What kind of guy sets himself on fire?

Let me rephrase that. What rational person douses himself with gasoline and sets it off with a match to prove his product protects racers from burns?

Only one guy that I know of.

Bill Simpson isn’t with us anymore, finally checking out in 2019 at age 79 following a series of strokes. Simpson’s life had been filled with lots of accomplishments and lots of drama. He launched two safety equipment companies; the one the bears his name, Simpson Race Products, as well as Impact Racing. Bill’s real legacy, however, isn’t just a commercial product; it is the concept that although racing is a dangerous business, it’s a good idea to take away as much risk as possible.

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It sounds farfetched, but there was a time when talking about safety was taboo in any garage or pit area. In the bad old days, the only traits that mattered for a racer were his fearlessness, toughness, and desire. If you pointed out that your poorly-built seat would probably fly out of the car in a crash, you were labeled as soft or frail or—the worst—scared.

Bill Simpson with early firesuits in the 1970s.

Simpson helped change that. Born in 1940 in southern California, he discovered the budding world of drag racing in 1955. Although it was an exciting time, it was also dreadfully dangerous. After breaking both arms in a crash at age 18, Simpson began to experiment with using a parachute to slow his dragster at the end of the strip. Others had also dabbled with the idea, using military war-surplus chutes. Simpson fine-tuned the concept, developing a cross-form chute that he sewed himself. In due course he was selling them to other racers, and Simpson Safety Products—initially known as Simpson Drag Chutes—was born. In the ensuing years Simpson developed a wide range of safety gear: helmets, gloves, firesuits, belts, and much more (Simpson also pursued a career as an Indy car driver and ran the Indy 500 in 1974).

Question: Since that fateful time at the sewing machine almost 70 years ago, how many racers have benefitted from Bill Simpson’s work? Answer: All of them.

Simpson did more than develop and manufacture safety gear. He changed the culture of racing, forever. He made it okay for people to seek a safer racing environment without having their courage or masculinity questioned. It took someone with guts—Bill Simpson—to challenge and overcome that type of thinking.

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Bill was not an easy or simple man. He was willful to the point of exasperation, stubborn, and driven. Learning when to stop arguing is a valuable skill; Simpson never quite mastered that art. He could be crude and boastful and insufferable. But he was also a man of great passion, both for motorsports safety and for his loyal friends.

Bill Simpson doing Bill Simpson things.

He also had a great flair for drama. On several occasions, when he felt he needed to prove that his firesuits really would protect the wearer, he got all suited up and set himself on fire. Hey look, no burns!

We take all this for granted today, but I’ll bet there were lots of people holding their breath all those years ago when the match was struck at that first demonstration.

In 2012 Simpson was in the process of writing a second autobiography with my good friend Bones Bourcier. The manuscript was complete when the person scheduled to do the layout and production work was unable to do the job. Bones reached out and asked if I could help. I’d heard all the horror stories about how difficult Simpson could be, and I was hesitant. But I said yes and it turned out to be an enjoyable experience. Bill was no problem to work with and everything was smooth.

Bill Simpson and Dave Argabright in 2012.

Covering motorsports all these years, I’ve encountered some truly amazing people. Some good, some bad, all a little bit complicated, and many unforgettable. Simpson falls into all those categories.

I write about people like Bill because we need to be reminded that the world around us didn’t just happen; it was built by the people who came before. Today’s safety gear came about because of someone’s conviction many years ago that people didn’t have to needlessly die. That someone was Bill Simpson. It’s as simple as that.

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