FARMINGTON, Mo. — Popular open-wheel racer Terry Babb has died. He was 55 years old.
Babb was leading Saturday night’s winged sprint car feature at St. Francois County Raceway when he pulled into the infield. He later succumbed to an apparent heart attack.
Babb was a frequent competitor in winged and non-winged sprint cars, midgets and the USAC Silver Crown Series.
Babb had competed in USAC sanctioned events since 1989 and made his final appearance just two weeks ago during a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway, finishing 13th.
In May of 2022, he made his 31st and final USAC Silver Crown start at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, finishing ninth. His career best was a fourth-place run at the very same track in 2010. He made a total of 31 career USAC Silver Crown starts dating back to his first appearance in 1989 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Babb qualified for eight USAC National Sprint Car feature events in his career, scoring a 14th in his debut at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. in 1990.
He also recorded eight career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget starts, notching a best of ninth during the 2018 Shamrock Classic at the Southern Illinois Center where he was also the hard charger after starting 18th.
Babb was also a frequent competitor at the Chili Bowl Nationals each January and raced regularly with the Midwest Open Wheel Ass’n winged sprint cars, winning numerous features. He also competed with the World of Outlaws, POWRi and other sanctioning bodies throughout the Midwest.
He is the cousin of successful late model racer Shannon Babb.
Jason Keith won Saturday’s feature at St. Francois County Raceway and posted the following message on Facebook on Sunday: “This one hits different. We may have won the feature last night but to me it will always be Terry’s race. He was leading when he fell ill. He was faster than us all, and definitely had us covered.”