Professional drag racer Sam Fenech has died in a crash at a racing meet in Ipswich, west of Brisbane.
Warning: The following article contains an image some people may find distressing.
Mr Fenech's car left the track at high speed and crashed into a camera tower at about 6.45pm on Saturday during the New Year Nitro event at Willowbank Raceway.
He was attended to by medics at the raceway but died a short time later.
A camera operator was also taken to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Willowbank Raceway confirmed Mr Fenech's death in a statement on social media later on Saturday evening.
"It is with great sadness that Top Fuel Racing Australia announces that Sam Fenech, driver of the Fabietti Racing Doorslammer, has succumbed to injuries suffered in a racing accident at Willowbank Raceway and passed away this evening," the statement said.
"We send our love and support to the Fenech family and the whole team at Fabietti Racing."
Members of the drag racing community began posting tributes to Mr Fenech shortly after the incident, with many emphasising the closeness among the sport's enthusiasts regardless of racing bracket or team.
"I am shocked and saddened by this. Sam was a great guy, and I will miss our chats at his workshop," one person wrote in the Australian Drag Racing History and Memorabilia Facebook group.
"Life is so bloody short, hug your family extra tight tonight," another person wrote.
A member of a camera operator's group, Brett Ramsey, said that the crash was one of the worst accidents he'd seen in over 50 years of motorsport coverage.
"I'm always very reluctant to have crew down at that end of the strip," he wrote.
"If something goes wrong it goes wrong big, and this was huge."
Saturday's New Year Nitro event at Willowpark, which was a round of both the Australian Top Fuel Championship and Top Doorslammer Australia, was discontinued after the crash.
Workplace Health and Safety is conducting an investigation into the incident with the assistance of the Queensland Police Service's Forensic Crash Unit.
Police asked the public to avoid the area around Champions Way on Saturday evening, and to be patient with likely traffic disruption.
Mr Fenech, who had travelled to the event from New South Wales, is survived by his wife Natalie and three children.
