Random Most Tragic Accidents On The Track In Nascar History (19 items)

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  (#6) Fireball Roberts

  • Dec. at 35 (1929-1964)

  Of the two NASCAR fatalities the average person could name, the other (apart from Earnhardt) will probably be Fireball Roberts. Fireball actually got his nickname from his blistering fastball, honed during his previous career in baseball.

  A graduate of the University of Florida, Fireball raced in the inaugural season of NASCAR in 1948, and was certainly its first great superstar. Calling him the Earnhardt or Richard Petty of his day would be an understatement. In an uncomfortable bit of irony, Fireball passed in a crash in 1964. 
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  (#14) Rick Baldwin

  • Dec. at 42 (1955-1997)

  In a story eerily similar to Don Williams, Baldwin is another who sustained a head injury on-track, and remained comatose for a decade before passing. Baldwin's wife sued, claiming that a failed NASCAR-spec window net was at fault.

  NASCAR was, however, cleared of all negligence by a district court jury. 
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  (#7) Don Williams

  There is a video of the 1979 crash that left Don Williams badly burned and lingering for the next ten years. Williams' Chevrolet Chevelle spun into a wall as he attempted to avoid a pile-up directly ahead, at the Daytona speedway just down the street from his home in Madison, Florida.

  After suffering for more than a decade, cared for by his wife and family members, Williams passed quietly at the age of 42. 
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  (#3) Adam Petty

  • Dec. at 20 (1980-2000)

  In probably the best known example of family tragedy in NASCAR racing, the first fourth-generation NASCAR driver in history, was terminated when his throttle stuck open during testing at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2000.

  Adam was the son of Kyle Petty, grandson of Richard Petty, and great-grandson of Lee Petty, one of the very first NASCAR drivers. He passed at 19. 
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  (#17) Rodney Orr

  • Dec. at 32 (1962-1994)

  Rodney Orr, like Adcox, was a racer constantly in search of money. In 1993, NASCAR instituted a rule change that made his car ineligible overnight, so Orr pieced together a new ride with a chassis borrowed from Ernie Elliot, and an engine borrowed from Yates Racing. (If that sounds familiar, yes - Will Ferrell actually did get this part of Ricky Bobby's story from Orr.) 

  This part, not so much: He crashed the car in practice, flipping it over a fence and impaling himself on a caution light. In 2001, autopsy photos of both Orr and pop star Lisa Lopes were leaked on the internet, and the whole world saw what a person looked like after being impaled by a caution light. Orr's widow sued the website owner, but the internet never forgets. Subseuently, moves were made to ensure Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos would never be made public. 
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  (#11) Don MacTavish

  At 28 years old, Don MacTavish was well on his way to becoming a superstar in NASCAR racing. He started out in demolition derby racing, and slowly worked his way up, championship by championship, in the lower echelons of stock car racing. In 1969, MacTavish made his debut in the big leagues at (of all places) Daytona.

  On lap nine, he got tangled up with Bob James, and hit the outside wall right at a gap in the wall. Hitting the end of the concrete barrier, the car was sheared in two, and its engine was thrown 100 feet. It was one of the most brutal crashes in NASCAR history. MacTavish actually survived the crash - just long enough be hit by another car. 

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