		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="109460728"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>Former NASCAR driver John Wes Townley, 31, was shot dead by estranged wife&#8217;s new lover on Saturday </strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>The former racer turned up at the house he previously shared with Laura Townley armed with an axe </strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>Townley, 31, was shot 9pm on Saturday on Morton Avenue in Athens, Georgia</strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>His estranged wife Laura and an unidentified 32-year-old man were at the home</strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>Townley was shot dead by the man who police say was known to Townley </strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>Laura, hit by gunfire in the altercation, was transported to the hospital with serious injuries</strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>The pair who met on a dating app in 2016, were married in 2018, but had filed for divorce in February </strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>Laura was residing at the Morton Avenue residence with a man, while John was living with his parents when the petition for divorce was filed</strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong> The divorce was still pending at the time of Townley&#8217;s death </strong></h2>



<h2 class="has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style="color:#4a4343"><strong>&#8216;We are not ruling out that this was potentially a self-defense case related to a domestic violence type incident. However, the investigation is still ongoing,&#8217; but, the shooter has not been charged or interviewed, police said </strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/John-Wes-Townley-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-391501" width="841" height="1066"/><figcaption><strong>John Wes Townley, 31, [photo, circa 2014], was shot dead Saturday inside a home Athens, GA, when her turned up at the home he previously shared with his estranged wife with an axe, to confront her and her new lover</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>A former NASCAR driver has been killed and his estranged wife injured after he went to a house with an axe before being shot dead by an unidentified man, according to a report. <br>John Wes Townley, 31, was shot just before 9pm on Saturday in the 200 block of Morton Avenue in the Five Points area of Athens, Georgia. <br>The house was occupied by Townley&#8217;s estranged wife, Laura, and a 32-year-old Dunwoody man, according to local site <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.classiccitynews.com/post/former-nascar-driver-son-of-zaxby-s-co-founder-killed-in-athens-shooting">Classic City News</a>. <br>Townley is then reported to have entered the property armed with an axe where the unidentified man shot him, accidentally hitting Laura Townley with gunfire in the process. <br>Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson identified the deceased victim as John Wes Townley, who had a driver’s license with the 240 Morton Avenue address, but was living with his parents in Oconee County at the time of the incident.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Laura-Townley-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-391503" width="838" height="705"/><figcaption> <strong>Laura Townley [L-R], a nurse from South Carolina, wed the race car driver in 2018, but the couple had recently filed for divorce. The shooting took place inside a home in the Five Points area of Athens. The house is occupied by Laura and a 32-year-old man, pending her divorce from John Townley </strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>The ex-race driver, who is the son of the millionaire co-founder of fried chicken chain Zaxby&#8217;s, was rushed to hospital and later died of his injuries. <br>Laura Townley remains in a &#8216;serious&#8217; condition, the report claimed.<br>According to court records, The<em> </em>Townleys were married in October 2018, and John Townley filed for divorce on Feb. 3 of this year on the grounds he and his wife were living in separation and their marriage was irretrievably broken<em>. </em><br>Laura Townley was residing at the Morton Avenue residence with a man, when the petition for divorce was filed, court records note. <br>The divorce was still pending at the time of Townley&#8217;s death. <br>It is not believed that the couple had any children together. <br>The divorce case was still pending when John Townley was killed,&#8217; <a href="https://www.classiccitynews.com/post/former-nascar-driver-son-of-zaxby-s-co-founder-killed-in-athens-shooting">Classic City News </a>reported. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/John-Wes-Townley-and-Laura-Townley-1-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-391502" width="834" height="996"/><figcaption><strong>John Wes Townley raced eight seasons and made 186 starts across the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series, NASCAR&#8217;s lower two national divisions. He married Laura in 2018, two years after the pair met on the dating app &#8216;Match&#8217; </strong></figcaption></figure>



<p> <br>Police earlier said that a 30-year-old woman was injured. They have not identified her as Laura Townley. <br>The police have also not revealed the identity of the suspected shooter, referring to him only as a 32-year-old from Dunwoody. <br>When asked about the claims, Athens-Clarke County police spokesman Lt. Shaun Barnett said: &#8216;I can&#8217;t confirm any of those details right now.&#8217; <br>&#8216;We are not ruling out that this was potentially a self-defense case related to a domestic violence type incident. However, the investigation is still ongoing,&#8217; he added. <br>The shooter, who was known to Townley, has not been charged and has spoken to police, he said. <br>Barnett said that the investigation was ongoing but early indications were that it was a &#8216;domestic incident.&#8217; <br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/John-Wes-Townleys-race-car-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-391514" width="835" height="521"/><figcaption><strong>During his racing career John Wes Townley drove a car owned by his millionaire father, Tony Townley, co-founder of the vehicle&#8217;s primary sponsor, fried chicken chain Zaxby&#8217;s</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>Born in Watkinsville, Townley is the son of Tony Townley, whose fast food chain Zaxby&#8217;s owned and sponsored the cars he competed in. <br>He married nurse Laura Townley from Florence, South Carolina, after the pair met through dating app &#8216;Match&#8217; in 2016. Figures from NASCAR, including former drivers and journalists who knew Townley have paid tribute to him online. <br>Jeff Hood, who works for the family business Zaxby&#8217;s, posted on Facebook: &#8216;For 17 years, I accompanied John Wes Townley to race tracks throughout the United States and Canada. He was a brother to me. <br>&#8216;I spent a portion of Saturday afternoon Oct. 2nd catching up with him at the Arkansas/Georgia football game. Six hours later, his life on this earth concluded. <br>&#8216;Behind the scenes, JWT was a caring, tender-hearted, compassionate person. That&#8217;s how I&#8217;ll always remember him. I miss you and love you, my dear friend.&#8217; <br>Townley started driving professionally in 2008 and recorded 186 starts across the Xfinity and Truck Series, NASCAR&#8217;s lower two national divisions.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/John-Wes-Townley-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-391498" width="833" height="582"/><figcaption><strong>John Townley, known in the sport as JWT, speaking at a press conference after qualifying for the Arca Racing Series auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, in July, 2014</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>His victory in the Truck Series at Las Vegas six years ago was the only national series win of his career. Townley&#8217;s car was sponsored by his father&#8217;s fast-food chain Zaxby&#8217;s. <br>Opened in 1990, the chain has more than 900 restaurants across 17 states and Tony Townley&#8217;s net worth is reported to be around $10 million. <br>The senior Townley stepped down from the company around a year ago after big investment from Goldman Sachs. Cofounder and high school buddy Zach McLeroy now runs the company. <br>The shooter has not been charged, according to police Lt. Barnett, who confirmed that the female victim was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. <br></p>

Ex-NASCAR driver John Wes Townley, 31, is shot dead by estranged wife’s new lover after racer turned up at the house they previously shared in Athens, Georgia, with an AX – Laura Townley was also shot and injured in melee
