Obituary
General
Walker and Rodas, you will be missed
James Dean, Paul Walker and Roger Rodas.
Edited: Mar 27, 2014, 3:34 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
SCCA Pirelli World Challenge driver Roger Rodas dies, alongside friend Paul Walker in a Porsche in California.
In a brutal year in motorsports, the list of racing drivers who have perished behind the wheel has increased again by one, or two if your forte is nitrous oxide and underglow.
During a charity car show for Philippines relief, the pair of Rodas and Walker were driving a Porsche Carrera GT when Rodas lost control and crashed into a tree causing the car to burst into flames.
Both perished in the crash.
Crashed Porsche of Paul Walker and Roger Rodas
What makes the accident really rough was the fact that the accident occurred near the charity car show, one of the guests at the car show was Rodas’ 8-year-old son, who reportedly went to the wreckage and was held back from rescuing his father.
Rodas drove a Mustang in the Pirelli World Challenge this year, and Walker, well he inspired a massive following of street racers from the Hollywood franchise The Fast and the Furious.
One can only draw some similarities between James Dean’s passing and this incident.
Roger Rodas, Ford Mustang Boss 302 S
Photo by: Art Fleischmann
While I suppose Dean’s accident seemed more romantic in the age of no camera phone toting bystanders and no internet to spread the word like a wildfire, its similarities are two fold.
The world lost a great actor and racing enthusiast. The world also lost a race car driver and businessman. Both accidents occurred in a Porsche.
Both left behind children and spouses, and the simple fact that the accident occurred as part of a charity event raising funds for those impacted by the typhoon in the Philippines makes it all the more tragic.
It may not have been in the heat of battle on the track, but both Rodas and Walker will be greatly missed.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article The Big Picture: 2013-11-27
Next article Cars don't kill people, people kill people
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Roger Rodas
Actor Paul Walker, Roger Rodas memorialized by Davison's Indianapolis 500 entry
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indy 500 rookie orientation program
Actor Paul Walker, Roger Rodas memorialized by Davison's Indianapolis 500 entry
Porsche the cause of the crash that killed actor Paul Walker, driver's widow claims in lawsuit
Automotive
Automotive
Porsche the cause of the crash that killed actor Paul Walker, driver's widow claims in lawsuit
Davison returns to IndyCar for 2014 Indy 500 bid - Interview
IndyCar
IndyCar
Davison returns to IndyCar for 2014 Indy 500 bid - Interview
Latest news
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
1 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 2 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
General
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe