21st century

=== Motorsport ===
[[File:Sydney SuperSprint 2016 Race 18 Start.jpg|thumb|The start of a race during the 2016 [[Supercars Championship]] in Australia]]
* [[Dale Earnhardt]] died after a last-lap crash during the [[Daytona 500]] in February 2001.
* [[Michael Schumacher]] broke many records in the first few years of the century, including the record for most races won (91), most World Championships (7), and most pole positions (68) by the time he retired in 2006. In 2010, he announced his comeback to [[Formula One]] after three years out of the sport, retiring again in 2012.
* [[Sebastian Vettel]] broke numerous records on his way to becoming Formula One's youngest ever world champion, in 2010 at age 23, and then the youngest ever double world champion, in 2011 at age 24.
* [[Sébastien Loeb]] became the most successful rally driver ever, winning the [[World Rally Championship]] a record 9 consecutive times between 2004 and 2012. He also set new records for the most wins, podium finishes and points scored.
* [[Casey Stoner]] won his second [[MotoGP]] world title (2007 and 2011), and announced his retirement from the sport at just 27 years of age, citing disagreement with the direction of the sport and a desire to spend more time with his family. His retirement became effective at the end of the 2012 MotoGP season. Stoner has won every MotoGP-branded race at least once.
* [[Craig Lowndes]] became the first driver to reach 100 race wins in the [[Supercars Championship|V8 Supercars Championship]].
* [[Lewis Hamilton]] broke the record for most career pole positions in [[Formula One]] in 2019, and the record for most career wins in 2020.