The Tragedy of Tony Renna

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  • Опубліковано 10 лют 2025

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  • @draganluzija3823
    @draganluzija3823 Рік тому +84

    Amazing coincidence, as I was riding in bus from work an hour ago, for some reason I remembered Tony Renna and his fatal crash. Cool video

    • @draganluzija3823
      @draganluzija3823 Рік тому +7

      ​@@ballplayer1799It does seem like that sometimes

    • @Napoli41482
      @Napoli41482 Рік тому +4

      Seemed like Renna's crash, in how it was described, was worse than Gordon Smiley's in '82.

  • @JohnnyBoombatz1119
    @JohnnyBoombatz1119 Рік тому +91

    Anytime I've read an account of what happened, it just sounded like the most gruesome thing ever. Parts of his body scattered all over the place and parts of car going out of the speedway. I can't even imagine.
    If it happened on race day, broadcasted to millions on live TV, it would have been the end of Indy.
    RIP

    • @david-468
      @david-468 Рік тому +12

      No it wouldn’t have been , in the 80’s Indy showed a guy get hit at 120 mph and evaporate and didn’t get shut down

    • @SSinister_Grin
      @SSinister_Grin Рік тому +18

      ​@@david-468 Well that was the 80s.... Today is way different.

    • @david-468
      @david-468 Рік тому +4

      @@SSinister_Grin well this happened 20 years ago

    • @SSinister_Grin
      @SSinister_Grin Рік тому +5

      @@david-468 People became sensitive 20 years ago.

    • @etherealaim
      @etherealaim Рік тому

      @@david-468if this crash happened on raceday, dozens of fans wouldve been killed

  • @rileycunningham.
    @rileycunningham. 11 місяців тому +19

    I was related to him. We were cousins. Unfortunately I never got to meet him, but I’ve heard great stories about him.

  • @Milton_Valenzuela
    @Milton_Valenzuela Рік тому +56

    The IRL cars at those times had tendencies to blow over and do front flips because of uneven weight distribution in the rear, making the front of the cars lightweight. A design flaw
    Mario Andretti had a scary flip in 2003 at a test in Indianapolis after hitting a piece of debris. Can't imagine how similar Tony Renna's accident would've looked
    RIP Tony Renna ❤

    • @CrewGuyPJ
      @CrewGuyPJ Рік тому +4

      it was the absorbing wedge of the safer that Mario hit..the way he hit it, it would have send a semi truck flying!

    • @BSNFabricating
      @BSNFabricating Рік тому +8

      Mario was fortunate that his crash happened closer to turn two, where there was nothing but straight track ahead until turn three. The car flew, but landed on the straightaway. The worst place to have an airborne wreck like that is going into a corner, and unfortunately it seems like that was the case for Tony Renna.

    • @stevenkilsdonk2046
      @stevenkilsdonk2046 Рік тому +8

      @@BSNFabricating Mario's crash was exiting turn 1. Still fortunate that the car returned to earth before reaching turn 2.

    • @BSNFabricating
      @BSNFabricating Рік тому +2

      @@stevenkilsdonk2046 I stand corrected. For some reason I always thought it happened on the back straightaway...
      Another somewhat similar crash that nobody talks about happened in practice in 2005. Sam Hornish ran over a piece of debris, and while the car didn't go flying, it raised the nose just enough that air got underneath and flipped the car over backwards.

    • @Toro_Da_Corsa
      @Toro_Da_Corsa Рік тому +1

      These cars look unsafe with the low slope front end

  • @djh3_88hinskey5
    @djh3_88hinskey5 Рік тому +24

    If I remember right, the test was in November. Cold temps to start with in Indy. Met him in his Skip Barber days. Very concentrated when need be, but an nice kid.

    • @JJRacer43
      @JJRacer43 Рік тому +2

      It was on October 22, 2003

    • @ericguyotracing
      @ericguyotracing Рік тому

      Scott Dixon was actually supposed to be testing that day but they switched for some reason, I can't recall. Crazy how things could've been very different...

