately, riding mechanics had very little protection, making them especially prone to brutal injuries and deaths in big events like the Indianapolis 500. This is the histo...