A 37-year-old NASCAR driver was stabbed to death at a gas station in California this week, and police killed his alleged assailant two days later, reports Fox News. Police in Westminster say Bobby East, who competed in the United States Auto Club division, was attacked at a gas station Wednesday evening after he stopped to fill up. Police identified 27-year-old Trent William Millsap, a transient, as the suspect and say he fled the scene, per the AP. Officers shot and killed Millsap on Friday after they say he became confrontational when they arrived at an Anaheim apartment to arrest him. Millsap was on parole for armed robbery, notes the Los Angeles Times.
East was a renowned driver in his division, having won 56 career races in USAC, which called him "one of the most prolific drivers in his era." He was a three-time USAC national champion driver, per the AP. He also had 11 career starts in what is now known as NASCAR's Xfinity Series, and he logged two top-10 finishes in Truck Series races. "He was one heck of a wheelman," tweeted two-time NASCAR champ Todd Bodine. East's father, Bob East, is a Hall of Fame USAC car builder. (More NASCAR stories.)