mark donohue accident mark donohue accident

He turned his last race, the first International Race of Champions finalin which top driver from all forms of racing competed into an easy victory Feb. 15, 1974, and then concentrated on his new duties as president of Penske Racing. A mechanical engineering graduate from a wealthy New Jersey background, Donohue won everything in sight on the US scene, in every major category. By clicking on 'Join' button, you confirm that you are over 13 years of age and agree to the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. Back then it was tape-delayed, and she was watching the race on TV. Acid-dipping car bodies was prevalent with competing Trans-Am teams also. Im sure David really missed out on a lot. There was no real color out of it. Mark Donohue began racing at the age of 22 in a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette . The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery, Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery August 19, 1975 in Graz, Styria, Austria (car accident) Birth Name: Mark Neary Donohue Jr. Mini Bio (1) Mark Donohue was born on March 18, 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, USA. An investigation determined tire failure caused Donohues fatal crash, and the family won a $12 million settlement. Through racing and after more than four decades after the tragic death of his father, David Donohue believes he has found Mark Donohue. 1975 Camaro Racemark GT Bob Bailey. The 2023 Genesis G90 Shows Sedans Still Matter, Horner: FIA 'Got a New Couch' From His Team's Fine, Why Ford and GM Truck Production Has Stopped, Alonso, Aston Martin Put Red Bull on Notice, Autoweek Racing on TV: February 27-March 5, Racer helped build the foundation for Roger Penske's racing success, Newman/Haas Racing Is Selling 42 Indy Cars Oct. 29, Three-time Indy 500 Starter Rasmussen Dies at 85, How Dixon's Simple Mistake Cost Him Indy 500 Win, Move Over ABBA, Sweden Has a New Racing Superstar, Jimmie Johnson's Indy 500 Experience Ends in Crash, Ayla Agren Is Montoya's Eyes in the Sky for 500, 11 Closest Indianapolis 500 Finishes in History, Larry Foyt Out to Get A.J. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. Revson's death made it almost inevitable that Donohue would come out of retirement. The Newtown Square facility was a small, 4,000 square-foot garage out back with a small bungalow in front of the shop. He died on August 19, 1975 in Graz, Styria, Austria. He could drive a car in the 24-hour race at Daytona, a Trans-Am Car, an Indy car and a NASCAR car. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. For the remainder of the 1970 season, Donohue ran a different Lola, with Chevy power, finishing second (again behind Al Unser) at Indianapolis Raceway Park in July. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 91730 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. 1968 would be a banner year for Donohue in the Trans-Am series, as he successfully defended his 12 Hours of Sebring victory by partnering with Craig Fisher and driving his Penske Chevrolet Camaro to victory. Please try again. Two weeks ago, he took the 1973 CanAm car out of mothballs and set a world speed record for a closed course of 221.160 miles an. That is something I would have never had if I didnt go to races. This account has been suspended due to strange activity. Donohue chronicled his entire racing career in the book, The Unfair Advantage (co-written with noted motorsports and engineering journalist Paul Van Valkenburgh). Browse 481 mark donohue stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Donohue died in the one aspect of auto racing he Had not conqueredgrand prix. In the 1971 Indianapolis 500, Donohue started second and led 52 of the first 66 laps before breaking a gearbox. So in a televised interview after the incident, race driver Mark Donohue told the story of his horrific practice crash at Road Atlanta with carefully chosen words. During testing at Road Atlanta, Donohue recommended larger brake ducts, believing that more cooling would slow the brakes' degradation during a race. Mark was an engineer from Brown University, Penske said. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/21/archives/mark-donohue-returns-to-die.html. Hed drive the truck, hed drive the race car, he would work on the car. Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J. Mark wasnt an emotional guy. He won three times in IndyCar competition and won the 1973 NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California, driving an AMC Matador. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The Penske grand prix car proved a disappointment and Donohue's best finish this season was a fifth place in the British Grand Prix. Were far from having too much horsepower, he asserted. A Montgomery County man who crashed his car and fled from the wreck, leaving three of his friends dead or dying, on Thursday was sentenced . Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway. He died in 1975 a day after a crash during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. No one piece tells you what the puzzle is. [4] He was survived by his wife and two sons from his first marriage. Mark Donohue was killed during a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. He was hit on the side of his helmet with debris as his car, which had suffered a punctured tire, went out of control in prerace practice and crashed through four rows of wire catchfences and some billboards along the Oesterreichring race course. We need an obit." Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. Le Mans proved frustrating for Donohue. As Roger Penske said, Mark wasnt flashy, but he put the numbers on the board.. through one of the fastest turns on the track. He was sleeping at the shop, and he couldnt say no to Rogercouldnt decline more development, more cars, more projects., Weary and still recuperating from leg injuries sustained in an awful crash at Road Atlantawhich briefly left him allegedly abusing alcoholDonohue announced his retirement at the end of 73. He was the thinking man's driver, maybe because, unlike most of his rivals, he had an Ivy League education and maybe because looking at that cherubic face, which was several years younger than his racescarred body, there was no other way to explain how this kid was winning. As an American driver, he had done it all. Then, in March, 1974, Peter Revson, Penske's first choice as driver for the Formula One car that was to make its debut later in the season, was killed in an accident practicing for the South African Grand Prix. From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. He tried to get a car dealership; that didnt work. ), entered April 29, 2014 in Albany County, which granted a motion by defendants James Finck and Tougher Industries Enterprises, LLC for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against them. He joined Roger Penske, a former sports car rival who had set up his own team, the following year as a fulltime professional. Coffay fled the scene. A visit to the gravesite on a gray, cold, foggy March day revelaved little toy race cars on the gravestone, along with a plastic checkered flag -- a testament the life of Mark Donohue. I don't think I could have handled that.. During the day, being the state of health still worrying, he was airlifted to the Universittsklinik of Graz where he was operated by Dr. Fritz Heppner. What I realize now is that I wouldnt have succeeded in my other businesses if Mark hadnt completely taken over the race team., In the Penske garage at Indy in 71, someonecertainly not Donohue or Penskeerected a sign that said: Those of you who think you know it all are particularly annoying to those of us who do., .css-dhtls0{display:block;font-family:GlikoS,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:400;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-dhtls0:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 61.25rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Elana Scherr: Dodge Challenger Challenge Accepted. David Donohue drives his dad's 1972 Indy 500-winning car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. Prof. Fritz Heppner, head of the neurosurgical department at Graz Hospital, said irreparable damage had been done to that part of the brain that controls involuntary body functions. Mark Donohue's Fatal Crash - sterreichring 1975 (42 years ago) Humphrey The Auto Racing Fan 1989 2.38K subscribers Subscribe 54 Save 13K views 5 years ago Notice Age-restricted video. My involvement in racing has been like a jigsaw puzzle, David Donohue told Autoweek. Once, in 1971, he and Penske showed up at the Canadian Grand Prix and Jackie Stewart, the former world champion, kidded them: Welcome to the major leagues.. What we learned from Friday practice at F1's 2023 Bahrain GP. Penske, along with Donohue's wife, Eden, and father, Mark Sr., were at Donohue's bedside. Drexel University 1973 Lexerd (Yearbook), pp. The guy that is most like Mark that Ive ever met is David, said Don Cox. A lot of the things we saw on todays cars are things Mark thought about and brought to the surface., Mark Donohue stood out more ways than one when he was dominating the Can Am Series in the early. I can hardly wait to get back to work with our car, he said. The original Penske Racing team included Penske, Donohue, chief mechanic and crew chief Karl Kainhofer. The bungalow is where team manager Chuck Cantwell and the teams public relations director Dan Luginbuhl worked along with secretary Maryann ODonnell. [11] Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. It meant immediate surgery. Donohue did not start the first race of the year at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City due to problems getting the engine to start. It includes information and additional photography that was not available before the first edition was published. Bernie Ecclestone hopes BBC agrees new Formula 1 UK TV deal, Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice Both Donohue and Penske changed teams to American Motors Corporation in 1970 and won their third championship in 1971. Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery. Mark returned [a year later] because he realized he wasnt good at anything else. A headache resulted, however, and worsened. I got into racing because it seemed like an easy thing to do. A motorist was killed early Tuesday in a single-car crash in Montgomery County, police said. At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. The Ferrari lived up to none of Marks calculations, and he was devastated, Bedard recalls. The Penske PC1 was developed but the car proved problematic and midway through the season they decided to switch to a March 751 chassis. After considering the potential consequences, the race stewards allowed Donohue's victory to stand, but the rules for the 1968 season incorporated a change whereby all cars would be weighed during the technical inspection before the race. That sense of realism often hits Mark Donohues son. racing was concerned, he had done it all. He won many races for us and the first IROC championship with the Porsche. I dont remember him changing a bit.. August 19th marks twenty-five years ago that Mark Donohue passed away from brain trauma, which was caused from an accident while practicing for a Formula 1 event. Showing Editorial results for mark donohue. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp "Can-Am Killer" Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1972. He finds the same things funny. Truth is, they often didnt know if something would work., Thirty-three years after the big crash, Penske told Argetsinger: Mark was my best friend [this, despite Donohue once spearing his boss with an AMC Javelin in the pits, tossing Penske 15 feet]. But there was always that missing link, as he called itgrand prix. In 1967 and 1968, Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Donohue raced in seven of the eight races that year, winning six (at Las Vegas, Riverside, Bridgehampton, Watkins Glen, Pacific Raceways, and Mid-Ohio) and finishing third at the Laguna Seca Raceway round behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth. Password [2], Donohue was invited back to Le Mans by Ford in 1967. Hed eventually swap leads with Richard Petty, but took the reins of the race for good for the final 75 circuits, lapping the entire field in the process. It is there at Saint Teresa Cemetery and Mausoleum that Donohue is buried alongside his mother and father. I didnt expect that at all, David Donohue, 51, said. In 1969, Penske brought his team -- and the Penske way -- to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. We went to the Speedway in 1971 and we had this card that translated the speed on the stopwatch to your average speed. Donohue. The practice sessions were marred by serious accidents; Brian Henton destroyed his Lotus after sliding in an oil patch, and Wilson Fittipaldi broke his hand when crashing at the Rindt Kurve. Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times Or, signing some autographs. The real Mark came out.. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? It is core to the myth of Mark that he was just an okay driver but a genius engineer. This remains the last time a ringer captured a win in a Cup Series road course race, but the victory took on a far greater meaning in hindsight. During his stay at Griffith Mark drove the Griffith-owned Shelby 289 Cobra making his mark on the SCCA circuit. After an initial run of four laps, Donohue entered the pits for a routine check-up and a few adjustments. And when he thought he had done enough, he quit. Thank you. The two had a tremendous respect for each other and put their own personal egos aside to win races. Amazingly, Donohue only suffered an internal derangement of his knee with meniscus damage and limited cruciate plus collateral ligament damage. It was. GRAZ, Austria, Aug. 19 (AP)Mark Donohue, who ended an eightmonth retirement as an auto driver last year because he couldn't keep away from racing, died tonight of injuries suffered Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix. But in eight months of retirement, the quiet, wellspoken kid from the other side of the tracks learned that the hobby that had become an obsession still haunted him. Brian Redman drove it once in 1974, and that was it for the car as far as Penske campaigning it. Prior to a race, he would sit in the back of the transporter by himself in the dark and think about the race, Czarnecki said. To those who knew him best, he had a tremendous sense of humor and enjoyed pulling pranks. His first marriage ended in divorce and some friends blamed racing. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. Racing is a very weird circus that way. . And Mark Donohue couldn't live with retirement. Donohue, who also competed in endurance racing, IndyCar, NASCAR, Can-Am,. The driver of the Honda was killed. [2], Donohue was hired on March 29, 1964, by Jack Griffith [Griffith Motors, Syosset, N.Y./Plainview, N.Y.] as design engineer for the Griffith, formerly TVR Grantura Mk III, powered by a Ford 289 cid (4.7l) V8 engine. He lost his life doing what he wanted to do, which is one thing, but it took us a long time to get over that. The $9500 price was a 50-percent premium over the fully optioned Camaro Racemark started with. On his second lap he approached the Vst-Hgel very fast right-hander at the end of the main straight when, at about 162 mi/h (260 km/h), a rear tyre of his March 751-Ford Cosworth suddenly blew up. They continued to use the "lightweight" car in 1968, at the Sebring 12-hour race. It was hard to believe because Donohue and team owner Roger Penske were then the cleverest guys in racing. A Pennsylvania native by the name of Mark Donohue, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, pedaled a red-white-and-blue AMC Matador to his only Cup Series victory in six career starts. Donohue's death was announced by a spokesman for Roger Penske, a close personal friend and his team boss. When police found him about three hours later, his . He became a great friend of mine, Penske said in an IMS tribute to Donohue. He turned out to be a real partner of mine. He did it through sheer force of will. My definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear., Burge Hulett, Donohues lifelong friend, told Bedard: Mark was actually a bit of a doofus, awkward everywhere except behind the wheel. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. I used to hate riding with him to the airport, said Don Cox, a former chief engineer at Penske Racing when Donohue was with the team. Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results, Inskip Family History & Competition Engineering staff. He thinks the same way. Please try again. Mark Donohue died last night. Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Albany (Mark Donohue of counsel), for respondents. In 1971, of the ten races that the Over 2.5L Class cars participated in, Donohue won seven of them, including the final six races in a row, with AMC winning the Manufacturers' championship for the first time ever. Oops! Mark Donohue. It was always on to the next project.. What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards Donohue was able to obtain two fifth places in the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp and in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but scored five DNF's in the first 11 races of the season.A few days before going to Zeltweg for the Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled to be contested on 17 August 1975, Penske and Porsche attempted to set the world closed-course record. Mark Donohue racked in 59 career wins for Team Penske in several different series. Penske's new Penske Racing complex in Mooresville, North Carolina is decorated with various murals of Donohue and his racing cars, most notably the AMC stock car and the various Porsche prototypes that Donohue drove through his career. [9] That year, Donohue also won two divisional championships: in SCCA B Class in a GT350 and in SCCA Formula C in a Lotus 20B. The winner of the 1972 Indianapolis 500 and the Can Am in l973. Auto Race Car Driver. If he didnt test a car before a race, he didnt have his Peanuts security blanket and would fret that his edge was lost.. Donohue won in 1972, driving for Penske. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . The out-of-control car left the track at high speed, tore some 60 meters of the catch-fence on the left side of the track and crashed against the guard-rail, vaulting over it. I could see myself helping to develop the Formula One car, setting it up and then having some younger hotshot driver take over. Donahue qualified fourth and passed Bobby Allison for the lead on Lap 10. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. Some day, they promised each other, Donohue would try to become the first American since Phil Hill in 1961 to win the world driving chmpionship. The Penske overturned into a ravine, just a few meters beyond an underpass in which several people were standing.Debris from Donohue's car, particularly a wheel, hit a policeman, Richard Httner from Baden, who sustained critical head injuries, and three marshals - seriously injuring two of them, Gottfried Crnic and Manfred Schaller. He did the job for Roger, no question. Roger Penske and Mark Donohue following Donohue's IROC win in 1974. We used to clean our garage out every night, and that was something people didnt understand.. Ford immediately signed Donohue to drive one of their GT-40 Mk II race cars campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Holman & Moody racing team. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? And neither found what they expected. It would have really been great watching those two together in the later years if it had gotten that far. Donohue. He never regained consciousness. During a post-race inspection, race stewards discovered that the car was 250 pounds lighter than the 2,800-pound minimum weight requirement. The bumpy, rain-soaked course around J.F.K. Mark Donohue was one of the daredevil drivers of the 1970's. He exuded boyhood charm, was a speed demon behind the wheel, and was a legend of US racing, with wins at Daytona, the Indy 500, and Trans-Am Champion. In February of '65 Donohue was named as comptroller at Griffith Motors but was soon spirited away from Griffith by Roger Penske early in 1966. Had there been a Drivers' Championship in place at the time, he would have won three of them (his last in 1971) while driving Camaros in 1968 and 1969, and an AMC Javelin in 1971, all for Roger Penske Racing. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. But his edge was rarely lost. We need an obit.. However, like most race drivers in the various top racing series around the world, he had lived an outright lot of life. If we're right, by next season we could be the dominant team in Formula One.. On the phone, the editor said, You gotta come back in. this email address already registerd with us. Try a week on us. Donohue, too, recognized the accomplishment as something of a walk-off home run for his career, briefly retiring following his IROC championship before returning later that year with Penske to compete in the final two Formula 1 races. George Follmer, Donohue's old Trans-Am teammate, took over testing the 917-10 for Donohue, who said: It just doesn't feel right. They sent the legal weight car through the technical inspection with the number 15 and again with the number 16 on it. The track chosen for the speed record attempt was the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Donohue demolished Al Unser's IMS track record of 170.221mph with a 181.2mph practice lap on May 12, a day that still makes Penske chuckle. Five weeks after winning the 500, Donohue was testing his Can-Am Porsche 917-10 at Road Atlanta when the car got airborne at 160 mph. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue's career, along with Roger Penske's Formula One aspirations, took a tragic turn. Anyone can read what you share. We think we've made a major discovery. A track marshal was killed by debris from the accident, but Donohue did not appear to be injured significantly. Her . It became official last September. (Photo: Bob DOlivo / The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images). In 1961, Donohue bought the Elva and battled with another young racing star, Peter Revson, for the SCCA divisional championship. Donohue raced in the inaugural IROC series in 197374, racing identical, specially-prepared Porsche RSRs. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 917-30 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Foyt and Emerson Fittipaldi, among others tangible proof that, stock-car equipment being even, Donohue was a world beater. 1975, resulting from an accident two days earlier during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. He did it at Talladega, Ala., in the turbocharged Porsche he drove to the 1973 CanAm title. On his second lap, while at about 260 km/h a rear tire of his March 751 Ford suddenly blew, the out of control car went through the fence for about 180 feet, over a guard-rail and into a ravine. He was my original partner in racing, Penske told Autoweek. 4445. Donohue recently had arrived in Austria for the Austrian Grand Prix at the sterreichring race track following the successful closed-course speed record attempt at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama just a few days earlier. In the final race of the season, Javelins finished in first, second and third place, with George Follmer becoming the only other Javelin driver to win besides Donohue. Instead, Donohue retired. Penske warned that any disqualification would have the potential of motivating Chevrolet to pull all support for the Trans-Am series. He was a sweet gentleman in every race. I got to know Mark and hired him to run our Can-Am car. But this was a safe driver, a man who knew his limits, his car's limits and didn't go over the edge, as they say in racing. It affected the whole team. That took a couple of years. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? The book was re-released in 2000 by Bentley Publishers (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Donohue previously had debuted in Formula One on September 19, 1971, with a Penske-sponsored McLaren at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, finishing on the podium in third place. I think at that point we started to bring the sport to a higher level, Penske said. Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. Email or password is incorrect. The 1967 Z-28 won its last race by lapping the entire field of cars, causing suspicion throughout the paddock. Mark Donohue. The book told how Donohue learned to exploit the antilock braking system and the powerful turbocharged engine of several prototype Porsches, as well as how he learned from various mishaps, including a near-fatal crash. Mark Donohue (1937-1975), pictured here with wife Eden and nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American race driver who is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp Can-Am Penske Porsche 917-30 and as the 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner in a Team Penske-entered McLaren.Sadly, he perished in an accident during practice for the 1975 Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. Losing a driver is something you cant replace. I always said driving wasn't really a dangerous situation. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/20/archives/donohue-38-dead-of-racing-injuries-mark-donohue-is-dead-of-racing.html. the email address you entered is invalid. The guy never gained that flashy status. No one knew, but Mark Donohue had just 10 days to live. His average speed around the 2.66-mile (4.28 km) high-banked oval was 221.120 mph (355.858 km/h). Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. They won the race, finished third overall, and went on to win 10 out of 13 races that year. Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was really the first person that I knew in racing that not only had the driving skills, but also the technical knowledge. I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. He did everything he could to lose me. In 1967 he became the USRRC champion, winning six out of eight races. They were just forging ahead, David Donohue recalled. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. It was an iconic car, iconic colors for the day and it really brings back memories. Driver who fled fatal Olney crash gets 20-year sentence. It is strangely rewarding in a way I never thought racing would be for me, personally. Among the most impressive cars in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is the beautiful blue and yellow No. Michael is another guy but there is this thing between Mark and David, even in terms of their life experiences. He said so himself many times. J. Funk and J. L. I was at Lime Rock, Connecticut, Donohue said. For Donohue, there was little time to grieve, as his own Le Mans debut was looming. Mark Donohue. Its made me realize its an honor to be his son. It comes up quickly and, at more than 90 degrees, is the slowest corner on this course. The supposition is that a support post from one of the advertising signs caught Donohue's helmet. He died two days later. Mark Donohue was 38 and a sports car champion and 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner. Mark Donohue races to the win at the the 1972 Indy 500. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? They also acid-dipped the body on the Camaro and had to caution people not to lean against it, for fear it would dent. The doctors in Graz, Austria, said yesterday that the racing driver would have been crippled for life had he survived. Mark Robert Bonhag, 56, of the Highland, Md., area was driving north on New Hampshire Avenue in the .