Like so many great racing drivers over the ages, Swede Savage was a talented, up-and-coming racing driver who was snatched from us before his time. Born David Earle “Swede” Savage, Jr., Swede (as he came to be known because of his blond hair) started racing quarter Midgets as a child and quickly moved from go-karts, to off-road motorcycles, to flat-track racing and eventually, to NASCAR with the Holman Moody team in 1968. Swede finished 2nd at Rockingham in the NASCAR Grand National race in 1968, which catapulted him into a series of rides which ultimately included Can-Am, Trans-Am, F5000, sports and Indy cars.
Driving for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, Savage raced the famed AAR Trans-Am Barracudas (his best finish 2nd at Road America in 1970) and Indy cars where his best finish was a victory in the 1970 Phoenix Bobby Ball 150. Tragically, Savage died from injuries sustained in a horrifying accident in the 1973 Indianapolis 500, where his freshly refueled car slammed into the wall and burst into flames.
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