Land Speed Motorcycle Racer Sam Wheeler Dies At Bonneville

[Satanica]

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/07/28/land-speed-motorcycle-racer-sam-wheeler-dies-at-bonneville/

Sam Wheeler, renowned land speed motorcycle rider, died Monday from traumatic injuries suffered in a crash during a testing session at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The 72-year-old rider was rushed to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where doctors were unable to save him.

Event organizer Mike Cook said Wheeler was traveling at about 200 mph when his motorcycle began to fishtail, eventually flipping and landing hard on the cage where Wheeler was situated. Cook said that Wheeler was alive when the rescue team pulled him from the wreckage. He died about four hours later in a hospital.

Wheeler was an engineer from Arcadia, California. At the time of his death, he had about 50 years of experience in land speed racing. He was in the process of hand-building a motorcycle that would travel at 400 mph. Wheeler is survived by his wife and two children.

Land speed racers are preparing for the annual Bonneville Speed Week. After being canceled for two years, Bonneville Speed Week is scheduled to return this August.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/07/28/land-speed-racer-sam-wheeler-dies-at-utah-salt-flats/

Sam Wheeler, a renowned land speed motorcycle racer, is dead after the high-performance bike he was testing at Utah's famed Bonneville Salt Flats fish-tailed, went airborne and crashed at 200 mph. He was 72.

Wheeler died Monday afternoon at Intermountain Medical Center in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray because of traumatic injuries suffered in the motorcycle accident, hospital spokesman Jess Gomez said.

Wheeler was going about 200 mph during a test run when the back of the streamliner motorcycle started fish tailing, said Mike Cook, the event organizer who witnessed the incident. His motorcycle began to slide and then popped into the air and came crashing down on the caged section where Wheeler was seated, Cook said. Wheeler was alive when emergency crews extracted him from the car but died about four hours later at the hospital, Cook said.
[....]
Wheeler, an engineer from Arcadia, California, was known as an innovator and pioneer in the sport. He spent more than two decades building, fine-tuning and racing a motorcycle on which he reached speeds exceeding 300 mph, said Pat McDowell, a fellow racer and longtime friend. At one time, he held the land speed record for motorcycles, he said.

"He's was pretty much one of the legends of our sport," McDowell said. "He did it with his brain, not his wallet."

Wheeler was testing the motorcycle this week in anticipation of two big races in August and September at the Salt Flats. The site brings races from around the country to use the flat, glasslike surface to set speed records.

He had been working on the motorcycle in recent years with a goal of setting the motorcycle speed record and surpassing 400 mph, McDowell said.

"Everyone was rooting for him, even competitors," said McDowell, vice president of the Southern California Timing Association.

Wheeler was known for his ability to build and modify his motorcycle by himself. He was perfectionist who knew aerodynamics well, said Bill Lattin, president of the Southern California Timing Association, which is set to host a major racing event at the Salt Flats in August.

"He built that motorcycle by hand. Every single part on it," Lattin said. "He's been rebuilding it, making it stronger, faster and more aerodynamic."

He is survived by a wife and two children, said McDowell. Wheeler's family couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

McDowell, Cook and Lattin said Wheeler was a kind-hearted, laid-back man.

''He was the nicest guy in the world," Lattin said. "He would do anything for anybody.

 

[Anubis]

At least he died doing what he loved.

 

[Brenni]

I thought it said he died "In" a Bonneville :shrug:

... I was thinkin.. why the hell was he driving that :hilarious::hilarious: and do they still even make those? :shrug: