The following is an overview of the events of 1939 in motorsport including the major racing events, motorsport venues that were opened and closed during a year, championships and non-championship events that were established and disestablished in a year, and births and deaths of racing drivers and other motorsport people.
The calendar includes only annual major non-championship events or annual events that had own significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.
| Date | Event | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May | 30th Targa Florio | [1] | |
| 30 May | 27th Indianapolis 500 | [2] | |
| 12–16 June | 28th Isle of Man TT | [3] | |
| 17–18 June | 16th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [4] |
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Phil Read | British | Motorcycle racer | 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champion (-). | [5] | |
| 29 | May | Al Unser | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1970-1971, 1978, 1987). | [6] | |
| 11 | June | Jackie Stewart | British | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion . | [7] | |
| 30 | Harry Källström | Swedish | Rally driver | 1976 Acropolis Rally winner. | [8] | ||
| 5 | August | Roger Clark | British | Rally driver | 1976 Lombard RAC Rally winner. | [9] | |
| 12 | December | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion . Indianapolis 500 winner (1989, 1993) | [10] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | February | Bill Cummings | 32 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1934). | [11] | |
| 30 | May | Floyd Roberts | 39 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1938). | [12] | |
| 11 | August | Jean Bugatti | 30 | French | Automotive designer and test engineer |