Renna Stories

ST. PETERSBURG - This would have been Tony Renna's homecoming. This would have been the weekend his family assembled from DeBary and Milwaukee and New York and Los Angeles to watch the third race of his second full season in the Indy Racing League.

There were friends and memories across the bridge in Tampa, where they had lived for six years, where his older sister, Nicole, was born. They would have talked about how it all began on those long van rides together to quarter midget tracks from Connecticut to California.

But only Joe Renna will pace the edge of the red-and-white Chip Ganassi Racing pit box today when practice begins for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. When the No.10 Toyota flashes past, Tony Renna's 65-year-old father will crane to watch it curl out of sight and glint at a monitor to check its speed. With each glance there will be a reminder of what was, would could have been. But it's getting better with every lap.

"It was kind of tough knowing that there goes that No.10 car and that's where he should be, " Joe Renna said.

Nineteen months after Tony Renna was killed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first day on the track with his new team, his father still attends a handful of races to support the man who replaced his son, Darren Manning, to honor his memory and simply to be around a sport that has meant so much to his family for more than 20 years.

"Motor racing has been part of our family life since he was 6 years old," Renna said. "It's been part of my life and it's just not something I can give up."

The shame of Tony Renna's story goes beyond the death of a vibrant, well-liked 26-year-old. The cruelty lies in the fact that he appeared on the verge of a dream he and his family had lived together since before he won his first quarter midget race at age 6.

Tony was born in Apple Valley, Calif., in 1976, the year after the family moved from Tampa where Joe, a journeyman jockey in the late 1950s and early '60s, ran a meat company.

Renna won the Skip Barber Formula Ford Florida Series title as a high school senior at Father Lopez High in Daytona Beach, and competed in Formula 3 in England until the campaign became too expensive for his family.

By 2000, he had moved onto a spot with PacWest Racing in the Indy Lights developmental series, and finished fifth in points as a teammate of Scott Dixon, the 2003 IRL champion and a future teammate at Ganassi.

Renna signed with the IRL's Kelley Racing in 2002 and served as driving coach for actor Jason Priestley in the Infiniti Pro Series. He replaced Al Unser Jr. for two races when Unser checked into an alcohol rehabilitation clinic. Renna finished 10th in his IndyCar debut at Nashville and was installed in a third Kelley entry when Unser returned, managing four top-10 finishes in six starts.

Financially troubled Kelley Racing could only field a car for Renna in the Indianapolis 500, but he used the opportunity to create the break of his career. Renna qualified eighth and finished seventh, beating teammates Unser and Scott Sharp and more important, impressing Ganassi.

Renna's future apparently rolled out before him when he signed on Oct. 1, 2003, with the defending series champion team owner, but he was killed on Oct. 22 when his car went airborne at 227 mph and hit the catch fence.

"He finally gets with a team that has all the resources, all the engineering, everything, and he doesn't get the chance," Renna said, pausing. ". . .That's motor racing."

Renna admits the first year after his son's fatal crash was the worst. Racing conjured more pain than catharsis, but slowly, he said, the pain has subsided.

Joe Renna grew up a race fan, reveled when both of his daughters, Nicole, now 32, and Katie, 25, and then Tony started racing quarter midgets. It was a happy time, of family and of racing, of long weekends in the family van with a trailer and a cart tagging along behind. "Dad was the wrench," he said. "Mom was the PR and the scorer, the girls washed the car and boosted the brother."

Tony won 278 trophies in those years. Joe had warehoused them for his son, asked him what should be done with all these memories. After his death, he decided to donate them to a local quarter midget association, told them to peel off the labels and make them memories for some other little kid. But he kept one for himself.

"I have his first trophy, the first one he ever won," Renna said, his voice trembling slightly. "He was 6 years old. It was quarter midgets, August 1983. I'll never give that one up. No sir."

Even as the Rennas grieved, their thoughts turned to a stranger, Darren Manning, a 29-year-old former CART driver hired by Ganassi to fill Tony's seat. When Joe Renna learned that Manning would test at Homestead-Miami Speedway three months later, he drove 300 miles from DeBary to offer his support.

"I went out to Miami for the test to welcome Darren taking his spot," Renna said. "It was tough but I didn't think about myself, I was thinking more about Darren. Darren was a kid who had to be focused on what he needed to be doing and he didn't need to be thinking about Tony."