  • @gwcrispi
    @gwcrispi 4 місяці тому +4

    I've been to every race since 1986 and I follow IndyCar religiously. A week over this incident I was at the Speedway museum and decided to do the track tour in the little bus. You could still see the skid marks coming out of the grass at the apex of turn 3. You could tell that it made about one full rotation and was halfway up the banking when the skidmarks just stopped. The car was airborne from that point on.

  • @CrewGuyPJ
    @CrewGuyPJ Рік тому +58

    1. No one has mentioned the dead bird they found laying on the track entering turn 3. 2. The bottom of the car hit the pole just behind the cockpit. 3.The transmission got thru the fence/cables and did the damage to the front of NEV. The engine was under the stand. 4. What was left of the car, including driver were hanging in the catch fence cables. Too many "I heard xxx..." and incorrect assumptions by the posters in this thread.

    • @JHockeyFan
      @JHockeyFan Рік тому +16

      He hit the bird, knocked him out, foot probably still on the gas pedal, spun, airborne, into the catchfence.

    • @ThatAlternativeTransGirl
      @ThatAlternativeTransGirl Рік тому +8

      That sounds familiar to what happened at the Belgian GP back in (I believe) the 60s...? Two drivers lost their lives in the same race, one via bird strike. Also, the odds of the bottom of the car striking a pole like that, I would imagine, aren't pretty high. I can only imagine how traumatic it must've been to be there to clean up/investigate the crash.

    • @CrewGuyPJ
      @CrewGuyPJ Рік тому +3

      @@ThatAlternativeTransGirl iirc it was reims in the 50s ..alan stacy.

    • @ThatAlternativeTransGirl
      @ThatAlternativeTransGirl Рік тому +6

      @@CrewGuyPJ just looked it up out of curiosity. Per Wikipedia, it was indeed Alan Stacy who was hit on lap 25 of the 1960 Belgian GP. Was driving for Lotus at the time. Hit it at 120 miles per hour up the long straight after the Eau Rouge/Radillion corner complex (exceptionally dangerous in its own right). Of course, hitting one at 230 miles per hour as opposed to 120 would definitely produce higher forces on the driver. Either way, the results wound up being the same. RIP to both Tony and Alan.

    • @ursuss100
      @ursuss100 Рік тому +2

      @@CrewGuyPJ Alan Stacey's fatal birdstrike was at Spa, not Reims. Actually, Chris Bristow had also died in a crash at the same spot just a few laps before, and Sir Stirling Moss was severely injured in another gnarly shunt in the same area during practice. A reminder that safety was virtually zero back then...
      By the way, Stacey's death remains the only fatality by birdstrike in F1 history... ^^

  • @OoferMotorsports
    @OoferMotorsports Рік тому +11

    he was born in the same place i'm from, hadnt heard of him before this. great video!

    • @Nathan___286
      @Nathan___286 7 місяців тому

      He was born in deland not Orlando

  • @johnvandeventer8668
    @johnvandeventer8668 Рік тому +21

    Rest in peace Tony Renna😔

  • @point20-ny3xq
    @point20-ny3xq Рік тому +17

    After the crash, Indycar tried his best to not talk about the accident, even in the season opener at Homestead they never said a thing about Tony, it was like he dissapeared and never existed. That only make us realised how bad was that accident

  • @AlonsoRules
    @AlonsoRules Рік тому +48

    I may sound macabre here, but I want to see the footage of the incident. Maybe not the impact itself but what caused it. Surely the right rear or something folded in? The fact that the cause has never been revealed leaves questions.

    • @GregBrownsWorldORacing
      @GregBrownsWorldORacing Рік тому +2

      Well, we Know it would NEVER be about Firestones... Even if it was awfully cold.

