Driver dead in race clinic accident at Wall Speedway
The driver of a midget car has been killed in an accident at Wall Stadium Speedway, police said Saturday.
New Jersey State Police confirm Amanda Gambacorto, 21, of Belford was driving a 3/4 midget car and hit the track's wall #2 around 12:30 p.m. She was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
An initial investigation indicates safety equipment was in compliance with regulations.
Gambacorto is not a professional or regular driver and was driving through Green Flag Driving Experience according to State Police on their Facebook page.
The Asbury Park Press reports she was following another car as part of her lesson that lets beginners drive on a track. Green Flag's website describes lessons that let drivers take 5 laps around the track at either Wall Speedway or Borgers Speedway in Pennsylvania reaching speeds of 90 MPH.
According to the Speedway's website a "Beach Luau" event with 7 races scheduled for Saturday night was canceled "with heavy hearts." Racing will resume as scheduled on Sunday.
Gambacorto's Linkedin page says she is a student at the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a double major of double- majoring of Environmental Humanities and Philosophy. She is also a bartender at Moby's Lobster Deck in Highlands.
The Zeta Iota chapter of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority at Stony Brook on their Facebook page remembered Gambacorto as "a friend, a teacher, a sister, a role model" with a "firey spirit who would try anything once."
Wall Stadium Speedway was first opened in 1950 along Route 34 by Thomas and Jennie Nicol, according to its website, and was sold to the Creamer family in 2002 who proceeded to update the facility. Cliff Krause and his family began managing the speedway in 2011 continued to make improvements.
The accident comes a week after racer Kevin Ward Jr. was killed at a racetrack in New York State after he stepped out of his car on the dirt track and was struck by a car driven by NASCAR racer Tony Stewart
MORE COVERAGE:
- 1 dead in race car crash at Wall Stadium Speedway / Star-Ledger
- 21-year-old "inexperienced"driver dies in crash at Wall Stadium / Manasquan-Belmar Patch
- Woman killed in crash at Wall Speedway identified / Asbury Park Press