Tom Thrash, after winning the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Heartland Park Topeka. (John Steflik/SCCA)
Funeral services have been set for Championship-winning Sports Car Club of America driver Thomas B. Thrash Jr., of Houston, Texas, who died Saturday after a single-car incident during qualifying for the Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
The cause of Thrash’s incident is still unconfirmed, although witness reports stated that he appeared to make no attempt to slow the car entering Turn Eight before leaving the track and impacting the tire wall. A member of Thrash’s team stated that the car had functioning brakes and steering after the incident.
A family representative said Monday that no further investigation would take place to determine the exact cause.
Thrash, 48, was the 2007 SCCA Club Racing National Champion in the E Production class and was believed by many to be the favorite for that title again this year in his Mazda RX-7.
Thrash is survived by his wife, Patty; daughters Haley Buck and Lesley Whitley; parents Thomas “Ben” Sr. and Joyce; and sisters Teresa Granhold and Michele Adams. A lifelong Texan, Thrash graduated from Houston’s Pearland High School and graduated from Texas A&M, class of 1983, where he was a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. Thrash was a mechanical engineer and a partner at DTL Engineering.
Services for Thrash will be held at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079. Visitation is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6-9 p.m., with the funeral Saturday, June 27 at 10 a.m.
The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the youth camp/ministry that Tom Thrash attended as a child and supported since. Donations can be made to R.B. Thieme Jr., Bible Ministries; PO Box 460829, Houston, TX 77056-8829 or visit http://www.rbthieme.org/.
