Apparent Road Rage Crash Kills Dirt Race Driver And Tony Stewart Trainee Ashlea Albertson

The racing community in Indiana is currently in mourning.

Ashlea Albertson, dirt race driver for Tony Stewart Racing, died Friday at age 24 in an interstate car accident, according to local police. Her teammates honored her Saturday at the Shelby County Fairgrounds during an event she was scheduled to participate in.

“She was good,” Ashlea’s father, Todd Albertson, said, according to FOX59. “As of (Friday), it doesn’t matter. It froze. She was good then.”

“She lost her life, not on a racetrack where we thought she might, but in the middle of a highway because we can’t control our anger,” Todd added.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart took to Twitter with a statement, saying he hopes Ashlea’s death will be a warning to interstate drivers.

“I hope that we can honor Ashlea by controlling what we can control on the highway,” Stewart tweeted. “Losing her is a sobering reminder of how precious life is.”

Tony Stewart served as a mentor to Albertson.

“When you get coaching advice from Tony Stewart, you take it,” Albertson’s coach, Ron Combs, said, according to FOX59. “She loved learning from Tony.”

Albertson also raced under Tony’s father, Nelson Stewart. He, too, was also a major part of her life.

“She was a hell of a racer,” Nelson said, the outlet reported. “She wouldn’t give you an inch, but she’d race you until the end.”

“When it came to strapping in the car and putting her helmet on, she turned into a different girl,” Combs added. “She turned into a racer.”