Tony Roper (racing driver)

Anthony Dean Roper (December 13, 1964 – October 14, 2000) was an American professional stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he died after suffering injuries in a racing accident at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tony Roper
Roper in October 1997
BornAnthony Dean Roper
(1964-12-13)December 13, 1964
Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
DiedOctober 14, 2000(2000-10-14) (aged 35)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Cause of deathNeck injury from racing accident in the O'Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
19 races run over 2 years
Best finish41st (1999)
First race1999 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 (Darlington)
Last race2000 Touchstone Energy 300 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
60 races run over 5 years
Best finish16th (1998)
First race1995 Sears Auto Center 125 (Milwaukee)
Last race2000 O'Reilly 400 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 8 0

Early career

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Roper was born in Springfield, Missouri, to Dean Roper and Shirley Medley. Growing up his family was heavily involved in auto racing, as his father was a noted competitor in ARCA and other stock car racing series. Roper started racing in 1986. For the next six years he raced in IMCA Modifieds and late models on Midwest dirt and asphalt tracks. In 1992 he finished in second place for the American Speed Association Rookie of the Year Award. He started racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, and the Busch Series in 1999.

Death

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At the Craftsman Truck Series O'Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 13, 2000, Roper was involved in an accident when he attempted to pass Steve Grissom and Rick Ware. Roper's Ford made contact with Grissom's front bumper causing it to take a sudden hard-right turn, which then caused the truck to impact the concrete wall of the tri-oval. An unconscious, unresponsive Roper was extricated from his truck, taken to the infield care center at TMS, and subsequently airlifted to Dallas's Parkland Memorial Hospital. Roper was determined to have a severe neck injury which prevented the flow of blood to his brain.[1][2] He was put on a ventilator, and succumbed to the injury the day after the race, aged 35.[1]

Roper was the third NASCAR driver to perish from racing related injuries in 2000, the first two being Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr., respectively.[1] It was the second fatality in the Craftsman Truck Series, the first being that of John Nemechek in 1997.[1] Roper's was the first racing fatality recorded at Texas Motor Speedway.

A funeral service for Roper was held at the Fair Grove High School gymnasium, where he graduated from. More than 600 people attended.

Tony's father, Dean Roper, died in a crash just a year later (his death was caused by a heart attack, not the crash itself), on August 19, 2001. Both Tony and his father Dean died in racing accidents within 10 months of each other.[3]

Legacy

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The Tony Roper Scholarship Fund was founded after Roper's death. As of now, it is still running to this day.

Roper's death would be one of 5 deaths within the span of two years that would lead NASCAR to implement and mandate the HANS device in every single car and driver.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch 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 31 32 NBGNC Pts Ref
1999 Xpress Motorsports 61 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR
40
41st 1284 [4]
Pontiac TEX
16
NSV
35
BRI
10
TAL
18
CAL
30
NHA
43
RCH
18
NZH
43
CLT
DNQ
DOV
42
SBO
8
GLN
42
MLW
10
MYB
18
PPR
40
GTY
30
IRP
DNQ
MCH
DNQ
BRI
DNQ
DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM
2000 Washington-Erving Motorsports 50 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR
37
LVS
DNQ
ATL
DNQ
DAR
DNQ
BRI
DNQ
TEX
DNQ
NSV
31
TAL
24
CAL
DNQ
RCH
DNQ
NHA
DNQ
CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 82nd 213 [5]

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 MB Motorsports 26 Ford PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW
22
CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH
DNQ
MAR
27
NWS SON MMR PHO 60th 219 [6]
1997 Brevak Racing 31 Ford WDW
32
TUS
DNQ
HOM
12
PHO
36
POR
23
EVG
15
I70
9
NHA
19
TEX
20
BRI
17
NZH
33
MLW
17
LVL
20
CNS
13
HPT
25
IRP
33
FLM
9
NSV
17
GLN
24
RCH
27
MAR
21
SON
17
MMR
13
CAL
14
PHO
24
LVS
27
18th 2604 [7]
34 TUS
29
1998 31 WDW
28
HOM
36
PHO
12
POR
10
EVG
6
I70
8
GLN
30
TEX
11
16th 3016 [8]
Gloy-Rahal Racing 55 Ford BRI
15
MLW
18
NZH
12
CAL
18
PPR
10
IRP
2
NHA
36
FLM
14
NSV
21
HPT
24
LVL
6
RCH
13
MEM
17
GTY
15
MAR
18
SON
12
MMR
16
PHO
25
LVS
38
1999 HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVL
18
TEX CAL 89th 109 [9]
2000 MB Motorsports 26 Ford DAY HOM PHO MMR MAR PIR GTY MEM PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA NZH MCH IRP
30
NSV
34
CIC RCH
21
DOV
DNQ
TEX
29
CAL 54th 356 [10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "ESPN.com - Auto Racing - Roper dies from severe neck injuries". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  2. ^ "[NASCAR Truck Driver Roper Dies]". ABC News. 2006-01-07. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  3. ^ Long, Ray (August 21, 2001). "Driver dead before crashing". USA Today. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Tony Roper – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Tony Roper – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ "Tony Roper – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "Tony Roper – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Tony Roper – 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tony Roper – 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tony Roper – 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
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