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E-mail StoryAlameda racer dies after ramming wall during junk car event
| Sunday, May 11 2008 9:34 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, May 11 2008 9:34 PM
An amateur race featuring cars worth no more than $500 resumed Sunday after being halted the day before due to the death of a 47-year-old driver who slammed his junk vehicle into a wall.
Court Summerfield, of Alameda, was killed late in the first day of the 24 Hours of LeMons event at the Altamont Motorsports Park. The annual race is a spoof of France's Le Mans endurance race.
"He basically went head on into a wall without any evasive measures, stopping or braking or anything like that," track president Jeff Macey said of Summerfield. Macey estimated that Summerfield, one of 90 racers, was traveling at a speed of 50 mph when he crashed.
Besides being worth no more than their weight in scrap metal, cars entered in the LeMons race must be outfitted with roll cages, five-point seat belts and fire extinguishers. Macey said the event never had any serious accidents until Saturday.
"It is a very safe event," he said. "These cars are just basically stock street cars. They run on a very short course racetrack that doesn't let them go very fast. The top speed is about 50 miles per hour. It is all about endurance."
Before racing resumed on Sunday, a memorial ceremony was held in Summerfield's honor. The winner was scheduled to receive "four-figure purses" paid in canvas bags full of nickels, according to the race's Web site.