Top 5 NASCAR deaths on race tracks that shook the sport

An inherently dangerous activity such as motorsports, especially NASCAR, started out as outliers in the community. Racing cars around tracks on end with no regard for one's safety frowned down on for many years before the world's acceptance of motor racing came about.

NASCAR was no different in these times, when driver safety came second or third to the speed of the car on track. However, as times changes, stock car racing and the motorsports world in general realized the value of life of the drivers that are ready to risk it all for glory.

In our current day and age, fatalities in motorsports are a phenomenon long unheard of. With billions of dollars being invested in the sport as a whole to improve driver safety, the world of racing has come leaps and bounds ahead of what it used to be in 30 or so years ago.

However, the sport has seen numerous fatalities on the track in the past. As with any form of motorsport, be it F1 or IndyCar, NASCAR had its fair share of deaths on the racetrack.

5 deaths on the track that shook the NASCAR world

Here are five examples of fatalities on track, with the drivers paying the ultimate price for a shot at glory:

5. Joe Weatherly (1922-1964)

NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee in 2009, Joe Weatherly was last seen racing at Riverside International Raceway in 1964 when the then 41-year-old was involved in a fatal crash. Weatherly was known of his phobia of getting trapped in a burning race car, due to which he refused to use window nets and shoulder harnesses.

His decision to forego the safety features was ultimately the cause of his death in Riverside, California when he struck the wall during a race, and went through his car's window to strike it with his head as well. He was pronounced dead on the spot.

4. Clifford Allison (1964-1992)

Son of NASCAR champion Bobby Allison, Clifford Allison met his unfortunate end at a young age of 27 in 1992. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (known as the Busch Series back then) driver was seen practicing at Michigan International Speedway for the 1992 Detroit Gasket 200 when he hit the wall in turn 4 of the track.

While in transit to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries, suffered due to the drivers' side of his car taking the brunt of the force.

3. John Nemechek

Uncle of current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver John Hunter Nemechek, John Nemechek was a Craftsman Truck Series driver who met his untimely death in 1997. Brother of 4-time NASCAR winner Joe Nemechek, the 27-year-old succumbed to injuries sustained at Homestead-Miami Speedway five days after his initial crash.

The track layout was altered to a true-oval configuration after Nemechek's demise, with six degrees of banking to help stock cars stay glued to the surface.

2. Adam Petty (1980-2000)

Grandson of the 7-time champion Richard Petty and son of Cup Series driver Kyle Petty, Adam Petty was a fourth-generation race in the historic Petty family of the sport.

During one of the practice sessions for the Busch 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2000, the 19-year-old met his untimely demise after a stuck throttle-pedal meant he struck the outside wall of the track at turn 3 with immense force. Developing a basilar skull frature, Petty was instantly killed inside the car.

1. Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001)

The final casualty to take place in the world of NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt's demise was one that bought the sport nearly to its knees. With fans, drivers and every other member of the stock car racing community grieving a legend's death, ripples of Earnhardt's accident were felt the world over.

The 2001 Dayton 500 saw 'The Intimidator' hit the outside wall of the track at just the wrong angle to cause the dreaded basilar skull fracture, killing the #3 Chevrolet driver on the spot. The aftermath of Earnhardt's crash bought a host of improvements to driver safety to the sport.