The Kiss of Death
Early in each October, the US GP was run at Watkins Glen, NY, which was home to the Formula 1 circus from 1961 until 1980. In addition to attracting genuine race fans, the event also attracts a substantial number of bacchanalians who spent most of the weekend drunk and oblivious.
Within this second group is a subspecies known as the “Bogladytes”. The Bogladytes put on a show between Turns 10 and 11 in an area known as “The Bog”, a drainage area.
Bog favorites were Jeeps and VW Beetles. Eventually the Bog sucked in lesser vehicles (in terms of mud-ability) like this ‘61 Chevy four-door–well, at least at one time it had four doors.
Dig the Austin Healey 3000 and the Fiat 850 Spyder in the background.
Die in a Fire
The dance began in a fairly prosaic manner. After a cat-and-mouse demo derby in the bog, one or both vehicles would become mired in the mud. Once this happened, the Molotov Cocktails followed shortly.
A real hot ‘63 Plymouth
Once a car was on its roof and burning, the Bogladytes began the process of enticing other drunken idiots into the Bog. Failing that, Beetle magnesium engine blocks would be lit much to the crowd’s delight. Quite the show at night.
Daddy’s Pride
What’s this? A Pontiac? Whatever it is, it won’t be going back to daddy’s driveway. It’s just another victim of The Bog.
I took the above photos at the 1972 US GP. The Bog would live for only two more years.
Photo by Mark Spaulding
In 1974, Brazilian fans of Emerson Fittipaldi hired a Greyhound bus to bring them to the GP. The bus driver dropped off his passengers at the grandstand upon arrival and got out himself, but left the keys in the ignition. Rookie mistake!
It is said that a long-haired, shirtless perp commandeered the bus and made for The Bog. And that’s the rest of the story.
Fittipaldi finished fourth in the race, clinching the ‘74 world championship. Greyhound sent up another bus for the Fittipaldi fans. The open drainage trench that gave life to The Bog was eliminated after the race; today, it’s a parking area.
Great pictures, as always. In that shot with the upside down Pontiac, a look into the background puts me to a terrible choice: Would I prefer that 67 Ford Country Squire wagon, or the equally woodgrained Plymouth Suburban to its immediate right. Decisions, decisions.
The Fairlane wagon next to the Squire looks pretty good, also. However, I would chose the Plymouth.
Who’s the Philistine who rolled the Pontiac?
If it was an Upstate car, chances are there wasn’t enough left to matter before they got to the Bog. NY inspection has no body laws.
Thanks for the explanation.I recall seeing some horribly rusty and damaged cars on the road in the 60s and 70s.PC Martin our most feared traffic cop would have had a fit if he’d seen them!
I didn’t even notice the cars in shot of the upside down Pontiac or whatever it was to notice the three wagons off to the right.
However, I DID notice in the first picture of the upside down Plymouth that you caught a yellow 68 Newport with black vinyl tip in the background – and I think it’s a 2 door, though hard to tell from that distance.
I know those cars as I had one in HS in the early 80’s.
Reminiscent of the top of Mount Panorama where the Bathurst 1000 is held, up until about 10 years ago when they started to get serious about cracking down on anti-social behaviour. Nb in saying that I haven’t been there for the 1000, but I have heard a few stories from people who have been there. I did go to the 12 Hour race a few years ago: no bogans (not much of a crowd of any type really), no problems!
What are Bogans?We have Chavs,
Think Chavs with more money, Gem!
Thanks Glen Chavs have plenty money,they get it every fortnight from the Government via the taxpayer!
Ah, the difference here is bogans have jobs and pay taxes- and carry on like they are the only people in history who ever have payed them!
Nice pics. Especially like the Healey and 850; also the black TR6 in the background of the shot with the ’63 Plymouth.
Disclaimer: I’m not from, or a product of this era.
What the hell is with all the garbage on the ground? Molotov a few cars here and there? This wasn’t pressing enough to bring any legal authority for real? These photos are hard to wrap my head around.
You can have the “good old days”…
Johnny Law and the track officials had turned a blind eye for years on the Bogladites and their incendiary behavior. Keep all the Genesee Cream Ale-fueled miscreants in a relatively small area and let them go wild. The bus was a bit over the top. In the words of Joni Mitchell, “they paved paradise And put up a parking lot”, and that was the end of the Bog.
They appear to be relatively self-contained too as the parked cars immediately surrounding the area testify. Note the Beetle has some type of roll bar installed – a sign it was taken there for the purpose?
In the 1960’s, there was a similar tableau presented on the infield at Indy. That was almost as serious a spectacle to my young eyes as the racing.
Ahh, yes – the infamous Snake Pit.
I think that is a Pontiac. It looks vaguely like a ’62.
