1975 - August was a tragic month for auto racing.
DeWayne "Tiny" Lund and Mark Donohue died as a result of injuries suffered during the same weekend. It was, quite possibly, a weekend that those of us who cover motorsports will not recover from for quite a while.
Tiny and Mark were well liked by those in the motorsports fraternity. To be sure, they were different. They came from different areas of the U.S. They had different philosophies about racing. They generally raced worlds apart from each other. They now have something in common with each other. They will never race again.
Donohue earned the respect of those who follow motorsports because of his devout professionalism and perfectionist attitude toward auto racing. He was a winner in practically every form of racing.
He competed with NASCAR's Grand National circuit, the open cockpit oval style racing of the U.S.Auto Club, the SCCA Trans-American series for "pony" cars and the SCCA's defunct Canadian-American road racing series.
At the time of his death, Donohue (the American-born driver turned Grand Prix competitor) had won 57 major races, including the Indianapolis 500.
His perfectionist attitude was to a large part characteristic of the Roger Penske racing team. Everything, even winning, seemed to be on a timetable and it wasn't often that they missed.
In 1969, Donohue made his debut at Indianapolis. He made no brash statements, although, as a rookie, he was being picked by many racing scribes to win the 1969 Indianapolis 500. He finished seventh and won rookie of the year laurels. Before the 1969 race, Donohue admitted that the Penske team effort at Indianapolis "was three years away from knowing enough about the track to be a winner."
He wasn't too far off. Donohue won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 at a record speed of 162.962 mph which still stands.
There are those who contend that neither Donohue nor Lund knew when to quit racing. Donohue quit a year ago and later returned to racing on the prestigious Grand Prix circuit. Lund drew away from racing the NASCAR circuit on a full-time basis, and oftentimes raced short tracks and others events throughout the South and Middle America.
DeWayne Lund (whose 6-foot-5, 270 pound frame invited the ironic nickname of "Tiny") more personable than professional. He was one of NASCAR's "good ol' Southern boys" who came up believing that Bill France, Sr., the founder of NASCAR, could walk on water. France put stock car racing on the map and Lund added a tough to the lore of "major league" stock car racing by winning the 1963 Daytona 500.
He did his best to help NASCAR spread itself perhaps too thin by competing in its Grand American division, which he won threes times, and the Grand National East division, which he won once. He also won a USAC short-track event in 1974. He competed practically anyplace at anytime.
In some ways, it is unfortunate that he never fully attained the superstar status of Richard Petty or David Pearson or Bobby Allison. Lund was so personable that those who met him for the first time felt at ease around him. Lund was one of the first NASCAR stock car drivers that I had the privilege of interviewing during my fledgling sports reporting years at Nashville, Tenn. Lund was introduced to me prior to a NASCAR race at the Fairgrounds Speedways in Nashville. It was "an easy" interview. Lund's personable attitude made it that way.
Even though he raced stock cars, Lund recognized and respected the inherent danger of racing. There was one day when Lund knew when to quit. It was May 9, 1971 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
Lund was part-promoter and driver during the early part of the racing season of the now-defunct Grand American series. He was accompanied by 16 other drivers to Springfield for the start of a Middle America tour by NASCAR's "pony car" division.
When the race started on the one-mile dirt track, dust conditions were horrid. Nobody, including NASCAR veteran Buck Baker, could see. After two rad light periods within the first 12 laps, Lund huddled with state fair and track officials. Lund told them simply that "it's too dangerous. We could get somebody killed for no reason at all." They all agreed to return one week later.
Lund later appeared in Middle America at USAC stock car events at the Indiana State Fairgrounds where he enjoyed enormous popularity among the officials, drivers and spectators.
That's the way Tiny was. Lund enjoyed the personable atmosphere of racing. Mark Donohue seemed to enjoy the professional atmosphere of racing.
It can truly be said that both drivers were different. Donohue was quiet and pensive. Lund was talkative. Donohue was a driver with finesse. Lund, at times, was a driver of brute strength.
They even came from different parts of the country. Donohue was from East and Lund from the South. But they are different no more.
DeWayne "Tiny" Lund died on August 17, 1975 Talladega 500 as a result of injuries suffered from a six-car crash at the ALABAMA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SPEEDWAY in TALLADEGA.
Mark Donohue died after emergency brain surgery a few days after an accident during a practice session for the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix.
No doubt their deaths will raise serious question about the safety of motorsports events from those who do not understand motorsports competition and its inherent dangers.
Hopefully, their deaths will be a reminder that those involved in motorsports should always strive to make conditions as safe as possible for racing.
Their deaths are also a reminder that neither the professional driver nor the personable driver are immune from those dangers.
It is unfortunate that their deaths are a sober reminder that the motorsports driver you shake hands with today may not be alive tomorrow.
It's the one aspect of motorsports competition that you never get used to ... no matter how long you have been around it.
