JOHN WES TOWNLEY

Townley was killed during an altercation with his ex-wife and another man. Police are still investigating.

Police in Georgia say former NASCAR driver John Wes Townley was shot to death in a dispute that involved a hatchet after showing up at a house occupied by his estranged wife and another man.

Former NASCAR driver John Wes Townley was shot to death over the weekend during a dispute that involved a hatchet after showing up at a house occupied by his estranged wife and another man, police said Monday. The 31-year-old Townley, who raced eight seasons, had the weapon at some point before he was fatally wounded by Zachary Anderson, 32, of Dunwoody, Georgia, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement. Laura Townley, 30, was shot and wounded, it said.

Investigators say a former driver in NASCAR’s lower divisions has been killed in a shooting in Georgia that also wounded a woman.

A former NASCAR driver was killed Saturday in a shooting in Georgia that also wounded a woman, investigators said. John Wes Townley, 31, died in the shooting in a neighborhood around 9 p.m., Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson told the Athens Banner-Herald. The shooting appeared to be domestic violence related, Athens-Clarke County Police Lt. Shaun Barnett said.