Famed sprint car driver David Steele dies in crash at Florida track

Sprint car driver David Steele was killed after a crash at Desoto Speedway in Bradenton, Fla., on Saturday night.

Amateur video posted to YouTube shows Steele's car trying to make a pass going into Turn 1. The left front tire clips the right rear of a car in front of him and Steele's car spins into the air and crashes into the outside retaining wall, hitting driver's side first.

Medics attempted to treat him but he was pronounced dead, according to the Associated Press.

According to a story posted on the speedway's Facebook page, Steele, 42, crashed on the opening lap of the Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series. The driver, 42, won the U.S. Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown Series in 2004 and 2005. Steele recently won a record 100th event in Florida and held numerous records at the .375-mile asphalt oval.

The track released a statement on Facebook that reads:

"DeSoto Speedway owners and staff are saddened by tonight's passing of David Steele in the Sprint Car feature. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this time."

Steele also made three starts in the IndyCar Series but didn't finish any races. Panther Racing entered him in the 1999 Indianapolis 500, but Steele crashed in practice and didn't qualify for the event. He also had two starts in NASCAR's second-tier series and four starts on the ARCA circuit.

Steele's death comes seven months after star sprint car driver Bryan Clauson died.

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson expressed condolences to Steele’s family after Larson won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series race at Fontana, Calif.

The 24-year-old Larson grew up watching Steele on Thursday Night Thunder, an ESPN series showcasing USAC racing.

“Dave Steele was always the man when it came to pavement racing,” Larson said. “I got to watch him win a lot on TV. I didn’t know him personally very well, but I was lucky enough to be teammates with him one time at New Smyrna when I ran a USAC midget race there. He was a very quiet guy. I just remember it being an honor to be a teammate with him that night because he was so good at pavement racing. I knew we were going to be good, and we got the win. That was cool, to get to spend a little bit of time with him that weekend.”

Larson called Steele “one of the greatest-ever USAC racers.

Drivers and others in the motor sports community shared their condolences via social media.

Among them were, Tony Stewart Racing, the team the three-time NASCAR Cup champion owns and races for. Stewart retired from NASCAR after the 2016 season but continues to run in sprint car races.

TSR tweeted:

"Our prayers go out to the family of Dave Steele. Our former teammate, he was one of the best open-wheel drivers of this era. Godspeed - TSR"

Kasey Kahne, who is among a handful of NASCAR driver who often moonlight in sprint cars, tweeted in part:

"...One of the best and such a good guy to hang out and have a beer with. Praying for his family"

Contributing: The Associated Press