NASCAR is back at Watkins Glen this weekend, which provides a chance to remember the late J.D. McDuffie, who tragically died in a 1991 NASCAR race at the track.<\/p>\n
McDuffie, 52 at the time, was involved in a Lap 5 accident, with his No. 70 suffering a mechanical failure at the fast right-hand corner known as “The Loop”. The car lost control at high speed, left the track, and slammed nearly head-on into a tire barrier and guardrail, leaving the entire front of the car destroyed and killing McDuffie instantly from head injuries.<\/p>\n
McDuffie’s tragic passing came just shy of a decade before Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death at the 2001 Daytona 500<\/a>, with the pair two of around 108 drivers in total to die while competing. Meanwhile, Dale Sr’s wife, Theresa, has seen her $30 billion plans protested by a furious crowd of 200 people<\/a>, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had the last laugh after their bitter dispute.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n McDuffie left behind an unfortunate NASCAR record. He competed in a whopping 653 NASCAR races and recorded 106 top-ten finishes. However, McDuffie never once finished on the lead lap.<\/p>\n Friend and fellow competitor Jimmy Means recounted the horror crash that took McDuffie’s life.<\/p>\n