David Earl “Swede” Savage Jr. (August 26, 1946 – July 2, 1973) was an American race car driver. He died at age 26 from complications while recovering from injuries suffered in a crash during the 1973 Indianapolis 500, nearly five weeks earlier.

This Son of Indy© original entitled “1973 Swede Tribute,” features Dan Gurney’s AAR Chassis 7229 (the last Eagle chassis of that series) wrapped in tribute to Swede Savage’s number 40 which he set a new track record 4-lap average speed of 196.582 mph during his qualifying run for the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

It was during this Indy 500 that Swede died from injuries sustained in a horrific crash coming out of turn 4 during the race.

Angela Savage, Swede’s daughter, who was born a few months after he’d passed away, was encouraged by Ted Woerner, owner of this tribute car, to return to Indy. Angela, through reconnecting to Indy has reconnected to the father she never knew. Angela and her family are all involved with IndyCar. Swede was Ted hero, idol. Ted wrote a posthumous biography about Swede, entitled, “Savage Angel: Death and Rebirth at the Indianapolis 500.”

You’ll find the revitting book here: https://savage42.net/book/

A historic marker was recently placed near the Orange Show Stadium in memorial to Swede. Ted and Angela were in attendance.

More on Swede can be found here: