Bobby East, a United States Auto Club (USAC) great who won three national championships in the Silver Crown and Midget divisions and also had experience in NASCAR, died on Tuesday in a stabbing attack in Westminster, California. He was 37.
According to a press release by the Westminster Police Department, West was at a 76 gas station on Tuesday at 5:51 PM when he was stabbed in the chest. Paramedics and police attempted to save his life before moving him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
WPD named 27-year-old Trent William Millsap as the suspect, having escaped the scene prior to police arrival. Millsap, described as a transient who travels between motels in Southern California, is charged with murder, has a parole warrant, and is considered armed and dangerous.
“On July 13, 2022, at about 5:51 pm, WPD officers responded to the 76 gas station, located at 6322 Westminster Blvd., reference a stabbing,” began the WPD release. “The victim was found on the ground suffering from a serious stab wound to the chest area. Officers attempted life saving measures until OCFA paramedics arrived and transported the victim to a local trauma center, where the victim succumbed to his injury. The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification to next of kin.
“WPD detectives responded to the scene and took over the investigation. Trent William Millsap, who fled the area prior to police arrival, is suspected of stabbing the victim. Millsap also has an outstanding parole warrant. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Millsap is transient and known to frequent Westminster, Garden Grove, and Anaheim motels.
“WPD detectives are continuing the investigation in hopes of locating all evidence and witnesses and urge anyone who witnessed the crime on July 13, 2022, or knows the whereabouts of the suspect, to contact the Westminster Police Department at 714-548-3212, or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or by logging on to www.occrimestoppers.org. Callers can remain anonymous.”
The son of USAC Hall of Fame inductee Bob East, he won fifty-six USAC features during his career, with all but eight coming at the national level. The first, a National Midget event in 2001 at Illiana Motor Speedway, made him the youngest driver to win in the series at sixteen years of age. He claimed the USAC National Midget championship in 2004 followed by the Silver Crown in 2012 and 2013. He ended his USAC stint after 2014.
Between 2005 and 2008, East began dabbling in NASCAR as a Ford development driver by making starts in what are now the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. He ran eleven races in the former for now-JTG Daugherty Racing, Brewco Motorsports, and Baker Curb Racing, notching three top-twenty finishes with a best run of twelfth at the 2007 Homestead race.
In 2006, he ran nearly the entire Truck Series schedule for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, serving as a team-mate to Supercars Championship star Marcos Ambrose. East finished twenty-third in points with a best run of eleventh at IRP. Two years later, he did seven races for Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK Racing), scoring his lone pole at IRP and a pair of top tens at Texas and Memphis.
East also attempted the 2005 ARCA Menards Series finale for K-Automotive Motorsports.