A former local dirt track racer was among six people killed in an airplane crash early Sunday morning near Youngstown, Ohio. Jim Weller, Jr., who was president and CEO of Liberty Steel Industries, died along with his wife, two other family members and the pilots of the aircraft.
Weller was a past track champion in the Modified Division at Lernerville Speedway. He had more than 30 career victories each at Lernerville and Sharon Speedway. The family were headed to Montana for a vacation when the crash occurred around 7am Sunday in Trumbull County.
His father, who passed away earlier this year, had also been involved in the ownership of Sharon Speedway.
Weller, Jr’s son Jimmy Weller III had developed into an impressive sprint car driver, who was critically injured in a crash over two decades ago, only to recover and make brief appearances in Nascar. His mother, Ronnie – who also died in the plane crash, had written a book about that time period.
The book, released in 2015, was titled “Race Again: The Power of Faith and Family”.
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