No matter the level of racing, every driver knows the risk. At some point, nearly all of them will be involved in crashes. Nowadays, most walk away thanks to remarkable improvements in safety.

Not all are so fortunate.

Randy Witkum was honored Saturday night before the International Supermodified Association race at Jennerstown Speedway. He was killed while racing his super modified in 1999 at the Laurel Highlands facility.

Dan Burns once again will be remembered with a modified race bearing his name Saturday night at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Burns died from injuries in a crash Memorial Day of 2000 at the defunct Hickory Speedway in New Castle.

Since 1999, top-level drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Greg Moore and Tony Renna have died from injuries in racetracks.

Sunday night at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, NHRA Top Fuel rising star Darrell Russell joined that group. Russell, 35, of Hockley, Texas, died from injuries after his Joe Amato-owned dragster broke apart at the end of a run. He already had crossed the finish line in 4.611 seconds at 322.73 mph.

The NHRA community, obviously, is struggling to come to terms with Russell's death. The last time a top-tier NHRA driver died as a result of a crash was in 1996, when Blaine Johnson was killed during qualifying for the U.S. Nationals.

For Don Lampus of Cranberry, he lost his "best buddy in the sport."

It was only two weeks ago at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals at National Trail Raceway near Columbus. Ohio, that Lampus and Russell were on top of the world. Russell had just won the sixth national event title of his career, and Lampus had made enough runs to maintain his NHRA Top Fuel license. The two former NHRA rookies of the year celebrated long into the night.

"It just seems so unrealistic," said Lampus, who will be at the services today in Texas. "Right now, I can't conceive of the fact that he's not going to be at the next event.

"On Sundays, whenever Darrell lost, I shut off the TV or changed the channel. When I showed up at the racetrack, I would hang out with him and Amato in Amato's camp. The kid's a hero. He was always polite, always smiling. He had nothing bad to say about anybody."

Understandably, Amato has made no indication about how he and his team will progress. The next event begins July 16 in Denver. Should Amato call on Lampus to fill in, Lampus said he wouldn't hesitate to climb into Russell's dragster as a tribute to his friend.

"I don't expect him to [call]," Lampus said. "Joe's a team owner, and it would probably be nothing if he just bowed out and retired. There's no loss of honor in that whatsoever. If he decides to continue on and calls me, I will definitely go. I know Joe pretty well and I know his team very well ... especially in honor of Darrell."

Sprints a success

Sprint-car races last weekend at Motordrome and Jennerstown speedways helped to draw the largest crowds of the season to each facility.

"I thought it was pretty interesting," said Motordrome owner Red Miley, who would like to have the sprints return. "My first impression is that the fans liked it."

Drivers from the Winged Sprints on Asphalt series raved about the new racing surface at Jennerstown.

"I wouldn't mind running over here all the time," said Jimmy Taylor of Mansfield, Ohio, who won Friday at Motordrome and finished second Saturday at Jennerstown. "A racetrack like this, you're talking about a top-notch facility. There's very few facilities like this in the United States."

Lugnuts

The rumors about an imminent sale of Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway continue to circulate, but no deal for the half-mile dirt track has been completed. ... Lernerville will return tomorrow to a regular program. ... It will be fireworks night tomorrow at Motordrome. ... Saturday, PPMS features the Dan Burns Memorial for e-mods while Bobby Henry aims for his third consecutive win in the NASCAR super late models at Jennerstown. ... Davey Johnson of Greensburg won the World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature Saturday at Sharon Speedway. The Outlaws will race Monday at Challenger Raceway.