Stock car driver Robbie Brewer dead in crash after mid-race medical emergency

A North Carolina stock car driver died on Saturday night after suffering a medical emergency, and his car struck a wall head-on during a race at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem.

Robbie Brewer had been a veteran stock car driver and had been taking part in a Sportsman Division race when the incident happened. 

The 54-year-old driver had been coming around turn three when he didn’t make turn four and hit the wall straight-on, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. 

The car came to a stop near the start-finish line, as the chief flagman, Randy Smith, was the first out to the crash. The track’s crew had to peel the roof off the car to extract Brewer, the report stated. 

Race officials did not say what the medical emergency had been. 

Courtney Marquette, Brewer’s daughter, mourned the loss of her father in a post on social media, confirming his death. 

“I didn’t just lose my dad, many people just lost a best friend, mentor, talking buddy or someone they could have a good time with,” she wrote.

Track officials described Brewer as a “talented and passionate racer, and highly respected competitor among his peers” in a statement. 

He had been taking part in a 20-lap race on Saturday night and it was believed to be the first time since 2002 that a driver had died at the track, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

“The atmosphere in the stands was a mixture of how you feel coming up on a terrible crash on the interstate and being in church,” said race fan Tom Radulovic, who was in the stands when the crash occurred. “There was silence and reverence with some folks clearly praying.”

Track historian Justin Mincey said Brewer made nearly 260 career starts on the Sportsman Division and recorded his best season in 2011 when he won the points championship.