I was watching Anderson 360 last night, and there were a couple of pilots from Ontario who saw the crash in Reno happen, and they suggested that it looked very much like a high speed stall that sent the plane plummeting to the ground. Kind of like when you throw a paper airplane too hard.
Evidently this was the last heat of the day, and the plane that crashed was fighting for 2nd place, and it was practically neck and neck with another plane when it suddenly jolted skyward and then spun back around towards earth. This was also the "unlimited" bracket in terms of what the pilots and mechanics can do to modify the planes, (although I am sure there are certain limits to what they can get actually away with,) and by the sounds of it, the pilot just pushed it a little too hard and ended up in a worst case scenario with practically no room to rectify his situation. Too much speed, not enough lift, and not enough room to pull out of it.
Of course this is all just speculation, so take it for what it's worth.
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