Brightest Day, Blackest Night: Two Laps at the 1964 Indianapolis 500

This video was, quite simply, not made with my subscribers or usual viewers in mind. In fact, I didn't compile it with the intention of uploading it to YouTube but as an exercise in documentary film-making and the use of disparate source material to construct a single, coherent narrative. It concerns a subject unlikely to be of much interest to them, tragic events of fifty years ago, at the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It was a time of revolution at the Speedway and like most revolutions, this one featured tragedy and grisly, untimely demise.

This video was inspired by a recently published book by Art Garner, "Black Noon." If you find this subject in the least interesting, I highly recommend Garner's book.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find sufficient material on Indy rookie Dave MacDonald to tell his story adequately. And that’s a shame, because he was a rising young star who quite likely could have become legendary as A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, or Bobby Unser. Video clips and still photos of Indy veteran Eddie Sachs, on the other hand, were readily available. Eddie LOVED a camera and was a great talker. And speaking of Eddie, you may be baffled by the song at the end. It was a tune guaranteed always made him cry.