IRL's Renna Killed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Topics:  Tony Renna, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Voice of America
October 23, 2003

Indy Racing League driver Tony Renna was killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana Wednesday morning, after crashing at a speed of over 350 kilometers per hour during a test drive.

The 26-year-old Renna was driving his first laps for his new team, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. The Florida-based driver was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Renna was executing a tire test and was going into turn-three when his car became airborne. The car is believed to have cleared a four-foot concrete wall and crashed into the catch fence where it then broke apart in the cockpit area. Renna made only one IndyCar start this season, finishing seventh in the Indy 500. He made six starts last season, finishing a season-best fourth at Michigan. He drove in the Indy Lights Series from 1998 to 2000 and made his IRL debut in 2002. A few weeks ago, he was named to replace Tomas Scheckter on the Target Chip Ganassi team for 2004.