Anthony Dean Roper (December 13, 1964 – October 14, 2000) was an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
driver. A competitor in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...
, he died after suffering injuries in a racing accident at
Texas Motor Speedway.
Early career
Roper was born in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
, 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
The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt a ...
Rookie of the Year Award. He started racing in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, and the
Busch Series in 1999.
Death
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.
He was put on a ventilator, and succumbed to the injury the day after the race, aged 35.
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.
It was the second fatality in the Craftsman Truck Series, the first being that of
John Nemechek in 1997.
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
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, not the crash itself), on August 19, 2001. Both Tony and his father Dean died in racing accidents within 10 months of each other.
Legacy
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 for every competitor.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Tony
1964 births
2000 deaths
Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri
Racing drivers from Missouri
NASCAR drivers
American Speed Association drivers
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in Texas
Filmed deaths in motorsport