Geoff Bodine's Craftsman Truck Series truck is torn to shreds after being sent into the fence. Despite the horrific nature of the crash, Bodine was able to fully recover from his injuries and return to racing.
Geoff Bodine's Craftsman Truck Series truck is torn to shreds after being sent into the fence. Despite the horrific nature of the crash, Bodine was able to fully recover from his injuries and return to racing.
100 comments
Imagine watching this live!
Yeah, and the people on the tribune:hold the 2000
Dude, my family and I were in old field tower.. I thought for sure he was dead.
@Michael Freeland no you didn’t liar!
I did. And it SUCKED . ..
To this day I am shaking my head on how he survived that. That was brutal.
And 7 years after this comment, we’re still looking at it and wondering how, what amazing technology these vehicles have
I’m also shaking my head
WAIT WHAT HES STILL ALIVE? HOW! NO WAY, I mean his truck literally EXPLODED
@Brody Loliva he did my guy
It’s a great testament to modern design, engineering and innovation that horrendous crashes like this and the one involving Romain Grosjean in F1 are much more survivable now.
Thank you NASCAR for providing uncut and unaltered recordings of these sorts of events. It proves that not only are you providing profitable sports-entertainment to the masses — you have hearts and souls and truly care for the sport, the spectators AND the athletes.
Well this IS the official nascar channel so…
The only thing more spectacular than this crash is that he survived. Good on you man, good on you.
Rydog5392 no he didn’t
@PA Mountains yeah, that’s right I was thinking of someone else. Was gonna delete it, but I couldn’t find it.
@Rydoggo5392 sorry its 1 year ago but, is that dale sr?
@PorchManThree in this crash? No it’s Geoff Bodine. Dale Sr died in 2001.
@Rydoggo5392 im so confused
There was no sudden stops. All the flipping and fire looked horrific but it was dissipating the energy and not putting it all on the driver.
that’s a good point but about half way through the wreck he to one hell of a shot. you cant really tell from the angle show here, but there is one angle from the infield that really shows it. it kinda resembles when a kicker kicks the football on a kick off. he had almost stopped rolling then got punted another 50 yards at least.
There was a sudden stop, the first impact with the catch fencing near as stopped him dead like Austin Dillon’s in ’15, then the rest of the field carried him along.
I just left the old Saturday race of Michael Waltrip’s Bristol race.almost a complete stop in a stupid fence connection to the outside wall.he rode in a golf cart to the infield clinic.i never seen a wreck worse and doesn’t even get on a stretcher or ambulance
Right. But there’s a lot more than “sudden stops” to worry about in a wreck like this!
@Randy Johnson And when asked how he was he responded in one of the most perfect ways you could “A couple contusions and a little confusion… But I’m alright.”
I remember watching this with my grandpa when i was four years old. He used to race in the 60’s and 70’s, and has been a racing fanatic for his entire life. When this crash happened he immediately turned the tv off, and left the room with the most disgusted look on his face that i have ever seen on a human being. This is absolutely one of the worst crashes i have ever seen, and i am very grateful that Geoff is still alive.
@Brandon Ryan Racing in the 60s and 70s, he probably turned it off because he probably thought that you just saw someone die on TV
Trust me, I know. I grew up watching races with him, as he’s the one who got me addicted to motorsports in the first place. The very next year was the same way. We had the whole family together to watch the 500, and when Dale died it was rough for him, and for all of us. It took a while for me to understand, because practically everything I owned had that infamous black #3 plastered on it. I was obsessed with the guy, so when he died, it was as though I’d lost a brother.
@Brandon Ryan
@Beans What was his reaction when he heard that he survived
You could hear it in their voices. They thought that they just watched somebody die.
They sound like they are fighting back tears.
@DavidRSAT what if he had a hanns devies
@Jon Dickison Yeah, I was watching it live as well. By far the scariest moment I’ve ever seen live for any sport.
Yep
I was watching the race live and I thought the same thing. I was very surprised/relived to see him moving while on the stretcher. I’m glad that Geoff Bodine is still here with us today.
15 years later, this happened to Austin Dillon in almost the same spot. A major difference, however, is that there is an off-limits area between the first row and the fence, which limited fan injuries in Dillon’s wreck to just scratches and bruises.
BTW, a reason why a replay wasn’t shown is because the broadcast crew didn’t think Geoff Bodine survived.
@BLZ Moto that’s too crazy to think about. Noone should survive that type of crash but MW is doing fine. It’s a true miracle
Keldeo Gamer22 pawn stars raire and expensive guitars
Years later Newman crashed kinda the same
And ryan newman almost killed in that same spot and crash style
@Keldeo Gamer22 You’re shittin’ me.
very impressed with the commentators here: utmost professionalism in such a dire situation.
No replay of what happened until absolute confirmation of the extent of spectator injuries.
@PhilipTheBigOne exactly my thoughts as well.
@Ryan Sheehan so true. He botched a lot of calls (even forgot Andy petree’s name once) but he did know how to handle a tragic crash and that was very important
q ed
t
16 years ago, I saw the scariest damn NASCAR wreck I’d ever seen in my life. 16 years later, this remains to be the one.
Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman’s crash was also pretty scary but this was by far the scariest
@WestCoastFishing you are lucky not to see russel Phillips wreck
Ryan Newman’s in 2020 was close but this still takes the cake
Truee
Let’s not forget about the one Richard Petty survive, when he rolled parallel to the fence. He rip down half mile of fence and if memory is correct a spector was hurt or killed. It was Dayton 1988
this was one of the few bad accidents where you can tell the commentators were sure he was dead, in other fatal accidents they didn’t know till after the accident happend and after they got confirmation later. In this case they were very certain Bodine was dead. Its very fortunate he wasn’t killed.
