Sprint Car driver Kramer Williamson killed in wreck at Pa. track

A veteran Sprint Car driver has died from injuries he suffered in a crash on a Pennsylvania track.

Kramer Williamson crashed his "Pink Panther" sprint car during the first heat of the United Racing Company 358/360 Sprint Car Challenge Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, about 30 miles south of Harrisburg.

United Racing Company said in a statement that Williamson flipped multiple times and he was taken to York Hospital's trauma center, where he underwent surgery.

He died from his injuries Sunday evening, the racing company said. The York County Coroner's Office says he died from blunt-force head trauma, the York Daily Record reports.

Williamson, a native of Palmyra, Pa. who had been racing for more than 40 years, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2008. He amassed 144 wins during his career, according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News. United Racing says Williamson won multiple championships, including the Williams Grove National Open.

Williamson began racing in 1968, when he was in high school, after having raced go-karts when he was young, his Hall of Fame biography says. In his first year, he was named Rookie of the Year at Silver Spring Speedway.

Throughout his career, he spent much of his time racing in Pennsylvania. He met his wife, Sharon, at a track where she was working as a scorer, according to the Hall of Fame.

The racing community was mourning his death Sunday.

United Racing "lost the most popular driver and accomplished driver in our storied history," co-owner John Zimmerman said in a statement.

Another co-owner, special events promoter Bob Miller, said Williamson "had such a love for this sport" and was "an intense driver" but was able "to bring some humor into any situation."

A fellow United Racing competitor, Ed Aiken, told the Patriot-News that Williamson "wasn't just an awesome racer, he was an awesome person."

Aiken said, "Guys like that are the reason you want to race ... to be like Kramer."

Williamson is the second race car driver in the region to die in a crash this summer. NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died in June after crashing into a wall at the Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro.

The 12-year NASCAR veteran from Long Beach, Calif., crashed when his steering wheel locked due to a mechanical failure, officials have said.