The Sandhills Open Road Challenge racing began on Thursday morning with the Loup 2 Loup Race in Halsey. The race began and progressed nearly flawlessly until an accident stopped the race in its tracks.
The final car of the 100 MPH class, a white/black 2015 Chevy Camaro driven by Leland Sweet and navigated by Robert Parsons, started off the race but only made it to the fourth checkpoint before crashing. According to reports, the vehicle rolled a number of times before coming to rest in a ditch. First responders were quickly on the scene and were able to extract the two men from the vehicle.
Thedford EMS and Grant County EMS transported the two men from the scene to Halsey. The occupant who was taken from the scene by Grant County EMS was flown by Great Plains Health LifeNet helicopter to North Platte from the Halsey Elementary School. The second man was transported to Merna by Thedford EMS where they met the CHI Health Good Samaritan AirCare helicopter and flew to Kearney.
The condition of the men is not currently known.
The second leg of the race began just before noon following the delay.
