Tragedy Strikes IMSA as Former Daytona 24 Winner’s Furry Friend Loses Its Life

Canadian driver Devlin DeFrancesco is mourning the loss of his puppy ‘Lucky’- a golden retriever. This incident took place at the 24 Hours of Daytona race in Florida. Having won the iconic event in 2022, the 24-year-old driver was once again looking forward to his weekend event at the Daytona International Speedway. But Lucky’s death proved a somber start to his 2024 racing season.

A tweet by journalist Jenna Fryer stated, “#IMSA: Devlin DeFrancesco’s golden retriever puppy was run over and killed in the motorhome lot.” She even went on to add in a separate tweet, “It was in the motorhome lot. Which means someone authorized to be driving a car in the lot was involved. I’ve asked for a statement from the other party involved.”

Reacting to the tragic incident, Devlin DeFrancesco took to his Instagram account and shared a heartbreaking story, “Today’s for you. Rest in peace Lucky you’ll always hold a special place in my heart.” He also went on to share some lovely pictures of him with his fur friend and a heart emoji. Lucky was young and was only starting to make DeFrancesco’s family whole, but this untimely demise leaves the racer with a feeling of loss and sorrow just before the race day. Lucky had traveled with DeFrancesco to the event and was staying in the driver’s motorhome at the track when the accident took place. However, despite this massive loss, DeFrancesco will be competing at the 24 Hours of Daytona race.

DeFrancesco had adopted the puppy in September 2023, and since then, he posted several pictures of his friend on Instagram. As the motorsports fans learned about the loss of DeFrancesco’s puppy, they started pouring their love and support for the driver online.

Fans react to DeFrancesco’s puppy’s tragic accident at the IMSA event

A dog is indeed a man’s best friend and to lose Lucky in just a short span of time would definitely be heartbreaking for the racer. However, instead of calling his plans off, DeFrancesco will be competing at the event and dedicate it to his late friend Lucky. As soon as the fans came to know about this devastating incident, they began crowding in the comments section.

One user remembered about the racer’s girlfriend sharing the video of the pup online and he was taken aback after hearing that the puppy had passed away. The tweet read, “His girlfriend just posted a video with that dog a few days ago 😟 All love from my family to Devlin and Co. Awful to hear”.

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Another user was completely heartbroken after learning about the incident, as they wrote, “💔💔💔💔💔..That’s so sad!!..”

A user sent his condolences to the driver and his family. “That is awful. Thank you for sharing. Condolences to @DevlinDeFran No one should have to deal with that.”

Echoing similar sentiments, yet another user shared their condolences by commenting, “That’s so awful! That poor puppy! 😭😭😭”. “Poor Lucky. And Devlin i am so sorry.”

This IMSA Daytona 24-hour challenge would be a tough one for Devlin DeFrancesco to undertake after the loss of his dear friend in an unfortunate and untimely circumstance.

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