Salt Walther

American racing driver

David "Salt" Walther (November 22, 1947 – December 27, 2012) was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He also drove NASCAR stock cars and unlimited hydroplane boats, and was a car owner in USAC. Walther is best remembered for a crash at the start of the 1973 Indianapolis 500 that left him critically injured. He recovered from his injuries, returned in 1974, and placed 9th in the 1976 race. He also co drove a car with Bob Harkey to 10th place in 1975. He was the son of George Walther Jr., owner of Dayton Steel Foundry, who fielded Indy 500 cars for Juan Manuel Fangio in 1958 and Mike Magill in 1959. His German born grandfather George Walther Sr. established the foundry and was a prominent inventor and industrialist. His brother, George "Skipp" Walther III, was fatally injured while trying to qualify as an Unlimited driver at Miami Marine Stadium, in 1974. David Walther was given the nickname "Salt" during his teen years, owing to his boat racing. He is one of eight unlimited hydroplane drivers to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Walther raced in Indy cars from 1970 to 1981, with 64 career starts. He finished in the top ten 16 times, with a best finish of 7th (four times). He competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1972 to 1976, and 1978 to 1979. Walther first raced at Indianapolis in 1972, finishing 33rd and last due to a broken magneto.

At the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Walther qualified 17th but again finished last after one of the most spectacular and famous accidents in the history of the race. As the field received the green flag, Steve Krisiloff, on the inside of the third row, developed engine trouble and slowed down, producing a traffic jam on the main straightaway as the rest of the cars accelerated. Walther, forced to his right by drivers taking evasive action in front of him, touched wheels with Jerry Grant and was catapulted over the wall and into the catch fence above it. Walther maintained that he was hit from behind, forcing him into Grant, but this claim is not supported by films of the crash and is not widely accepted by other drivers. The impact tore down a segment of the catch fence and ripped off the nose of Walther's car. His legs were exposed, and the fuel tanks were ruptured, which at that time were located on either side of the cockpit. The fuel sprayed out of the car, some of it reaching the front rows of the grandstand where several spectators suffered burns. The car crashed back onto the track and spun down the main straightaway upside down, still spraying fuel which ignited into a huge fireball that enveloped the rest of the field. Blinded by the burning methanol, several other drivers crashed into Walther's car, and into each other, though none of the other drivers suffered serious injuries. Walther's came to a stop upside down at the entrance of turn one, with the driver's legs visible and sticking out of the broken nose. Walther was quickly rescued by track safety workers (with the help of Wally Dallenbach Sr.) and rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Walther was fortunate to have had nearly all of the fuel sprayed out of the car, allowing the fire to burn out quickly, but he still suffered burns over 40% of his body, mostly on his left leg. He would require numerous surgeries for the rest of his life. Walther's most severe injuries were to his hands — the fingers on his left hand had to be partially amputated, and those on his crushed right hand eventually healed into unnatural angles. He wore a black glove over the left hand to cover the damage. Walther was in the Michigan Burn Center for two and a half months, and lost around fifty pounds.

After a year of recovery, Walther returned to Indianapolis in 1974, finishing 17th. In 1975 his car dropped out with ignition problems after only 2 laps, and he again finished 33rd. He became the only driver to finish last three times at Indianapolis. (George Snider finished 33rd in 1971, 1979, and 1987, but the 1979 field had 35 cars, thus Snider finished last only twice.) Just minutes after dropping out, Walther took over the car of Bob Harkey another Walther team car, and drove it to a 10th place finish. He was 12 laps down (losing at least a couple of those laps during the driver change) when the race was ended early due to rain on lap 174. Walther scored his best result of 9th in the rain shortened 1976 race. In 1977, Walther failed to qualify for the Indy 500, and attempted to buy (at an exorbitant price) one of the qualified cars. This plan, however, was later abandoned, and created considerable negative press. In 1978, Walther dropped out early with a bad clutch and proceeded to rant his frustration with his chief mechanic Tommy Smith during a heated television interview. Walther ran the 1979 Indy 500, finishing 12th, before failing to qualify in 1980. Following struggles with an addiction to painkillers, he took a ten year hiatus from racing. Walther attempted a comeback in 1990, driving the #77 for Walther Racing. On Bump Day, the final day of time trials, Walther qualified for the race only to be bumped out by a last minute run by Rocky Moran. The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, Inc. awarded him the dubious "Jigger Award" for his efforts. Due to his lack of success, as well as the considerable financial backing of his father, Walther was sometimes regarded as a rich playboy with more money than talent. In the December 1999 January 2000 issue of Champ Car magazine, racing journalist Robin Miller named him the third worst Champ car driver, saying, "This wealthy young man had some of the best cars available in the 1970s. But vanity and a horrid attitude kept him from ever reaching the podium."

