A
Awesome_Bill
Guest
Sad news as An SCCA driver was Killed today in a race in Road America.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - A veteran driver was killed when his car slammed into a wall of tires during a road race Sunday.
Robert Kasik, 56, of Roscoe, Ill., failed to brake on a sharp turn at the end of a long straightaway at Road America, track spokeswoman Cheryl Barnes said.
"Apparently Mr. Kasik made no attempt to slow down around the turn," Barnes said. "That leaves a lot of unanswered questions."
Witnesses at the race said he went off course at a high rate of speed at Turn 12, called Canada Corner. Barnes said Kasik was likely driving up to 160 mph in his 1996 Chevrolet Camaro.
Kasik, who raced for at least 35 years, was competing in the GT-1 racing class with about 25 others in similar vehicles.
Barnes described Kasik as a very experienced driver.
"We just never expect to have a death," she said. "It is a shock and it is a real loss to the racing community."
Kasik drove off the track and into a 275-foot wide gravel pit designed to slow cars that miss the turn, but his car plowed into a 5-foot high tire barrier instead.
Kasik was taken by ambulance to Valley View Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.
Sports Car Club of America technical inspectors surveyed the car, but could not determine a cause for the crash.
Sheboygan County Coroner Dave Leffin planned an autopsy, Barnes said.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - A veteran driver was killed when his car slammed into a wall of tires during a road race Sunday.
Robert Kasik, 56, of Roscoe, Ill., failed to brake on a sharp turn at the end of a long straightaway at Road America, track spokeswoman Cheryl Barnes said.
"Apparently Mr. Kasik made no attempt to slow down around the turn," Barnes said. "That leaves a lot of unanswered questions."
Witnesses at the race said he went off course at a high rate of speed at Turn 12, called Canada Corner. Barnes said Kasik was likely driving up to 160 mph in his 1996 Chevrolet Camaro.
Kasik, who raced for at least 35 years, was competing in the GT-1 racing class with about 25 others in similar vehicles.
Barnes described Kasik as a very experienced driver.
"We just never expect to have a death," she said. "It is a shock and it is a real loss to the racing community."
Kasik drove off the track and into a 275-foot wide gravel pit designed to slow cars that miss the turn, but his car plowed into a 5-foot high tire barrier instead.
Kasik was taken by ambulance to Valley View Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.
Sports Car Club of America technical inspectors surveyed the car, but could not determine a cause for the crash.
Sheboygan County Coroner Dave Leffin planned an autopsy, Barnes said.
