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Gordon Lee "Don" Williams, Jr. (May 14, 1947 - May 21, 1989) was an American stock car driver born in
Madison, Florida Madison is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Florida, Madison County, on the central northern border of Florida, United States. The population was 2,912 at the 2020 census. History The territory now known as Madison County was ruled ...
. He competed in the Sportsman 300 race at
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
on February 17, 1979, a Late Model Sportsman Division (now
Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
) race sanctioned by
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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
. Williams was injured in a fiery multiple-car crash, and lived in a semicomatose state for ten years before his death.


Crash

Don Williams was competing in the Late Model Sportsman race, the Permatex 300, at Daytona on February 17, 1979. The crash began when a car driven by Freddie Smith went into a spin and was struck by a car driven by
Joe Frasson Joseph "Joe" Frasson (September 3, 1935November 21, 2016) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver.' ...
, which then burst into flames as he hit the wall. Frasson was then struck at full speed by
Delma Cowart Delma Cowart (July 6, 1941 – November 10, 2021) was an American stock car racing driver. While never achieving much success, Cowart achieved notoriety for being the "clown prince of racing" in the 1980s and 1990s. His jovial nature made him a ...
. Williams was behind Cowart and tried to avoid the pileup. His #68 Chevrolet Chevelle crashed into the wall and spun onto the infield amid a shower of flying debris. Williams suffered head and chest injuries as well as a fractured right arm and an aneurysm in the right eye.''The Valdosta Daily Times''. April 16, 1979. Hagood, Mike. "Madison driver remains in the Daytona hospital."


See also

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List of Daytona International Speedway fatalities Daytona International Speedway has seen 40 on-track fatalities since its opening in 1959: 23 car drivers, twelve motorcyclists, three go-kart drivers, one powerboat racer, and one track worker. The most notable death may have been that of Dale Ea ...
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List of NASCAR fatal accidents This article lists drivers who have been fatally injured while competing in or in preparation for (testing, practice, qualifying) races sanctioned by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). A separate list compiles drivers wh ...
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Driver deaths in motorsport Many people, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport of auto racing, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were ...


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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Don 1947 births 1989 deaths People from Madison, Florida Racing drivers from Florida NASCAR drivers People with severe brain damage Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Florida