Racing the unlimited hydroplane Country Boy U 77, his best finish was 3rd at one race in 1974. He also appeared in four NASCAR Winston Cup races from 1975 to 1977. His last NASCAR race was the 1977 Daytona 500, where, in a race in which several drivers crashed due to the high winds that day, he veered in front of leader Buddy Baker, sending both cars into the wall, and causing damage to the car of Dave Marcis, which was also involved in the incident. His best finish in NASCAR came in the 1976 Daytona 500, finishing 12th, despite spinning out early in that race after running into fluid from another car.

Walther appeared in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, and an episode of The Rockford Files, in 1979.

Following the 1973 accident, Walther battled an addiction with pain killers that were used after the accident, notably dilaudid. As a result of this addiction, Walther suffered from personal and legal problems, including a long interruption in his racing career. In a 2013 eBook written by Walther and longtime friend Chuck Little, Little notes that Walther's life spiraled following George Walther's retirement from Indy car racing at the end of the 1980 season. After George shut down the Walther Racing team, Salt Walther attempted a Hollywood career as an actor, but wasted all his savings into parties, drugs, and alcoholic beverages, which got worse as time went on. He went through rehab several times in the mid 1980s, before attempting his Indy car comeback in 1990. His cousin, Todd Walther, served as the team owner of the #77 car. He failed to qualify at Indy in 1990 and 1991, and then became a father to a daughter in 1992. In 1998, Walther was convicted of "illegal conveyance of painkillers into the jail" after trying to smuggle three Tylenol III tablets, each containing 60 milligrams of codeine, into his jail cell. He failed to show for his sentencing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He served six months in a minimum security jail, and was placed on three years' probation. He completed a drug treatment program. In 2000, Walther was sentenced to 180 days in jail for child endangering and 10 months in prison for violating terms of his probation in the 1998 drug case. In April 2007, Walther pleaded guilty to failure to pay child support, and in July a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to pay by the July 10 deadline, facing up to 16 months in jail, and owing more than $20,000. Although Walther acknowledged guilt in the case, he defended himself, saying that he was bankrupt and had no ability to pay the amount of money requested by his ex partner. In July 2007, Walther remained at large and managed to elude Beavercreek and Centerville, Ohio, police after he was recognized by a police officer at a local gas station. An officer asked Walther to stand outside of his car, but he got back in his car and fled the scene. This added a felony charge of "fleeing and eluding" to Walther's warrant. He was eventually arrested on July 29, 2007, and held in the Warren County, Ohio jail. On August 14, 2007, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison for felony nonsupport of dependents, and 10 months in prison violating the terms of his community control imposed in a 2005 case involving nonsupport, with 240 days of credit for time already served in jail. On November 15, he was sentenced to three years in prison after a jury convicted him of failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer for the July incident. The prison terms were to run consecutively. Walther was incarcerated at Hocking Correctional Facility in Nelsonville, Ohio. Walther died in Trotwood, Ohio, on December 27, 2012, at the age of 65, from a drug overdose.

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pts Ref 1975 Salt Walther 97 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH17 4 ATLDNQ ONT Ballard Racing 30 DAY37 NSV POC TAL MCH DAR DOV NWS MAR CLT RCH CAR BRI 1976 Salt Walther 4 RSD DAY12 CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 1977 RSD DAY24 RCH CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT