Short Track Racer Robbie Brewer Dies After Suffering Medical Emergency During Race
on Aug 10, 2025
Veteran short track racer Robbie Brewer died during a race at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Saturday night.
According to witnesses, Robbie Brewer was nearing the end of the first of two 20-lap rounds in the Sportsman division when his car failed to turn on the exit of the fourth turn. He crashed nearly head-on into the outside wall at a high speed.
Video shows Brewer’s car strike the wall, then bounce back onto the track, decelerating until it came to a stop further down the wall.
Multiple outlets are reporting that Brewer, 53, suffered a heart attack in his race car, which led to the crash.
The driver was cut from his car and taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Coming to a restart with four laps to go in the first of two 20-lap features for the Sportsman division, Brewer’s car never turned on the exit of turn 4, sending him nearly head on into the outside wall at a high rate of speed. According to multiple reports, the crash occurred after Brewer suffered a heart attack in his race car.
Bowman Gray Stadium issued a statement, saying:
“We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident during last night’s event at Bowman Gray Stadium. Robbie was a talented and passionate racer, and highly respected competitor among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie’s family and friends at this time.”
According to a post made by his fiancee, Angel McCarter, the two were planning to be married on August 25.
“We had just gotten our marriage license on July 26, planning to be married Monday, August 25 — exactly one year from the day we got engaged,” McCarter wrote. “Now… I’m lost. I’ve lost my best friend. I don’t know where to start picking up the pieces.”
Robbie Brewer’s Racing Career
Robbie Brewer was a racing legend in the Carolinas. He was the 2011 division champion and an 11-time winner in the Sportsman ranks at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Brewer was credited with 311 career starts at Bowman Gray across three divisions: Modified, Sportsman, and Stadium Stock.
(Photo credit: Brandon Lee Brendle/Facebook)
Between 2018 and 2019, Brewer won 12 races out of 21 starts and claimed two 602 Modified Tour championships.
Brewer’s death marks the fifth time a driver has died at Bowman Gray Stadium since it opened in 1937. In 1947, Bernard Fox died after a Midget racing accident. Three years later, William Justice, 21, died in a fire while racing for the Amateur division.
Billy Byers and Bubba Beck died in 1958 and 2002, respectively, in an eerily similar way to Brewer. Both drivers suffered heart attacks while racing. Myers drove off the track after suffering cardiac arrest, and Beck struck an infield barrier after having a heart attack.
