Chris Raschke, 60, an influential member of the racing and hot rodding community for more than four decades, tragically lost his life Sunday afternoon in a high-speed crash at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Photo: Speed Demon Racing

Raschke was piloting the Speed Demon Racing team’s new streamliner, the Speed Demon III, on a preliminary run down Course Number One during the second day of the annual Speed Week when it crashed and became airborne at an estimated speed of 300 miles per hour.

Bonneville Nationals Inc. chairpersons Heather Black and Bill Lattin confirmed Raschke’s passing in a statement via the Southern California Timing Association, the sanctioning body that oversees rules and competition at events on the Wendover, Utah race course.

“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 mark. Chris was treated by medical professionals at the scene. Unfortunately, Chris passed away from his injuries. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation,” the statement read. Racing was suspended for the day at 4 p.m. local time.

Photo: Speed Demon Racing

The Speed Demon Racing team was debuting a newly-rebuilt car that was originally fabricated by Tom Hanna. The gold Speed Demon streamliner that George Poteet had driven to numerous records was donated, at his request in last will and testament, to a museum following his sudden passing in 2024, and the team set out to reimagine and assemble the new Speed Demon III in a 14-week trash to continue their land-speed racing endeavors. The car featured much of the same record-breaking running gear that had been utilized on the gold car in its historic run of world records in recent years.

Raschke became involved in motorsports in the early 1980s, working at Southern California’s Ventura Raceway and competing in a variety of dirt circle track cars. He later went to work for Duttweiler Automotive, where he learned to build race engines and fabricate and maintain race cars. While at Duttweiler’s, Chris met Steve Watt, Speed Demon Racing’s builder and crew chief; they struck up a friendship, and Raschke became an integral part of the team for more than a decade. He eventually got the opportunity to get behind the wheel, driving the famed 369 White Goose Bar roadster and Wayne Jesel’s B/Blown Fuel Modified pickup truck, before making his first licensing runs in the Speed Demon in late 2021.

Photo: Speed Demon Racing

Chris joined ARP, one of the industry’s leading fastener manufacturers, in 1996 and had served as its Director of Sales and Marketing for 29 years at the time of his death.

Chris touched the lives of so many in the automotive performance industry, with his infectious personality, warm and welcoming demeanor, and a broad, ever-present smile, and his presence will undoubtedly be forever missed by all those who knew him. Our condolences go out to Chris’s family, the Speed Demon Racing crew, and everyone at ARP.