The moment was already awkward for Manning. Replacing someone who has lost his life on the track brings with it a tangle of emotions. Manning had wanted the Ganassi ride before Renna earned it, and replacing him this way brought a certain guilt.

"It is a very difficult situation," Manning said. "It's something very few people, very few times have ever had to deal with, really. David Coulthard raced great after Alex Zanardi's tragic accident. It was mixed emotions because I was excited I got to drive, but I had never been in a situation before where I was replacing someone who was involved in a fatal accident. Obviously, I was upset but the team welcomed me with open arms."

The transition was made easier when the Rennas, most notably Joe, did the same. The message was simple: "It's okay."

"They were very supportive after his accident," Manning said. "Tony's father and I had a nice chat and he wished me all the best and he told me if there was anything I needed from him ... he treated me like one of his own, really."

While many in such a situation would never want to see a racetrack again, Renna went back to cope with his loss.

"Joe has always loved racing," Tony's mother, Mary Renna, said. "Even before we were married, he was a race fan. He has pictures of Mario Andretti from long before I ever knew him. That part of him probably is really, really helpful. It probably is part of his therapy that he is able to go back and he is able to be around that whole scenario."

Tampa resident Ralph Liguori, 78, a Renna friend who helped teach Tony to race as a child, said those who don't race or love racers just can't understand.

"I know it sounds ridiculous to the lay person, but ... that's life," said Liguori, who raced stock and open-wheel cars. "It's so hard to explain.

"If your father or mother went to the bathroom to go relieve themselves and they drop dead in there, would you never go to the bathroom again?"

But coping has kept Mary Renna away from the track. Little reminders find her anyway.

"For me as a mom it was doubled-edge sword because the person who took Tony's place in a way honored Tony's memory. We know that Darren is a fine young man, an excellent racer," she said. "The other part of it, of course, is every time I go into a Target (Ganassi's sponsor) or I see a Target store and I see Scott and Darren's picture there ... I think, "Wow, that was supposed to be Tony.' Or I turn on the TV and the races are going, and it's tough for me because I think Tony's sitting in one of the cars."

The Rennas have been divorced for eight years, with Mary Renna living in Milwaukee, but they remain friends, likely even closer since Tony's death, she said.

The IRL community rallied around the family after the accident, Joe Renna said. League CEO Tony George dispatched a jet to gather the family and Renna's fiancee, Debbie Savini, around the country and bring them to Indianapolis. Ganassi leaves a seat in his suite and offers to pick up air fare, but Renna refuses. The IRL issues Renna and Nicole credentials.

"Motor racing is just a family," he said. "I can't tell you how much these people have done for me."

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The life of the late Tony Renna will be remembered at a golf tournament aimed at raising funds for a scholarship that bears the name of the rising IndyCar Series driver. The event, scheduled for Feb. 8 at Pelican Bay North Country Club in Daytona Beach, Fla., is sponsored by Father Lopez Catholic School in Daytona Beach.

The school renamed its annual tournament in January to honor Renna, a native of nearby DeLand, Fla., and a 1995 graduate of the school. Renna was killed in private testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003.

“The point is to remember one of our former students forever,” said Bob Booth, one of the tournament’s organizers. “Tony’s name will be on a scholarship that will help someone go to the school. His family will play a role in selecting that student, and it will go on forever.”

Members of Renna’s family and his fiancée, Debbie Savini, will attend the event, which will be followed by a dinner.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Renna scholarship, the Tony Renna foundation and the Father Lopez Booster Club. http://www.racefan.com/primedia/pm_topstory.asp?StoryID=109045

INDYSTAR.com News Update
February 6, 2004
Debbie Savini, the late Tony Renna's fiancee', has been hired as the public relations director for Chip Ganassi's new Grand Am program. Renna was driving for Ganassi's IRL team at the time of his fatal accident in October. Full Story: http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/118200-2119-036.html
Call Star reporter Steve Ballard at (317) 444-6184 or e-mail at steve.ballard@indystar.com .

Data 'could not produce a 100-percent conclusion' in Renna's crash

Tony Renna's fatal accident Oct. 22 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway occurred when his race car slid sideways through the infield grass and flipped into the spectator fence, according to an Indy Racing League report to be released today.

A copy of the report obtained Thursday by The Star indicated the cause of the third-turn crash was driver error.

