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burbanite
10-22-2003, 10:53 AM
Just over a week ago our team won the IRL Championship with Scott Dixon driving.
Shortly before that we signed up another young gunslinger to fill the seat in the other car for the 2004 season. You know the type, fit, seemingly fearless, confident without cockiness, secure in his abilities to get the job done.
I've seen many a new drivers face when he realizes he has just got the chance of a lifetime with a team that can help him achieve his goal and Tony was no different when he walked in our front door. Perma grin, eyes wide and full of life. He hung out here at the shop during the week just to be a part of everything that was happening. Great kid.
This morning that young life was taken from us in a testing accident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He didn't get to complete his fifth lap in his new car.

superV
10-22-2003, 10:58 AM
Sorry to hear of his lose.Aleast he died doing what he loved. My prays go out to his friends and loved ones.
I tell you these forums have more death than i have ever ex. in life until joining them.:frown:

leibniz
10-22-2003, 10:59 AM
:( :( :( :( :(
That is so unfortunate, and sad.

hd&boatrider
10-22-2003, 11:02 AM
Sorry to hear that. I read it today over at Foxsports. My condolences.

Her454
10-22-2003, 11:05 AM
My heart goes out to the families of all who have lost their loved ones recently. There does seem to be alot of death lately in the forums, maybe due to the fact our boating family is growing daily and with larger numbers come a larger percentage for tragedy in our world. Its never easy to accept or deal with and I think friends are the key to getting through everything in life, including death.
God Bless.

HOSS
10-22-2003, 11:33 AM
My condolensces,,,,,pouring out 1/3 of my Slo Gin.

Tom Brown
10-22-2003, 11:39 AM
Sorry, Burb. :(
I'll always be grateful for the shop tour you gave my friend and I. It was second to none and it was obvious that you are an extremely classy group of people. My heart goes out to all of you.
-- Tom :(

JetBoatRich
10-22-2003, 11:53 AM
My heart goes out to the Family and close friends through this time.

HavasuDreamin'
10-22-2003, 01:21 PM
Tracy and I's deepest condolences go out to the team, staff, family and friends.
God Speed!

rrrr
10-22-2003, 02:03 PM
burbanite, I've been hurting all day. I know it must be really bad for you guys, I'm truly sorry. I didn't know Tony very well, but by all accounts he was a fine young man. What a tragedy.
The risks the guys take are there, but you don't like to think about them. Last week at TMS when Kenny crashed, I thought the worst had happened. The wrecker brought the tub by our pit after the crash, completely wrapped in a tarp. When I heard that Kenny was "awake and alert", I almost collapsed from relief. Greg came into the pits after the race and we got him out of the car, I hugged him so hard it prolly almost broke his ribs. I realized how much he means to me and how dangerous this game is.
When I heard the news this morning I hoped and prayed it was wrong. So hard to take, a well liked enthusiastic and talented driver getting his chance at the "bigs", only one month away from being married. Shit, I'm getting torn up typing this.
I love racing. But sometimes it turns on you, becomes a monster. It's very hard to deal with.
God speed, Tony. My condolences to his fiance, family, and all the folks at TCGR.

burbanite
10-22-2003, 02:42 PM
Thank you all.
When you enter this business whether it is as a driver, mechanic, truck driver or PR rep you assume the risk involved, not only for yourself but for everyone. This is no walk in the park.
I have had the greatest of highs throughout my many years of racing, they are always tempered by the lowest of lows, I don't know too many arenas that can expose you to emotions at these extreme levels.
It has been a bad day here at TCGR.

jbtrailerjim
10-22-2003, 04:01 PM
Burbanite,
Sorry to hear about this tradgedy. My deepest condolences go out to all his family and friends. Very sad.:frown:

058
10-22-2003, 05:01 PM
My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Very sad indeed.

Seadog
10-22-2003, 07:14 PM
At that age, we are invincible. It is painful when someone with a promising future finds out that it is not so. It is small comfort that he was living his dream, but better than being part of a nightmare.

mbrown2
10-22-2003, 07:29 PM
Terrible...one thing about this forum is it really makes the world a smaller place...I heard the news at the gym at lunch, and I thought it was dreadful...young driver, new ride, great team,...perfect combo for success...all gone....Get home and get on the forums and see it affected one of the board members much more intimately....sorry to hear the news...
Thoughts and Prayers go out to his family...

playdeep
10-22-2003, 08:06 PM
I first saw Renna when he filled in for Al jr. at Kelley last year...
The young man did an incredible job.
What really impressed me was his attitude and demeaner,I remember thinking this kid is a RACER...
My sincere condolences to his friends,family and team.

