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Looking for rare pic of Duke Nalon '49 fiery crash

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  • #1

    Looking for rare pic of Duke Nalon '49 fiery crash

    I was going thru all the year-by-year Indy 500 YouTubes from a site that posted in another thread (my lunchtime ritual) and happened upon the well-known Duke Nalon fiery crash in '49. The person who posted the video explained that the Iron Duke survived by holding his breath. I added that he jumped out of the car and landed outside the track, probably while the car was still moving. You can't see it in any of the famous films.

    There is however a very clear still photo of him bailing out apparently taken from a scaffolding outside of turn 3. I did a google image search and found one photo, but I don't think this is the one I remember seeing - it's too far away and too blurry compared to the one I recall seeing- I don't know if it was on the internet or in a book- I do recall recognizing the photographers name and what pops into my head is Bob Tronolone, but I don't know if he dates back that far.

    anyway, just wondering if anyone on TF knows the image I'm talking about and if and where I could find that image on the internet or in a book- I don't really need it for any specific project, just sorta bugged that I can't find it

    here's the one I found that isn't nearly as good as the one I remember



    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    this shows the scaffolding where the two pics were probably shot from- I wonder where the Duke is in this shot?



    Uploaded with ImageShack.us
    "Charging a man with murder here was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."- Capt. Willard, Apocolypse Now
    "Ain't nuthin' like [being with a woman], 'cept maybe the Indy 500."- Bunny, Platoon
    "To alcohol! The cause of- and solution to- all of life's problems."- Homer J. Simpson
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  • #2
    A lesser quality reprint then the one you posted of Duke bailing out of the car is included in Novi Vol 1 by Peters&Greuter. They credited the pictuer as coming from Bruce Craig Pictures

    I doubt if the picture below is Nalon. The story is that his suit was rather damaged by the fire and this suit looks only dirty


    Indyote

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Indyote View Post
      A lesser quality reprint then the one you posted of Duke bailing out of the car is included in Novi Vol 1 by Peters&Greuter. They credited the pictuer as coming from Bruce Craig Pictures

      I doubt if the picture below is Nalon. The story is that his suit was rather damaged by the fire and this suit looks only dirty


      Indyote

      I think that's it- it was Bruce Craig who took the shot- thanks!

      but I wonder why you consider it to be lesser quality- I recall it appeared to be taken with a telephoto and was spot-on for focus

      yeh, I wasn't saying that was Duke in the foreground of the second pic, just wondering where he was at that point- IIRC he was burned pretty bad along with some other injuries as well- must have carried him off somewhere at the time the second pic was taken
      "Charging a man with murder here was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."- Capt. Willard, Apocolypse Now
      "Ain't nuthin' like [being with a woman], 'cept maybe the Indy 500."- Bunny, Platoon
      "To alcohol! The cause of- and solution to- all of life's problems."- Homer J. Simpson

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Stick500 View Post
        .......- I wonder where the Duke is in this shot?
        ......
        Duke has already been taken away in the ambulance. The fire in the car was basically allowed to burn itself out. The yellow came out as soon as the crash happened but since Duke got out of the car under his own power and the car was not blocking the racing line the green light came back on after only 1 minute and 45 seconds. The race resumed and the rest of the cars drove through the burning fuel running down the track for several laps before the fire went out. After the car cooled down some two wreckers backed up to wall outside the track and attempted to lift the car over wall with one boom hooked to the rear of the car and the other to the front. They couldn't lift the heavy Novi and dropped it a couple of times before giving up. The car then sat there until the end of the race. Some time after that a big Hyster lifter of some type came out and picked up the car taking it down the track and back to the Garage Area. BTW, there are several examples of wrecked race cars being left on the track over the years in the 500. Clear into the 1960s the green light sometimes stayed on after a spin if it was out of the way of the rest of the cars. And often a car that had spun would be restarted in the infield after being towed and rejoin the race without the yellow ever being shown.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Stick500 View Post
          IIRC he was burned pretty bad
          Duke suffered severe burns, particularly to his legs, which gave him trouble for the rest of his life.

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          • #6
            That's a heckuva photo, I've never seen it before. Thanks for posting it, Stick. Indyrjc's post gives that great detail which makes so many 500's come alive. Thanks.

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            • #7
              This help?

              Duke Nalon - Google Search
              https://www.google.com/search?q=Duke+Nalon&q=source%3Alife&tbm=isch#q=duke+nalon+crash&tbm=isch


              ==

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