What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
As 2025 comes to a close, we ask you to take a moment with us to remember those in the NASCAR family who passed away during the past calendar year.<\/p>\n
Media Members<\/p>\n
Ed Hinton<\/p>\n
Born: 1948 | Died: February 6, 2025<\/p>\n
Hinton was a long-time motorsports and sports writer for several publications during his lengthy career, including Sports Illustrated and ESPN.<\/p>\n
Al Pearce<\/p>\n
Born: 1942 | Died: April 9, 2025<\/p>\n
Pearce was a long-time staple of NASCAR media known for his time with Autoweek, where he recently served as the brand\u2019s NASCAR editor. During his career, he covered 56 consecutive Daytona 500s, including the race\u2019s 67th edition earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Keith Waltz<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
Keith Waltz, a well-known and long-tenured motorsports writer, has passed away at the age of 65.<\/p>\n
Waltz held numerous roles\u2026<\/p>\n
Born: 1960 | Died: September 27, 2025<\/p>\n
Waltz served in many roles, both as a journalist and as a PR representative in the sport. During his time in the sport, Waltz worked for publications like Speed Sport and NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, and as a member of the communications team at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 2025, prior to his passing, Waltz tied Ted Schmidt for the Jim Hunter Writer of the Year award\u00a0at the 52nd Annual\u00a0Eastern Motorsport Press Association.<\/p>\n
Crew Members<\/p>\n
Steve \u2018Birdie\u2019 Bird<\/p>\n
Born: 1955 | Died: September 6, 2025<\/p>\n
During his NASCAR career, Bird only called the shots for one NASCAR Cup Series race, as his true success would be found in the NASCAR Busch Series. Across his ten seasons in the series, Bird, atop the box for drivers like Rob Moroso, Kenny Wallace, Johnny Benson Jr., and Randy LaJoie, won 18 total races and three series championships.<\/p>\n
Zachary Yager<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
Members of the NASCAR garage area are sharing their thoughts and memories of late NASCAR crew member Zachary Yager,\u2026<\/p>\n
Born: 1990 | Died: August 23, 2025<\/p>\n
Yager was well known around the NASCAR garage area for his time with many teams across the sport\u2019s National Series. In recent seasons, Yager found himself with teams like Team Penske and JTG Daugherty Racing, winning the Daytona 500 as a member of JTG\u2019s No. 47 crew in 2023, and was serving as a member of ThorSport Racing\u2019s No. 88 team at the time of his passing.<\/p>\n
Owners<\/p>\n
Shigeaki \u201cShige\u201d Hattori<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
Shigeaki Hattori, owner of the part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team Hattori Racing Enterprises, passed away Saturday morning following\u2026<\/p>\n
Born: 1963 | Died: April 5, 2025<\/p>\n
Hattori, a racer in his own right, went on to own one of the more fan-favorite operations in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series of the past decade after hanging up his helmet. From 2013 to 2024, Hattori Racing Enterprises fielded the likes of Brett Moffitt and Ryan Truex, among others, to 14 wins and the 2018 series championship alongside entries in the ARCA Menards and NASCAR Xfinity Series. He was 61.<\/p>\n
Bill Baumgardner<\/p>\n
Born: 1947 | Died: January 13, 2025<\/p>\n
Baumgardner was a long-time owner of the NASCAR Busch Series team BACE Motorsports, with his drivers, including but not limited to Johnny Benson Jr, Randy LaJoie, and Tony Raines, entering 389 races from 1993 to 2004, collecting 16 wins and three series championships along the way.<\/p>\n
Travis Carter<\/p>\n
Born: 1949 | Died: June 10, 2025<\/p>\n
Carter served as a Crew Chief for many of NASCAR\u2019s top drivers in the 1970s and 1980s, including an eight-year run calling the shots for Harry Gant, where the pair won nine total races. However, after his days atop the pit box came to a close, the NASCAR Cup Series Champion moved to ownership,<\/p>\n
Charlie Henderson<\/p>\n
Born: 1937 | Died: June 14, 2025<\/p>\n
Henderson fielded entries across NASCAR\u2019s National Series for many years. However, his true impact on the sport would come with Henderson Motorsports\u2019 run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which began in 2013. Since their first season in the Truck Series, Henderson\u2019s team has served as one of the most competitive part-time underdogs in the sport, winning two races, including a third that NASCAR disqualified in the 2025 season opener.<\/p>\n
Larry McClure<\/p>\n
Born: 1944 | Died: June 25, 2025<\/p>\n
McClure owned one of the most iconic cars in NASCAR history, with his team, Morgan McClure Motorsports, co-owned by Tim Morgan, fielding the No. 4 car in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1987 to 2007, with sponsor Kodak gracing the car\u2019s hood for the majority of that run. In total, the team won an impressive 14 races with the likes of Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin, and Bobby Hamilton, including three Daytona 500s between Irvan and Marlin.<\/p>\n
Bill Davis<\/p>\n
Born: 1951 | Died: September 7, 2025<\/p>\n
Davis was one of the most influential owners of the late 1990s and early 2000s in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his team giving many drivers, like Bobby Labonte, Ward Burton, and Dave Blaney, their first real shot at the sport\u2019s highest division. Over his 16 years racing in the highest level of NASCAR, the team won five races, including the 2002 Daytona 500 with Sterling Marlin.<\/p>\n
Drivers<\/p>\n
Martin Truex Sr.<\/p>\n
Born: 1958 | Died: January 17, 2025<\/p>\n
