Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys

Jochen Rindt: The tragedy of Formula 1's only posthumous World Champion

In 75 years of Formula 1 history, only one driver has been crowned World Champion after his death. In 1970, Austrian racer Jochen Rindt was so dominant behind the wheel of an exceptional car built by Colin Chapman of Team Lotus that no driver could bridge the gap to his place on the top of the championship standings despite there being four races remaining in the season after Rindt's death. Most F1 fans with any interest in the history of the sport know this — but fewer know the cloud of tragedy that followed Rindt throughout his life, casting dark, dramatic shadows over his every move.  Orphaned at just over a year old, and seemingly powerless against his team bosses when it came time to advocate for greater safety, Rindt was a prickly competitor who was nevertheless fondly remembered by so many of his competitors, and who completely changed the name of the game when it came to professionalizing motorsport. Today on Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys, we're going to dig into the ill-fated story of Jochen Rindt's life, the shock of his death, and the legacy he left in his wake. 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:  Jochen Rindt: The Uncrowned King by David Tremayne https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-f1-driver-who-didnt-want-to-be-champion-5114105/5114105/ [https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-f1-driver-who-didnt-want-to-be-champion-5114105/5114105/]

The death of Mark Donohue and the fall of Penske Racing in Formula 1

August 17, 1975. In warm-up for the Austrian Grand Prix, American icon Mark Donohue loses control of his March 751 after a tire fails. He careens through a metal Armco barrier and trackside signage and is knocked briefly unconscious in the wreckage. Against all odds, Donohue seems fine and heads back to the garage — where he begins to complain of a worsening headache. He's rushed to a local hospital, doctors urgent to operate on what has been diagnosed as a brain hemorrhage.  It's not enough. Two days later, on August 19, Mark Donohue dies from injuries he sustained driving a Formula 1 car run by his longtime friend and racing team partner Roger Penske. For many motorsport fans here in the United States. Penske Racing's foray into Formula 1 remains one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ of all time, for so many reasons. What if Mark Donohue hadn't come out of retirement to race and develop the F1 car? What if Donohue had won Penske's first race? What if John Watson had been able to win more, to entice more sponsors, to give the team a reason to continue? What would Formula 1 look like today with a stronger American presence back in the late 1970s? We won't ever know. But this week on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to dig into what we do know about Penske Racing in Formula 1, Mark Donohue's death, and John Watson's triumph — which remains the most recent Grand Prix win by an American team. 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:  The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue Interview with John Watson https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/04/09/Settlement-reached-in-Donohue-case/7324513406800/ [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/04/09/Settlement-reached-in-Donohue-case/7324513406800/] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/july-1998/73/professional/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/july-1998/73/professional/] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1975/35/austrian-grand-prix-16/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1975/35/austrian-grand-prix-16/] https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a61VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6311%2C5102237 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a61VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6311%2C5102237] https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/20/archives/donohue-38-dead-of-racing-injuries-mark-donohue-is-dead-of-racing.html [https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/20/archives/donohue-38-dead-of-racing-injuries-mark-donohue-is-dead-of-racing.html] https://www.historicracing.com/driverDetail.cfm?driverID=2759 [https://www.historicracing.com/driverDetail.cfm?driverID=2759] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-2005/16/nigel-roebucks-legends-7/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-2005/16/nigel-roebucks-legends-7/]  https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-2021/51/roger-penske-the-motor-sport-interview/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-2021/51/roger-penske-the-motor-sport-interview/] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1974/42/canadian-grand-prix-13/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1974/42/canadian-grand-prix-13/] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1975/26/the-formula-one-situation/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1975/26/the-formula-one-situation/]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/398676916/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/398676916/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/115605105/?match=1&terms=eden%20donohue%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2abwy9fu%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/115605105/?match=1&terms=eden%20donohue%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2abwy9fu%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds] https://www.newspapers.com/image/622389810/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2a2uh6x%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/622389810/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2a2uh6x%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds] https://www.newspapers.com/image/437277431/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2a2uh6x%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/437277431/?match=1&terms=%22eden%20donohue%22%2C%20goodyear&_gl=1%2a2uh6x%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]

Big Bill vs. the Brotherhood: NASCAR’s War on Unions

Unlike the NFL, MLB, or even Formula 1, NASCAR has never had a drivers’ union, but not for lack of trying. In the early 1960s, Hall of Famer Curtis Turner joined forces with the Teamsters in a bold push to organize the garage area — a move that got him blacklisted by the sport he helped build. Over the years, similar efforts were quietly floated and just as quickly shut down. Why has unionization never gained a foothold in stock car racing? What were the drivers asking for — and what is NASCAR so afraid of? In this episode, we’ll trace the roots of NASCAR’s labor resistance, and unpack how the sport’s Southern identity, family-owned governance, and rapid commercialization combined to make organizing nearly impossible. This is the story of the union that never was. 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:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcB2WLxDdk8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcB2WLxDdk8] https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2021/07/24/nascar-reacts-differently-as-talk-of-drivers-organizing-surfaces-once-more/ [https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2021/07/24/nascar-reacts-differently-as-talk-of-drivers-organizing-surfaces-once-more/] https://www.nbcsports.com/nascar/news/curtis-turner-from-nascar-banishment-to-celebrated-hall-of-famer [https://www.nbcsports.com/nascar/news/curtis-turner-from-nascar-banishment-to-celebrated-hall-of-famer]  https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/1998/04/16/rooted-littlejohn-built-spartanburg-heart-stock-racing-34back-those-spartanburg-capital-racing34/29600325007/ [https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/1998/04/16/rooted-littlejohn-built-spartanburg-heart-stock-racing-34back-those-spartanburg-capital-racing34/29600325007/] https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbia-record-speedway-spasm/146339838/ [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbia-record-speedway-spasm/146339838/] https://www.cottonowens.com/archives/Spartanburg_Racing.php [https://www.cottonowens.com/archives/Spartanburg_Racing.php]  https://apnews.com/article/sports-automobile-racing-daytona-beach-500-504f947c60e5d6409910cb15e692cee0 [https://apnews.com/article/sports-automobile-racing-daytona-beach-500-504f947c60e5d6409910cb15e692cee0]  https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/talladega-1969-when-nascars-star-drivers-boycotted-a-race/ [https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/talladega-1969-when-nascars-star-drivers-boycotted-a-race/] https://teamsters174.net/how-jimmy-hoffa-tried-to-give-unions-the-green-flag-at-nascar/ [https://teamsters174.net/how-jimmy-hoffa-tried-to-give-unions-the-green-flag-at-nascar/] https://web.archive.org/web/20141216130458/http://speedzone70.tripod.com/VolII.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216130458/http://speedzone70.tripod.com/VolII.html] https://uniontrack.com/blog/labor-american-south#:~:text=Many%20Southerners%20saw%20industrialization%20and,from%20unionizing%20in%20the%20South [https://uniontrack.com/blog/labor-american-south#:~:text=Many%20Southerners%20saw%20industrialization%20and,from%20unionizing%20in%20the%20South]. https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/talladega-1969-when-nascars-star-drivers-boycotted-a-race/10660205/#:~:text=Dozens%20of%20drivers%20stood%20up%20against%20NASCAR,but%20it%20didn't%20quite%20stop%20the%20show.&text=Among%20the%20many%20lower%2Dlevel%20drivers%20who%20filled,Fame%20team%20owner%20and%20then%2Ddriver%20Richard%20Childress [https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/talladega-1969-when-nascars-star-drivers-boycotted-a-race/10660205/#:~:text=Dozens%20of%20drivers%20stood%20up%20against%20NASCAR,but%20it%20didn't%20quite%20stop%20the%20show.&text=Among%20the%20many%20lower%2Dlevel%20drivers%20who%20filled,Fame%20team%20owner%20and%20then%2Ddriver%20Richard%20Childress]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1130060825/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2at79p53%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1130060825/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2at79p53%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/936556509/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2at79p53%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/936556509/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2at79p53%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]  https://www.newspapers.com/image/915999051/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2a14h13lc%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [https://www.newspapers.com/image/915999051/?match=1&terms=%22professional%20drivers%20association%22&_gl=1%2a14h13lc%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds]

