Jeff Krosnoff

Jeffrey John Krosnoff (September 24, 1964 – July 14, 1996) was an American race car driver. A competitor in the CART PPG Indy Car World Series, he was killed in a racing accident during the 1996 Molson Indy Toronto.

Krosnoff was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in La Cañada, California, where he attended Flintridge Preparatory School, a private high school. He then attended the University of California, San Diego for one year beginning in September 1982. Afterward, he transferred to UCLA, where he majored in Business. Throughout his college career, Krosnoff was focused on pursuing his dream of professional racecar driving.

Krosnoff competed in Japan in Formula 3000, where he was active from 1989 to 1995. Krosnoff also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans several times, scoring 2nd in 1994. In the 1996 season, he made eleven starts in the CART series, driving a Reynard-Toyota for Arciero-Wells Racing.

On July 14, 1996, with four laps to go in the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, Krosnoff's car made wheel-to-wheel contact with the car of Stefan Johansson, sending it into the air, over a concrete barrier, and into the catch fencing lining the street course. The fence did not stop the car enough to keep it from hitting a tree which was outside the fence. The car then rotated into a light post which was located inside the fence near the tree.

The violence of the accident left the car broken in half and sent the cockpit section back across the track, and the race was ended ahead of time due to the amount of debris blocking the course. Even though the paramedics were there almost immediately, Krosnoff died instantly after his head struck the tree and then suffered major internal injuries when his car hit the light post. A track official, Gary Avrin, was also killed in the accident when he was struck by the right front wheel of Krosnoff's then-airborne car. Krosnoff was declared dead minutes later at a local hospital, with the cause of death being listed as "massive head and chest injuries, skeletal injuries, and complete cardiac arrest."

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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