Renna apparently lost control of the car, tried to correct the steering wheel and became airborne when he bounced over the uneven sod.

In 1999, CART driver Greg Moore was killed at California Speedway when his car flipped into a barrier after bouncing through the grass.

Renna's crash was different in that the car rotated an additional 30 degrees in the air, causing a rear-first lift. The car then struck a fence support post above the 4-foot-high wall with its bottom, splitting it at the cockpit area. The bottom is the weakest point of most cars as it is the least likely to be struck in a crash.

The impact was so fierce that the front half of the Ganassi Racing G Force/Toyota was caught in the fence when officials arrived at the scene.

Renna, 26, of DeLand, Fla., died of blunt force injuries to his head and chest, according to Marion County coroner John McGoff.

Renna was traveling at a speed of 227 mph, the IRL's report said, and there were no mechanical failures to his car.

That he skipped through the infield explains why there was grass on the track afterward.

There were no other injuries, in part because the crash occurred in the early minutes of a private testing session, when few people were present.

The IRL, which does not have a replay of the crash or a witness who saw it develop, has based its report on computer information from an accident data recorder mounted in the side of Renna's car. The device can record car parameters at 1,000 samples per second.

Renna's car speed was in the normal range of other accidents at the Speedway in recent years, according to the report.

However, the data "could not produce a 100-percent conclusion" as to what happened, the report says.

Absent from the report are the G-Forces absorbed on impact. IRL driver Kenny Brack incurred a mind-boggling 193 Gs when he struck a fence post at Texas Motor Speedway just 10 days before Renna's accident. Brack fractured his lower spine, sternum, right leg and both ankles. He is expected to be out of racing for about six months.

Also absent from the Renna report was a reference to air temperature. The incident occurred at 9:20 a.m., when the temperature wasn't much above 50 degrees, the minimum allowed by the tire manufacturer. Race tires can react unpredictably in cold weather, although Firestone officials were at the track at the time of the crash.

League spokesman John Griffin said the IRL will not show the damage to Renna's car. But league senior vice president Brian Barnhart has insisted since the accident that the Speedway's fence did its job and kept almost all of the debris out of the grandstands.

Joe Renna, the father of the driver, declined to comment Thursday through a family spokesman.

The IRL has made a move to reduce speeds for the 2004 season by cutting engine capacity. The new rule could slow cars at the Speedway by 10 mph.

Renna became the 41st driver and the 67th person overall to lose his life at the Speedway, which opened in 1909. He was only the third to die in testing.

January 15, 2004 - Pg A2: A Dec. 19 story on Page D1 about Tony Renna's fatal accident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway incorrectly summarized information in a press release from the Indy Racing League. The IRL's press release did not mention driver error. It said data "did not produce a 100 percent conclusion" as to the cause of the crash.

Brack making strides in recovery from bad crash
MIKE HARRIS, AP Motorsports Writer

January 15, 2004

IRL told family of bird on track
By Robin Miller Special to ESPN.com Tuesday, December 23

Open Wheel's owners optimistic
By BRANT JAMES, St Pete Times Staff Writer - Published December 21, 2003

PIT STOPS: Indy Racing League officials said Friday that a review of accident data recording information was unable to pinpoint the reason why Tony Renna's car went in the grass, then airborne and into the debris fence, killing the DeLand resident on Oct. 22 during a tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Read complete article here.

IRL report: Driver error cited in Renna's crash*
Posted: Friday December 19, 2003 2:05AM; Sports Illustrated / Indianapolis Star
*ATTENTION: This released article is not shown due to the inaccuracies quoted in the article according to the IRL, Tony George, and close family sources. The official accident report released by the IRL is below:

A comprehensive review of Tony Renna’s fatal accident is complete, officials from the Indy Racing League® announced Dec. 19.

Renna suffered fatal injuries Oct. 22 in an accident in Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during tire testing. Renna was turning his first laps in a Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone.

The combined data from various technical resources provided IRL officials insight into what happened during the crash. However, the data did not produce a 100-percent conclusion as to why the tragic accident occurred. There are many unknown possibilities that could have contributed to the cause of the accident.

The Renna family has been informed of the findings.

“We appreciate the due diligence of the League and their investigation,” the Renna family said in a statement forwarded to the League.

The accident review focused on why the car went into the air and what happened to the car during the accident, and while the cause of the accident is unknown, IRL officials were able to gather valuable information.

“The goal of an Indy Racing League® accident review is to learn as much as we can about what happens during a crash, not necessarily why a crash happened,” said Brian Barnhart, senior vice president of racing operations for the Indy Racing League. “The League focuses on what happens during the crash because that is where we learn more about chassis integrity and other safety initiatives.

“The review of this accident was more difficult and prolonged because it was a private test. Although we are confident we’ve pieced together what happened during the accident, it appears we will not know why the crash started. That is the frustrating part of this effort.”

The accident review revealed that Renna’s car entered Turn 3 at 227 mph. At a point just past the apex of the turn, the car did a 90-degree spin to the left into the infield grass. The car began to skip through the grass as it traveled sideways, allowing air underneath the car and causing it to lift into the air. While in the air the car spun approximately another 30 degrees to the left.

The car traveled across the track through the air and made contact with the debris fence on the outside retaining wall in Turn 3. IRL officials said it appears that the most significant damage and resulting fatal injuries were caused when the bottom of the car made direct contact with one of the debris fence support posts, which is part of the Speedway’s fence system.

The spectator debris fences at the Speedway worked as designed, and because Renna’s car struck the fence and not the wall, it did not impact the Speedway’s SAFER Barrier, Barnhart said.

Officials said the car’s speed was in the normal range of other accidents at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the last few years.

“The IRL continues to review all race incidents during the year to evaluate safety, but each individual accident usually has a unique set of variables,” Barnhart said.

IRL officials were able to download all the data from the ADR2 (accident data recorder), which is in every IRL car. The ADR2 can record vehicle parameters at 1,000 samples per second just prior to, during and after an accident-triggering event. The system records data from both of the vehicle’s internal sensors, as well as information from the car’s on-board data acquisition system.

As the car entered Turn 3, all the data indicated there were no mechanical failures on any of the car’s equipment that are monitored by sensors. However, while the data acquisition systems are comprehensive, there are elements of the car that are unable to be tracked by the systems. Because of this, it is impossible to completely rule out mechanical failure as a cause of the accident.

“The list of items on a car that can fail, and that aren’t monitored by sensors, is significant,” Barnhart said. “Several of those failures could cause a crash. In addition, unforeseen factors can also come into play and contribute to the cause of the accident.”

The ADR2 system also allows officials to retrieve data from an earpiece sensor system that measures dynamic forces to a driver’s head during an accident. It uses small sensors integrated into the left and right radio earpieces worn by IRL drivers.

The Target Chip Ganassi team’s research data device, which was damaged in the incident, had to be sent to the manufacturer for data retrieval, and that information was returned to the IRL to be analyzed. The device contains all suspension-related information.

“Tony Renna was an experienced and talented race driver, doing his job and trying to achieve maximum speed from his car,” Barnhart said. “He was highly respected by his peers and was a young, rising star in the Indy Racing League. He will be missed.” Indy Racing News

washingtonpost.com NEWS & NOTES
AUTO RACING: Saturday, December 13, 2003; Page D02
The Indy Racing League will cut engine horsepower by 10 percent to reduce speeds by 10 mph next season, a move accelerated by the death of driver Tony Renna and serious injuries to former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack in separate crashes two months ago.

AUTO RACING: IRL to cut speeds
Sports roundup - Compiled by Kellie Kenney - Posted December 13, 2003 Orlando Sentinel

The Indy Racing League will cut engine horsepower to reduce speeds next season, a move accelerated by the death of driver Tony Renna and serious injuries to former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack in separate crashes two months ago.

Brack broke his back, a thigh, his breastbone and both ankles when his car made contact with another, spun into the air and crashed during the season-ending race at Texas Motor Speedway. Ten days later, Renna was killed in a similar crash when his car went airborne at close to 220 mph during private tests at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IRL aims to reduce speeds in 2004 12/12 13:14:34 ET SportsNetwork.com

Tony George, the CEO of the Speedway and the IRL, told the Indianapolis Star "a change had to be made more than anything for our own peace of mind." George said "the goal is to have top speeds at Indy below 220 m.p.h."

Drivers, engineers like IRL's move
By Robin Miller Special to ESPN.com Friday, December 12

Engine changes, set to take effect at Indy 500, will make cars go 10 mph slower.

