Racecar Driver Dies After Mid-Race Heart Attack

A well-known racecar driver died after suffering a heart attack mid-race on Saturday night (Aug. 9).

Robbie Brewer was a former track champion at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina, home of NASCAR's Cook Out Clash.

• 53-year-old Robbie Brewer crashed during lap 16 of a Sportsman Series Race.
• Crews had to remove the roof of his car to get him out.
• WBTV in Charlotte, N.C. reports that Brewer had a heart attack.

FloRacing was broadcasting the race at the time.

The outlet reports the medical event happened as the 20-lap race was approaching a restart. Brewer's car veered into the wall between turns three and four and bounced off before crashing again into the wall.

He was a veteran racer with more than 300 starts on that track alone.

His fiancee took to social media Sunday morning to share the news and her grief. She also revealed another heartbreaking detail about their life.

Brewer and Angel Friesinger McCarter were set to get married in two months.

"Sixteen months with the best man I’ve ever known. Robbie truly loved me with his whole heart, and I loved him with every fiber of my being," she writes.

"Now I’m lost. I’ve lost my best friend. I don’t know where to start picking up the pieces."

Hundreds have expressed sympathy for her loss either on her Facebook page or at other social media outlets.

His death was the first at Bowman Gray Stadium since 2002 when Bubba Beck had a heart attack and crashed into the infield.

How Often Are Racecar Drivers Killed?

The Charlotte Observer did a deep study of deaths in motorsports in 2014 and reported that in the 25 years prior there were 520 deaths, most at short tracks.

The number of deaths per year was falling, however, from about 20 to 15 a year over the five years leading up to the report.

The reason that there are more deaths on short tracks is that there are more short track races, and many of these tracks haven't adopted the same safety requirements as NASCAR. The last driver death in a top-tier series NASCAR race was Dale Earnhardt in 2001.

After his death, racers began to be required to use the HANS device which adds significant protection to the head and neck.