10 Saddest Deaths sports Freeze
the heartbreaking death of Dan Wheldon yesterday in Las Vegas Indy 300 is a stark reminder of the dual nature of racing When things go well, he is the most electrifying sport on earth However, when things go wrong, it is by far the most tragic.
Wheldon, of course, was one of the best drivers in the IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champion twice more importantly, he was one of the most popular guys on the circuit, and a loving father and husband Unfortunately is just the latest in a long line of people who will remember so.
Today we bring you a list commemorating the most tragic deaths in the history of motor racing Unfortunately, we will one day find out where the late Dan Wheldon fits.
9 Scott Kalitta Kalitta was all about time in the drag-American races, he has been a champion twice in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, winning in 1994 and 1995, and was the first driver to win events both divisions Full Throttle Funny Car and Top Fuel Unfortunately, June 21, 2008, Kalitta died during a qualifying race at Oldbridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, NJ Near the end of the race his engine exploded, his parachute failed to deploy, and it crashed into a concrete wall.
8 Joe Weatherly Weatherly was one of the great larger-than-life NASCAR He was known to stay to party into the wee hours of the morning the night before a race, and once took a few practice rounds dressed in a suit of Peter Pan he was twice NASCAR champion 1962 and 1963 when he died January 19, 1964 during a race at Riverside International Raceway to date, it is the only champion in the points race die in the 1992 champion, Alan Kulwicki, died in a plane crash in 1993.
7 Eddie Sachs Sachs, a prankster, was dubbed the clown prince of racing For some reason, he would never tell anyone why he always ran with lemon on a rope tied around his neck Unfortunately Sachs died in a horrible accident, fire the Indianapolis 500 May 30, 1964 at this time, some gasoline racing teams still used for fuel was heavy, but long term, while others had changed methanol or ethanol, which were lighter, but faster burn in response to this tragedy, Indy officials demanded that, in future, all cars must make at least two pit stops this alone removed the advantage to stick with the most fuel gasoline.
6 Adam Petty Adam Petty was not nearly as established as other drivers on this list, but, as a member of the grand-son of the legendary Petty family of 7 time Daytona 500 champion Richard Petty and son Kyle Petty, he was considered a top -In star when he died during a training run for the Busch 200 May 12, 2000 the young man of 19 years was killed instantly when he lost control of his car and crashed into the wall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
5 Canadian Gilles Gilles Villeneuve Villenueve was one of the most popular drivers in Formula One during his short career, he has never won a points championship, but finished second in 1979 and won six major awards the race for both McLaren and Ferrari racing star died May 8, 1982 while trying to qualify for the grand Prix of Belgium in 1997, son Gilles, Jacques Villenueve, accomplished what his father was not t able to do in his shortened career, because the first Canadian to win the F1 world championship.
4 Mark Donohue Donohue was a jack of all trades, he raced in NASCAR, he won the Indy 500 in 1972, he raced in Formula One for Penske, and built in fact some of the cars that driving if that wasn t enough, the guy's nickname was Mr Nice so it was a huge blow to the community of international racing when Donohue died August 19, 1975, from injuries sustained in a crash during a race of training for the grand Prix of Austria.
3 Dale Earnhardt's death NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt aka The Intimidator is easily the fate of auto racing's most infamous recent years Earnhardt won 76 races including the Daytona 500 in 1998 and 7 championship points in his career after Richard Petty, Dale was perhaps the most accomplished racer in NASCAR history Unfortunately, he died February 18, 2001, during the last lap of the Daytona 500 Since his death, nobody has raced with Dale Earnhardt 3.
2 Ayrton Senna, three times F1 champion Ayrton Senna is generally considered one of the greatest of all time race car drivers Brazilian died at the age of 34 on 1 May 1994, at the Grand Prix San Marino, he was leading the race when his car left the track at 135 mph and hit a retaining wall in his car, rescuers found an Austrian flag he planned to raise at the end of the race honor of Roland Ratzenberger driver, who had died the previous day on a training run.
1 Pierre Levegh What makes the death of Pierre Levegh so utterly tragic is that it does not die alone when he crashed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans June 11, 1955, his car flew into the stands, killing 83 spectators that was and still is the worst tragedy in the history of motor racing, and it almost killed the sport altogether because automakers have pulled sponsorship and governments around the world instead of the moratorium races.
9 Death Race the most tragic cars, more tragic, self.