davey-hamilton

Hamilton's IndyCar career started in 1991. His father Ken traded the Eagle Aircraft Flyer Special he had attempted to qualify at the 1982 Indianapolis 500 for a rookie test with Hemelgarn Racing for Davey. Hamilton attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1991, 1993, and 1995. He made his first IndyCar start at the 1996 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, the first ever Indy Racing League race.

In 2001 at Texas Motor Speedway, Jeret Schroeder lost an engine exiting turn 2, causing him to lose control and make contact with Hamilton's machine. Hamilton's car slammed into the wall, nearly caught the catch fence, and spun multiple times before coming to rest against the inside retaining wall. Sarah Fisher was also involved in the crash. Hamilton suffered such severe injuries to his legs and feet that doctors at one point believed amputation was the best option.

Following the crash, Hamilton took a retirement from driving and underwent 23 operations to reconstruct his feet and legs. He began standing after five months and spent a year requiring a wheelchair. In 2010, after retiring from the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on the first lap, Hamilton referenced the accident: "It's the second-worst day of my racing career...and everyone knows my worst one."

Hamilton began courting sponsors and pursuing the paddock in 2005. He landed a ride for the 2007 Indianapolis 500 with Vision Racing, qualifying 20th. He placed ninth after the race ended early on lap 166 due to rain. For 2008, Hamilton re-signed with Vision Racing and finished fourteenth in the 2008 Indianapolis 500.

For the 2009 season, Hamilton drove for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and was the only one of the team's four drivers to qualify during the first weekend of qualifications; he crashed out on lap 79. In 2010, Hamilton competed for de Ferran Dragon Racing and was involved in an incident with Tomas Scheckter on the first lap of the race, classified 33rd.

Hamilton's final season was 2011. He finished 24th in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and raced in the Twin 275's at Texas. His final start was at the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas, where he escaped the major accident on lap eleven that killed Dan Wheldon; the race was abandoned and results were scratched from the official record. When the new chassis and engine package was introduced for the 2012 season, Hamilton was unable to secure a car for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 due to a lack of available rides.

In 2013, Hamilton joined the Stadium Super Trucks as a substitute for Jimmy Vasser at Honda Indy Toronto; he started first in the event but engine trouble forced him to finish seventh. In 2014, he made his season debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, placing 8th in the first race and 9th in the second.

In 2014, Hamilton co-founded King of the Wing, a national pavement sprint car series.

Hamilton became color commentator for Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network broadcasts in 2003. He later began driving the 2-seater IndyCar, giving rides to VIPs and celebrities at IndyCar Series races.

Hamilton partnered with Dennis Huth and the new American Speed Association to take over control of the Southwest Tour for 2007, shortly after NASCAR terminated the AutoZone Elite division which included the Southwest series. The Speedco Southwest Tour series uses the same cars as the former NASCAR-sanctioned series.

Hamilton also owns Davey Hamilton Apex Racing, a team consisting of two winged sprint drivers: his father Ken Hamilton and friend Mike Cullum, alongside his son DJ who races Outlaw Karts and Go Karts, and Mike's daughter Jenna who drives Outlaw Karts. In 2008, Hamilton became a partner in a group that purchased Terre Haute Action Track.

Hamilton has a son, Davey Jay Hamilton Jr. (D.J.), born March 15, 1997, in Idaho, who races in sprint cars and Stadium Super Trucks. He also has a daughter, Hailey Hamilton, born November 16, 1999, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.