Man killed at Jacksonville Speedway; struck by Sprint Car

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

According to news site WLDS, a man was killed on Friday night at Jacksonville Speedway. The track is located in Jacksonville, Illinois.

The report says that a Sprint Car left the track and struck multiple people. The incident happened before 8 pm local time.

The Morgan County Coroner’s Office said a 65-year-old man was struck by a 410 Sprint Car in the infield.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy on the man is expected on Monday.

“Things that can bring us the greatest fun and joy can also bring us the absolute lowest of lows. We wake up this Saturday morning processing and trying to make sense of it all,” Kenny Dobson said in a Facebook post. “As most of you are now aware, one of the most widely beloved people in our racing family was taken from us during our events at Jacksonville Speedway Friday night. It was a tragic accident that was witnessed by so many – including some of his closest friends and family.

“Please give comfort to all of those who are grieving or struggling today for however this tragedy may have impacted them. In this small community and given the public nature of the tragedy, that number is quite large. They truly need your thoughts, prayers, space, respect, and compassion as they deal with it in their unique way.”

Dobson also said that another man named Hank was also injured.

“Additional details will be released by others in the normal course of things and I will share those details when they are public and appropriate on the Speedway social media channels,” Dobson said. “For now we are going to keep those locked down until the appropriate time and I ask that you not speculate or share non-public information.

“I also want it to be known that our dearest friend Hank who was also injured will be fine. He has some fractures but he is still with us and acting just like you would expect Hank to act stuck in a hospital.”