Today is St. Patrick’s Day, so you’re probably wearing something green and toasting the luck of the Irish.

But did you know that for decades, the color green was actually considered bad luck in motorsports?

The specifics of this superstition are murky. But, it seems to stem from a pair of fatal racing crashes in the earlier part of the 20th century – one in Syracuse, New York in 1911 and another in Beverly Hills in 1920. Both cars involved were painted green.

Racers are a superstitious bunch, and many drivers banished the color green from their color palettes for several decades.

It seems to have run its course. Nowadays, cars with this verdant hue are regularly seen on track and in Victory Lane.