35 Facts About Salt Walther

David "Salt" Walther was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series.

Salt Walther drove NASCAR stock cars and unlimited hydroplane boats, and was a car owner in USAC.

Salt Walther recovered from his injuries, returned in 1974, and placed 9th in the 1976 race.

David Walther was given the nickname "Salt" during his teen years, owing to his boat racing.

Salt Walther is one of eight unlimited hydroplane drivers to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Salt Walther raced in Indy cars from 1970 to 1981, with 64 career starts.

Salt Walther finished in the top ten 16 times, with a best finish of 7th.

Salt Walther competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1972 to 1976, and 1978 to 1979.

Salt Walther first raced at Indianapolis in 1972, finishing 33rd and last due to a broken magneto.

Salt Walther, forced to his right by drivers taking evasive action in front of him, touched wheels with Jerry Grant and was catapulted over the wall and into the catch fence above it.

Salt Walther maintained that he was hit from behind, forcing him into Grant, but this claim is not supported by films of the crash and is not widely accepted by other drivers.

Salt Walther's legs were exposed, and the fuel tanks were ruptured, which at that time were located on either side of the cockpit.

Salt Walther's came to a stop upside-down at the entrance of turn one, with the driver's legs visible and sticking out of the broken nose.

Salt Walther would require numerous surgeries for the rest of his life.

Salt Walther wore a black glove over the left hand to cover the damage.

Salt Walther was in the Michigan Burn Center for two and a half months, and lost around fifty pounds.

Salt Walther became the only driver to finish last three times at Indianapolis.

Salt Walther was 12 laps down when the race was ended early due to rain on lap 174.

Salt Walther scored his best result of 9th in the rain-shortened 1976 race.

In 1977, Salt Walther failed to qualify for the Indy 500, and attempted to buy one of the qualified cars.

In 1978, Salt Walther dropped out early with a bad clutch and proceeded to rant his frustration with his chief mechanic Tommy Smith during a heated television interview.

Salt Walther ran the 1979 Indy 500, finishing 12th, before failing to qualify in 1980.

Salt Walther appeared in four NASCAR Winston Cup races from 1975 to 1977.

Salt Walther appeared in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, and an episode of The Rockford Files, in 1979.

Salt Walther went through rehab several times in the mid-1980s, before attempting his Indy car comeback in 1990.

Salt Walther failed to qualify at Indy in 1990 and 1991, and then became a father to a daughter in 1992.

In 1998, Salt Walther was convicted of "illegal conveyance of painkillers into the jail" after trying to smuggle three Tylenol III tablets, each containing 60 milligrams of codeine, into his jail cell.

Salt Walther failed to show for his sentencing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Salt Walther served six months in a minimum-security jail, and was placed on three years' probation.

In 2000, Salt Walther was sentenced to 180 days in jail for child endangering and 10 months in prison for violating terms of his probation in the 1998 drug case.

In July 2007, Salt Walther remained at large and managed to elude Beavercreek and Centerville, Ohio, police after he was recognized by a police officer at a local gas station.

An officer asked Salt Walther to stand outside of his car, but he got back in his car and fled the scene.

Salt Walther was eventually arrested on July 29,2007, and held in the Warren County, Ohio jail.

Salt Walther was incarcerated at Hocking Correctional Facility in Nelsonville, Ohio.

Salt Walther died in Trotwood, Ohio, on December 27,2012, at the age of 65, from a drug overdose.