BEAVER DAM, Wis.-Sprint car racer Jason Johnson died Sunday from injuries suffered after a crash at Saturday night’s World of Outlaws race at Beaver Dam Raceway. He was 41.
Johnson crashed on the 18th lap of the race at the Wisconsin track. Johnson, of Eunice, Louisiana, was racing for the lead in the dirt-track race with eventual winner Daryn Pitman when his car flipped and crashed through the billboards near Turn 3.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Johnson was airlifted to a hospital in Summit, Wisconsin, where he died, the newspaper reported.
Johnson debuted in the World of Outlaws series in 1998 and began racing full time on the circuit in 2015.
He was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2015. Johnson had 12 victories on the circuit, including two this year.
Johnson burst onto the national scene in 2016 by winning the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, the biggest race of the year for winged sprint cars.
Before joining the tour full time, Johnson raced with the Outlaws occasionally, making his first start in 1998 and collecting his first victory in 2003, according to his biography on the series’ website.
Johnson is second driver in four years to die from injuries suffered in a sprint car crash at Beaver Dam Raceway. Scott Semmelmann was killed in an accident in practice at an Interstate Racing Association in September 2014.
Johnson is survived by his wife Bobbi and 5-year-old son Jaxx and his parents Craig and Debra Johnson.
The World of Outlaws has launched a GoFundMe account to benefit Johnson’s family. Several people have made donations in the amount of $41, which was Johnson’s car number.
See full obituary on page 5.