The thunderous roar of sprint car engines fell silent this weekend as a tight-knit community of racing fans tried to absorb the loss of one of their own.
About an hour into Friday night’s bill of sprints, sportsman, street stocks and micro car classes at Jacksonville Speedway, something went tragically wrong. Unofficial reports indicate one of the sprint cars in the race had an equipment malfunction while circling the quarter-mile dirt track and went into the infield.
Ralph A. Willhite, 65, of South Jacksonville was in the infield and was struck. His knowledge as a mechanic and his passion for racing made him a staple of the speedway, where he often was found working with the crews for racers Bobby Hawks and Paul Nienhiser.
Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
At least one other person was injured. While details have not been released, those injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, according to those involved with the incident.
Speedway owner and operator Kenny Dobson said Saturday that he still was trying to process and make sense of what happened.
“Things that can bring us the greatest fun and joy can also bring us the absolute lowest of lows,” he said in a social media post. “[O]ne of the most widely beloved people in our racing family was taken from us. … It was a tragic accident that was witnessed by so many — including some of his closest friends and family. Please give comfort to all of those who are grieving or struggling today for however this tragedy may have impacted them. In this small community and given the public nature of the tragedy, that number is quite large. They truly need your thoughts, prayers, space, respect and compassion as they deal with it in their own unique way.”
Word about the accident spread quickly on social media. Throughout the weekend, people from across the nation offered their thoughts and prayers for the family and others affected while recalling a man considered a friend, mentor and role model for many.
Jeff Parkes of Springfield said it was one of the “scariest, most devastating, confusing nights of my life.”
“It keeps replaying in my head over and over again and sadly it’s never going to make any sense what happened,” he commented on his Facebook page. “I got away from sprint cars for a few years and Joey started racing with Bob and Ralph and asked me to come back. I did, and you would of thought I raced with them for 20 years the way they made me feel welcomed — something I’ll always be grateful for.”
He remembered Willhite as level-headed, “cool as a cucumber” and a man who “got stuff done.”