WATCH: Bill Simpson set himself on fire in 1986 to prove his revolutionary invention

To prove his invention's flawless working, former drag racer Bill Simpson set himself ablaze near Turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Elwood Jesse Simpson, commonly known as 'Bill' was a motorsports driver and has competed in drag racing, SCAA Formula racing, and the USAC Championship Car series. However, a fatal accident early on during Simpson's drag racing stint in 1958 broke both his arms and struck his mind with the thought of the scarcity of proper safety for motorsports drivers.

Ever since then, Bill has been a pioneer of safety in sports, with his company, Simpson Performance Products providing the safety gear. A major concern among drivers was the fire caught by their race suit when trapped in a massive crash and to address the situation, Simpson devised a fireproof suit.

On Wednesday, May 14, 1986, to prove his invention's capabilities, Simpson donned the Nomex suit he vouched for and set himself ablaze for a live demonstration of his work. Two crew members poured gasoline on his firesuit, followed by Chip Ganassi, who struck the match, putting the advocate of safety on fire.

Here's the video showing how Bill Simpson was unfazed by the engulfing flames as he sat on the chair like just another day on the asphalt, making his ingenious invention an instant hit (via nascarman on X):

How Bill Simpson's "hurt bad" drag racing crash birthed exemplary safety gears for motorsports drivers

After Simpson got into the horrific wreck, he was rushed to a California hospital, and amid his recovery time, the late pioneer of safety got a subtle reality check.

After recovering from the incident, Bill recalled (via Motorsports Hall of Fame of America):

"Until then, I was like most drivers. The only time I thought about safety was after I'd been hurt. This time, I was hurt bad enough to do a lot of thinking."

With that, Simpson started his new journey in motorsports. His initial piece of work was a cross-netted chute, which can be seen on the driver-side open window. The purpose is to slow down drag cars to avoid high-speed crashes.

However, when Bill Simpson came across NASA astronaut Pete Conrad, the latter introduced him to temperature-resistant DuPont fabric known as Nomex. Simpson used the DuPont fabric and started working on the firesuit that has now become a norm in NASCAR and other motorsports across the globe.