A fan fatally shot himself in the head during the NRA 500 NASCAR race in Texas, officials said yesterday.
Kirk Franklin, 42, of Saginaw, Texas, was in a pickup truck in the infield Saturday night when he put the gun to his head and fired, police said.
The incident occurred as Franklin was watching the race with a group of friends at about 10:30 p.m.
Cops said that alcohol might have played a role in the incident and that there had been an argument among the people in Franklin’s group.
Race officials hastily cordoned off the area near the scene. There were several witnesses to the incident, but no other reported injuries.
The shooting took place late in the race eventually won by Kyle Busch at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
The NRA’s sponsorship — the first time the group had ever directly backed a NASCAR event — had drawn criticism from gun-control advocates.
The group has come under fire following a spate of high-profile mass shootings, including the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut.
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