A race car kills two victims, a 68-year-old man and a 14-year old teen, during the warm-up lap of a Saturday sprint car race at San Francisco's Marysville Raceway Park dirt track on Saturday. Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the tragedy.
For promising young racers, the sprint car circuit is a popular stepping stone that opens opportunities to higher levels of motorsports like NASCAR. The race at Marysville Raceway Park was scheduled as the first round of the 2013 California Sprint Car Civil War Series.
17-year-old Chase Johnson was just completing his warm-up lap when his vehicle left the track and barreled into the pit area. Yuba County Sheriff's Captain Ron Johnson described the incident but could not confirm if the driver entered the pit on his own accord or if the racing car suffered a mechanical failure that caused it to lose control.
The two victims were standing close to each other at the pit lane when the car careened into the two of them. The older victim was Chase Johnson's 68-year-old race car owner Dale Wondergem. The younger victim was 14-year-old Marcus Johnson, Chase Larson's cousin. Wondergem was killed at the scene. Marcus Johnson was pronounced dead after he was rushed to the hospital. No one else was injured in the crash.
According to Sheriff's Captain Ron Johnson, the two victims were "both legitimately in the pit area (and) were associated with race-driving teams."
"Everybody's hurting. There's nothing we can do. This is terrible," said father of victim Marcus Johnson, Rob Johnson. He said his son and cousin were like best friends. "He had so much to look forward to."
In a Sunday statement on behalf of the Johnson family, Chase Johnson's father Don Johnson expressed the following:
"Our family has suffered an unspeakable tragedy with the passing of our precious Marcus Johnson and Dale Wondergem. There are no words to express our sorrow. Our family has been racing for four generations and loves the sport that has now brought us so much pain."
Chase Johnson has raced in the sprint car series for three years. A talented young driver, Johnson has won multiple races and even clinched the series championship title last year. Johnson's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were also champion drivers at Petaluma Speedway, where the family owns a muffler shop.
According to Sprint series race announcer Steven Blakesley, "People getting hurt in the pits is extremely, extremely rare. I've never seen anything like this, and I don't know how you would even prevent it."
