From the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired by fans and competitors for his speed and bravery in an Indianapolis 500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California. He was 79.
The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. His best years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Interscope Racing and its eye-catching No. 25 Parnelli and Penske chassis powered by Cosworth engines, with a best finish of fourth in 1979 and a top start of second next to pole sitter Tom Sneva in 1978.
Sad news for fans of journeyman race car drivers. I never knew that Ongais competed in NHRA, much less won the US Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the discipline’s most prestigious event.
As a proud member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, I’ve spent my fair share of time gawking at Ongais’ gorgeous Interscope Racing machine. Another lasting memory of Ongais as someone born too late to see his career in real time was his run in one of John Menard’s cars in the 1996 Indianapolis 500 after its original driver, Scott Brayton, died in a practice crash. Ongais was fifty-four years old during his final IndyCar start, which is all the more impressive considering the toll injuries from a dangerous era of racing took on his body.
Michael Miller 