NASCAR Driver Bobby East Fatally Stabbed

NASCAR driver, Bobby East was fatally stabbed Wednesday evening at a California gas station.

A homeless man stabbed East, 37, in the chest at a 76 gas station in Westminster at around 5:51 p.m. First responders attended the NASCAR driver who suffered a severe chest wound, but he died soon after at a local trauma center.

Law enforcement officials are searching for the suspect, Trent William Millsap, according to a press release. The 27-year-old suspect fled the scene and is considered to be “armed and dangerous.”

“Bobby East, one of the most prolific drivers of his era and a three-time USAC National Champion driver in USAC Silver Crown and Midgets, passed away on the night of July 13, 2022, in southern California,” the United States Auto Club said in a statement.

“East was phenomenal in USAC National Sprint Cars as well, most notably on pavement tracks,” the statement continued. “He tallied 15 wins in the series, with the first coming in 2003 at Ohio’s Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. He also prevailed at the Milwaukee Mile in 2005 in what remains as the last USAC Sprint Car race held on a one-mile track.”

Son of USAC Hall-of-Fame car builder Bob East, he began racing at the age of nine. The three-time USAC National Champion won 56 USAC-sanctioned contests in his career.