NASCAR world mourns Bobby East murder: 'One heck of a wheelman'

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Tributes poured in after the NASCAR world received the news of Bobby East's death. The three-time US Auto Club (USAC) champ was 37.

East died Wednesday after being stabbed in the chest at a 76 gas station on Westminster Blvd. in Westminster, California, according to the USAC and police.

Bobby East, driver of the #09 Zaxby's Ford, leads the field at the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Power Stroke Diesel 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park on July 25, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Bobby East, driver of the #21 State Fair Corn Dogs/Edy's Dibs Ford, talks with former series driver Robert Pressley during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 practice on July 7, 2006 at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.  (Joe Robbins/Getty Images for NASCAR)

USAC released a statement announcing his death and detailing his achievements on the track. 

"The son of Janice and famed USAC Hall of Fame car builder Bob East, Bobby was an immediate success in his USAC career. His first career triumph with the USAC National Midgets in 2001 at Schererville, Indiana’s Illiana Motor Speedway made Bobby the youngest USAC national feature winner ever at the time, at the age of 16. His three winning performances in 2001 made him the winningest USAC National Midget Rookie in more than a quarter-century. Ultimately, he was rewarded as the series’ Rookie of the Year," the statement read. 

Two-time NASCAR Champion Todd Bodine tweeted he was "very sad" about East’s death, calling him "one heck of a wheelman." 

Automobile Racing Club of America’s communications manager Charles Krall also tweeted remembering East