Oilpressure

Many are still laughing and joking about the mistake that Marcus Ericsson made on Sunday, when he lost track of his lap count and backed off of the throttle just after taking the white flag. He had mistakenly thought it was the checkered. As it turned out, it only cost him one spot. His run would’ve probably put him inside the eleventh row, but after it was all said and done – Ericsson will start in the middle of the last row.

He probably still is not laughing about it, but one day he will – since the consequences were not dire.

Believe it or not, this was not the first time this had happened. Bob Scott was a promising young driver. Even though he had only driven in two Indianapolis 500s, in 1952 and 1953, he was something of a crowd favorite – by fans and his fellow drivers alike. His good looks and good-natured personality endeared him to fans.

In his rookie year, he started an unimpressive twenty-fifth and finished an equally unimpressive twenty-ninth, falling out after only forty-nine laps. In 1953, he came back with far better qualifying results – starting seventh. Many credit some advice that three-time winner Mauri Rose had given him prior to qualifying. But luck was not on his side in the race and he was out by Lap 14 with an oil leak.

In 1954, Scott had his best ride yet, in the Travelon Trailer Special. He was a first-day qualifier, but eventually got bumped. In those days, once a car was bumped you might as well load it on the trailer. It was no longer eligible to run in the Indianapolis 500 until next year.

Like most drivers did, he was scrambling to find anything to jump into and re-qualify for the race. With twenty minutes to go, he secured an attempt in the Ray Bradley Special. It was not a great car, but Scott was confident he could bump his way back into the field with it.

Surprisingly, he was right…almost. With little practice, he posted a speed on his first lap that would easily make the race. On his second lap, it was even faster. It looked as though he was carrying the car many considered sub-par, into the starting grid.

One of his best friends was driver Bob Sweikert, who would go on to win the 1955 Indianapolis 500-mile race. Sweikert was also one of Scotts biggest supporters on that day. As Scott was taking the white flag, he saw a jubilant Sweikert out of the corner of his eye, jumping up and down. With the late afternoon shadows and seeing his friend celebrating, he thought he had taken the checkered flag, when it was only the white flag.

Sweikert and everyone else heard Scott back off of the throttle and his car slowing down; similar to what happened to Ericsson on Sunday. The only difference was, there was no one to tell him to keep going because there were no radios.

Scott rolled into the pits ready to celebrate when he saw Sweikert with tears in his eyes. Unfortunately, they were not tears of joy. Sweikert blamed himself for celebrating too soon, making Scott think the run had been successfully completed. Scott simply sat in the car and stared ahead in disbelief. Other cars were in line, and there was no time to get Scott back in line, before the gun went off.

Still, Bob Scott opened a lot f eyes that day. He was able to take a below-average dirt car and get speed out of it to best many of the low-slung roadsters of the day. Sadly, less than six weeks later – Bob Scott was fatally injured at a champ car crash at Darlington. He was only twenty-five.

Less than two years later, Bob Sweikert would lose his own life in a crash at the high banks of Salem.

It’s easy to point fingers and have a big laugh at Ericsson’s expense, but now we know it has happened before – at least once, and I’m willing to bet it has happened more than that. There is a lot going on in that cockpit and in a drivers head, when they are fighting for their professional existence. None of us can fully understand the pressure that those drivers are feeling at that moment. With so much at stake, I can understand how a brain-fade can take place on something as mundane as counting laps.

One of these days, Ericsson will probably have a big laugh over it – especially since it did not really affect his race. If it had kept him out of the race, I can’t imagine him ever thinking it was funny. The comments on social media immediately after were especially brutal. JR Hildebrand has had to listen to comparisons to Bill Buckner for the past thirteen years. I’m glad this will end up as noting more than a footnote in Ericsson’s career, instead of a defining moment.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 21, 2024 at 4:04 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.