Motorsports

Malcolm Smith (1941–2024), Baja 1000 racing legend

Malcolm Smith was a racing driver known for his five wins at the Baja 1000 and four at the Baja 500, both notoriously grueling desert races.

Bobby Allison (1937–2024), NASCAR Hall of Fame driver

Bobby Allison was a NASCAR Hall of Fame racecar driver whose triumphs include 85 Winston Cup victories and three Daytona 500 wins over the course of his decades-long career.

Bobby Gill (1959–2024), NASCAR truck racer 

Bobby Gill was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racer known as a tough competitor on the track.

Harry Leary (1959–2024), Hall of Fame BMX racer 

Harry Leary was a Hall of Fame BMX racer who helped inspire a generation of riders to take to the motocross track.

Chad McQueen (1960–2024), Karate Kid actor, son of Steve McQueen

Chad McQueen was an actor and race car driver best known for his work in “Karate Kid” and for being the son of movie star .

Parnelli Jones (1933–2024), 1963 Indy 500 winner

Parnelli Jones was a racing driver who won the 1963 Indianapolis 500 and was a two-time champion at the Baja 1000 desert race.

Eddie Gossage (1958–2024), president of Texas Motor Speedway

Eddie Gossage was a race promoter and president of Texas Motor Speedway, credited with helping bring NASCAR back to Texas after its long absence. 

Wally Dallenbach Sr. (1936–2024), influential Indy car racer

Wally Dallenbach Sr. was an Indy car champion and Hall of Fame racer who, as Chief Stewart of Competition for Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) for more than 20 years, pushed for new safety reforms still used today.

Jayden “Jayo” Archer (1996–2024), extreme sports specialist

Jayden “Jayo” Archer was a freestyle motocross rider and X Games medalist and the first competitor ever to land a triple backflip.

Gil de Ferran (1967–2023), French-born Brazilian championship racer

Gil de Ferran was a French-born Brazilian racer who achieved recognition as a British Formula Three champion, two-time CART World Series champion, and an Indianapolis 500 winner. 

Cale Yarborough (1939–2023), three-time NASCAR champion 

Cale Yarborough was a consecutive three-time NASCAR champion and one of the winningest racers in series history with 83 career victories.

Paula Murphy (1928–2023), record-breaking race car driver

Paula Murphy was a record-setting race car driver in the 1960s and ‘70s, the first woman to speed across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in a jet-engine car. 

Ken Squier (1935–2023), Hall of Fame NASCAR broadcaster

Ken Squier was a longtime NASCAR broadcaster and the first to do play-by-play for the Daytona 500 on national television, as well as the originator of the event’s moniker as “The Great American Race.”

Kyle LeDuc (1981–2023), off-road racing champion

Kyle LeDuc was a second-generation off-road racer with seven Pro 4 Championship Off-Road wins whose 30 years in racing netted over 100 wins throughout his career. 

Ashlea Albertson (1998–2023), 24-year-old racing driver

Ashlea Albertson was a talented young car racing driver from Indianapolis sponsored by the Tony Stewart Racing team.

Craig Breedlove (1937–2023), first driver to reach 600 mph

Craig Breedlove was a race car driver who wowed the world in 1965 when he set a world land speed record of 600 mph.

Ken Block (1967–2023), rally driver and gymkhana YouTube star 

Ken Block  was a rally driver and co-founder of DC Shoes known for his gymkhana YouTube videos.

Coy Gibbs (1972–2022), NASCAR owner and driver

Coy Gibbs was the co-owner of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing as well as a NASCAR driver.

Al Unser Sr. (1939–2021), four-time Indy 500 winner

Al Unser Sr. was a racing driver who became one of only four people to win the Indianapolis 500 four times.

Frank Williams (1942–2021), Formula One racing driver and team founder

Frank Williams was an English Formula One racing driver who founded Williams Racing.

Bob Bondurant (1933–2021), racing driver and instructor

Bob Bondurant was a racing driver who founded the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, where he taught celebrities including and Tom Cruise.

Bob Jenkins (1947–2021), longtime Indianapolis 500 announcer

Bob Jenkins was a TV and radio sports announcer, best known for decades of Indianapolis 500 coverage.

Jack Ingram (1936–2021), NASCAR’s “Iron Man”

Jack Ingram was a NASCAR Hall of Famer known as “The Iron Man,” who won Xfinity Series championships in 1982 and 1985.

Alex Harvill (1992–2021), Guinness World Record-holding daredevil

Alex Harvill was a motorcycle stunt performer and daredevil who held a Guinness World Record.

Jim Pace (1961–2020), racing driver who won Daytona and Sebring

Jim Pace was a sports car racing driver who won both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1996.

