UPDATE

3rd powerboat racer dies after another crash at Key West championship

In this photo, provided by Super Boat International, medical and safety boats surround Page Motorsports, after it rolled over Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, during the second of three race days at the Key West World Championship. According to race officials, driver/owner Stephen Page is in Lower Keys Medical Center in satisfactory condition, while throttleman Joey Gratton was airlifted to Miami's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.

Power boat racer Joey Gratton dies

Racer Joey Gratton lived a life of extreme sports, and the inherent danger ultimately claimed his life hours after an offshore powerboat accident in Key West.

Gratton, a 59-year-old veteran powerboat throttleman and a renowned motocross racer, died overnight Friday at the Ryder Trauma center in Miami. He was the third racer killed in the Key West World Championship this week.

Gratton was critically injured Friday when the Page Motorsports boat flipped twice at the course's first turn. His partner, Stephen Page, the boat's owner and driver, was released from the Lower Keys Medical Center on Saturday.

Gratton and Page were three-time world champions and captured the national championship seven times since they teamed up in 1999, according to the Page Motorsports Facebook page.

Gratton lived in University Park with his wife, Priscilla. The pair has 29-year-old twin sons, Blake and Brock. Gratton was also part owner of the Buccaneer Pawn Shop in Bradenton.

A memorial service in his honor was held in Key West Saturday afternoon. Lucy Nicandri, director of Sarasota's Super Boat Grand Prix, said all the racers and crews gathered, many men with tears in their eyes.

Nicandri said Gratton was an all-around athlete, a mentor and generally one of the nicest guys around.

“He always had a big smile and a positive attitude,” he said. “He'd want the guys to get out there Sunday and race and do their best.”

A sportsmanship award presented each year at the world championships will be presented Sunday to all racers and to the families of the three racers who were killed this week, Nicandri said.

 

 

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