Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys

Camille du Gast wasn't the first woman to get behind the wheel of a race car, but she was the first woman who gained international recognition for doing so when she began taking part in grand epreuves as early as 1901. She was the first woman in France to earn a driver's license, the first woman to hold an official role in the Automobile Club de France. But to call Camille du Gast a racer and nothing else would be to diminish a lifetime of accomplishments. She donned the title of exploratrice, traveling the world while also competing in motor boat racing, fencing, skiing, tobogganing, fencing, and hot air ballooning. She was the controversial subject of a pornographic scandal, and the intended target of a failed murder plot hatched by none other than her only daughter. And while that might have been enough to push a person into hiding for the remainder of her life, Camille du Gast wouldn't be silenced. Instead, she became a prominent activist campaigning for the rights and dignified treatment of both women and animals.  This week on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're delving deeper into the remarkable life of Camille du Gast and situating her turn-of-the-century accomplishments within the greater context of women in motorsport. To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys  Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/  Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.social Follow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoys Follow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_pod Watch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.social Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstock Order Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy Episode Bibliography:  Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris — The Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St. Clair Cars at Speed: The Grand Prix Circuit by Robert Daley https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/news/women-in-motorsport-social-history-camille-du-gast/ [https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/news/women-in-motorsport-social-history-camille-du-gast/] https://guides.loc.gov/feminism-french-women-history/famous/camille-du-gast [https://guides.loc.gov/feminism-french-women-history/famous/camille-du-gast] https://web.archive.org/web/20150608201218/http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/racing/wiwc/bios/pioneers/CamilleDuGast.pdf [https://web.archive.org/web/20150608201218/http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/racing/wiwc/bios/pioneers/CamilleDuGast.pdf] https://www.vintag.es/2023/05/camille-du-gast.html [https://www.vintag.es/2023/05/camille-du-gast.html] https://blog.imagesmusicales.be/camille-du-gast-the-valkyrie-of-motorsports/ [https://blog.imagesmusicales.be/camille-du-gast-the-valkyrie-of-motorsports/] https://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/01/camille-du-gast.html [https://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/01/camille-du-gast.html]  https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjd61.7?seq=12 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjd61.7?seq=12]  https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-fascinating-and-surprising-history?r=3mpdgy&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true [https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-fascinating-and-surprising-history?r=3mpdgy&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true]  https://gettingaround.substack.com/p/dufayel-paris-had-the-most-beautiful-staircase [https://gettingaround.substack.com/p/dufayel-paris-had-the-most-beautiful-staircase]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/80620267/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/80620267/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/41522580/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/41522580/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-paris-berlin-motor-carriage-rac/ [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-paris-berlin-motor-carriage-rac/] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19020920.2.64.36 [https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19020920.2.64.36] https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721163 [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721163] https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721181 [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721181]

If you're a fan of the Indianapolis 500, then there's a good chance you know who won the first race back in 1911: It was Ray Harroun behind the wheel of a Marmon Wasp, the only driver in the field to opt against using a riding mechanic and running solo — albeit with a little help from a relief driver. What if I told you that might not be true? What if I told you that we don't actually know with 100% certainty who won the inaugural Indy 500? Today on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to continue our discussion from last week concerning the founding of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the chaotic first races held at the track in its first three years of existence. This week, it's all about the inaugural Indy 500 — and about trying to track down who it was that really won the first edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys  Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/  Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.social Follow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoys Follow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_pod Watch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.social Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstock Order Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy Episode Bibliography:  * Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and the Birth of the Indy 500 by Charles Leerhsen * https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-hundred-years-of-the-indy-500-158836397/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-hundred-years-of-the-indy-500-158836397/] * https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/expert-sets/105790/#:~:text=The%20first%20Indianapolis%20500%2DMile,Indy%20500%20from%20the%20grandstand [https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/expert-sets/105790/#:~:text=The%20first%20Indianapolis%20500%2DMile,Indy%20500%20from%20the%20grandstand].

On August 21st, 1909, the 300-mile Wheeler-Schebler race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was waved off — not because that weekend's racing had claimed the lives of five drivers, mechanics, and spectators, but because, after the racing had continued, yet another car crashed into a pedestrian bridge crossing the racing surface. No one was killed in that crash. No; the real reason the race was being flagged was because so many spectators had flocked to the pedestrian bridge to gape at the wreckage that the whole structure was sagging. That, finally, gave Speedway personnel a reason to call things off. In the days that followed, newspapers erupted with condemnations about auto racing — but before we can really understand the outcry and its impact on the motorsport scene in America, we need to understand more about the man who concocted the audacious scheme to build a 2.5-mile race track in Indiana within the first decade of the 20th century. Today on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to delve into the life of Speedway founder and confidence man Carl Fisher, and how his harebrained marketing schemes brought to life a track that still hosts one of the world's greatest motorsport events. Over the next two episodes, we're looking at the early history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and how, against all odds, it became an American institution. To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys  Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/  Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.social Follow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoys Follow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_pod Watch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.social Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstock Order Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy Episode Bibliography:  * Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and the Indy 500 by Charles Leerhsen * https://web.archive.org/web/20120920022310/http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/library-and-archives/notable-hoosiers/carl-fisher [https://web.archive.org/web/20120920022310/http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/library-and-archives/notable-hoosiers/carl-fisher]  * https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles/prest-o-lite [https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles/prest-o-lite]

