4 of the Unluckiest Moments in Auto Racing History

 4 of the Unluckiest Moments in Auto Racing History

By Brian Cotnoir

There is so much that goes into the details of planning a strategy for a race; not just for one race in particular, but pretty much the whole season.  Everything from the pit strategy, to the tire choice, to the car set up is planned before the car even gets on track.  However, sometimes a little luck is involved in that, and unfortunately for these 4 drivers luck seemed to run out when they needed it the most.

1.)  Dale Earnhardt Sr. finds every possible way to lose the Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt was a 7-time NASCAR Champion, one of the best and most popular drivers of his Generation, he won every major race including the All-Star Race, the Coca Cola 600, The Southern 500, and The Brickyard 400, but the one race missing from his trophy case was the Daytona 500.   Dale Earnhardt had come, oh so, close on several occasions to winning the Great American race, but whether it be a tire puncture on the last corner, a wreck on the last lap, or strangely enough hitting a seagull, it seemed like Dale Earnhardt would never win the Daytona 500. 

After “20 years of trying of [and] 20 years of frustration” Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998.   To this date is still one of the most popular and memorable wins in NASCAR history.  Three years later at the same race that took him 20 years to win, Dale Earnhardt would lose his life in wreck on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

2.)  Will Power loses the championship at the final race 3 years in a row

Australia’s Will Power is one of the Best Drivers of his generation, he is a winner of the Indianapolis 500 and has won over 30 races in his IndyCar career, but from 2010-2012, none of them seemed to matter.   For three straight seasons Will Power went into that season’s final race as the points leader and all three races he wrecked in and lost the championship.  In 2011, Power was involved in the worst wreck—I’ve personally—ever seen and not only lost the championship, but his good friend and competitor Dan Wheldon in the wreck as well.  In 2014 Power’s bad luck at the season’s finale came to an end, and he clinched his first IndyCar Championship.

3.)  Death follows Adrian Fernandez on & off track

Every racecar driver dreams of getting their first win in a professional series, but for Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez, his 1^st win was bittersweet.  With 4 laps remaining in the Indy race on the streets of Toronto, driver Jeff Krosnoff’s car got airborne and crashed into a catch fence.  The red flag was displayed while the Medical team attended to Krosnoff.   The race was called early, and for Fernadez it would be his first win in the series.   Sadly, Jeff Krosnoff, and track marshal Gary Arvin were killed as a result of the crash.

Two years later, while competing at the U.S. 500 at the Michigan International Speedway, Fernandez had been running up near the front for most of the race.  On lap 175 he was involved in a single car wreck.  After striking the concrete wall, his cars right front wheel became dislodged and hopped over the catch fence.  The tire from Fernandez car went into the stands and killed three spectators.  Despite this awful incident the race continued.  The driver who won the U.S. 500 that year was Greg Moore.

In 1999, Fernandez season got off to a great start with a win at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.  Fernadez would have to miss 4 races after fracturing his hand during practice in Detroit, but was able to return and he went on to win the last race of the season; however Fernandez win would once again be overshadowed by tragedy.   During the race Greg Moore—the same driver who won the race where Fernandez tire flew into the stands and killed 3 spectators—was involved in a violent accident.  He was airlifted to a local hospital, but did not survive.  To my knowledge, Adrian Fernandez is the only driver to have won multiple races where another driver was killed.

4.)  Pierre Gasly loses Super Formula championship due typhoon

Pierre Gasly is presently an active Formula 1 driver.  He won the 2016 GP2 Championship and in 2017 was in contention for the Super Formula Championship in Japan.   Gasly was trailing by only half-of-a-point (0.5) to Hiroaki Ishiura going into the double-header finale at Suzuka.  It appeared this championship would go to the wire….that was until Typhoon Lan decided to make landfall in Japan.  The final two round of the season were cancelled and never rescheduled so Gasly missed out on the opportunity to win the Super Formula championship by only half-of-a-point.

That's one way to win a Championship.