Veteran racer Robbie Brewer dies at 53 after suffering a heart attack at Bowman Gray Stadium

Robbie Brewer passed away on Saturday, following a medical emergency that led to a crash at Bowman Gray Stadium. It all happened with only four laps remaining in the first of the two 20-lap races under the Sportsman division in which Brewer competed.

Brewer, who was 53 at the time of his death, reportedly had a heart attack in his No. 17 car right before crashing out on turn 4. He was running fourth at the time. As the drivers were headed toward the free flag, Brewer’s car loosened into the wall in between turns 3 and 4, bounced off, and hit the front-straightaway wall.

“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,” an official statement from Bowman Gray Stadium read. “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.”

Besides being the 2011 champion, Brewer won 11 races in the Sportsman category at Bowman Gray. 2015 was his best season so far, in which he scored four wins, also his best at the 0.25-mile venue in Winston-Salem.

Brewer was known for his expertise in driving Modifieds as well. Between 2018 and 2019, the driver won a combined 12 times in 21 races en route to a pair of 602 Modified Tour championships. He also won the 602 Super Limited (Late Model) Series championship back in 2016.

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Street Stock contender Brad Lewis mourns the loss of Robbie Brewer

Street Stock drivers Brad Lewis and his daughter Emilee Lewis were perhaps the most shaken from the untimely demise of Robbie Brewer. After all, it was Emilee who spoke the last words to Brewer over the radio.

On the night of his death, August 9, Brewer was a part of the Robbins & Lewis family racing stables alongside fellow Sportsman drivers Dylan Ward and Chase Lewis and Street Stock icons Brad Lewis and Emilee Lewis.

"I gave my last fist bump to Robbie last night and told him to give 'em hell. Emilee spoke the last words to him over the radio,” Brad Lewis recalled in a statement. “Hardest thing I've had to do was climb in a car after he was gone, but he would've told me to pump them up and get on the wheel.”

“He was my family. A true man's man. I'm broken, as most are that he touched through his life. I will never forget you, Robbie. I'll be driving for you,” he added.

Robbie Brewer was the fifth driver to breathe his last after an incident at the historic racetrack. The most recent incident took place in 2002, when Charles ‘Bubba’ Beck had a similar heart attack during a NASCAR Modified race at Bowman Gray.