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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 19: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger\/Coca-Cola Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Qualifying Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19, 2023 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The NASCAR<\/a> world is reeling from the unexpected passing of Zachary Yager, a highly respected pit crew member. Yager, aged 35, was found deceased following a period of being reported missing. The cause of death remains undisclosed, leaving the racing community in shock and speculation.<\/p>\n Known for his adaptability, Yager earned respect across the NASCAR garage for his ability to step into nearly any role on pit road.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile he was serving as a Jack Man this season, Yager was well-known as a well-rounded pit crew member, who could perform at nearly every position on an over-the-wall pit crew. Yager previously served as a Tire Carrier and Fueler in addition to the Jack Man role,\u201d per Toby Christie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yager Remembered as a Versatile and Respected Pit Crew Member<\/p>\n Beyond his professional skills, those who worked alongside Yager remember him most for his personality and the energy he brought to the team.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely devastated. Zach was a great friend at work\u2026 talked a lot about growing up in Rochester,\u201d Elijah Burke said<\/a>. \u201cThe running joke was he was a Chris Buescher doppelganger\u2026 always had fun with that. He was always smiling and was quite the accomplished guitar player. I\u2019ll miss you, Yager,\u201d Burke added.<\/p>\n Teams he worked with also shared their grief publicly. They honor his role not just as a crew member but as part of their racing family.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of our friend and teammate, Zachary Yager,\u201d read a statement from ThorSport Racing<\/a>. \u201cHe was an important part of our family, and our hearts are with his loved ones and community as we grieve this loss together.\u201d<\/p>\n Those closest to him at Elite Race Services, the pit crew company with which he had most recently worked, also expressed shock at his sudden passing.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, nobody saw this coming, and we\u2019re in total disbelief,\u201d Cory DeMarco, owner of Elite Race Services, said in a statement to TobyChristie.com<\/a>. \u201cAll of the guys send our thoughts and prayers out to his dad and family, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n From RCR to Daytona 500 Glory: Yager\u2019s Decade-Long Pit Crew Journey<\/p>\n Zachary Yager, a native of New York, built an impressive career in NASCAR pit crews from 2014 to 2024. He worked with top teams like Richard Childress Racing<\/a>, Team Penske<\/a>, RFK Racing<\/a>, and JTG Daugherty Racing, which later became HYAK Motorsports, according to Joseph Srigley<\/a>.<\/p>\n His biggest achievement came in 2023 when he won the Daytona 500 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JTG Daugherty Racing. This victory showed he could perform under pressure on NASCAR\u2019s biggest stage, Karan Yadav stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yager\u2019s career showed his versatility. Richard Childress Racing focused on steady performance. Team Penske emphasized precision engineering. RFK Racing valued teamwork, and JTG used fresh, adaptive strategies. His ability to adjust made him a true \u201cutility knife\u201d in pit crews at all levels.<\/p>\n Before the 2025 season, Yager moved to Elite Race Services, a Mooresville-based company that provides skilled crews to NASCAR teams. There, he took the jackman role for RSS Racing in the Xfinity Series and ThorSport Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> Dogli Wilberforce is a sports writer covering football, basketball, MMA, and other trending sports stories for outlets including Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. He has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Image NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 19: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger\/Coca-Cola Chevrolet,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-98214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98214","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=98214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}