For Joe Salas, Let’s Rally Around His Family
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$314 raised of $25K
3 donations
On September 17th, 2026, we lost one of the most giving people that the planet has ever known, Joe Salas, to an unfortunate accident.
He was a fixture in the motorsports community, covering events all over the country as a photographer. He used his incredibly unique eye to capture important moments for literally thousands of people over the years, but his skills went far beyond creating frameable images.
He truly cared about the riders that he covered. 4theriders wasn't just the name of his business, it was a way of life.
Every interaction at the track was genuine. He made time for anyone and everyone that wanted to chat with him, and he was always the last one awake in the paddock. It was as if he wanted to tuck everyone in and check for monsters under the bed.
He also had an uncanny knack of knowing that someone was in over their heads, and always went out of his way to provide advice on how to be safer in a sport that could hurt you in the blink of an eye. There is no doubt that his words saved countless people from serious injury.
The only thing that meant more to him than the friends that he made at the track was the family that he has sadly left behind.
Joe leaves behind Brianna and their three little girls, who now have the daunting task of rebuilding their lives without their partner and father. Brianna is also helping care for Joe's mother, who was part of their household and their everyday lives.
Joe was also the father of three older children. They are an important part of Joe's family and are grieving the loss of their father as well.
Right now, this fundraiser is focused on the immediate needs of Brianna, their three young girls, and the household that depended on Joe's income every day.
They have a tough road ahead of them and are currently surrounded by many friends and receiving a tremendous and much appreciated amount of emotional support during this trying time.
Without Joe around, the family needs more than just emotional support. Joe's work was their main source of income, and the financial reality of suddenly losing that income is significant.
Their known basic household bills alone currently total more than $4,200 every month. That is before groceries, water and trash, gasoline, clothing, school expenses, medical expenses, and all of the other normal costs of raising three young children and maintaining a household.
Those existing expenses include their home, electricity, transportation, vehicle insurance, phone service, internet, utilities, and other necessities that continue to come due regardless of what the family is going through.
Brianna and the people helping her are actively pursuing every survivor benefit, assistance program, and other resource that may be available to help provide longer-term stability for the family. Unfortunately, many of those programs take time to apply for, process, and determine eligibility. In the meantime, the rent, utilities, groceries, transportation costs, and other everyday expenses continue without interruption. This fundraiser is intended to help bridge that immediate gap while those longer-term resources are being worked through.
The money raised here will be used to help keep a roof over their heads, the utilities on, reliable transportation available, food in the house, and the girls' everyday needs covered while Brianna works through the enormous financial, legal, and personal changes that come with suddenly losing Joe.
More importantly, it will give Brianna something that is incredibly difficult to put a dollar amount on right now: time.
Time to grieve. Time to take care of the girls. Time to help Joe's mom. Time to work through benefits, accounts, legal matters, and the countless decisions that now have to be made. And time to figure out how to rebuild a life that, until September 17th, included Joe.
Anything that you can contribute will go a long way as Brianna and the girls learn to live without the man that was most special in their worlds.
Joe spent years showing up for people.
He showed up at racetracks all over the country. He showed up behind the camera. He showed up when a rider needed advice. He showed up when someone needed help. He showed up for conversations that lasted long after everyone else had gone to sleep.
Members of the Gizmag/New Atlas team, where he spent the last couple of years building a new career as a writer and technical lead, know what it means when Joe shows up for work: total commitment, boundless energy and a relentless, burning need to make things better. He quickly made himself an indispensable member of the core team, as well as a reader favourite.
Joe's boss, colleague, and close friend also wrote a wonderful piece about Joe that goes into far greater detail about the work he had been doing in recent years, the impact he made at New Atlas, and the person they came to know and love. For anyone who wants to learn more about what Joe had been up to outside the racetrack, we encourage you to read it:
Man down: Vale the mighty Joe Salas, a colleague and a brother
For countless people in the motorsports community, Joe gave them something they will keep forever, whether it was a photograph, a memory, a piece of advice, a friendship, or simply knowing that somebody genuinely cared about them.
Now we have an opportunity to show up for his family.
If Joe ever photographed you, helped you, made you laugh, gave you advice, checked on you in the paddock, or simply made your time at the track a little better, please consider helping his family through what comes next.
Any amount helps.
And if you aren't in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser with the riders, racers, photographers, tracks, organizations, friends, and communities that Joe touched over the years can make just as much of a difference.
Thank you for helping take care of the people Joe loved most.