Sonny Easley

American racing driver

NASCAR driver

Sonny Easley

Born

(1939-06-05)June 5, 1939
Virginia

Died

January 15, 1978(1978-01-15) (aged 38)
Van Nuys, California

Cause of death

Accident (Modified practice)

Awards

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2003)
Saugus Speedway track champion^[1]

NASCAR Cup Series career

19 races run over 6 years

Best finish

38th - 1976

First race

1972 (Riverside)

Last race

1977 (Ontario)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	5	0

Lynwood Lacey "Sonny" Easley (June 5, 1939 – January 15, 1978) was an American racecar driver who is best known for competing in the NASCAR Winston West Series and a handful of Winston Cup Series events.

Easley tallied nine Winston West victories over his career, including a victory in the first stock car race ever held at the Laguna Seca Raceway road course.^[2] He finished 2nd in Winston West points in 1973 and 1975.

In 19 career Cup starts, Easley had a best finish of 5th place at the January 16, 1977 Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway.

During practice for a NASCAR modified sportsman race at Riverside on January 15, 1978, Easley was killed when his 1968 Camaro slid across the track into a trailer and pickup truck near pit road. A pit crew member for Tiny Keith, Douglas Grunst, was also killed in the incident.^[3]^[4]

Easley lived in Van Nuys, California.

Easley was a 2003 inductee into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.^[5]