14 replies to this topic

[Richard Jenkins]

Very sadly, Bill Simpson has died after suffering a stroke last week. https://m.facebook.c...TkxNjk3Nzg0MTAz

[JacnGille]

Very sadly, Bill Simpson has died after suffering a stroke last week. https://m.facebook.c...TkxNjk3Nzg0MTAz

Sad news. I used his products when I raced.

[Dave Ware]

A fine article at Racer.com:

 

https://racer.com/20...son-dies-at-79/

 

He was a more colorful figure than I had imagined.  Sounds like a life well lived.

 

I remember reading that he was going through a turn at Indy and was thinking about some business details he needed to attend to.  That's when he realized he should retire from driving. 

 

Condolences to his family, friends, and the racing community. 

[E1pix]

I knew a decade ago that'd we'd be mourning endless losses of the guys we so admired as kids.

Such is the case with Bill Simpson; wholly politically-incorrect, stubborn as they come, no BS tolerated, all coming right in the end -- from *the* guy racing really needed in those fatal times.


Thanks, Bill, for saving so many lives. So sorry for your being accused of the opposite; but Thanks for having the balls to fight your good name clear and keeping your "Impact" moving forward.

Thanks for the R30, the coolest hat a karting kid could ever want. Sorry my friends called it a "pig face," but know it's safe and revered in my vault.

Thanks for Nomex. Its rejecting fuel saved more injuries when my lifelong friend Eddie Miller crashed at Indy in '76, upside-down, neck broken, him soaked in gas with a smoker within eyeshot. I still shudder when thinking of the test his Nomex avoided that day.

Thanks also for signing a kid's program at the Milwaukee Mile in 1974, and making him feel like he belonged in your presence.

Thanks for bringing an off-roader to a higher plane, even if in a pink car. :-)


My hope is your legacy extends to telling it like it is -- no matter who is hearing it. We desperately need more like you, right now.

RIP, Hero.

[cpbell]

R.I.P.

[chr1s]

His helmet saved my neck, literally, I broke it in three places but still walking! Thank you Bill, rest in peace.

[cooper997]

Mark Bisset has forwarded this photo from Lynton Hemer's Archive.

 

February 1970 Warwick Farm Tasman meeting.

 

From the programme... 23 John Creans American Int. Racers  (Dvr Bill Simpson) (USA) Eagle Chev V8 4998 Red/White/Blue

 

Condolences to Bill's family and friends.

 

Stephen

 

 

 

[2F-001]

A life lived to the full, it seems; and, one way or another, giving a huge amount back and not just taking. So long Bill.

(And thanks for the 'Talon' glove - the only truly comfortable driving glove I've ever found!)

[Jim Thurman]

Thanks for bringing an off-roader to a higher plane, even if in a pink car. :-)

 

A quick correction here, the pink car was Rick's following ride, owned by Art Sugai, famous for "The Pink Lady" sprint car. 

 

I recall being at Ontario, seated in the stands for a California 500. A group wearing Simpson shirts were sitting nearby. Bill did a wild, smoky, spin right in front of us before regaining control.  While he was spinning there was a lot of yelling and commotion from the Simpson group. One fellow loudly yelling "NO! BILL!" as he spun. After he recovered, the same fellow said: "Bill just did that because he knew where we were sitting", which broke up the entire Simpson group 

Edited by Jim Thurman, 18 December 2019 - 16:49.

[E1pix]

Oh, you're right, I hate it when that happens. ;-)

[ellrosso]

Another shot from the Warwick Farm Tasman Series round in 1970. RIP Bill Simpson - huge contribution to Motorsport safety over the years.

[backfire]

I spent a few hours with Bill doing a feature for Autosport in the late seventies. Quite a character, he told me of the time he was being sued after a driver claimed he had burnt his hands wearing a pair of Simpson Nomex gloves. Bill put on similar gloves in the courtroom, poured petrol on them and then set them alight. The Judge dismissed the claim. Although bullish about his own products he did admit that he rated Westover racing boots the best in the world.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Mark Bisset has forwarded this photo from Lynton Hemer's Archive.
 
February 1970 Warwick Farm Tasman meeting.
 

From the programme... 23 John Creans American Int. Racers  (Dvr Bill Simpson) (USA) Eagle Chev V8 4998 Red/White/Blue
 
Condolences to Bill's family and friends.
 
Stephen

Another shot from the Warwick Farm Tasman Series round in 1970. RIP Bill Simpson - huge contribution to Motorsport safety over the years.

Thanks for the pictures. I was there that weekend, on R&R from Vietnam,.

Simpson is owed a lot of gratitude for advances in safety. Many talked about it but a few, including Bill Simpson, did something about it.

Thanks to him for his work and for his courage.

[Lee Nicolle]

I did not know that Bill had raced. Or had raced a 5000 here in Oz. I knew of him around the edges of the sport making all sorts of safety gear.

Having watched ' The Surfers' drag team clips on You Tube Mike Sirokin and Bill spent time together inventing and improving drag chutes. And sometimes driving apparel as well. This in the mid 60s.

Another pioneer of the sport lost. RIP.

[E1pix]

Thanks for your service, Jack-the-Lad.