NASCAR hit by tragedy as popular pit crew member confirmed dead aged 35

NASCAR is in mourning today (Tuesday) following the tragic death of one of its own at the tender age of just 35 years old.

During the past 24 hours reports began to circulate of the death of popular jackman Zachary Yager, and those reports have now been confirmed by Toby Christie.

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A career in NASCAR

Yager, a New York native, had worked in NASCAR since 2014 - working pit crew duty for multiple teams including Team Penske, Richard Childress Racing and RFK Racing.

Yager was working on the No. 39 RSS Racing team car driven by Ryan Sieg in the Xfinity Series in 2025, and the No. 88 ThorSport entry (Matt Crafton) in the Truck Series.

Just over two weeks ago, the popular crew member - a native of Lima - had been interviewed by local news outlet News10NBC about ‘coming home’ to his local race at Watkins Glen.

He had spoken about how he first became involved in the sport, admitting: “My cousin called me up one day and was like, “could you do this?” and I was like, yea I’ll do it and he’s like alright I need you here in 2 weeks. So, I packed up my little 2-door Honda Civic and drove down to Charlotte and I’ve been here ever since.”

Team 'deeply saddened'

After the news of Zachary’s death had been confirmed, ThorSport Racing released a statement which read: “We are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of our friend and teammate, Zachary Yager.

“He was an important part of our family, and our hearts are with his loved ones and community as we grieve this loss together.”

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