1st Lt. Croston Stead, killed in a 1949 P-51 crash; Reno/Stead became home to the National Championship Air Races starting in 1964, racing continuously from 1966 until 2023. Over six decades, the event has survived financial crises, the decline of air racing elsewhere, and the 2011 tragedy in which pilot Jimmy Leeward's P-51 Mustang crashed into the crowd, killing ten spectators and threatening the event's very existence. Yet the fans returned, including many who had been injured, urging the Reno Air Racing Association to continue. Reno hosted the last edition at this site in 2023; the National Championship Air Races have since moved to a new venue in Roswell. The Unlimited Gold race still sends modified P-51 Mustangs and Sea Furies around Peavine Mountain at speeds approaching 500 mph, and the call "Gentlemen, you have a race!"—first uttered by Bob Hoover—still signals the moment when formation breaks and combat begins.