If correct, it’s probably a Catalina, because the elongated transmission pan appears to be from a Roto Hydramatic. I had a ’62 Bonneville, which came with the “true” Hydramatic. The pan was pretty square looking and not nearly as long. I forget Pontiac’s marketing name for that unit, but the Chilton’s manual called it a “Dual Coupling Hydramatic.”
Pretty much missed the point of The Bog story, din’t ya?
I disagree about the bog only lasting until 1974. I went to the race in October 1978 and cars were destroyed (I don’t actually remember burning) that year, too.
i agree. I was there for the 6 hrs in 75 and F1 in 75 77 and 78 and there was bog activity. A friend of mine went only in 77 and 78 and he remembers seeing it
I remember reading a story about the bog in a mid-70’s Car and Driver. A group of friends went to the race at Watkins Glen. They watch a Pontiac wagon get torched in the bog. It ended with a line lamenting what it must be like to return home to face your father who is going to ask “where’s the wagon?” That article had a lasting effect on me and may have actually played a role in helping me survive beer soaked college years. Could you imagine telling your Dad that you laughed like crazy when the family car was torched?
I was there in 1974. My group camped out on the last turn going into the straightaway. Lots of excitement watching the cars and the constant smoke rising up from the Bog. I drove a 914 Porsche to the race to meet family and friends. What a mistake. It almost got carried away to the Bog. Anyway, I remember partaking in swinging an axe into a gas tank to get the ball rolling the night before the race. Those pictures look eerily familiar. Also, it was not mentioned about the crowd mentality. There were so mont people in the bog that there were two groups of people on the side of the junked burning cars. The problem was that someone started saying kill or F ck the other side. Well that started both sides throwing beer cans and bottles at each other. It really got nasty until either a plain clothes cop or a fan threw in a can of tear gas. Of course my brother is an asthmatic and had to take cover really fast-back to the Lloyd Ruby Race Van for meds. The crown started running and it somewhat cleared the bog of the hooliganism of that evening. That was my last visit to the Infamous Bog. We have tons of video from those races, but not a shot of the Bog. No picture is necessary if one has lived the Bog.
The chant from the crowd was “THE OTHER SIDE SUCKS” and the mud balls would fly. First,one side would rushdown closer to attack and then the others would retaliate As soon as possible. Life was beautiful
no one seems to mention that we (living near by in Elmira) as kids (age 18) used to buy old junk cars and get them running and modified. Then a week before the race, drive them to the race track and hide them in the woods. Then on race weekend drive them around the dirt roads outside the track. Eventually we burned them.
I went in 77 and vividly remember the Bog, and the rain. Rain during the race, camping and at the bog. I remember some poor sap asking where the nearest bathroom was and people told him, top of the hill is that bathroom. He left his VW Rabbit running, bad move, within minutes people were smashing the windows as someone jumped in and floored it to the Bog, it went up in flames. He came back and asked where was his car, someone with a two headed axe, told him to call his insurance company then pointed to the bog. Few minutes later the guy with the axe was chopping into the trunk of some car and then shoved a rag into the trunk, it turned into a automated molotov cocktail, they set it on fire and drove it into the bog. I met Nicki Lauda the next day in the pits then visited the bog, 8 cars burnt to a crisp. The VW rabbit and there was an AMC Gremlin 1977, got s newsletter in the 80’s the Bog was paved over and had made a nice park with a memorial I heard.
We were there when the bus went down. Our group up from NEPA had a rented Ryder w/8 kegs of beer (but no food) and parked on the outer perimeter of the Bog. We also had our executive sedan on hand – A white 1964 Caddy (we bought in a salvage yard for $400) with ‘Scranton Seven Staff Car” painted on the sides. Race fans might have seen us as we cruised the infield with a sofa tied to the roof (guys riding up top) and keg tapped and sitting in the trunk. The bus was burned on Friday afternoon just after 3pm. We woke up early the next morning in the Ryder to the sounds of wining winches. Several Jeeps had latched on to our Caddy and were trying to drag it into the Bog. Since there were seven of us we argued with the guys driving the Jeeps and it looked like we were slowing them down a bit, but within a few short minutes there began to develop a very tight circle of a hundred semi-friendly people so we graciously gave up the battle. One of our guys, Jack McAllister actually helped out by driving the car a hundred feet into the mud. A great picture of Jack, jumping up & down on the hood of the fire-ridden Caddy wound up as a full-cover shot on the November (’72) issue of the Italian motorsport magazine “AUTOSPRINT”.
Back to the race briefly. I recall, from my glorious teenage years, watching some (?) driver win this race on the last lap by using the dirt outside the track to pass a gaggle of cars.
But I’ll be darned if I can remember year, marque, winner . . . I was overwhelmed by seeing my heroes in the flesh! Dad and I drove up from Westchester County. Unless it was 1962, 1963 when I would have come down from Colgate in Hamilton.