Driver attempting to set land-speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats dies

National Post

5 days ago

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A driver going 455 km/h trying to set a land speed record during a racing event at Utah's famed Bonneville Salt Flats died Sunday after he lost control of his rocket-like vehicle called the Speed Demon, organizers said.
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Driver Chris Raschke lost control about two and a half miles into a run and was treated by medical professionals at the scene, but died from his injuries, according to the Southern California Timing Association, which has organized the popular land-speed racing event known as 'Speed Week' since the late 1940s.
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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 160 kilometers west of Salt Lake City have also been a backdrop for movies like Independence Day and The World's Fastest Indian.
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'Motorsports 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.'
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Sullivan said motor sports also have stringent safety requirements — such as stronger roll bars, special tires and more fire extinguishers — that help protect drivers.
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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.
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The Bonneville Salt Flats, which had its first race in 1914, have about 10 km for racing and an aquifer underneath that cools the tires of the cars.
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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.
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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.
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'We know it was an accident of some sort,' Lerdahl said.
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For decades, people have used the flat, glasslike surface at Bonneville Salt Flats to set speed records, sometimes topping 644 km/h. Speed Week has long been a draw for motorcycle and car fans.
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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.