Rick Treadway 1970-2026

Rick Treadway, the racecar driver son of powerhouse Indy Racing League entrant Fred Treadway, died at the age of 56 in a motorcycle accident on May 30.

The Indiana native took part in 11 IRL races, starting with the Treadway-Hubbard Racing operation in 2001, when he contested three events in the No. 5 GForce-Oldsmobile and secured a career-best of fifth at the rescheduled finale – postponed by the terrorist attack on September 11 – at Texas Motor Speedway.

Returning in 2002 to the renamed Treadway Racing program with the No. 5 GForce-Oldsmobile, Treadway contested the first half of the season, which included his debut at the Indianapolis 500.

Thanks to his versatile upbringing in junior open-wheel racing and all manner of USAC short track competition,Treadway was a natural fit for the all-oval IRL and the demands of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he qualified 17th – directly behind future Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran and in front of 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier – but was involved in a crash nearing the halfway point of the race that left him with a lone classification of 29th at the Brickyard.