Moore killed in CART crash

Mike Harris

Sunday, Oct. 31, 1999 | 3:13 a.m.

FONTANA, Calif. - Greg Moore was killed Sunday in the season-ending CART race when he lost control of his car at 220 mph and crashed into a wall, spinning wildly and slamming into the ground several times.

The 24-year-old Canadian, a young star in the open-wheel circuit, was airlifted to a hospital and declared dead of massive head injuries about an hour after the wreck at California Speedway.

He almost missed the race after he hurt his hand when a car hit him Saturday while he was riding a scooter to the paddock area.

Moore was the second driver in the CART FedEx Series to die this year. Rookie Gonzalo Rodriguez of Uruguay, preparing for only his second race, was killed in a crash Sept. 11 during practice at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez was the first driver fatality in the CART series since Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a crash during a race in Toronto in July 1996.

On the 10th lap of the Marlboro 500, Moore lost control of his car coming off turn two. The Reynard-Mercedes skidded onto the infield grass, crashed hard into a retaining wall and broke into pieces, with the open-cockpit driver's compartment spinning and hitting the ground several times before coming to a halt.

He was declared dead at Loma Linda Medical Center, said Dr. Steve Olvey, director of medical affairs for CART.

The race continued, but CART chief steward Wally Dallenbach canceled post-race celebrations and the flags at the speedway were lowered to half staff.

On Saturday, Moore broke a finger, badly cut his right hand and bruised his right hip when his scooter was hit by a car in the paddock area. He was cleared to drive after a six-lap test on the two-mile oval late Saturday, starting the 250-lap race last in the 27-car field.

This was the 72nd start in Moore's CART FedEx Series career. He had five victories, including the season-opening race in Homestead, Fla., this season, and was the runner-up in last year's Marlboro 500.

Moore, who drove for Player's Forsythe Racing for all four seasons in CART, was to move to Team Penske next year.