Speed driver Chris Raschke dies at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats
Chris Raschke, 60, crashed his streamliner — a narrow, aerodynamic car designed to reach high speeds — about two-and-a-miles into a run, organizers said.
Advertisement
It wasn't immediately clear what speed the veteran driver was aiming for.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
05-08-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Veteran driver dies after crashing vehicle while racing at nearly 300 mph
A veteran high-speed driver has died after losing control of his vehicle while driving at nearly 300 miles per hour Sunday during the 2025 Bonneville Speed Week event in northwestern Utah. Chris Raschke, 60, was treated by medical professionals, but died at the scene of the accident at the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Utah, according to a press release by event organizes Southern California Timing Association. 'When you lose anybody in the community, it's always tough,' race director and SCTA board president Keith Pedersen told The Times on Tuesday. 'And somebody as well-liked and known as Chris, that makes it even tougher.' In addition to being a 'very accomplished race car driver,' Pedersen said, Raschke was also 'very, very friendly, very competitive. But he's also the type of person that if you needed a part or something, he would give it to you and say, 'Yeah, just bring it back when you're done.'' According to Raschke's Speed Demon bio page, he was 'the first official employee at Ventura Raceway in the early 80's' and over the years became involved in practically all aspects of motor sports. Also an employee of ARP Auto Parts, which makes fasteners and other products for race cars, Raschke worked as part of the Speed Demon crew for more than a decade before becoming a driver for the team. At last year's Speed Week, Raschke topped out at 446 mph, which Pedersen said was the fastest measured mile at the event. This year, he was driving the latest iteration of his team's vehicle, the Speed Demon 3. Pederson confirmed that Raschke's last recorded speed during Sunday's race was 283 mph. A Facebook post from the Speed Demon team account stated: 'At this time, we ask everyone to please respect Chris's family, friends, and the Speed Demon team. We are deeply devastated.' The Tooele County Sheriff's Office is investigating Raschke's death, with assistance from the SCTA. Sgt. Dan Lerdahl told The Times that the crash is being viewed as an accident, although it is unclear at this point whether the cause was 'a roadway issue, a mechanical issue or just a freak thing.' Racing was suspended following Rashke's crash but resumed Monday. Pedersen said canceling the event, which runs through Friday at the at the Bonneville Salt Flats, was never really a consideration. 'We've been doing Speed Week for 77 years, and over those years, there have been other fatalities out here. And it's always a tragedy,' Pedersen said. 'But we typically regroup. ... We grieve and we race. Chris would have wanted us to race, and we're continuing to do that.'
Fox News
05-08-2025
- Fox News
Veteran driver Chris Raschke dies after losing control at 283 mph during record attempt at Utah salt flats
Veteran driver Chris Raschke died on Sunday after he lost control of his vehicle while traveling at a speed of 283 mph in an attempt to set a record at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, event organizers confirmed. He was 60. The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), which hosts SpeedWeek at the Bonneville Salt Flats, released a statement confirming Raschke's death. "At approximately 3:03 p.m. Mountain Time today, driver Chris Raschke. age 60, was attempting a speed record and lost control of his land speed vehicle at approximately the 2 1/2 mile. Chris was treated by medical professionals at the scene. Unfortunately, Chris passed away from his injuries," the statement read. SCTA noted that the cause of the incident is under investigation. The Tooele County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating Raschke's death, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Sgt. Dane Lerdahl, a spokesman for the law enforcement agency, told The Associated Press, "We know it was an accident of some sort." Raschke had reportedly reached a speed of 283 mph while driving the "Speed Demon." The SCTA did not specify what record he was attempting to break, but according to Speed Demon Racing's website, Raschke's top speed in the streamliner was 391 mph. "At this time, we ask everyone to please respect Chris's family, friends, and the Speed Demon team. We are deeply devastated," the team wrote in a statement on Facebook. The American Hot Rod Foundation also released a statement following Raschke's death, adding that he was "piloting the latest iteration of the Speed Demon streamliner when the crash occurred." "Chris was known to many as the face of ARP, but to those who knew him on the salt, he was someone who found the perfect balance of friendly and competitive. Never a usual combination and one that speaks to the quality of his character. We send our deepest sympathies to Chris' family and friends." The Bonneville Salt Flats are located around 100 miles west of Salt Lake City and have, for decades, been utilized as racing grounds because of their glass-like surface. The first race there took place in 1914. The last known racing death at the flats occurred in 2016, when Sam Wheeler lost control of a high-performance bike. He crashed going 200 mph.
USA Today
05-08-2025
- USA Today
Driver dies in 300 mph crash at Bonneville Salt Flats race
A driver at a land speed racing competition on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats died while attempting to break a speed record, event organizers said. Chris Raschke, 60, was operating a land speed vehicle at around 3 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 3 when he lost control and crashed about 2.5 miles into the race, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) said in a release. He was treated by medical professionals but died from his injuries. The cause of the incident is under investigation, SCTA said. The accident occurred during SCTA's Speed Week event at the Bonneville Salt Flats, a 12-mile-long, 30,000-acre expanse of hard, white crust comprised mostly of table salt, according to the Bureau of Land Management. 'We are deeply devastated' Raschke was driving a land speed racing car known as the Speed Demon at the time of the crash, the American Hot Rod Association (AHRF) said in a social media statement. "To those who knew him on the salt, he was someone who found the perfect balance of friendly and competitive," AHRF said. "Never a usual combination and one that speaks to the quality of his character. We send our deepest sympathies to Chris's family and friends." The Speed Demon team acknowledged Raschke's death in a social media statement, asking "everyone to please respect Chris's family, friends, and the Speed Demon team." "We are deeply devastated," the statement said. According to the Speed Demon team's website, Raschke had a long career in motorsports before he began driving the streamliner. "His knowledge of the entire motorsports industry and its players is invaluable for the Speed Demon team," the team's website says. "He understands the fine details that help the Speed Demon team perform year after year." Driver may have been going around 300 mph before fatal crash AHRF said Raschke was traveling "somewhere in the neighborhood of 300mph" at the time of the crash. According to daily race logs from the SCTA, a vehicle entered under the Speed Demon team was recorded going up to 283 miles per hour before spinning on the track. USA TODAY reached out to the Tooele County Sheriff's Office for more information. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
