Crash claims Australian drag racer Stewart

On the heels of a very positive report from the IHRA Summer Thunder race at Sydney Dragway comes sad news from the ANDRA two-day regional race at South Coast Raceway in Portland, Victoria. Chris Stewart, second-generation racer driving a Supercharged Outlaw Chevrolet Camaro, "lost his life when the car left the track and crashed. All remaining racing was canceled for the weekend," reports Dragracingonline.com.

The site quotes IHRA Australian CEO Maurice Allen, who was at his event in Sydney: "Chris and I grew up together as kids playing at the track while our parents raced. Drag racing has always been a big family and today I lost a true friend."

Autoaction.com.au reported that the 47-year-old racer lost control and impacted with both walls before leaving the track.

While South Coast Raceway is not an IHRA-affiliated track, the drag racing community in Australia is a tight-knit family, despite often very long distances between the tracks. Our condolences to the family and friends of Chris Stewart.