Salt Walther - Indy Racing

Indy Racing

Walther raced in the 1970-1981 seasons, with 64 combined career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 from 1972 to 1976, and 1978 to 1979. He finished in the top ten 16 times, with a best finish, four times, of 7th position.

Walther first raced at Indianapolis in 1972, finishing 33rd and last due to a broken magneto.

In 1973 he qualified 17th but again finished last after one of the most spectacular and famous accidents in the history of the race at the start of the 1973 Indianapolis 500. As the field received the green flag, Steve Krisiloff, on the inside of the third row, developed engine trouble and slowed down, producing a traffic jam on the main straightaway as the rest of the cars accelerated. Walther, forced to his right by drivers taking evasive action in front of him, touched wheels with Jerry Grant and was catapulted over the wall and into the fence above it. Walther has maintained that he was hit from behind, forcing him into Grant, but this claim is not supported by films of the crash and is not widely accepted by other drivers.

The impact tore down the fence and snapped off the nose of Walther's car, exposing the driver's legs and breaking open the fuel tanks, which at that time were located beside the driver. The fuel immediately began spraying out of the car, some of it reaching the front rows of the grandstand where several spectators suffered burns. The car crashed back onto the track and spun down the main straightaway upside-down, still spraying fuel which ignited into a huge fireball that enveloped the rest of the field. Blinded by the burning methanol, several other drivers crashed into Walther's car and each other, though none of them suffered serious injuries.

Walther's car finally stopped at the entrance of turn one, with the driver's legs clearly visible sticking out of the broken nose. Walther was quickly rescued by track safety workers (with the help of Wally Dallenbach, Sr.) and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Walther was fortunate to have had all the fuel sprayed out of the car, allowing the fire to burn out quickly, but suffered burns over 40% of his body. Walther's most severe injuries were to his hands — the fingers on his left hand had to be partially amputated, and those on his crushed right hand eventually healed into unnatural angles. He wore a black glove over the left hand to cover the damage. Walther was in the Michigan Burn Center for two and a half months, and lost around 50 pounds.

After a year of recovery, Walther returned to Indianapolis in 1974, finishing 17th. In 1975 he again finished 33rd and last, making him the only driver to finish last three times at Indianapolis. (*Although George Snider finished 33rd in 1971, 1979 and 1987, the two extra cars in the 1979 field meant that Snider finished last only twice.) Walther scored his best result of 9th in the rain-shortened 1976 race. In 1977, Walther failed to qualify for the Indy 500, and attempted to buy (at an exorbitant price) one of the qualified cars. This plan, however, was later abandoned, and created considerable negative press.

Following struggles with an addiction to painkillers, he attempted a comeback in 1990. Walther qualified for the race, only to be bumped out on the last day of qualifying, and the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, Inc. awarded him the dubious "Jigger Award" for his efforts.

Due to his lack of success, as well as the considerable financial backing of his father, Walther was sometimes regarded as a rich playboy with more money than talent. In the December 1999-January 2000 issue of Champ Car magazine, racing journalist Robin Miller named him the third-worst Champ car driver, saying, "This wealthy young man had some of the best cars available in the 1970s. But vanity and a horrid attitude kept him from ever reaching the podium."