Posted on 10/22/2003 12:56:14 PM PDT by mikevallillo
Indy Car League Driver Tony Renna had died this past Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003, in a fatal car accident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was on his fourth lap of a practice run going speeds exceeding 220 MPH when he had hit the wall coming out of turn 3.
Renna was pronounced dead upon arriving at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
He is the 67th fatality that Indianapolis Motor Speedway has claimed since its 1909 opening.
Renna had just joined with Chip Ganassi Racing this past month and was taking his first practice run with the team.
The cause of the crash is not known yet but is under investigation.
Renna had taken the move to Ganassi Racing to take the place of Tomas Schekter, who had moved to Panther Racing for next season.
Renna had placed seventh in the Indianapolis 500 this past May. He had only competed in 7 IRL races and had finished in the top ten in 5 of them.
Renna had begun racing at the age of 6 in 1983. He had taken the title of National Quarter-Midget Champion twice and had won 252 races throughout his life, outside the IRL.
He raced in the Skip Barber Formula Ford Series in 1993 and moved on to become rookie of the year in 1996 in the Skip Barber Dodge series. In 1998 he joined Indy Lights, which is the under series of CART.
He is the 67th fatality that Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Very dangerous sport. Prayers to his family. Such a shame that such a young person died driving around circles.
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