Sad News: A sprint car driver who lost control of his car on the Deming Speedway (Wash.) straightaway and hit a wall died Friday night. Alex Kope was driving in the second of four heats at the 19th annual Northwest Clay Cup nationals at the speedway near Bellingham, the Bellingham Herald reported. He lived just outside of Bellingham. He was airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital, where he died shortly before 9:00pm/pt. PDT. The crash occurred about 8:30pm. No official cause of death was released late Friday night. Raceway officials speculated he might have suffered a heart attack before the crash(AP) AND A Whatcom County sprint-car driver died Friday night after racing in the 19th Annual Northwest Clay Cup Nationals at Deming Speedway. Alex Kope was pronounced dead at St. Joseph Hospital shortly before 9 p.m. Kope lost control of his car during a qualifying race Friday and crashed into the wall between turns one and two. Officials who removed from him from the car said he appeared to have had a heart attack before the accident. The official cause of death was not released, pending examination by the coroner. The Clay Cup is one of the largest sprint-car races in the Pacific Northwest. Almost 500 people were at the race Friday(Bellingham Herald)(7-21-2001)
