1976 John Banks flip @ Daytona (High Quality)

Canadian racer John Banks flips during a qualifying race at Daytona in 1976. Banks reportedly flipped at least 15 times after his Dodge underwent a series of corkscrews and barrel rolls.

News articles of the crash:

Chicago Tribune (2/13/76): Banks' accident brought on the first of three caution flags that caused a full third of the race to be run at speeds not much faster than you'd find on the Dan Ryan at high noon. He was just going into the first turn on the third lap when his right fender hit the wall. As he bounced off like a ping-pong ball he was tapped by Earle Canavan and went totally out of control, his car flipping and corkscrewing end over end and sideways through the turn. The entire scene was obscured by smoke but it was estimated that the car made more than a dozen airborne revolutions…

Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal (2/13/76): The first race was marred by a wild wreck in which the racer of John Banks, Windsor, Ont., barrel rolled at least 15 frightening times going into the first turn on the third lap. Banks was treated at the field hospital and then taken to Halifax Hospital where he will be kept under observation for 24 to 48 hours. Dr. Al Monaco, at the track hospital, said Banks was conscious and didn't seem to be seriously injured. He suffered a possible concussion and multiple abrasions.

Herald-Journal (2/13/76): The opener was marred by a multicar wreck on the third lap which sent driver John Banks of Windsor, Ontario to a nearby hospital with multiple bruises and a possible concussion. He was scheduled to remain hospitalized for one or two days, although his injuries were not considered serious. Banks’ Dodge hit the wall coming out of the tri-oval, bounced back into traffic and was apparently hit by Earle Canavan’s Dodge. The Banks car sailed into a wild side-over-side spin as dust clouded the turn.

Lakeland Ledger (2/13/76): “I didn’t see the wreck, only the pieces on the track.” David Pearson said here Thursday following the first of two 125-mile qualifying races for Sunday’s Daytona 500. “When I came in the pits, I told Leonard (Wood) ‘He’s got to be dead, there’s no way he could come out of it.’” But fortunately John Banks wasn’t dead. In fact, he wasn’t even as seriously injured as Dave Decker, who was listed in serious condition with a possible broken sternum in a local hospital after he spun out on the backstretch in the second race. Banks wreck, in which he went end over end 15 times by some counts going through the first turn, and Decker’s injury overshadowed qualifying race wins by Dave Marcis and Darrell Waltrip as the field was completed for Sunday’s race.

Mid Cities Daily News (2/13/76): In the first of Thursday’s two events, John Banks, a Canadian, lost control of his Dodge as he passed the start-finish line and headed into turn one with only four laps gone. His vehicle skidded into the apron, began tumbling end-over-end, and bounced back into the track scattering debris over a wide area. He was pulled from the mass of tangled metal apparently unharmed, but was taken to a local hospital for observation.

Waycross Journal-Herald (2/13/76): The first caution flag was thrown because of a bad accident in the first turn, involving Earle Canavan, “Do”, L.M. Faustina, Gary Myers, and John Banks. Banks, Windsor, Ont., was the only one seriously injured. He rolled his car about 15 times before his Dodge landed upright. The field hospital reported he was conscious upon arrival and said he was alright. Hospital spokesman reported Banks received possible concussion, and many cuts and bruises and they were sending him to Halifax General Hospital in Daytona.

Windsor Star (2/13/76): Windsor’s Johnny Banks, left, was taken to a Daytona Beach, Fla. Hospital Thursday with a possible concussion and multiple cuts and bruises after his car rolled end-over-end and sideways in a stock car qualifying race at Daytona’s International Speedway. At least three other cars were involved in the smash, but the other drivers were able to make pit repairs and continue racing. Banks’ Dodge was turned into a crumpled wreck in the crash on the Speedway’s first turn during the first of two qualifying races for Sunday’s Daytona 500 stock car race. Banks, who has been racing about 25 years, took two cars and a team of eight men with him to Daytona. The Dodge he wrecked Thursday was apparently the better, more powerful machine. When first taken to the Speedway’s infirmary following the crash, Banks insisted to doctors he was all right.

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