page_title: Tony Renna
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Tony Renna / Death
context_page_description: Anthony James Renna was an American racing driver who competed in Indy Lights and the Indy Racing League from 1998 to 2003. Renna began competitive racing at the age of six, winning 252 races and two national quarter-midget championships before the age of 15. Renna progressed to car racing at 16, competing for three years in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and partnering with stock car driver Jerry Nadeau and finishing second for the United States team for the 1996 EFDA Nations Cup. He progressed to Championship Auto Racing Teams' developmental series Indy Lights, winning one race during his three seasons in the championship from 1998 to 2000.
  In 2002, Renna signed with Kelley Racing to be its test driver in the IRL, and was the driving coach and spotter to actor and Infiniti Pro Series participant Jason Priestley. Renna competed in seven races for Kelley Racing before signing a contract to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2004 IndyCar Series. During an October 2003 tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Renna was killed instantly in a collision with a retaining fence.
context_section_description: Renna made his first on-track appearance for Chip Ganassi Racing in a private Firestone tire-test session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 22. The track and the tires on his car were cold. At 9:20 am Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−05:00), while on his fourth lap driving the No. 10 G-Force-Toyota car, Renna entered turn three below the normal racing line at 227 mph (365 km/h). He lost control of the vehicle, without having made any prior collision with the trackside SAFER barriers, which did not appear to have suffered a mechanical fault. Renna's car spun sideways, just after the turn's apex and rotated 90 degrees to the left into the infield grass. Air penetrated the vehicle's bottom, causing it to lift as it skipped over the grass. While travelling airborne, the car turned about another 30 degrees to the left.
  The bottom of Renna's car struck the outside retaining fence above the 4 ft (1.2 m) SAFER barrier at the exit to turn three, causing a deceleration of more than 100 g₀ (980 m/s²), a force that the human body is unable to withstand. This destroyed the car, splitting it into two, throwing its gearbox into the nearby grandstand, snapping the fence posts, and scattering debris over the track and grandstand walkway. The first layer of grandstand in the track's north section was lacerated. Renna, who was equipped with a HANS device, was killed instantly by massive internal trauma. No one else was injured. The cockpit tub that holds the driver inside the car was ensnared in the fence and dangled there with Renna still in it. IRL medical personnel arrived at the scene and were unable to restart Renna's heart. He was transported by ambulance to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, about a six-minute drive away, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 9:43 local time.
caption: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (pictured in 2005), where Renna was killed in a post-season test session accident while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
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