Cycle Crash Kills Busch Driver Kirby

Busch Series driver Andy Kirby was killed when the motorcycle he was driving ran off a road and hit a tree, police said Friday.

Kirby, 40, lost control of his motorcycle on a curve at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a report filed by Trooper Joseph Agee of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Kirby was wearing a helmet but driving at a high speed, Department of Safety spokesman Beth Tucker Womack said Friday. The cycle slid about 174 feet before leaving the road, then another 42 feet into the tree.

No drug or alcohol involvement was suspected, and weather didn’t seem to be a factor, she said. There were no witnesses to the crash.

Kirby, ranked 36th in the standings, started 12 Busch races this year. He occasionally drove for Jay Robinson Racing.

“We’re basically in shock,” said Curtis Aldridge, a spokesman for Jay Robinson Racing. “He was an excellent driver, a huge talent who just needed the right break--just needed a car to drive every week to show people what he could do.”