Adam Petty (lost footage of fatal NASCAR Busch Series practice session crash; existence unconfirmed; 2000)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a fatal motor racing accident.

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Adam Petty

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

Adam Petty was a race car driver competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (then known as the NASCAR Busch Series). Adam was the fourth driver in line to drive for the Petty family, making him the first fourth-generation driver in NASCAR history.

Death

On May 12th, 2000, Adam Petty was driving during a practice session for the Busch 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While going into the third turn, Petty's number 45 Chevrolet suffered a hung throttle and hit near head-on into the concrete wall at nearly 200m/h. He was killed instantly upon hitting the wall from a basilar skull fracture at the age of 19. Eight weeks later, the car driven by 30-year-old Kenny Irwin Jr. would also suffer a hung throttle and crash into turn number three at the same track similarly to Adam Petty. This led NASCAR to add many safety features, with the most notable feature being kill switches.

Availability

It remains unknown if the wreck was ever filmed. Unlike today, practice sessions were not always broadcast on television and the 2000 Busch 200 was one of those that received no known coverage. There is footage online of the wreck's aftermath, showing the extensive damage inflicted on Petty's car and the wall that it collided with. Due to the accident's graphic nature, and out of respect for Petty and his relatives, it is extremely unlikely any potential crash footage will be publicly released.

Gallery

Images

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  Adam Petty’s car surrounded by track marshals following the crash.

Video

Aftermath of the crash.

Digital Reenactment of the Crash.

External Link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Petty