Truex Sr. was a true racing legend of the northeastern racing scene, making over 135 starts in the former NASCAR Busch North Series, now known as the ARCA Menards Series West. His legacy continued into NASCAR, where his sons Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Truex have won races and championships across the sport\u2019s three national series.<\/p>\n
Wayne Andrews<\/p>\n
Born: 1937 | Died: February 2, 2025<\/p>\n
Andrews was a long-time racer who made many starts in the NASCAR Cup and the now-defunct Grand National East Series and NASCAR Grand American Series, winning the 1972 series title in the latter of the two.<\/p>\n
Mike Chase<\/p>\n
Born: 1952 | Died: April 18, 2025<\/p>\n
During his time in NASCAR, Chase was one of the stars of the sport\u2019s grassroots levels, though he would make the occasional start in the National Series. In his efforts racing in lower divisions of the sport, Chase won 19 races and a 1997 series championship in the NASCAR Southwest Tour, and 10 races, and the 1994 series championship in the NASCAR Winston West Series.<\/p>\n
Rex White<\/p>\n
Born: 1929 | Died: July 18, 2025<\/p>\n
White was one of the sport\u2019s greatest drivers during the early days of NASCAR. From 1956 to 1964, White won 28 races and scored 163 top ten finishes in 233 career starts. In 1960, the future NASCAR Hall of Famer scored six wins, 25 top fives, and 35 top tens en route to his first and only NASCAR Cup Series Championship.<\/p>\n
Phil Barkdoll<\/p>\n
Born: 1937 | Died: September 2, 2025<\/p>\n
Though he only made 23 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR fans remember Barkdoll as a true underdog of the sport, with his Barkdoll Racing No. 73 serving as an early iteration of what modern fans would now call an \u201copen car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Annett<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
The NASCAR community is mourning the loss of former Xfinity and Cup Series driver Michael Annett, who has passed\u2026<\/p>\n
Born: 1986 | Died: December 2, 2025<\/p>\n
Annett played the role of a journeyman driver during his NASCAR career, racing across the three National Series from 2008 to 2016, before finally settling down in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he raced for JR Motorsports from 2017 to 2021. During his time with JRM, Annett found his groove, making the playoffs three times and finally winning his first career race at Daytona in 2019. He retired from racing after the 2021 season.<\/p>\n
Greg Biffle<\/p>\n
Born: 1969 | Died: December 18, 2025<\/p>\n
Throughout his NASCAR career, Biffle proved himself to be a true wheelman, winning in everything he got behind the wheel of, including 17 wins and a series championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 20 wins and a series championship in the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 19 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of the most impressive moments of his racing career came at Texas Motor Speedway in 2019, when he won in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start since 2004, and his first race since retiring from full-time action in 2016.<\/p>\n
Biffle and his family, alongside three others, lost their lives in a plane crash in Statesville, North Carolina, on December 18.<\/p>\n
Industry Professionals<\/p>\n
Jon Edwards<\/p>\n
Born: 1972 | Died: April 10, 2025<\/p>\n
Edwards was a long-time PR representative for Jeff Gordon throughout the driver\u2019s lengthy NASCAR career. Eventually, Edwards would be elevated to Director of Racing Communications at Hendrick Motorsports while also working with Kyle Larson. The week of his death, Larson and HMS would find their way to an emotional victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n
Dr. Jerry Petty<\/p>\n
Born: 1935 | Died: April 20, 2025<\/p>\n
Petty, a neurosurgeon, was one of the most important figures in the medical side of motorsports, being honored for his many contributions to NASCAR drivers by winning the 2006 Bill France NASCAR Award of Excellence. In a statement following his passing, NASCAR said Petty \u201cwas a constant and caring figure within the NASCAR garage, lending his immense medical knowledge and skills to treat competitors every single week.\u201d<\/p>\n
H.A. \u201cHumpy\u201d Wheeler<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Happening?<\/p>\n
H.A. \u201cHumpy\u201d Wheeler, the former President and General Manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway and innovator in fan experience, has\u2026<\/p>\n
Born: 1938 | Died: August 20, 2025<\/p>\n
Wheeler is often cited as the sport\u2019s greatest track promoter, known for pulling every string possible to make race fans feel that they must be at the track on raceday. His legendary run at Charlotte Motor Speedway includes many spectacles and stunts, and groundbreaking innovations, such as the 1992 NASCAR All-Star Race, which was the first time the race was held \u201cunder the lights.\u201d Wheeler was chosen as the recipient of the 2026 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR prior to his passing. <\/p>\n
Grant Lynch<\/p>\n
Born: 1953 | Died: October 2, 2025<\/p>\n
Lynch helped make Talladega Superspeedway into the icon it is today during his long tenure as the track\u2019s president and chairman. During his time at Talladega, which began in 1994 and concluded upon his retirement in 2019, the superspeedway saw many changes to its look, but continued to be one of, if not the sport\u2019s most feared venue.<\/p>\n
These members of the NASCAR family, among many others, were remembered throughout the year through many online notes, posts, and tributes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Happening? As 2025 comes to a close, we ask you to take a moment with us to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-370350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}