A race car driver was killed in the midst of an F5000 race at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Saturday afternoon.
A crash occurred when his vintage 1972 Lola T300 lost control around corner eight, after coming off a long straightaway, and went off track.
According to a Durham Regional Police news release, officers were called to the track around 4:30 p.m. Track safety staff and a doctor immediately rushed to the driver, who had to be extricated from the race car. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
DRP have indentified the victim as a 61 year old male from Illinois, while track officials have confirmed his name to be Jeff Green, from the town of Peoria.
According to local reports in Peoria, Green was a successful car dealership owner of Green Chevrolet and Green Ford in the city.
According to the website chevystore.com, Green started in the automotive business by cleaning cars in Monmouth at the age of 13, eventually becoming a technician. He then went to Northwood University in Midland, Michigan to study Automotive Marketing and Business and earned Bachelors and Associates degrees.
Police confirmed the race car passed a safety inspection before being permitted onto the track.
The track was closed for the remainder of the day following the accident.
Anyone with information about this incident or witnessed this collision is asked to call Cst. Lemanis of the Traffic Services Branch at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5272.
- With files from Jackie Rosen