Walther returned from his injuries to qualify for the 1974 Indianapolis 500 and earned the respect and admiration of drivers like Carter in the process.
Walther died Thursday night at his Trotwood home. He was 65. The cause of death is undetermined according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
“He was an adequate driver … but he never seemed to get all the right breaks,” said Carter, who qualified for 17 Indy 500s from 1974 to 1991. “You can have good equipment and talent but if you don’t have the right breaks it doesn’t matter.”
Known for having some of the best equipment but not always the driving skills to match, Walther is most remembered for one of the worst accidents in Indianapolis 500 history. He started 17th in that 1973 Indy 500 and, coming down the frontstretch to take the green flag, a car near the front of the field reportedly slowed with engine trouble.
The field bunched up, and in the ensuing traffic jam, Walther clipped Jerry Grant’s front tire, sending Walther’s car spinning into the catch fence. Walter’s car spewed nearly 80 gallons of fuel — some on injured spectators along the frontstretch — and his car caught fire as it spun down the track. Walther was trapped in his burning car for nearly six minutes after sliding upside down about 640 feet.
Walther returned in 1974 and started 14th.
“I talked to him but I can’t ever say we were friends or anything,” Carter said. “He was just another competitor on the track. One thing about drivers in my era, drivers nowadays are a lot more friendly with each other. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to be friendly with them, but hell we never knew if our friend was going to be around next week or next month.”
Overall, Walther qualified for seven Indianapolis 500 races from 1972 through 1979 driving his father’s No. 77 Dayton Steel Wheel Special. His best start was ninth in 1975, his best finish ninth in 1976.
“I don’t think he changed much at all (after the accident),” said retired Dayton Daily News chief photographer Skip Peterson. “He was still cocky and confident. I give him props for having the courage to get back in the car. I was a spectator sitting in Turn 1. Seeing that car come to a stop with his feet hanging out of it and total chaos going on around, we assumed he lost his life.”
During his recovery, Walther became addicted to morphine and struggled with other drugs as well. He also had numerous arrests ranging from child endangering, failing to pay child support and fleeing from police.
Racing photographer Rick Lane of Miamisburg met Walther on a handful of occasions, the last coming in October when Lane bumped into Walther, who was visiting a friend in Lane’s neighborhood.
“He looked in great shape. Typical Salt attire with his shirt buttoned down to mid-chest,” Lane said of the driver known for his playboy lifestyle. “Talking to him, I said I hoped all his problems were behind him. He said those drugs and pain killers were really bad deals and he said he was finally off of them.”
Walther — who made two small appearances in the Dukes of Hazzard and the Rockford Files, both in 1979 — also competed in USAC, CART and NASCAR events and started earning his fast-lane reputation racing dirt. He would tow his sprint to the track in a white Cadillac as others used pick-up trucks.
“I was driving back down I-75 (after a race at New Bremen) and he passed us driving a big Cadillac with a gorgeous sprint car on the trailer … driving 90 mph on the interstate towing a trailer,” Peterson said. “I think he loved to go fast.”
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