Thompson Speedway tragedy

[GiveMeTimeMachinePlz]

For anyone who follows short track racing in the new england area, particularly open wheel cars such as modifieds or NEMA midgets, we lost another driver on sunday.

Shane Hammond, 27, was killed sunday during the running of the NEMA portion of the Thompson Icebreaker ( the season opener event ). Rumor has it that his throttle stuck wide open, which caused him to hit and touch wheels with another car going into the 3rd turn. Mind you, this track is 5/8's of a mile, so the straights are pretty long. When he hit the other car, it acted as a catapult, launching Shane's car into the air. It cleared the retaining wall and slammed into a large billboard, where the car got stuck. He was unresponsive when safety workers got to him, and they were performing CPR while trying to extract him from the car. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, though he more than likely died on impact.

RIP Shane, we'll miss you