David Bonnett
David Bonnett (born August 24, 1964 in Hueytown) is a former NASCAR Busch Series driver and the son of the late NASCAR driver Neil Bonnett. David Bonnett had 19 starts in the Busch Series between 1992 and 1997.
On July 12, 1993, Bonnett was at Talladega Superspeedway with his father testing a car for his Busch Series debut. Davey Allison, with passenger Red Farmer, flew his newly acquired Hughes 396 helicopter to the track. Allison was attempting to land the helicopter inside a fenced-in area of the track infield when the craft nosed up suddenly, then crashed. (The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on Allison's inexperience in helicopters, coupled with the decision to attempt a downwind landing.) Neil Bonnett was able to free a semi-conscious Red Farmer from the wreckage, but could not reach Allison. Paramedics arrived and freed Allison, who was alive but had suffered serious head injuries. He died the next morning at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham.
Bonnett's son Justin is also a race car driver and was injured in a fiery crash at Pensacola's Five Flags Speedway in December 2019, but recovered and returned to racing in August 2020.
References
- Corder, Chuck (August 28, 2020) "Five Flags Speedway: Justin Bonnett returns eight months after fiery Snowflake crash." Pensacola News Journal
External Links
- David Bonnett career statistics at racing-reference.info
Talladega Superspeedway to watch family friends Neil Bonnett and David Bonnett test a car for David's Busch Series debut.