Michigan International Speedway - Notable Accidents

Notable Accidents

• 1978: Al Holbert flipped on the backstretch during the first race of the 1978 IROC V racing season.

• 1981: A. J. Foyt slammed sideways into the Armco barrier during the Michigan 500 and almost lost an arm.

• 1984: Pancho Carter flipped violently on the final lap of the Michigan 500.

• 1984: Al Unser Jr. and Chip Ganassi crashed into the inside retaining wall on the backstretch. The crash effectively ended Ganassi's driving career.

• August 1985: During practice for the Michigan 500, polesitter Bobby Rahal crashed hard into the wall, an accident blamed on the newly introduced Goodyear radial tires. Competitors refused to race the following day, and the race was postponed. The following weekend, just 10 of 30 cars finished the race. 10 due to mechanical failures and 10 due to wrecks. Danny Ongais flipped several times down the backstretch while Mario Andretti broke his collar bone and hip, and had to miss the next race.

• June 1986: Rick Baldwin crashed in turn 2 during Winston Cup qualifying. His window net failed when he smacked the wall with the drivers side of the car. His head protruded enough out of the window to smack the wall. He sustained massive head injuries and was in a coma for 11 years before passing away in 1997. He was 42.

• August 1992: Clifford Allison, son of retired NASCAR driver Bobby Allison, was killed during a practice-run crash for the NASCAR Busch Series race.

• August 1993: In a Busch Grand National Series race, Johnny Benson got airborne on the backstretch and flipped 5 times before coming to rest. He was uninjured.

• August 1994: Ernie Irvan crashed in an early morning practice session. According to drivers on the track, a right front tire deflated, sending Irvan's car into the Turn Two wall at over 170 miles per hour (270 km/h). Emergency workers at the track extricated him from the car, and he was immediately airlifted to Saint Joseph's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was diagnosed with critical brain and lung injuries and given only a 10% chance of surviving the night. After making a full recovery, Irvan returned to NASCAR in 1995. In 1997 Irvan won his final race at the June race at Michigan. Exactly 5 years after his near fatal accident there, Irvan crashed at Michigan while driving his own #84 Irvan-Simo Federated Auto Parts Pontiac in a practice session for the Busch Series race. Ernie was again airlifted from the track and was diagnosed with a mild head injury and a bruised lung as a result of the accident. Less than two weeks later, on September 3, 1999, surrounded by his wife and two children, Irvan announced his retirement from driving at a tearful press conference in Darlington, SC.

• July 28, 1996: In the first lap of the Marlboro 500, Emerson Fittipaldi tried to overtake Greg Moore by the third place in turn one, but they had a contact and Emmo's car was launched to the outside wall. As the result of the accident, Fittipaldi had the seventh cervical vertebrae smashed. This accident ended his professional career.

• July 26, 1998: Three spectators were killed and six injured from flying debris during a CART race crash. Those killed were Kenneth Dale Fox, 38, of Lansing, Michigan; and Sheryl Ann Laster, 40, and Michael Terry Tautkus, 49, both of Milan, Michigan.

• 2000: Elliott Sadler went on a wild ride when he flipped twelve times in a practice accident after cutting a tire in turn 1.

• August 2003: Todd Bodine and Kurt Busch got together in turn 2 on lap 63. Bodine's car went up the track into Kenny Wallace and turned head on into the wall. Todd's car lifted into the air onto the hood of Wallace's and slid down the track as Wallace's car burst into flames. Both drivers quickly got out of their cars and were alright.

• 2004: Chad McCumbee rolled six times over and over after contact with a few cars in an ARCA race.

• 2007: Dario Franchitti went spectacularly airborne during the IRL Michigan/Firestone Indy 400, but escaped without significant injury.

• June 2009: Brian Scott pounded the turn 4 wall, breaking his wrist in a Camping World Truck Series race.

• August 2012: Mark Martin gets turned by Kasey Kahne into pit road striking the end of a pit wall right behind the drivers compartment climbing out of the car uninjured in a Sprint Cup Series race.