Driver attempting to set a record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats dies after losing control
For decades, the flat, glasslike white surface has drawn drivers from all over seeking to set new land speed world records and motorcycle and car fans to watch. A remnant of a prehistoric lakebed, the salt flats that are about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City have also been a backdrop for movies like "Independence Day' and "The World's Fastest Indian.'
"Moto rsports is inherently a dangerous sport,' said Dennis Sullivan, a car builder and racer who set a land speed record in his 1927 Model T street roadster and serves as president of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. "People get hurt. People get killed. That's just the nature of the sport. It doesn't happen a lot.' Sullivan said motor sports also have stringent safety requirements - such as stronger roll bars, special tires and more fire extinguishers - that help protect drivers.
The last racing death Sullivan recalled at the flats came in 2016 when Sam Wheeler, a renowned land speed motorcycle racer, crashed at 200 mph (321 kilometers) when the high-performance bike he was testing fish-tailed and went airborne. The Bonneville Salt Flats, which had its first race in 1914, have about 7 miles for racing and an aquifer underneath that cools the tires of the cars.
It's unlike other race venues in that it doesn't have stands. Spectators must stand two-tenths of a mile away from the cars. Raschke lost control of the vehicle about two and a half miles into a run. It's unknown what speed Raschke was aiming to reach. The association and the Tooele County Sheriff's Office are investigating the death, said Sgt Dane Lerdahl, a spokesman for the law enforcement agency.
"We know it was an accident of some sort,' Lerdahl said. For decades, people have used the flat, glasslike surface at Bonneville Salt Flats, 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City, to set speed records, sometimes topping 400 mph (644 kph). Speed Week has long been a draw for motorcycle and car fans. Raschke, 60, was the driver of a streamliner - a long, narrow, aerodynamic car made to run at high speeds - known as the Speed Demon. He had worked in motor sports for more than four decades.
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