Russ Sauter

It happened during time trials for the 1981 Classic. Russ Sauter, from Cheektowaga, NY, was on the clock with his car No. 12 when he went into the first turn a little too hard and the car spun, hitting the first turn wall left side first. The impact killed Sauter instantly. It was another case of where hitting just the "wrong way" caused a freak set of circumstances to take a life. The damage to the car was not severe at all. This fatal crash made us acutely aware of how fragile the human body really is. It made us shudder to think that so many of the crashes during the '81 season, that were much more viscious in nature, could have conceivably ended in death for the driver.
  source. . . George Caruso Jr's, "Oswego Speedway, The first 50 Years"