McKinley Speedway

McKinley Speedway
Full Name	McKinley Speedway
Location	McKinley, Pennsylvania, USA
Purpose	Speedway
First Appearance	The Final Destination
Last Appearance	Final Destination 5 (closing credits)

McKinley Speedway is a paved short automobile racetrack located in McKinley, Pennsylvania that features asphalt Late model racing. During the Megatech 300 Memorial Race on January 6, 2009, a deadly chain reaction pileup and structural collapse occurred, resulting in the deaths of at least 52 people.

Theatrically, the McKinley Speedway disaster is the fourth major disaster of the series, as seen in The Final Destination, and the final disaster chronologically, given the events of Final Destination 5.

Disaster

Premonition

A screwdriver accidentally attached to the car with the number 45.

The instigating event occurs when a mechanic fails to remove a screwdriver from the back of Car 45 during a pit stop before it rejoins the race. As the car continues along the racetrack, the screwdriver rattles around, eventually dislodging and falling onto the ground. During the next lap, Car 6 drives right over the tool, shredding its tire. The driver swerves out of control and begins to flip and roll along the track. All of the spectators watch the crash until a wheel from the car flies beyond the fence and decapitates Nadia Monroy.

The race ending in disaster.

Everyone begins to panic and starts to run out of the stadium to avoid the fiery crash, which sends flamed cars and debris flying at everyone in the stadium. Two spectators, Carter Daniels and his wife, die when the hood of an exploding car comes flies at them and severs their bodies from the waist down, and Samantha Lane is trampled by the fleeing audience and crushed when an exploding car sends an engine flying at her.

Andy Kewzer, still shocked over his girlfriend Nadia's death, decides to flee from the crash as well to avoid death. Unfortunately, he stumbles on a broken wood plank and falls backwards, where he's impaled through the back of the head by a sharp piece of wood. Soon afterwards, a cowboy dies when a fiery car comes spiraling off the track and slams into his body and a support pillar.

Nick wakes up from his premonition, his friends curious about what's wrong with him.

As Nick O'Bannon and his friends search for a way out, the stadium begins to collapse and the falling debris starts killing more people, who are all crowding the exits and are unable to escape. Hunt Wynorski and Janet Cunningham get separated and are crushed by falling debris. A security guard tries to divert them to the other exit, but everything there dies instantly when the roof above collapses and kills them all. As Nick, George and Lori Milligan stand among the wreckage, a car explodes, engulfing Lori and George in flames and throwing Nick backwards, where he's impaled through the chest by a piece of metal rebar.

Real Life

After Nick comes out of his premonition and witnesses several events that occurred in within it, he panics and causes a commotion while trying to escape, causing his friends and several other spectators to follow him, where they witness the disaster from outside the speedway. As everyone begins to freak out, a car explodes and sends a wheel out of the speedway in Nadia's direction, decapitating her in the same way as in Nick's vision.

Signs/Clues

• The single by rock band Shinedown, "Devour" plays briefly at the beginning of the film before the accident at the speedway. The lyrics of the song make a snide reference to events of the film ("it's your final hour", "smash it and crash it", "until you take us all", "what a way to go"), relating to the car crash, and Death hunting after the survivors. Another interesting line from the single, (You want it, you want it, you want it, you want it, well here it is), could refer to Hunt wants so much to see a car crash, and he gets just that.
• Before the speedway crash, a gust of wind blows over a can of motor oil that spills onto the track, causing Car 16 to skid while reentering the race.
• Samantha Lane's son, Ryan is wearing a T-shirt with a skeleton on the front.
• The Megatech 300 is revealed to be a memorial race paying respect to the racecar drivers who have died in the past.
• Nick sees a man wearing a shirt that states Life's a Bitch & Then You Die... Any Questions?
• Nick feels a strong gust of wind brush past him.
• Car 3 makes a pit stop next a flag and a sign with the number 6, making the number 666.
• Car 45 is sponsored by Bill Wall Leather, a brand that was also on the back of Evan Lewis's shirt shortly before his death in Final Destination 2.
• The section of the stadium Nick and his friends are in is Section 180.
• Nick looks over his shoulder and sees crumbling concrete above him.
• When Nick sits on the bench, it cracks and breaks.
• Car 6 has a fiery paint job.
• Roy Carson, a man who is killed in Final Destination 5, once stood near Car 6, as revealed by a photo at a memorial for him.

Intended Survivors

• Edward Lane
• Ryan Lane
• Daniel Lane
• Other spectators

Unintended Survivors

• Nick O'Bannon (deceased)
• Lori Milligan (deceased)
• Janet Cunningham (deceased)
• George Lanter (deceased)
• Jonathan Groves (deceased)
• Hunt Wynorski (deceased)
• Andy Kewzer (deceased)
• Samantha Lane (deceased)
• Carter Daniels (deceased)
• Nadia Monroy (deceased)

Casualties

• The Car 6 driver (possibly)
• The Car 11 driver (possibly)
• The Car 39 driver (possibly)
• Cynthia Daniels
• 51 unnamed people
• 11 unnamed people (possible; shown in deleted scene)

Trivia

The McKinley Speedway Megatech 300 sign

• It must be noted that this is the second accident in the films where one of the deaths aren't in the same order as they were in the premonition. Both of these happen because the character moved seats, or didn't.
• This is considered the most illogical accident in the series, as it could be nearly impossible for tires, motors, and other cars to constantly fly through the air at once and it's also illogical that almost every car in the race crashed and didn't try to stop. This is all a little too exaggerated though. The whole thing was set up by Death, and wasn't a "normal" accident. Also, it is interesting to note that it is shown that an invisible force caused the bolts on the safety fences support were knocked out, which normally prevent accidents from hurting the spectators. And this further proves that Death cheated. Also, it is mentioned in the script that the smoke made it impossible for the cars to see, and they were all driving at 220 miles per hour and would have had difficulty stopping, though it is also possible that Death prevented their brakes from working.
• It's possible that the whole sequence was based off of an over-exaggeration of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, which claimed a death toll of nearly twice as much as in the movie (84 deaths), but only involved one car.
  • Interestingly, the 1955 Le Mans disaster is said to be responsible for nearly 180 injuries. Whether this factored into the decision to make the opening disaster a speedway accident or merely was coincidence is unknown.
• During Nick's premonition, the announcer say that Craig Perry has entered 2nd place, referencing the film's producer, Craig Perry.
• This is the only disaster where a security guard as one of the survivors and none of the survivors are interrogated by police afterward.
• This is the only disaster where a character is both a survivor and a victim. Although Nadia missed her initial fate inside the stadium, she still dies because of the accident, and she is still at the Speedway when her death occurs, thus making her one of the 52 casualties, but also a survivor.
  • Similarly, Kimberly's friends (Shaina McKlank, Dano Estevez, and Frankie Whitman) survived the initial pileup in Final Destination 2, only to be killed almost immediately after.
• It is often debated as to whether Nadia Monroy was a survivor of the crash or a casualty. It's noted that Nadia was made it out of the stadium and into the parking lot alive, however, she was still at the speedway itself and was pictured at the memorial. Although, it must also be noted that Death seemed to directly target her, as it wouldn't be likely that a tire would normally fly that far over the stadium without Death's help.