Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys

Enzo Ferrari. Merely speaking his name aloud conjures up grandiose images of a titan of motorsport: his towering presence, the dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. He is the man behind the legendary Scuderia Ferrari, a team that has competed in every single Formula 1 season since the sport was born in 1950, and whose legacy extended back decades even before. Even today, the inimitable Enzo still ca...

On May 2, 1982, the green flag flew for the NASCAR Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and among a grid of legends like Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Benny Parsons, and more was a mystery racer no one had ever heard of before: L. W. Wright. Wright managed to nab a competition license, a race car, and some positive press, but there was just one problem. He wasn't a race car driver. He was a con...

The AAA Contest Board was the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the United States until 1956, but the organization that sanctioned the Indy 500 refused to allow Black drivers to compete in its disciplines. Those barriers, however, didn't stop Rajo Jack from pursuing his dream of racing competitively — and he became one of the most influential Black racers in early American motorsport...

Motorsport safety is an ever-evolving process, but American open-wheel was ground zero for some of the most exceptional innovations in motorsport medical history — be that in the form of a traveling medical staff, a permanent infield hospital, or a mobile medical center capable of handling severe trauma. This is the story of how IndyCar's groundbreaking safety team came to fruition. To find ou...

Achille Varzi is one of the most iconic pre-war racing drivers of all time — but we know so little about him outside of his fierce rivalry with Tazio Nuvolari. Why? Perhaps because Varzi nearly lost his career to a morphine addiction that saw him disappear from the public eye and be shunned from polite society. Varzi's story is as complex as his legacy, and today, we're delving in to learn...

The motorsport world is full of fantastic and particular experiences, but there is one driver's life story that has always particularly fascinated me — that of Roberta Cowell. See, Cowell was a fighter pilot, a prisoner of war, and a racing driver, which alone would have been enough to build up an impressive resumé. However, she was also the first documented person to receive gender affirming...

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, or FIA, is one of the most powerful sanctioning bodies in all of motorsport — but its control has rarely included racing in the United States. Why, then, did the FIA step in to kill the Chaparral 2J, a car that raced OUTSIDE of its jurisdiction?  Today on DPTJ, we're covering the story of Jim Hall, one of motorsport's most innovative minds...

At the 1977 Firecracker 400, NASCAR invited two of Europe's most exceptional female racers — Christine Beckers and Lella Lombardi — to make their Cup Series debut… but its goals may not have been particularly noble. Janet Guthrie, who was also competing in that race, felt that NASCAR was attempting to end her career by paying foreign talent to take her down. Today on "Deadly Passions, Ter...

On June 11, 1955, Pierre Levegh's Mercedes-Benz 300SLR launched off the back of Lance Macklin's Austin Healey and into a crowd of spectators gathered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Over 80 people were killed, with an additional 120 injured. It was a tragedy, and it was one that instantly transformed the racing world.  Today on "Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys," we're delving int...

We all know motorsport is dangerous, but for many years, one profession was more dangerous than the rest: Riding mechanics. These men were effectively passengers tasked with making repairs on the fly, keeping an eye on traffic, and even feeding the drivers. Unfortunately, riding mechanics had very little protection, making them especially prone to brutal injuries and deaths in big events like the...

In 1907, one Paris newspaper challenged drivers and automakers to a seemingly impossible challenge: Be the first car to race from Peking, China to Paris, France. Five different teams took on the 8,000-mile adventure across brutal terrain, including the Gobi Desert and the Ural Mountains. This week on DPTJ, we're delving into the scandals, lies, cheats, and near-death experiences that comprised...

The Indianapolis 500 is a race that stands alone, outside the pantheon of championship-directed open-wheel racing in America — and it's one of the most coveted events for a sanctioning body to organize. In 1996, the Indy car realm had blown to pieces over access to the iconic event, and dissatisfied teams attempted to set up their own version of the 500. This is the story of the short-lived ri...

Sanctioning bodies don't just set the rules for a race series — they also determine the culture and ideologies of the series they represent. In post-war America, the two biggest sanctioning bodies of sports car racing were the SCCA and the AAA Contest Board, and they both had very distinct ideas about what should constitute a series. One faction was determined to embrace an international focus...

Cheryl Glass is a name that every motorsport fan should have known. For years, any time she showed up to a race track, she was the first Black woman to have competed there. She carved a path of broken records through the Washington state area before spreading her wings to take on challenges all across America. She should have been a star. Instead, her chances to race became fewer and farther betwe...

Mario Andretti is, without a doubt, the finest motorsport legend that America has ever produced — but his 1978 Formula 1 World Championship was won under tragic circumstances: His teammate, Ronnie Peterson, was killed at the Italian Grand Prix. Peterson was Andretti's biggest challenger for the title. Without that competition, Andretti took the win. Today on "Deadly Passions, Terrible Joy...

In 1961, Formula 1 crowned its first-ever American World Driver Champion. Californian Phil Hill — a driver whose ulcer-ridden body should have prevented him from racing at the top levels of motorsport — never quite seemed like the prototypical race car driver. But if an American earned the highest honor in motorsport within the first 11 years of F1's existence, why don't we better remember...

The 1952 Watkins Glen Grand Prix should have been yet another leap toward solidifying road racing's popularity in the United States — but instead, the death of one seven-year-old-boy in a crash brought American motorsport to its knees. This is the story of Frankie Fazzary, the young boy whose death changed the tides of racing and created the automotive world we know today. This is a story that...

In 1933, FIVE racers got together to fix the Tripoli Grand Prix, an African race run with a lottery system that would award three lucky fans with millions of dollars if their driver won the race. Those drivers selected one man to win the race and scoop up the prize money to be shared amongst the group in a ridiculous race that saw one uninvolved driver die so that the conspirators could make milli...

With five World Driver Championships to his name, Juan Manuel Fangio is an icon of Formula 1 and motorsport as a whole — but in 1958, he also turned the tides of global politics. Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship had ravaged Cuba, but in 1958, the right-wing leader decided to stage a non-championship Formula 1 race to draw in the crowds. That plan was turned on its head when Fangio was kidnappe...

From race fixing attempts to kidnappings, the backbone of motorsport is built on scandal, intrigue, danger, and deception. Rev your engines and dive into the heart-pounding world of motorsport with Elizabeth Blackstock's captivating new podcast,  Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys . Join us on an adrenaline-fueled journey through the scandalous, the intriguing, and the perilous tales that define t...