Hitler's favorite racing driver and the team that discovered him

If Bernd Rosemeyer had not existed, historian Anthony Pritchard remarked, then the National Socialist Party would have had to invent him. Tall, blond, strong, and domineering, Rosemeyer became the pride of Adolf Hitler's motorsport program, and the epitome of its goals. The press couldn't get enough of him, hailing him a “radiant boy,” a “bold fighter.” “Beautiful blond Bernd,” they gushed, as they linked him to the true superiority of Aryan blood and praised his overt willingness to compete with a swastika armband, to attribute his success to the glory of his mother country. Rosemeyer burst onto the Grand Prix scene with Auto Union just a few years after the company brought together four automakers on the verge of bankruptcy in a last-ditch effort to avoid fading into obscurity, and he instantly elevated the outfit to immortality.  Of course, Auto Union was one of two German automakers heavily funded by Hitler as a covert way to bolster the country's weakened military. Building aircraft was illegal, but building state-of-the-art racing machines with engines that could be easily installed in an aircraft? Well, Europe never blinked an eye. Add in a superstar like Rosemeyer behind the wheel, with his Grand Prix victories and his world speed records, and you had a potent recipe for the kind of rampant German pride that could be easily mobilized into the war effort. This week on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're continuing our discussion of the Nazi party's impact on motorsport. In the previous episode, we covered all things Mercedes as well as the complex ways the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the vacuum of power that allowed genocidal Nazi ideals to flourish. In this episode, we'll turn our attention to Mercedes’ biggest rival, Auto Union, with an eye to ultimately pinpointing the exact ways these Grand Prix teams directly contributed to the deadliest war in all of human history. Let's dig in. 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:  * Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best by Neal Bascomb https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190821-how-germany-became-the-country-of-cars [https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190821-how-germany-became-the-country-of-cars]  https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/motorsport-history-3646 [https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/motorsport-history-3646] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/racing-tech/porsches-first-grand-prix-car-the-auto-union-v16/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/racing-tech/porsches-first-grand-prix-car-the-auto-union-v16/] https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/ic90uta1/release/4 [https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/ic90uta1/release/4] https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-2013/109/villeneuve-thirties/ [https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-2013/109/villeneuve-thirties/]

How Mercedes powered Hitler’s motorsport arms race

In the build-up to the 1934 German Grand Prix, the already formidable Nürburgring was transformed. Gone were the days of packing a race track with nothing but enthusiasts; under the control of new chancellor Adolf Hitler, motorsport was the ideal venue in which to display the might of his new, robust Germany under the Third Reich. Track facilities were draped in swastika flags, while a regiment of brownshirts had marched for weeks from Berlin to be present at the July event. Over 150,000 spectators had descended on the rural track, keen to lay eyes on the new German racing machines that promised to be unstoppable — The Mercedes W25, and the Auto Union P-Wagen.  Marvels of automotive innovation, these Grand Prix cars were heavily funded by the German government and looked set to dominate the European racing scene in just the same way that Hitler was hoping to dominate the entire continent: Resoundingly, quickly, and packed with pageantry designed to inspire a nationalistic zeal. This month on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're digging deep into Nazi participation in Grand Prix racing with a two-part series, with each episode focusing on one of the two state-funded automotive programs. We'll be starting off with Mercedes, then dig deeper into the exploits of Auto Union in the next show with an eye to understanding the complex and often uncomfortable role that motorsport played in the revitalization of the German military after the country was devastated by the First World War.  Over the next two episodes, we'll trace the origins of the automobile in Germany and investigate the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on both industry and national image in order to link Hitler's ascension to power with his emphasis on revitalizing the automotive and motorsport industries. Naturally, we're going to begin with a titan: Mercedes. 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:  * Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best by Neal Bascomb * A Race with Love and Death: The Story of Britain's First Great Grand Prix Driver, Richard Seaman by Richard Williams * Grand Prix Driver by Hermann Lang