Racecar Driver Dead After Devastating Car Crash

In sprint car racing, ultralightweight vehicles with massive horsepower take part in wheel-to-wheel action on oval dirt tracks, as described by NAPA online.

A sprint driver was killed on April 8 when his vehicle toppled over during a qualifying race in Indiana.

During the third round of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Lawrenceburg Speedway, sprint driver Justin Owen, 26, was killed after his vehicle crashed with an outside wall and flipped numerous times, as stated in a news statement released by USAC Racing. The event had official backing from the United States Automobile Club (USAC).

The press release claims that Owen had been racing sprint cars for over ten years until his death. Owen had only just taken over as the track champion. Owen grew up less than twenty minutes away from the Lawrenceburg track and made many trips there. 

Top End Sports claims that the popularity of sprint car racing extends outside the United States to countries like New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. The United States is the epicenter of the sport’s popularity. Sprint racers often use their experience from one discipline as a springboard into another.

After winning the Lawrenceburg Championship in 2022, Owen won the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series events at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania, Paragon Speedway in Indiana, and the Lawrenceburg Night of Champions in 2019. WCPO reported this information.

The red flag was immediately waved after his mishap on Saturday night, signaling that USAC had decided the event was “too unsafe to continue.” Once it was determined that Owen had succumbed to his wounds around thirty minutes later, USAC announced that the rest of the competition would be canceled.

“USAC expresses its profound sympathy to Justin’s family, team, and many friends throughout the racing business,” read the organization.