Indy Racing League driver Tony Renna died on Oct. 22 after crashing into the outside wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Renna was driving his G Force-Toyota close to 220 mph when the accident ended his promising career. He was 26.
Renna started racing when he was only six years old. His entire childhood was spent racing go-karts, micro-sprints and quarter-midgets in hundreds of competitions. A two-time national quarter-midget champion, Renna was named rookie of the year in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 1996.
He joined Indy Lights, the developmental series for CART, in 1998, and spent two years driving in the series before he debuted in IRL in 2002 as a substitute driver for Al Unser Jr. Renna competed in seven IndyCar Series races with Kelley Racing, finishing in the top 10 five times. He finished seventh in the Indianapolis 500 last May, and joined the elite Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team this month.
Renna, who was to be married in a few weeks, was the 67th person killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since it opened in 1909.
October 23, 2003 by
Tony Renna
Categories: Sports
When racing great Dale Earnhardt died in a racing accident, the beautiful country song, “The Dance,” was played in memory of him. Since then, it never played again. The day I found out that rising star Tony Renna died, the first song I heard when I flipped on the radio was “The Dance.” Tony would have been the next Dale. My deepest regrets go out to his family, fiance, and all the rest of his fans.