    • @scott_johnson_
      @scott_johnson_ Рік тому +1

      What difference does it make to you? The series saw the footage and knows the causes and made appropriate safety improvements to the extent possible. Case closed. They changed the chassis in 05

    • @PointNemo9
      @PointNemo9 Рік тому

      ​@@scott_johnson_ The fact the cause is still hidden implies there was a coverup

    • @johngancarcik5682
      @johngancarcik5682 Рік тому

      I'm thinking same for science what caused the car to disintegrate

    • @scott_johnson_
      @scott_johnson_ Рік тому +1

      @@johngancarcik5682 the fence and posts obviously. It’s not rocket science. Mario Andretti had a similar airborne incident while testing TK’s car that year, he just had it happen on the straightaway and didn’t hit the fence

  • @MrGoombasticveryFantastic
    @MrGoombasticveryFantastic Рік тому +10

    Tonys car split in pieces around him literally. Even the tub wasnt spared in this accident which is the strongest part of the car.

  • @VeliusCoba
    @VeliusCoba Рік тому +4

    Damn GREAT Video piece Thank You I appreciate It.

  • @jdlayson3362
    @jdlayson3362 Рік тому +5

    Great job with the video. Very accurate. Did a great job in the 500 to finish 7th after going back to dead last after the first pit stop. Had to make an emergency fuel stop. The pits were closed for a crash around lap 31.

  • @jeremyfisher8782
    @jeremyfisher8782 Рік тому +23

    There is NO chance that this wasn't captured on film. No way in the world, even then, that a race track like this one -- didn't have some sort of cameras pointing on the track at all times.

    • @camostrike4395
      @camostrike4395 8 місяців тому +3

      What adds credibility to this is either earlier or later that same year Mario Andretti had a similar accident except on the back stretch and we’ve got footage of that

    • @Zain.244
      @Zain.244 7 місяців тому +1

      What if indy hid it from the internet

  • @donnieearlharrisjr5941
    @donnieearlharrisjr5941 Рік тому +7

    He was a great American kid! I worked at his dad’s restaurant in Deland Florida . Just a nice family!

  • @craigbrown5359
    @craigbrown5359 Рік тому +9

    Such a sad moment as I looked forward to his talent being tapped by the Ganassi team!

  • @Bitterman5868
    @Bitterman5868 Рік тому +26

    This is the "official" statement, reality is that there were pieces of him at the stands and even the street behind that turn, he was disintegrated on the impact by the fence.

    • @donnymac990
      @donnymac990 Рік тому +4

      How do you know this? I have heard the same thing to for many years which is why indycar and the team swept this accident under the rug

    • @Posirep
      @Posirep Рік тому +17

      ​@donnymac990 Pretty sure it was started by people at the scene and its been twisted from there.
      I imagine it was a pretty gruesome sight...but not as gruesome as its been made into.

    • @Pewnhound112
      @Pewnhound112 Рік тому +7

      Gordon Smiley-esque

  • @RoadRunnergarage8570
    @RoadRunnergarage8570 Рік тому +5

    RIP Tony Renna..

  • @kurtfoulke5130
    @kurtfoulke5130 Рік тому +4

    R.I.P. Tony

  • @stephenbritton9297
    @stephenbritton9297 Рік тому +13

    Sadly, that was a common mindset amongst race series at the time, such as NASCAR, where it took Dale Sr's death to get them to pull their head out of their waste discharge opening and actually DO as much as the TALKED about safety. Greg Moore's death 4 years earlier should have been a wakeup call. Rena, Dana, Weldon and Wilson might all still be here.

  • @cpkdiecast
    @cpkdiecast Рік тому +20

    The talk about car parts and body parts and etc flying over the grandstands and out of the park was always sensationalized. Clearly there wasn't *that* much damage to the seating area, either.

    • @michaeljensen1817
      @michaeljensen1817 Рік тому +15

      Until this year's 500, I'd always agreed with that assessment. However, with the wheel flying into the parking lot, and if it had been a few hundred feet up the track, would have decapitated a couple dozen people, I've changed my mind on what's possible in those kind of wrecks.

    • @cpkdiecast
      @cpkdiecast Рік тому +1

      @@michaeljensen1817 The wheel was propelled that far because it was launched by another car.

