Driver Chris Raschke dies in crash at Speed Week on Bonneville Salt Flats

Driver Chris Raschke is seen preparing the Speed Demon, a land speed racing car, in this undated photo. (Speed Demon 715)

A driver has died while taking part in the annual Speed Week event on Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, according to organizers.

The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), which hosts the land speed racing event, announced on Sunday that 60-year-old Chris Raschke died while attempting a speed record.

“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,” said the statement shared by the SCTA.

“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.”

Raschke’s Speed Demon team also shared the SCTA statement, writing: “At this time, we ask everyone to please respect Chris’s family, friends, and the Speed Demon team. We are deeply devastated.”

CNN Sports has contacted the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office regarding Raschke’s death.

Speed Demon lays claim to having created the world’s fastest piston-powered car, and the long, bullet-shaped vehicle being driven by Raschke in Bonneville was the third iteration of the streamliner.

At last year’s Speed Week with Raschke as the driver, the Speed Demon team won a 12th Hot Rod Magazine Trophy, posting a winning mile-speed of 446.716 m.p.h. and an exit speed of 459.734 m.p.h.

Bonneville, a dry lakebed on the border of Utah and Nevada, has long been an iconic location for land speed records, with Speed Week attracting around 500 hot rods, roadsters and motorcycles each year.

By George Ramsay, CNN