Safety First

As the biggest sponsor of U.S. auto racing, the American Automobile Association has backed everything from the annual 500-mile Indianapolis Speedway classic to midget races on 1-mile tracks. Lately, however, the A.A.A.'s top brass has been worried by the sport's mounting cost in human life—more than 170 deaths in the U.S. since 1945. The disaster at Le Mans, France, where 82 were killed by a runaway car (TIME. June 20), helped decide the issue. Last week in Washington. President Andrew J. Sordoni announced that starting next year the A.A.A. would "no longer be identified" with auto racing.* The sport, explained Sordoni, with its emphasis on human endurance and mechanical speed, is "not compatible" with the A.A.A.'s day-to-day program of encouraging highway safety and careful driving. Other A.A.A. officials voiced yet another fear: should a major disaster, like that at Le Mans, occur at an A.A.A.-sponsored race, the organization might be legally liable for vast sums in damages.

The A.A.A.'s withdrawal, while a surprise, struck no death blow to U.S. auto racing. At week's end track promoters, drivers and racing-car owners were already planning to set up a new organization to replace the A.A.A. contest board. Said the Indianapolis Speedway's owner, Anton Hulman Jr.:"I see no reason why [the A.A.A. action] should affect the 500."