Racer dies trying to set land speed record at Utah salt flats
A driver died Sunday after having crashed while he was trying to establish a property speed record during an annual event on the Bonneville Salt apartments in Utah, said the event organizers.
Chris Raschke, 60, died after the accident around 3:03 pm, officials of the Southern California Timing Association, who heads the event, in a press release.
The accident occurred after the organizers said Raschke “lost control of his vehicle at land speed at around 2,100 mile”. It occurred during the annual “speed week”, which opened its doors on Sunday.
Bonneville salt apartments are around 12 miles long and 5 miles wide and are made up of sodium chloride, or table salt, depending on the Federal Bureau of Land Management, which supervises it.
The area is used for terrestrial speed races, among others, he says. Bonneville event drivers can reach speeds of more than 300 MPH.
Raschke was a pilot of the Speed Demon team in the county of Ventura, California, and piloted the Speed Demon Streamliner, the team said on its website. He started working in motorsport in the 1980s, he said.
“We are deeply devastated,” said the team on social networks on Sunday.
The American Hot Rod Foundation was also part of the death of Raschke. He said he was traveling in the 300 MPH district when the accident occurred.
“For those who knew him on salt, it was someone who found the perfect balance between friendly and competitive. Never a usual combination and who talks about the quality of his character,” the association said in a press release. “We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Chris.”
The apartments are located approximately 120 miles west of Salt Lake City, at the west end of the Great Salt Lake basin, says the BLM on its website. These are the remains of Lake Bonneville.
The cause of the accident is the subject of an investigation, said Southern California Timing Association.
