Warning: Some might find the footage hard to watch.
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Sprint car racing lost one of its best this past weekend when David Steele died died when his sprint car crashed at Desoto Speedway in the Southern Sprintcar Shootout Series. Steele was competing in the winged spring car event when, while racing for position, his No. 33 car wrecked on the three-eighths-mile asphalt oval.
Now, video has emerged of the crash that took his life. The first video shows the beginning of the race, and, at about the 1:56 mark, Steele's car smashes into the wall:
In this version, you can see a closer view that more accurately depicts the force and violence of the collision:
Following the accident, the track released this statement, via it's Facebook page:
Steele was going for his 100th win the the accident occurred.
The Bradenton Herald reported that Steele's car hooked tires with another car, sending Steele's car flipping through the air. It hit an outside retaining wall and spun before coming to rest. Emergency workers rushed to the track, but Steele was pronounced dead at the scene.
Steele started in Florida, racing open-wheel cars, and then found success in USAC. He also raced in the NASCAR XFinity series and Verizon IndyCar before returning to sprint car racing. He was Silver Crown Champion in 2004 and 2005, and was a two-time winnter of the Turkey Night Grand Prix midget race. His 53 national feature wins included 26 sprint cars, 14 in Silver Crown and 13 midgets.
The reaction almost immediately started pouring in:
Godspeed Dave Steele, will never forget going to my first USAC pavement race and my dad telling me to watch him and try to learn.
— Chase Briscoe (@ChaseBriscoe_14) March 26, 2017
Our prayers go out to the family of Dave Steele. Our former teammate, he was one of the best open-wheel drivers of this era. Godspeed - TSR
— Tony Stewart Racing (@TonyStewart_Rcg) March 26, 2017
Devastated we've lost Dave Steele tonight. One of my favorite sprint car drivers & a guy who drove for us at Panther. Prayers for his family
— J. Douglas Boles (@jdouglas4) March 26, 2017