By Curt Cavin curt.cavin@indystar.com December 12, 2003

In the wake of two horrific crashes in October, the Indy Racing League is slowing its cars in time for the 2004 Indianapolis 500. League officials confirmed Thursday that engines are being reduced from 3.5 liters to 3.0 liters, effective in May. Engine manufacturers predict the move will cut horsepower by more than 10 percent.

The change should lower speeds by more than 10 mph at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Helio Castroneves won the pole this year at 231.725 mph. The reduction is driven by the death of promising young driver Tony Renna at the Speedway on Oct. 22 and Kenny Brack's horrific flip at Texas Motor Speedway 10 days prior to Renna's accident.

Tony George, the CEO of the Speedway and the IRL, said a change had to be made. "More than anything for our own peace of mind," he said. The news of the reduction comes as the IRL is set to release its findings from Renna's accident. George said he had not read the full report and was not prepared to comment.

The IRL will have two races before the engine change is implemented, allowing the manufacturers time to use some of the crankshafts that will become obsolete. The manufacturers declined to say how much extra cost they will incur, but they support the decision.

Speed traps
This is the third time the Indy Racing League has altered its V-8 engine since its inception in 1996. That year, the IRL used CART's existing turbocharged engines. Pole speed at Indy was 233.718 mph (by Scott Brayton), with Arie Luyendyk running 239.260 mph in practice.
• In 1997, IRL went to 4.0-liter normally aspirated engines; Indy pole speed fell to 218.263 (by Luyendyk).
• In 2000, IRL went to 3.5-liter normally aspirated engines; Indy pole speed fell from 225.179 in 1999 (Luyendyk) to 223.471 (by Greg Ray).
• In 2004, IRL will go to a 3.0-liter normally aspirated engine. Last year's pole speed was 231.725 (by Helio Castroneves).

"With the accidents that have happened and the potential for cars flying into the audience . . . there's no way we can criticize that this is the right thing to do," Toyota's Lee White said. "We have to control the speeds, and this is the best way." White said his staff expects the speeds to fall 15 mph to 17 mph at the Speedway.

Said Chevrolet's Joe Negri: "We have no problem with it." George said the goal is to have top speeds at Indy below 220 mph, where they have not been since the first year of the IRL's new equipment formula in 1997. Arie Luyendyk won the pole that year at 218.263 mph.

Two IRL drivers recently tested in excess of 230 mph. Without restrictions, George feared qualifying speeds in May would reach into the mid-230s. "We were already at the upper end of our (targets)," George said. "We got there about a year quicker than we anticipated, perhaps because of the increased competition."

In other speed-containing measures, IRL senior vice president Brian Barnhart said aerodynamic changes will be announced in early February. Reducing the width of the Firestone tires is being discussed. Negri applauded the IRL for not changing many of the other key engine components, like the cylinder heads, which would force the manufacturers to design a new engine and escalate costs. He said the change will be similar to 2000, when the IRL went from 4.0 liters to 3.5 liters. "That basically wasn't painful at all," Negri said.

The reduction, which refers to the pistons' travel distance, should be worth about 90 horsepower, White said. Toyota initially requested the change to 3.0 liters for the 2003 season, its first in the IRL. The issue arose again in August at the league's race at Kentucky Speedway.

Indy is the track where speeds need the most control. Not only is the 500 attended by 300,000 people, but its 5/8-mile-long straightaways allow for some of the season's fastest racing. Team Penske president Tim Cindric said changing the engine capacity will be beneficial if the IRL continues to allow the rear wings to be adjusted by at least five degrees. "Because some people get (the sweet spot) right and some don't, it separates the cars in qualifying and, more importantly, in the race," he said."With drivers at different levels, too, there's even more opportunities to pass."

Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at 1-317-444-6409.

SAFER walls may not be the answer in IRL

David Coffin Pitstop Posted on Fri, Dec. 12, 2003

I'm on the IRL IndyCar Series email list and I received their notebook items Thursday in which it was announced the new SAFER Barrier was being installed at Phoenix International Raceway. On the surface, that's good news.

The SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) Barrier has been developed by the Indy Racing League in conjunction with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and was used for the first time during the 2002 Indianapolis 500 on the outside retaining wall of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The all-oval IndyCar Series will race at Phoenix March 21, 2004 and NASCAR's Nextel Cup appearance at PIR is scheduled for Nov. 7. NASCAR joined the IRL in development of the project in 2000.

