Sprint car racing veteran Don Townsend died Saturday night during a USAC National event at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. He was 70. Townsend was on the track in the No. 77R sprint car when he hit the wall in turn 3 during one of the final hot lap sessions before qualifying. He was taken off the track by ambulance and then flown to The Ohio State University in Columbus. According to the Rebman Motorsports Web site, Townsend was in his 52nd year of racing. He has driven several types of open-wheeled racers during his careerfrom coupes to offset roadsters to winged and non-winged sprint cars. He raced on both dirt and asphalt. Townsend’s first sprint car ride came in 1968. His resume included more than 100 feature wins.(Mansfield News Journal)(7-10-2005)
