List of NASCAR drivers who died during their careers

This is a list of NASCAR drivers who died during their careers. This list only includes active drivers who died due to circumstances outside of a NASCAR race. For the list of drivers who died in NASCAR races, see the list of NASCAR fatalities. This list includes drivers of the major touring series of NASCAR: NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series, NASCAR Modified Tour, and the NASCAR-sanctioned ARCA Menards Series.

Deaths of active drivers

This is a list of notable deaths in NASCAR and untimely deaths of professional NASCAR drivers.

†	Elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Driver	Age	Team	Primary Series	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Davey Allison^†	32	Robert Yates Racing	Cup	helicopter crash	1993	^[1]
Ted Christopher	59	Danny Watts Racing	Modified tour	plane crash	2017	^[2]
Kevin Grubb	31	under suspension	Nationwide	suicide	2009	^[3]
Bobby Hamilton	49	Bobby Hamilton Racing	Trucks	head and neck cancer	2007	^[4]
Matt Hawkins	21	Matt Hawkins Racing	ARCA	accidentally shot himself	2009	^[5]
Bobby Isaac^†	45	Neil Castles Racing	Cup	heat exhaustion	1976	^[6]
Alan Kulwicki^†	38	AK Racing	Cup	plane crash	1993	^[7]
Jason Leffler	37	Humphrey Smith Racing	Cup	sprint car accident	2013	^[8]
Rob Moroso	22	Moroso Racing	Cup	car crash	1990	^[9]
Tim Richmond	34	Hendrick Motorsports	Cup	HIV/AIDS	1989	^[10]
Chris Trickle	25	Star Nursery Racing	Trucks	homicide	1998	^[11]

^ Siano, Joseph (July 14, 1993). "Davey Allison, Stock-Car Driver, Dies at 32 After Helicopter Crash". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
^ Backus, Lisa (December 18, 2019). "Report finds cause of CT plane crash that killed NASCAR driver". ctpost.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
^ Newton, David (May 6, 2009). "Grubb, 31, found dead at hotel". espn.com. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
^ "Hamilton, longtime NASCAR driver, dies at 49". January 7, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
^ "Auto racer Hawkins dies in shooting". upi.com. February 16, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
^ "Bobby Isaac Dies Following Collapse In Stock Car Race". nytimes.com. August 15, 1977. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
^ Teague, Slater (April 7, 2023). "Alan Kulwicki: Remembering the NASCAR champion who did things his way". www.wjhl.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
^ "Jason Leffler dies in dirt car event". espn.com. June 12, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
^ Glick, Shav (October 2, 1990). "NASCAR Driver Moroso Dies in Crash on Highway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
^ Hinton, Ed (August 12, 2009). "More than Tim Richmond died in 1989". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
^ "Trickle dies after 13-month battle". lasvegassun.com. March 26, 1998. Retrieved March 3, 2025.