Tony Stewart racing driver Ashlea Albertson, 24, is killed after being thrown from the car her fiance was driving in road rage crash just months before she was due to get married – as her tearful dad pays tribute

Nascar legend Tony Stewart has spoken out after one of his young drivers was thrown out of a car window and killed when her fiancé lost control in a traffic accident.

Ashlea Albertson, 24, was on her way home to Greenfield, Indiana, from a vacation with Jacob Kelly, 31, when the couple got into a fatal battle with another driver on I-65 in Jackson County.

The cars collided and Kelly’s 2018 GMC Terrain went off the road, throwing Ashlea out of a window as it flipped and rolled.

Ashlea was due to get married in March and fans learned of her death in an emotional Facebook tribute from her father Todd.

She had recently beaten Stewart on the track and her mentor paid tribute to her as a “great racing driver” with an “infectious personality.”

Ashley with her team manager, Nascar legend Tony Stewart

“I’ve also been caught up in road rage in the past,” Stewart said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“I hope we can honor Ashlea by controlling what we can control on the highway.

“Losing her is a sobering reminder of how precious life is.”

Ashlea’s death has shocked the racing community after it was revealed on Facebook by her father, Todd Albertson, within hours of Friday’s crash.

“She was a good boy and a better person,” he said.

“She just loved racing, she loved the community and you all did so much for her.

Please keep my family, her fiancé and anyone going through this in your thoughts and prayers.

And for those heading to the track this weekend to enjoy their racing, know that all she ever wanted to do was entertain and be loved by all who followed her.

“Enjoy life and every moment, we never know when the time will come.”

Ashley’s Facebook page was soon filled with tributes from shocked fans

Racegoers hailed her as one of the most promising young drivers on the track

Ashlea said there was “nothing like” the feeling she got from being behind the wheel

Hundreds of people responded to his post, including Kati Kantz who told him she had been one of the first on the scene.

“My son called 911 and I stayed with her until emergency services arrived,” she wrote.

‘She held you.

“May she rest in peace and may God watch over you and your family.”

Indiana State Police said the pair were driving north when they pulled up next to a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Austin Cooper, 22, near the 48-mile mark.

“Crime scene evidence, including video footage taken by another vehicle, indicates that the two drivers began accelerating rapidly and refused to let the other vehicle pass,” Sergeant Stephen Wheeles reported.

Cooper’s vehicle then began to change lanes into the path of Kelly’s vehicle.

Jacob Kelly lost control of his vehicle and spun, causing the two vehicles to collide in the middle of the northbound lanes.

Kelly’s vehicle rolled over, ejecting a female passenger, Ashlea Albertson, age 24, Greenfield, Indiana, from the vehicle.

“Cooper’s vehicle left the east side of the roadway and came to rest in a field.”

Both Ashlea and her fiancé were airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital, where Ashlea was pronounced dead and Kelly was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Cooper and his passenger were transported to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Indiana, where they were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

No arrests have been made, but police are awaiting the results of toxicology reports on both drivers.

Ashlea had spoken of her enjoyment of racing, telling the Greenfield Reporter, “I like riding in the mud.”

Debris from the couple’s car is scattered on I-65 in Indiana after the crash that sent it rolling down the freeway

“The sliding is the best feeling ever,” she explained, “nothing beats it.”

Drivers paid tribute to her Saturday in Shelbyville, Indiana, at an event where she was scheduled to race.

“I’ll think of Ashlea every time I think I’m going to have road rage,” team manager Rom Combs told WTHR.

“Ashlea will be in the back of my mind. Stop, slow down and do what’s right.’