JetBoatRich
10-22-2003, 08:55 PM
saw it on the news tonight and read this on ESPN
http://espn.go.com/i/rpm/irl/mugs/trenna.jpg
INDIANAPOLIS -- Race driver Tony Renna, taking his first laps with his new team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a tire test, was fatally injured Wednesday morning.
Renna, who would have turned 27 years old next month, was negotiating Turn 3 when his car jumped sideways and became airborne. According to witnesses, the car cleared the four-foot concrete wall and smashed into the catch fence -- snapping posts, scattering parts and killing Renna instantly of massive internal trauma.
The Indy Racing League medical team reacted immediately and tried to revive Renna but could never establish a heartbeat, according to a source close to Renna's Target Chip Ganassi Racing team. Renna was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Speedway spokesman Ron Green said the cause of the accident wasn't yet known, but crew members from another IRL team told ESPN.com that Renna's car may have pinched the corner and got into the grass separating the pit lane from the track. That could explain why Renna's car was launched, going from grass to pavement and the air getting under the tub and sending it sailing into the catch fence.
Because of its altitude Renna's car never came into contact with the IMS safety barrier, located in front of the concrete wall and a breakthrough in driver safety at Indy the past two years.
Aerial photos from a helicopter at a local television station showed the aftermath of the ferocious crash with a big portion of the catch fence destroyed. Pieces from the car were also thought to have landed on the grandstand walkway in Turn 3.
"We're mourning the loss of our driver, friend and colleague," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "On behalf of our whole team, we send our sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Tony Renna."
"Tony was a great young guy," Green said. "I don't think anyone in the paddock ever had a bad thing to say about Tony."
Said Tony George, IRL and IMS president: "Tony Renna was a rising star in IndyCar Series racing. All of us involved in racing feel a great loss. On behalf of my family and the staff of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, our prayers and best wishes go out to his family, friends, team and fans."
In becoming the 67th person and 40th driver to lose his life at Indianapolis, the native of DeLand, Fla., was the first Indy-car racer to die since Greg Moore perished in a CART race at Fontana, Calif., in 1999, and the first death at Indy since Scott Brayton died in a crash during practice in 1996.
Renna, scheduled to be married next month, had only been on the track for five laps when the accident took place shortly before 9:30 a.m. It was the same car driven 228 mph the day before by 2003 IRL champ Scott Dixon.
Renna made one IndyCar start this season.
After serving as a test driver/spotter for Kelley Racing, Renna filled in for Al Unser Jr. during the 2002 IRL season and notched five top-10 finishes, including a career-best fourth in 2002 at Michigan, with the team. This year, he qualified eighth and finished seventh at the Indy 500 while also continuing to spot for Unser. Renna also drove in the Indy Lights series from 1998 to 2000.
A few weeks ago, Renna finally got the break he'd been waiting for and was named to replace Tomas Scheckter at the formidable Target/Ganassi team for 2004.
"There were lean times but I never considered giving up on racing," said Renna at that time. "I think I've played the patience game pretty well and I'm ready to be in a place like this (Ganassi).
"There's been some interesting circumstances to get me to this point but I think my time has come."
Renna, who began racing at age 6, had won 252 races in mini-sprints, go-karts, micro-sprints and quarter-midgets. He was a two-time national champion in quarter-midgets, and was the 1996 rookie of the year in the Barber Dodge Pro Series.
In 1998, after a two-year stint in the Barber Dodge series, Renna joined Indy Lights, CART's developmental series at the time.
Just two weeks ago in the IRL finale at Texas, 1999 Indy winner Kenny Brack was seriously injured when his car touched wheels with Scheckter's and sent him into a violent flip. Brack's car broke up, like it's designed to dissipate energy, and he suffered a broken back, sternum, right leg and fractured both ankles.
This past April, Mario Andretti was testing his son's car at the Speedway when he ran over a small piece of debris and flipped across the short chute. But the 63-year-old legend miraculously escaped injury when his car bounced off the top of the catch fence and back on the racing surface -- landing on its wheels.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Sad news

Jungle Boy
10-22-2003, 11:28 PM
Very sad news. Everyone is aware of the risks involved in motorsports, but it is still difficult to accept the losses when they happen. I hope your team bounces back soon.

Back To Havasu
10-23-2003, 10:48 AM
Our thoughts and prayers to the family, TCGR, and his fiancee. Life is precious and tomorrow is not promised to any of us.
GODSPEED:(

Jrocket
10-23-2003, 10:57 AM
Sorry to hear about this Burb.:(