Salt Walther

At the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Walther qualified 17th but again finished last after one of the most spectacular and famous accidents in the history of the race. As the field received the green flag, Steve Krisiloff, on the inside of the third row, developed engine trouble and slowed down, producing a traffic jam on the main straightaway as the rest of the cars accelerated. 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. 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.

The impact tore down a segment of the catch fence and ripped off the nose of Walther's car. His legs were exposed, and the fuel tanks were ruptured, which at that time were located on either side of the cockpit. The fuel sprayed out of the car, some of it reaching the front rows of the grandstand where several spectators suffered burns. The car crashed back onto the track and spun down the main straightaway upside-down, still spraying fuel which ignited into a huge fireball that enveloped the rest of the field. Blinded by the burning methanol, several other drivers crashed into Walther's car, and into each other, though none of the other drivers suffered serious injuries.

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. Walther was quickly rescued by track safety workers (with the help of Wally Dallenbach Sr.) and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Walther was fortunate to have had nearly all of the fuel sprayed out of the car, allowing the fire to burn out quickly, but he still suffered burns over 40% of his body, mostly on his left leg. He would require numerous surgeries for the rest of his life. Walther's most severe injuries were to his hands — the fingers on his left hand had to be partially amputated, and those on his crushed right hand eventually healed into unnatural angles. He wore a black glove over the left hand to cover the damage. Walther was in the Michigan Burn Center for two and a half months, and lost around fifty pounds.

After a year of recovery, Walther returned to Indianapolis in 1974, finishing 17th. In 1975 his car dropped out with ignition problems after only 2 laps, and he again finished 33rd. He became the only driver to finish last three times at Indianapolis. (George Snider finished 33rd in 1971, 1979, and 1987, but the 1979 field had 35 cars, thus Snider finished last only twice.) Just minutes after dropping out, Walther took over the car of Bob Harkey - another Walther team car, and drove it to a 10th-place finish. He was 12 laps down (losing at least a couple of those laps during the driver change) when the race was ended early due to rain on lap 174.

Walther scored his best result of 9th in the rain-shortened 1976 race. In 1977, Walther failed to qualify for the Indy 500, and attempted to buy (at an exorbitant price) one of the qualified cars. This plan, however, was later abandoned, and created considerable negative press. In 1978, 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. Walther ran the 1979 Indy 500, finishing 12th, before failing to qualify in 1980.

Following struggles with an addiction to painkillers, he took a ten-year hiatus from racing. Walther attempted a comeback in 1990, driving the #77 for Walther Racing. On Bump Day, the final day of time trials, Walther qualified for the race only to be bumped out by a last-minute run by Rocky Moran. The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, Inc. awarded him the dubious "Jigger Award" for his efforts.

Due to his lack of success, as well as the considerable financial backing of his father, Walther was sometimes regarded as a rich playboy with more money than talent. In the December 1999-January 2000 issue of Champ Car magazine, racing journalist Robin Miller named him the third-worst Champ car driver, saying, "This wealthy young man had some of the best cars available in the 1970s. But vanity and a horrid attitude kept him from ever reaching the podium."

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)