    • @MrGoombasticveryFantastic
      @MrGoombasticveryFantastic Рік тому +6

      Obviously you havent seen the aerial photos after. Track got power washed and stands had noticeable damage on them

  • @EmperorGary1971
    @EmperorGary1971 Рік тому +3

    That crash is on the same level as Gordon Smiley's crash at Indy

  • @joba2872
    @joba2872 8 місяців тому +1

    No mention of the dead bird that was found lying on the track in this video. I’m surprised that didn’t get brought up

  • @SokkaRocks8
    @SokkaRocks8 Рік тому +3

    Yeah those rumors make no sense you can't see shit from outside the track on that side.

  • @S_marengo
    @S_marengo Рік тому +4

    4:30 Rusty Wallace truck!

  • @DJDouglasWarden
    @DJDouglasWarden Рік тому +2

    Nice piece. Thank you.

  • @saramccarty3921
    @saramccarty3921 Рік тому +2

    love your videos!!

  • @wilburshaw9330
    @wilburshaw9330 Рік тому +4

    I heard he was struck in the helmet by a bird & lost consciousness. But, I have no idea.

  • @JHockeyFan
    @JHockeyFan Рік тому +6

    I wish there was video of it. But it was allegedly so bad that they had to bury it. Many think he hit a bird, spun, went airborne, into the catchfence, pierced part of the catchfence, and into the lower part of the Turn 3 grandstands.

  • @brandonshifflett7808
    @brandonshifflett7808 11 місяців тому +5

    I just installed security at Tony's mother house in Florida! Lovely woman she gave me some signed pictures and I got some photos of his uniforms

  • @alexanderandrade7169
    @alexanderandrade7169 Рік тому +2

    Please do the tragedy of joe weatherley and billy wade

  • @Shawn-Leider
    @Shawn-Leider 6 місяців тому

    Those oval Indy races just seem so violent. Idk how they are now or if it’s even possible to make cars that fast safe on an oval.

  • @evanabernathy9677
    @evanabernathy9677 Місяць тому +1

    9:03 Tony Renna The Target Racer.

  • @DrSamwpepper
    @DrSamwpepper Рік тому +9

    Judging by the details described,Part of his car went THROUGH the catch fence,and it would've surpassed 1955 Le Mans if it happened on race day...
    Would've been the end of motor racing in America without a doubt.

  • @kelsimorrison1222
    @kelsimorrison1222 Рік тому +6

    Rip Tony renna3

  • @davidrice3337
    @davidrice3337 Рік тому +5

    what the hell do you expect is gonna happen when your in a sardine can going 220+ ?
    of course there were cameras on the
    racetrack - this was in the early 2000s - not 1937 - The tire manufacturer is the ones who knows what was or wasn't on camera - But when you strap in there's no guarantee - It's a morbid sport

  • @definitelynotaaltofelijahtime
    @definitelynotaaltofelijahtime Рік тому +7

    8:33 that is such a horrible thing to put on your car

  • @davidtx8777
    @davidtx8777 Рік тому +6

    Oh yeah, if his body parts were spread all over how was he pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital?

    • @extragoogleaccount6061
      @extragoogleaccount6061 Рік тому +8

      I agree that that doesn’t make too much sense. But also Indy has always had a practice of declaring drivers dead on arrival at the hospital. No one ever dies at the track…despite them almost always dying at the track.

    • @stevenkilsdonk2046
      @stevenkilsdonk2046 Рік тому +10

      In Dr. Olvey's book, he talks about what happens when the location of death is at the racetrack. It avoids a lot of headaches for the facility and the event by waiting to pronounce death at the hospital.

    • @saraschu2735
      @saraschu2735 Рік тому +1

      A liscensed doctor has to call time of death. I believe that, often, in the past, tracks kept emergency medicine folks on standby (EMT specialty) rather than a full practicing doctor for tire tests. It's possible they didn't feel the need to keep a doctor on site in the off season for a private tire test session. Or maybe whatever doctor who was supposed to be on sight was sick or called off for whatever reason. Or maybe the doctor on site didn't have a license to practice in Indiana.
      Ocam's razor and all that.

