Driver who died at Lawrenceburg Speedway will help 80 people as tissue donor

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (WXIX) - The funeral for a sprint car racer who died last weekend at Lawrenceburg Speedway will take place at Spring Grove Cemetery on Thursday.

Harrison native Justin Owen, 26, was competing in the USAC AMSOIL sprint car international championship when his race car crashed. The vehicle flipped multiple times.

Justin’s father, Scott Owen, says everything was looking up for his son.

Saturday was opening night for the race track.

“It’s been awful. It’s the worst thing that I could ever imagine,” said Scott.

He says everything was looking up for his son.

Justin had just gotten promoted at his sales job, was engaged, and was coming off the best season in his 10-year racing carer, having won the Lawrenceburg championship in 2022.

“He even joked around and said, ‘If I die, I want to die in a racecar,’” Scott said. “I mean, we were obviously kidding around. We never thought it would happen.”

Justin’s father says he is devastated at the loss of his son. He says hasn’t eaten or slept in three days and says he’s not sure how he’ll be able to go on.

“I wake up, and the next thing you know, you’re just laying on the floor crying,” he said Monday.

Scott was at the track that night.

“I knew he was going really fast, and the impact was violent,” he said. “He hit that rut, and once he did, he couldn’t steer. He just went straight to the wall.”

Racing was part of Justin’s life from a young age. Scott says he and his son had raced every weekend since Justin was 6 years old.

“It was what he loved,” Scott said. “It was his passion, 100 percent. He loved nothing more than racing, other than his fiancée.”

Now, Scott says he wants people to remember Justin for what he did off the track, the way he made people laugh and brightened every room he entered.

Scott also says his son died a hero, being a tissue donor.

“He’s going to help 80 people,” Scott said.

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