Ideally, the barrier absorbs much of the energy from the impact of cars that hit the wall during racing incidents. It is hoped that it will cut down on the seriousness of injuries we see all too often when cars go slamming into the present concrete walls on the oval courses.

Its functionality is predicated on cars actually hitting the wall, which is the case in NASCAR incidents but, again, all too often not so in IndyCar accidents.

Witness Mario Andretti's frightening flight when he was testing a car for son Michael's team at Indy this year, Kenny Brack's airborne experience at Texas Motor Speedway and young Tony Renna's death at Indy while testing when he sailed through the air and slammed into the fencing above the wall.

Andretti escaped with only a scratch on his chin when his car hit a tiny amount of debris on the track and soared above the height of the fence and essentially disintegrated, sending debris into the empty stands.

Brack suffered multiple fractures to his sternum, lumbar vertebrae, leg and both ankles when he rode up over the wheel of another car and sailed into the fence, fortunately sending debris into an empty portion of the stands during the season-finale at Texas.

Renna had just signed to drive in the IRL for next season and was on track alone. Investigators still don't know exactly what happened but it was clear his Indy Car took flight and was destroyed when he hit the catch fence above the SAFER-Barrier protected wall.

The IRL does produce some exciting wheel-to-wheel racing but it is all too easy to send the cars into unscheduled flight, most of the time with horrific results. Former CART and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve of Canada is without a ride for 2004 and it appears he has no viable options to return to F1 next year because he said he will not buy a ride. Asked if he might consider the IRL, he allegedly said no thanks because it's too unsafe.

Autosport posted a Q&A with Kevin Kalkhoven on its web site Thursday addressing the current state of affairs with CART. Kalkhoven is one of the principals, along with Paul Gentilozzi and Gerald Forsythe, in Open Wheel Racing Series LLC, which is attempting to buy CART and privatize the series.

Last week, OWRS rescinded its previous buyout offer and tendered a new proposal, which the CART Board of Directors is considering and may provide an answer as early as today. Basically, Kalkhoven said not to worry. OWRS is still committed to trying to purchase the series and keep it running. "There's no lack of commitment on our part," Kalkhoven told Autosport. "In fact, I personally have guaranteed a large amount of money, if necessary, to keep CART running - independent of everything else - for the next 60 days."

He continued, "I do believe that we can build a strong series. I can't begin to tell you the number of letters, emails, voice mails - I mean some of them incredibly touching - from people who really want to see this thing be preserved; that this is too damned good to let go..." Gill Campbell, General Manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, was out of the country when the latest developments occurred last week. She has an obvious vested interest in what's going on because the longer the track has to wait for a resolution, the more pressure they are under to raise the promotional dollars needed to put on what is usually the biggest event of the season at MRLS.

"I have been in contact with David Clare, COO of CART, as well as the principals of OWRS and I continue to be cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the sale of CART," Campbell said Thursday. "We are looking forward to featuring Champ Cars at this September's Grand Prix of Monterey, just as we have every year since 1983.

"Open-wheel racing has a tremendous following among our fans and the Champ Cars continue to be the fastest machines competing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Everyday, we receive phone calls and email messages from fans who are anxious to hear news about the sale. Hopefully, we'll have some good news to give them for Christmas."

Like Campbell, my glass is always half full. Conversations I have had with Kalkhoven, Gentilozzi and Forsythe -- all of whom I like personally and highly respect as businessmen -- cause me to remove the word "cautiously" from in front of optimistic, however.

IRL drivers not worried about Miami tire wear
November 28, 2003 at 10:01:57 PST
Columnist Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun.

Excerpt: ........"In the wake of Kenny Brack's serious accident in the season finale at Texas Motor Speedway and Tony Renna's fatal crash during a test session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month, there has been increasing talk of the need to slow down the IRL cars.........."
Complete Article: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/births/2003/nov/28/515934572.html

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

It's time to hand out NASCAR's real awards
Posted on Wed, Nov. 26, 2003
BY ED HINTON The Orlando Sentinel
Excerpt: ...........Life Isn't Fair gold sympathy card to Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George, who has been a world leader in safety innovation in recent years, but this year was the only major racing mogul to lose a driver. Young Tony Renna was killed during a test at Indy when his car flew over the revolutionary "soft wall" barriers which George commissioned and financed and which likely would have saved Renna's life........

