October 31, 1999-A Sad Day

[mlittle]

Normally, I'm cheerful when talking about this great sport, but there are a few days that still remind me of the dangers of the sport. It was on this day at California, only 9 laps into the Toyota 500 at California Speedway that Greg Moore(#99 Player's/Forsythe Mercedes-Ilmor/Reynard) spun going into turn 2, hit the grass, flipped over and smashed head-on into the concrete walls, his head hitting the concrete....and just like that, he was gone. The drivers weren't told of Greg's passing until the end of the race, when all the celebrations were cancelled and everyone cried, it seems, for hours. It was a sad, sad day for NA motorsports. (Note: If you've read the IRL Forum thread on the race at Fontana, then Franchitti's reference to Moore should become clear.)

There were good times, though, from Moore in his short career. My biggest memory of him was seeing him an almost banzai-style pass around Jimmy Vasser at Michigan to win the U.S. 500 back in 1998 in a swashbuckling manner that was go-for-broke(you know, either the pass succeeds and he gets around Vasser or it doesn't and they both crash, and back then, there were no SAFER barriers to cushion impact). But the best memory I have of him is getting an autograph from him at the Milwaukee Mile back in 1997 after he had won the race(to this day, he's still the youngest driver in NA motorsports to win a race!). I remember he had this "aw, shucks" type-grin on his face as he signed mine and what seemed like dozens of others' papers and other memorabilia. The program guide's kinda faded now a little, but you can still see his trademark "G" on the front cover.

It's a shame he's no longer with us. I mean, can't you imagine him battling Spiderman, Junky, PT and SeaBass at Portland, or Laguna Seca, or maybe Las Vegas? It sure woulda' been cool to see Moore go to Indy in the manner of Montoya and steal a 500 win out from under TG's nose.(Supposedly, legend has it that the easiest way to get tossed from the Speedway these days is to just start talking about Juan Pablo's almost-easy victory at Indy in 2000!)

All I know is.....we'll always miss you, Greg.
See you at the front, and good luck!

If anyone has any comments, feel free to post them.

[cmlean]

I remember seeing the accident and feeling ill. My recollection was that the car physically hit the roll hoop into the infield barrier leaving Greg with little to no chance of survival.

Greg Moore should be remembered as one of the last true racers who would always give his all and never settle for second best.

[mlittle]

My sentiments exactly. This sport sometimes takes the best from us at a young age, but I'm sure somewhere he and Tony Renna and Ayrton Senna and all the other greats are out there, trading paint and wheels and watching down over the rest of us mere mortals. He is truly missed in the NA motorsports community, cmlean. He is truly missed.

[RE30B#16]

Greg Moore was a terrific racer. I still get heartsick when I think about him. He was on his way to the very top if he was not already there anyway.

It is hard to imagine we could lose smooth and intelligent drivers like Greg, Michele Alboreto, Ayrton Senna or Dale Earnhardt to accidents. All of these drivers died in freak accidents that almost defy logic. I miss them all still as if their passing was yesterday.

[Snowy]

I too remember Greg with great affection, he was a great driver and competitor. Dario and Greg were drinking buddies and had a very close relationship. It's unfortunate we didn't just lose one great competitor that day, it took the edge off Dario and he has never quite been the force he once was. It is strange how death can affect different people in different ways. For example the death of Daijaro Kato in MotoGP had the opposite affect on Sete Gibernau, he became a race winner and true championship contender as a reaction and result of emotions released by kato's death.

[jacfan]

I remember that night. I had been out and missed the begining of the race. Greg was the reason I was watching as I had not been a big fan of champ cars but Greg was fantastic. I was devastated to hear of his death and have never watched champ cars since. I still often think of him and what a tragic loss it has been to all who watched him race and worse for those lucky enough to have known him as a person.

[Julian Mayo]

A racer's racer, and a geniune bloke..It took a freakish accident to kill him, as with some of the other greats.

[jacfan]

Very true and you never forget them

[Julian Mayo]

Very true and you never forget them

Never