MADISON, Ill. (AP) – Drag racer Darrell Russell died Sunday after his car broke up and burst into flames during a Top Fuel race at Gateway International Raceway.

The 35-year-old driver had just lost to Scott Kalitta in the second round of eliminations at the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals when his dragster came apart while running about 300 mph at the end of the quarter-mile strip.

Russell, from Hockley, Texas, was unconscious when he was removed from the wreckage and taken to the St. Louis University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about two hours later.

Russell is the first participant to be killed in competition at an NHRA national event since Blaine Johnson died in a crash during a qualifying run in the 1996 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Russell, the 2001 NHRA rookie of the year, had six career Top Fuel victories.

, including the Pontiac Excitement Nationals two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio.

In his 2001 season, he became the third driver in NHRA history to win in his first start.

AP-ES-06-27-04 2320EDT