Elizabethton native killed in drag racing accident
Published 3:21 pm Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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Contributed Photo Lucas McKinney with his dog named Ruger and his truck.
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FROM STAFF REPORTS
Elizabethton native and local drag racer Lucas McKinney was fatally injured on Saturday in an accident at Farmington Dragway in Mocksville, N.C.
McKinney, 22, who was a graduate of Hampton High School, won the High School Challenge at Bristol Dragway in 2018.
McKinney began racing Junior Dragsters at Bristol Dragway in 2008. McKinney finished fourth in the Pro class in the 2019 DER Bracket Series at Bristol Dragway while driving his gray 1996 Chevrolet S-10 pickup. He reached the final of the highly competitive Pro class race in the DER Series in August of 2020.
In every year he raced at Bristol, McKinney posted a top-15 points finish.
McKinney was competitive and successful in slot car racing at Undervalley Dragway in Elizabethton and was known as an avid fisherman. Social media tributes and posts about McKinney have been made since his passing, remembering the racer for his good spirit, kind heart, and sense of humor.
Red Whitmore, Director of the DER Racing Series at Bristol Dragway, commented on how much McKinney meant to everyone at the drag strip, saying, “Lucas is going to be missed. He comes from a good family of racers who have raced with us since I started DER 14 years ago. Our condolences also go out to his slot car family. He loved racing and loved being competitive.”
