+ Tracks with the most driver deaths Nürburgring 70 (list) Indianapolis 57 (list) Brands Hatch37 (list) Silverstone35 Monza 30 (list) Le Mans 27 (list (24H)) Spa-Francorchamps 26 (list) Oulton Park26 Daytona 25 (list) Many people, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport of auto racing, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were numerous in the early years of racing, but advances in safety technology, and specifications designed by sanctioning bodies to limit speeds, have reduced the rate of fatal accidents. Major accidents have often spurred increased safety measures and rules changes. Widely considered to be the worst accident is the 1955 Le Mans disaster at 24 Hours of Le Mans that killed driver Pierre Levegh and over 80 spectators, with more than 100 being injured in total.

This is a list alphabetically sorted, and structured after the kind of competition, of the more notable driver deaths, excluding those of motorcycle riders. In addition, several racing drivers have been killed in public road crashes; see List of people who died in road accidents.

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Name Date of accident Discipline Car Championship Circuit/location Event Session Cause 1958-07-13 Open wheel Mecánica Nacional Fuerza Limitada Concordia (Parque Rivadavia, Circuito San Carlos) Primer Premio Ciudad de Concordia Race A broken spindle caused the car to crash and burst into flames 1958-07-19 Drag racing Paradise Mesa Drag Strip Race Transmission exploded, car caught on fire, Norris lost control of car and was ejected 1940-08-23 Stock car Fulton Fairgrounds Race Lost control and car left the track 1947-11-09 Stock car Mitchell Speedrome Qualifying Spun off the track, plunged over an embankment and overturned 1982-06-12 Stock car Chevrolet Vega Wisconsin International Raceway Race Car skidded sideways, went into a ditch, flipped upside down, and burst into flames 1989-10-14 Stock car Unknown Unknown Lakeland Interstate Raceway Unknown Race Car struck by a backmarker 1973-06-10 Stock car Unknown Unknown Englewood Speedway Unknown Race Car burst into flames and slammed into the pit wall entrance 1977-04-16 Sports car Porsche Carrera RSR Unknown Hockenheimring Jim Clark Memorial Race Practice Drove straight into a concrete wall 1970-05-02Rally car Non-championship Rallye Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin 1970, last special stage, Briançon-Monte Carlo 28ème Rallye Paris - Saint-Raphaël Féminin Race Crashed into a private vehicle 1951-07-14 Touring car Ferrari Gávea XII Grande Prêmio da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro Testing Crashed into a concrete wall 1947-08-10 Stock car Towanda Fairgrounds Testing Lost control, went through a fence and crashed into a building 1948-09-19 Sprint car Midwest Dirt Track Racing Association Franklin Speedway Qualifying heat race Race Locked wheels with another car, went through a fence and the other car landed on Adair's car 1958-06-22 Stock car Unknown Unknown Rensselaer Raceway Unknown Race Car crashed into the retaining wall 2005-08-20 Kart Unknown Unknown Pine Creek Unknown Race Kart slid and crashed into tree 1932-09-24 Unknown Frontenac Unknown Fairgrounds Speedway Unknown Race Blinded by dust, Adams ran over the rear wheel of another car, locked wheels, spun, his car came apart and hit the other car again: he was ejected and slid into an iron fence 1976-05-28 Sprint car Unknown Unknown Fairmont Raceway Sprint car consolation race Race Right rear tire blew out, car flipped six times, hit a lightpost and landed upside down 1989-11-19 Stock car Oldsmobile Cutlass NASCAR Winston Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Journal 500 Race Equipment failure caused the car to hit a wall hard 1949-06-05 Hotrod Unknown Unknown Holbrook Fairgrounds Unknown Race Locked wheels with another car, broke the rear axle, car spun and crashed through a guard rail 1985-02-07 Stock car Ford ARCA Racing Series Daytona International Speedway ARCA 200 Practice Lost control, car went airborne and rolled 2007-08-19 Rally car Peugeot 306 Maxi Mauritius Rally Championship Rallye à l'Ile Maurice Rallye Citroën à l'Ile Maurice Race Heart attack 1963-05-19 Touring car Austin A40 Molyslip Saloon Car Championship Brands Hatch Molyslip Saloon Car Championship, event 10 Race After going off track, he got back on too quickly, car rolled four times and went down an embankment (the seat came loose during the rolls and he was partially thrown out of the door) 2002-04-29 Historical sportscar Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo Historic Sportscar Racing Road Atlanta HSR Walter Mitty Challenge Practice Crashed into concrete barrier, car caught fire, flipped over the barrier, rolled and hit two trees 2014-05-25 Drag racing Plymouth Duster Unknown Maryland International Raceway Custom T's Doorslammer Nationals Post-race Lost control, car crossed lanes, struck a concrete wall, rolled and Akins was thrown out 1970-08-23 Touring car Honda S800 Unknown Suzuka Circuit 12 Hours of Suzuka Race Akiyama's car hit another car and caught fire 1992-04-20 Open wheel Ralt RT36-Honda British Formula Three Thruxton Circuit Race Hit the back of Elton Julian's car, went airborne, somersaulted, and hit guardrail 1930-08-16 Single seater Miller Unknown Orange County Fair Speedway Unknown Qualifying Wheel brake locked, car rolled over several times, hit a guardrail and threw Albertson out onto the track 2001-04-25 Sports car Audi R8 EuroSpeedway Lausitz Testing Tire failed, car went airborne, somersaulted, roll bar collapsed and crushed Alboreto to death 1955-04-11 Open wheel Maserati 4CLT Formula One Circuit de Pau-Ville Pau Grand Prix Race Went over a straw barricade and crashed into barriers 2007-09-02 Rally car Subaru Impreza European Rally Championship Sliven Rally Bulgaria Race Crashed into tree roof-first 2001-10-04 Stock car Pontiac ARCA Racing Series Lowe's Motor Speedway EasyCare 100 Race Made contact with Kerry Earnhardt, crashed head on into a wall. The car then touched Earnhardt's car, flipping it upside down2018-05-05Drag racingChevrolet CorvetteNHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Atlanta DragwayNHRA Southern NationalsRaceThe car veered to the right across the center line and into the other lane, where it was t-boned at high speed by the car of Bob Mandell III 1992-08-13 Stock car Oldsmobile NASCAR Busch Series Michigan International Speedway Detroit Gasket 200 Practice Seat broke after he spun in turn 3 hitting the wall with the driver's side of the car 2023-04-14Rally CarAsturias Rally Championship