On May 12, 1957, a group of locals from Guidizzolo, Italy gathered in front of their homes to watch some of the world's finest sports cars flash by en route to the finish line that would mark the end of the grueling Mille Miglia. For 30 years, other locals and previous generations stood alongside that very same ribbon of road, watching that very same race. But on May 12, a Ferrari 335 S scythed through the crowd, and in an instant, nine spectators were dead — cut down just outside their homes. This was the crash that would kill the Mille Miglia, Italy's iconic 1,000-mile race from Brescia to Rome. Ask around, though, and you might find that the tragedy of civilian deaths was nothing compared to the horror of that Ferrari's driver, Spanish nobleman Alfonso de Portago. If you watched the 2023 film Ferrari starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, then you're likely familiar with this incident; the crash shown at the end of the movie is the very one that ended the Mille Miglia. Today on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” though, we're going to turn our gaze to the driver in question, Alfonso de Portago, in order to better understand how some motorsport accidents are deemed more tragic than others thanks to the mythic status drivers like Portago held.  To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys  Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/  Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.social Follow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoys Follow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_pod Watch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.social Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstock Order Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy Episode Bibliography:  * Cars at Speed by Robert Daley * The Limit by Michael Cannell * Enzo Ferrari by Brock Yates * https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/05/20/horror-in-italy [https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/05/20/horror-in-italy]  * https://www.history.com/news/the-horrific-1957-ferrari-crash-that-ended-the-mille-miglia-race [https://www.history.com/news/the-horrific-1957-ferrari-crash-that-ended-the-mille-miglia-race]  * https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1956/26/another-mille-miglia-with-moss/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1956/26/another-mille-miglia-with-moss/]  * https://www.newspapers.com/image/503267169/?match=1&terms=%22de%20portago%22&_gl=1%2adnjufr%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/503267169/?match=1&terms=%22de%20portago%22&_gl=1%2adnjufr%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  * https://www.newspapers.com/image/717878577/?match=1&terms=%22de%20portago%22&_gl=1%2a1x6c31p%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/717878577/?match=1&terms=%22de%20portago%22&_gl=1%2a1x6c31p%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds] * https://archive.org/details/sim_car-and-driver_1957-08_3/page/n70/mode/1up [https://archive.org/details/sim_car-and-driver_1957-08_3/page/n70/mode/1up]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/70006822/?match=1&terms=mille%20miglia [https://www.newspapers.com/image/70006822/?match=1&terms=mille%20miglia]

In April of 1978, a chartered plane full of USAC officials crashed just outside of Indianapolis, killing everyone on board. With American open-wheel racing already in disarray as team owners began to demand greater accountability from their sanctioning body, the plane crash only served to accelerate a battle we've come to know as the Split. What role did that plane crash play in the ultimate fracturing of CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) from USAC? And how did that crash unsettle the very foundations of American motorsport as we knew it? That's exactly what we'll find out in this episode of “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys.” To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys  Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/  Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.social Follow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoys Follow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_pod Watch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.social Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstock Follow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstock Order Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy Episode Bibliography:  * Indy Split: The Big Money Battle that Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing by John Oreovicz * The IndyCar Wars: The 30-Year Fight for Control of American Open-Wheel Racing by Sigurd E. Whitaker * https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/13/The-widows-of-five-US-Auto-Club-officials-killed/8257384843600/ [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/13/The-widows-of-five-US-Auto-Club-officials-killed/8257384843600/] * https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=169290 [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=169290] * https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/04/23/plane-crash-claims-usac-officials/8012327/ [https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/04/23/plane-crash-claims-usac-officials/8012327/] * https://oilpressure.com/2012/04/23/a-night-to-remember/ [https://oilpressure.com/2012/04/23/a-night-to-remember/]  * https://www.usacracing.com/news/a-tribute-to-those-lost-in-the-1978-usac-plane-crash [https://www.usacracing.com/news/a-tribute-to-those-lost-in-the-1978-usac-plane-crash]  * https://static1.squarespace.com/static/583d8975cd0f686c5dea13d7/t/590dc64229687fab6af914f8/1494074952454/USAC-plane-crash-Article-2.pdf [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/583d8975cd0f686c5dea13d7/t/590dc64229687fab6af914f8/1494074952454/USAC-plane-crash-Article-2.pdf] * https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/13/The-widows-of-five-US-Auto-Club-officials-killed/8257384843600/ [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/13/The-widows-of-five-US-Auto-Club-officials-killed/8257384843600/]  * https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a5cpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hckEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1079%2C1093218 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a5cpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hckEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1079%2C1093218]  * https://www.newspapers.com/image/311499816/?match=1&terms=%22USAC%22&_gl=1%2ari34n%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_gs%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/311499816/?match=1&terms=%22USAC%22&_gl=1%2ari34n%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_gs%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  * https://www.newspapers.com/image/311988043/?match=1&terms=%22USAC%22&_gl=1%2a1hqof32%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_gs%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/311988043/?match=1&terms=%22USAC%22&_gl=1%2a1hqof32%2a_up%2aMQ..%2a_gs%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]