Due to the inherently dangerous nature of auto racing, many individuals, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were numerous in the early years of racing. However advances in safety technology, and specifications designed by sanctioning bodies to limit speeds, have reduced deaths in recent years. Spectacular accidents have often spurred increased safety measures and even rules changes. Widely considered to be the worst accident amongst them is Pierre Levegh's 1955 crash at Le Mans that killed him and approximately 80 spectators with over 100 being injured in total.
This is a list alphabetically sorted, and structured after the kind of competition, of the more notable drivers, excluding motorcycle riders. In addition, several famous racing drivers have been killed in public road crashes; see List of people who died in road accidents.