    • @phildaly3561
      @phildaly3561 Рік тому

      @@stevenkilsdonk2046That book is an absolute must read. Been a while since I read it, so may have to dig it out again, but sure it gives Jeff Krosnoff as an example of wanting to get a deceased driver off premises before announcing anything so as to avoid all sorts of legal complications. There's a Marshall Pruett piece about Krosnoff that confirms this, and talks about the police potentially wanting to seal the whole scene off for an accident investigation, with Krosnoff's team owner (aware of the fatal nature of the crash) insisting they remove him to hospital off-site to avoid any further distress for friends and family. I think the same thing happened in Greg Moore's accident, which was so obviously unsurvivable - witness Olvey's sensitive yet clearly coded "...further resuscitative efforts" comment in his initial update on Moore's condition. Clear to all what that meant, yet it delayed the need for a formal statement until he was off-site.

  • @briantaylor9285
    @briantaylor9285 Рік тому +5

    You really don''t want to see footage of the crash.

    • @donnymac990
      @donnymac990 10 місяців тому

      Have you ever seen video of the crash?

    • @briantaylor9285
      @briantaylor9285 10 місяців тому +1

      @@donnymac990 if there is footage of this crash, then its lost media. It would most likely never be released.

  • @chrisclausen4093
    @chrisclausen4093 Рік тому +1

    With 1:29 left what is that thing that Tony George is looking at with Ross-e on the front bumper anyone know is it for the speedway?

    • @RyanEverson16r
      @RyanEverson16r 11 місяців тому

      That's actually Alexander Rossi playing with a security robot they have at IMS.

  • @joeljohnson3515
    @joeljohnson3515 Рік тому +3

    Is there any supporting evidence regarding the alleged bird strike theory?

  • @brandensimmons653
    @brandensimmons653 Рік тому +7

    What if Tony ran the 500 and won and completed his dream with his family watching

  • @Nathan___286
    @Nathan___286 7 місяців тому

    My dad was good friends with him in highschool and they played soccer and baseball together

  • @FlashoftheBlades
    @FlashoftheBlades Рік тому +2

    There’s nothing wrong with branching out in your video topics. You’re hardly the first motorsports UA-camr to do so.

  • @saraschu2735
    @saraschu2735 Рік тому +3

    Couldnt the cameras have been turned off for the test period since it was so secretive and private? Im sure Firestone or the team likely took their own footage to document the test and the tires. As for the gas station you mentioned, I highly doubt it. Why give the owner of the track the footage? Why not keep it in case it turns into a case for the police? If the track did demand the footage, why never give an interview or something to the local news? Its clear from the helicopter images that they were able to keep their footage of the aftermath and publish it.
    Personally, i think its too profitable for your average gas station employee making minimum wage to not just sell it to tmz or something

    • @500stick
      @500stick Рік тому

      Firestone wouldn’t have had a camera crew all around the track that day.

  • @mr.robert2211
    @mr.robert2211 Рік тому +1

    I heard he was disintegrated in the crash. It looked like a plane crash, car pieces and body parts all over the place.

  • @springpro938
    @springpro938 Рік тому +2

    Is the legend the video is buried on the premises of the track?

  • @evanabernathy9677
    @evanabernathy9677 4 місяці тому

    9:40 Robert Wickens Crash At Pocono.

  • @leechjim8023
    @leechjim8023 Рік тому +2

    Irrelevent pictures being shown👎

  • @RunningOn7CylindersYT
    @RunningOn7CylindersYT Рік тому +2

    Wasnt this accident apart of the reason why the indycar team never ran #1 on their cars after 2004?

    • @stevenkilsdonk2046
      @stevenkilsdonk2046 Рік тому +5

      That's what folks like to say, even though Dixon could have run #9 in 2004 if it really was related. It's because Dixon had a bad season and teams will use any excuse to not run #1 anymore.

