Overview

• During a mid-run systems check on August 3, Raschke’s newly unveiled Speed Demon III streamliner went airborne and crashed at over 300 mph about 2.5 miles into the course
• The Southern California Timing Association confirmed the 60-year-old’s death and said its officials along with Tooele County law enforcement have opened investigations into the crash
• Raschke spent more than four decades in motorsports and joined the Speed Demon team in the late 1990s, succeeding George Poteet after Poteet’s 2024 death
• Speed Demon III, the team’s third piston-powered streamliner, was unveiled at Speed Week as a shake-down vehicle rather than a formal record attempt
• Speed Week has resumed and the land-speed racing community has rallied to honor Raschke’s legacy with tributes and moments of silence