Vicki Wood (1919–2020), record-setting woman NASCAR driver

Vicki Wood was a NASCAR driver who broke gender barriers in the sport during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 she set a speed record of 150.375 mph on a one-way drive down the sand at Daytona Beach. She also set speed records for women at the Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta International Speedway. During her career she claimed to have collected 48 racing trophies. She competed with male drivers until 1963 when some men made it clear they would rather strike than face teasing when they lost to a woman. She retired rather than return to racing exclusively against other women drivers.

Marty Smith (1956–2020), motocross champion

Marty Smith was a motocross racer who won three American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) National Motocross championships in the 1970s.

Bob Lazier (1938–2020), Indy 500 driver and father of Indy winner Buddy Lazier

Bob Lazier was a race car driver who was the Rookie of the Year at the 1981 Indianapolis 500, as well as the father of drivers Buddy Lazier and Jacques Lazier.

Stirling Moss (1929–2020), legendary British racecar driver

Stirling Moss was a top Formula One racer called "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship," though he was runner-up four times.  

Junior Johnson (1931–2019), NASCAR legend

Junior Johnson  was a NASCAR legend who won 50 races during his Hall of Fame career including the 1960 Daytona 500. Growing up in the hills of Western North Carolina, Johnson was a bootlegger, outrunning authorities while transporting moonshine in his car. He became a NASCAR driver with his first major race coming in 1953 at the Southern 500. Johnson is credited with inventing the drafting technique during his Daytona 500 victory when he used the slipstream of faster cars in front of him to slingshot to first place on the last lap. He was in the first class to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Johnson later became a team owner with his drivers winning over 100 races.

Mike Stefanik (1958–2019), nine-time NASCAR champion

Mike Stefanikwas a champion of NASCAR whose nine total championship wins made him one of the two drivers with the most championships in NASCAR history.

Carlin Dunne (1982–2019), record-breaking motorcycle racer

Carlin Dunne was a motorcycle racer who was a star of the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, having won the motorcycle element of the motorcycle and auto race in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2018.

Niki Lauda (1949–2019), three-time Formula One champion

Niki Lauda was a three-time Formula One champion known for his remarkable comeback after a serious accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix.

Race Car Drivers Who Have Died

Fast, competitive, and determined, these race car drivers loved the thrill of the track. Whether you're a Formula One fan or can't get enough NASCAR, join us in paying tribute to some of auto racing's greatest drivers.

David Pearson (1934–2018), NASCAR’s “Silver Fox”

Hall of Fame driver, second in all-time wins.

Dan Gurney (1931–2018), legendary race car driver

First driver with wins in each of the Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR Cup series…

Bud Moore (1925–2017), NASCAR Hall of Famer

The World War II veteran was awarded five Purple Hearts.

Nicky Hayden (1981 - 2017), motorcycle racer

Former MotoGP champion motorcycle racer…

Bryan Clauson (1989 - 2016), dirt track racer

Dirt track racer Bryan Clauson died Sunday of injuries sustained in a crash, according to the United States Auto Club (USAC). He was 27.

Barney Hall (1932 - 2016)

Barney Hall, the legendary NASCAR broadcaster, died Tuesday from complications following a recent medical procedure at the age of 83.

Paul Newman: Irresistible

A Los Angeles Times writer once described them as "Windex eyes." If you are missing actor-racer-entrepreneur-philanthropist Paul Newman's baby blues, just stroll down the grocery aisle and they'll be peering back at you from bottles of salad dressing, jars of pasta sauce, cereals, marinades, pizza, popcorn and even cat food – just to name a few.

Davey Allison, NASCAR Legend

NASCAR driver Davey Allison was the proud new owner of a Hughes helicopter when, just a foot from landing at his beloved "home track" of Talladega Speedway, the craft nosed up and crashed. Allison, rising star of the legendary Alabama racing family, was skilled at controlling cars capable of going more than 200 miles an hour, but he lost control of the copter at a crucial moment and he died the next day of his injuries.

Marty Robbins: Hot Country Hits and Hell on Wheels

Marty Robbins was multitalented with a diverse career that defied boundaries. As a singer and songwriter, he became one of the top country stars of the 1960s and '70s ...

Bobby Hamilton, NASCAR Hero

NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton Sr. died young but it wasn't racing that took his life.

Remembering Racing Greats

We remember three race car drivers who lost their lives to the sport they loved.

Lucky Stock Car Racer

As a stock car driver and truck driver, the woman called “Lucky” always figured that she really was just that.

Lots of trophies, lots of broken bones

After Gary Nixon was conked in the head by a teammate’s swinging bat while playing baseball, he decided he’d better find a safer sport. So he switched to drag racing.

Funeral Procession on the Speedway

When Hershel Roberts died, family and friends found a fitting way to pay tribute to the veteran dirt track racer.

Hiromu Naruse, Master Test Driver

Toyota’s 67-year-old designer and master test driver died in a crash near the Nurburgring test track in Germany.