Excerpt from: Yeley breaks USAC records on way to NASCAR article
Pit Pass: Curt Cavin & Steve Ballard November 21, 2003

. . . . Joe Renna said his son, Tony, a Florida native, felt very strongly about his ties to Indianapolis even though he lived here only about a year before his fatal accident at the Speedway on Oct. 22. "That's why we decided to leave his remains there," Joe Renna said . . . .
Click Here For Complete Article

Top 10 stories of 2003
By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer Published November 18, 2003

1. Goodbye Winston, hello Nextel
2. Heir France
3. Realignment
4. Tracy wins first, possibly last CART title
5. Younger guns
6. Old dogs
7. DeLand's Tony Renna dies in tire test
8. Rage against the machismo
9. Points of contention
10. Rules, rules

Tony Renna was on the first day of his dream job when his IndyCar went airborne during a tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and crashed into the catch fence. Renna was one month from his 27th birthday, one month from marriage and a few months from embarking on his Indy Racing League career full time with the Chip Ganassi Racing team when he became the latest driver to die on the track.
Complete Top 10: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/18/Sports/Top_10_stories_of_2003.shtml

It's been almost 4 weeks since the fatal accident at IMS.

Joe Renna still wants to know why the Indy Racing League car driven by his late son flew into a fence last month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But he is facing reality.

Nearly four weeks have passed since Tony Renna's fatal accident and the IRL still doesn't have an explanation. League officials haven't been able to extract the electronic data from one of the car's two black boxes and there is no video to review.

The 26-year-old driver died of blunt force injuries to his head and chest, likely when the car struck fence posts above the 4-foot-high wall. The final autopsy has not been completed.

Brian Barnhart, the IRL's senior vice president of operations, said Monday he doesn't know when the investigation will conclude. Joe Renna vowed to be patient.

"I'm eager to hear what they have to say, but I haven't bothered Barnhart about it," he said in his first interview since the crash. "I know they're working diligently on this case, and if they're lucky enough to find anything, that will be good."

Barnhart said the black box, which registers chassis positioning, has been sent to its manufacturer in England. He said the IRL staff has met almost daily to discuss the crash.

"There are so many things that we're looking at, and there are too many variables to predict (when it will end)," Barnhart said.

Barnhart said he does not expect major adjustments to the cars for next season, in part because he thinks Renna's flip was an aberration. He said the other four cars that went airborne this season got off the ground with help from outside factors such as wheel-to-wheel contact with another car.

Barnhart said the Renna family will be among the first to see the results of the investigation.

Joe Renna said his family, including Tony's fiancée, Debbie Savini, has slowly come to terms with the tragedy.

Part of the recovery has come in the form of supporting Darren Manning, whom Ganassi Racing chose to replace Renna. Manning will test the Target-sponsored car for the first time Wednesday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"That young man right now needs to know he has our support," Renna said. "No race car driver wants to take a position like that, but he has our support."

Renna noted the similarities between his son and Manning, a 28-year-old driver from England who spent this past season excelling in Walker Racing's low-budget program in the Championship Auto Racing Teams series.

"(Manning's) a good kid who's never had a lot of money, but he's done well with what he's had," Renna said. "With Chip Ganassi, you've got the resources and the engineers. This (ride) is a driver's dream, and I'm sure this kid feels the same way about it as Tony did."

Manning has dedicated the 2004 season, his first in the IRL, to the memory of Tony Renna. Joe Renna called it a "thoughtful" gesture.

"We've always been a very close family, and we've all been through racing at least 20 years," Renna said. "But it's not been easy."

"I don't worry about getting a lot of attention," the second-year Winston Cup star sai

After his son's death, Joe Renna finds comfort by embracing the driver who replaced him.

Open Wheel's owners optimistic
By BRANT JAMES, St Pete Times Staff Writer - Published December 21, 2003

2003 IndyCar Season - More wheel-to-wheel action

After his son's death, Joe Renna finds comfort by embracing the driver who replaced him.

Open Wheel's owners optimistic By BRANT JAMES, St Pete Times Staff Writer - Published December 21, 2003

2003 IndyCar Season - More wheel-to-wheel action

Open Wheel's owners optimistic
By BRANT JAMES, St Pete Times Staff Writer - Published December 21, 2003