I’ve seen some of wrecks Richard Petty was in it’s amazing he is alive when its your time it’s your time . This so reminded me of Richard Petty’s wreck .He got hit in the cage after the catch fence got a hold of him .
@TheSupradude26 In the old “board racing”, which was like motorcycle nascar on wooden tracks, they thought watching a rider get killed was part of the fun, photographers would take pictures of people with the body. I guess a lot of the crowd and riders were WW1 vets, and had a much darker attitude.
or spectators
Mono is is f1
He got really lucky
If anyone is wondering, the remains of his truck are located at the Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, North Carolina.
@Lucas Sipka Oh thats pretty cool fan you tell me what’s over there please
@IT’SME I think it deserves to be there. As Charlie said, there were at least four separate moments in this accident that could have (maybe _should_ have) easily been fatal crashes in their own rights. Geoff essentially had four different potentially fatal crashes in fifteen seconds: the catch fence, the first impact (kinda hard to see, but right as he comes out of the smoke at 0:09 he gets T-boned hard by the 27 truck), then the second impact that sent him into the air after you thought it was over, and then all throughout and after that you had the fuel fire. By the time the wreck came to rest and stayed there, it was pretty much just a crumpled roll cage with two tires and a passenger. There’s a few pictures floating around that show Geoff’s truck (which at that point had about as much left to it as what’s in the museum now) in mid-flip about ten feet in the air with Geoff’s body almost completely exposed.
To see that wreckage and the footage of this crash and realize “He _lived_ through _this!?”_ is a great testament to how far safety has come with NASCAR. The fire-retardant racing suits and protective helmets, the five- or six-point seat harnesses, the new seats that actually wrap around the drivers’ ribcage and shoulders, the window nets, roof flaps, and of course the all-important catch fences. If those fences hadn’t been as well designed as they were, even back then, not only would Geoff likely have died but tons of burning debris from his crash, or maybe even the whole truck, would’ve flown into the grandstands and killed dozens of spectators. Hell, this crash was in 2000, and the amazing SAFER barriers didn’t exist until 2002. The wreck of his truck I think stands as a great testament to “Look how far we’ve come. We’ve improved this sport and this technology so much that Geoff Bodine is _alive._ That was 20 years ago and things have only gotten better ever since. That’s why this is here.”
When i get to NC i wanna see it
@WestCoastFishing same
Was not wondering but thanks!
A shout-out to Announcers Marty Reid, Benny Parsons, and Ray Evernham – class acts under the worst of conditions.
I could tell who all three announcers were within the first couple seconds
As a fellow announcer, there are very few moments that leave you speechless. This is definitely one of them. I remember watching this race and just not knowing what to think. Testament to NASCAR for making the safety requirements for these trucks and cars. Also props to Daytona International Speedway and all the other racetracks for their continuous work to try to make their facilities safer.
Benny Parsons was the best RIP
Ned jarret
They were great . Thank God mike joy didn’t announce this one .
It’s weird really….I remember watching this randomly and seeing that Bodine survived after a crash like that, but just a year later at the same race track, in what (in my opinion) seemed to be a very mild crash ended up being fatal.
+Florian Niedermair While that’s true, it was also documented that Bodine’s helmet made contact with (either) the wall and/or asphalt after hitting the catch fence, giving him the broken cheek, jaw, and a concussion
Florian Niedermair
Michael Benedict and an added “bonus”, if you want to call it that, the trucks roll cage actually broke. Another wrong hit from a truck, and he’s dead for sure.
Rip dale #3
R.I.P Dale Earnhardt Sr.
I’m simply in awe that Geoff survived this. I think the announcers were 99% certain that he didn’t survive. They didn’t even raise their voices as most announcers would do when a wreck happens. Stunned silence. Speechless. Gosh…
Nascar rules
I watched this live and I knew he was dead. Everyone knew he was dead. That just wasn’t a survivable wreck. If the catch fence didn’t kill him, the first impact did. If the first impact didn’t kill him, the second impact(when he was hit after his truck stopped rolling and launched another 20 feet in the air) surely did. If the second impact didn’t kill him, the fire did. Its one of those times where every single moment of every single second had to be perfect. Surviving that wreck has about the same odds as you drawing straws 5 times in a row and picking the right one every time.
You ‘thought’
Geoff Bodine survived
People learn how dramatic irony works challenge 2021
@Zeroskator1 Wanted ratio
@wvXvxvXvw you should choose words that convey what you mean.
Changing the meaning of words is beyond dramatic license.
Makes ya look ghey
As much as I love a good NASCAR crash, this is the one crash you never wanna see
(2019 Big One at Daytona is the “good NASCAR crash”, as in not injuring anyone seriously but still being significant enough to eliminate several drivers, in case you were wondering what a “good NASCAR crash” meant)
you know sometimes you need to thank god he survived
Ryan Newman’s wreck today looked frighteningly similar to this. The fact that both Bodine and Newman survived is an absolute miracle.
Newmans wreck looked nowhere close to this
Right
True
Lol ok
@FacelessNas 64 The similarity is how the 32 t-boned the 6.
“We may have spectators injured, as well”
Damn. The weight of that ‘as well’. He was already counting Bodine as dead. Chilling.
The worst injury to a spectator was a teenage girl who suffered a broken arm.
@Scott Mervis Not to downplay the broken arm, but I’m thankful that it wasn’t any worse. Those catchfence wrecks are always scary to watch.
That “yep” after the first impact was him basically saying “yeah Bodine is dead” honestly a miracle there wasn’t a fatality spectator or racer
“This is gonna hurt” They knew it was gonna be bad from such high speed