  • @Art1cuno-144
    @Art1cuno-144 Рік тому

    IndyCar is the Kentucky Derby of Autosports

  • @GamingWithHydro77
    @GamingWithHydro77 4 місяці тому

    dang he could've become a legend if he didnt die :(

  • @evanabernathy9677
    @evanabernathy9677 4 місяці тому +1

    9:04 2003

  • @Chatta-Ortega
    @Chatta-Ortega Рік тому +2

    Those crapwagons became airborne too easily.

  • @Leahi84
    @Leahi84 Рік тому +10

    Was an absolutely awful crash, and a terrible end to a promising career before it ever had a chance to start. On a side note, I can't believe there was a cure autism sponsor. As an autistic person, that is sooo offensive and glad thats not around anymore.

    • @FloridaManRacer
      @FloridaManRacer Рік тому

      As an Autistic person as well, I think you're WAY out of line. You need to stop thinking in the now and realize that when Tony Renna had that sponsor, they knew about 1/1000th about Autism that they know now. Back then it was thought it was a curable disease. Something along the lines of ADHD. A chemical imbalance in the brain that could be treated or even cured with medication. Autism Speaks and other organizations since have sponsored cars and do more to raise awareness of the Autism spectrum and focus on better treatments to help those with severe cases integrate into society successfully so they can properly take care of themselves. Cure Autism was a step in the right direction as the funding they gathered helped find what Autism REALLY was. Without people like them, we'd still be questioning how Autism affects people to this day.

  • @Jk1978-1
    @Jk1978-1 8 місяців тому

    Deal...Deal... DEAL!!!!! NOT DILL!!!

  • @Flaming-Hedgehog
    @Flaming-Hedgehog Рік тому +1

    Vampire Racing survives on blood.
    (insert category here)

  • @evanabernathy9677
    @evanabernathy9677 Місяць тому

    9:07

  • @bobdrooples
    @bobdrooples Рік тому

    Never did cure the tism

  • @scott_johnson_
    @scott_johnson_ Рік тому

    What accountability are you suggesting should have been taken? This entire video is ridiculous and stupid and there are several equally stupid similar videos of indycar crashes like this on UA-cam. There is speedway footage of the crash but it will never be released to the public. Why? Because it doesn’t need to be. The only reason this is a story is that it happened in somewhat “modern” times but this happens in racing. It’s not unusual nor remarkable.

  • @GregHuffman1987
    @GregHuffman1987 7 місяців тому

    crashhh

  • @chetcarman3530
    @chetcarman3530 Рік тому +8

    Dude -- DON'T use images of other crashes while describing a specific one! It amounts to misinformation and would NEVER fly as legit journalism! You're being sensationalistic for clicks. 😡

    • @extragoogleaccount6061
      @extragoogleaccount6061 Рік тому +2

      What are you referring to?

    • @BornIn1500
      @BornIn1500 Рік тому +3

      @@extragoogleaccount6061 he's referring to exactly what he said. During the description of the crash, pictures of other crashes were used because no footage exists of this crash.

    • @TheJingles007
      @TheJingles007 Рік тому +8

      @@BornIn1500I thought they were being used as possible similar-looking crashes

    • @BornIn1500
      @BornIn1500 Рік тому +2

      @@TheJingles007 right. But the person above me seemed confused.

  • @jameskim62
    @jameskim62 Рік тому

    RACE CAR DRIVER MUST BE TRUE TO HIMSELF NOT OVER DRIVE ABOVE THEIR HEAD. MUST STOP DRIVING IF YOU ARE NOT TALENT TO WIN CONSISTENTLY. OTHERWISE RACE CAR WILL KILL YOU ~~~~~~~

  • @Art1cuno-144
    @Art1cuno-144 Рік тому

    I Hate IndyCar they don't take care of there drivers like NASCAR & F1 Do

    • @gagemcpherson1956
      @gagemcpherson1956 10 місяців тому

      Nascar sat and did nothing til after they lost Dale Earnhardt

    • @mrpalaces
      @mrpalaces 6 місяців тому

      We just saw at least one if not two lives saved by aeroscreen in Mid Ohio. Cars were redesigned right after Franchitti's crash. What are you even on about