Indy ace killed

Tony Renna, a driver for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team, has been killed in a crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was 26.

The accident took place during a tyre test as Renna was taking his first laps with his new team.

Renna's G Force/Toyota was entering turn three of his fourth test lap when it jumped sideways and went airborne.

The car cleared the four-foot foam and concrete cushioning wall and crashed into the catch fence, where it was torn apart.

The racer's gearbox sailed into the grandstands. The cockpit tub, which holds the driver, became ensnared in the catch fence and was dangling with Renna in it.

The crash was so severe that the first layer of grandstands in the south chute was mangled.

During races, the grandstands are set back from the fence and are occupied by handicapped patrons in their wheelchairs.

Renna was transported to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead of massive chest injuries.

Renna was scheduled to be married in exactly four weeks.

The native of Deland, Florida is the 40th driver to lose his life at Indianapolis and the first since Scott Brayton during practice for the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

The last Indy Car driver to die behind the wheel was Greg Moore of Canada in a CART race in 1999.