"Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" is a song by the American funk metal band Primus. It was released as the first single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese and reached number 23 on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart. The song tells the stories of two characters, Jerry, an ill-fated race car driver who collides with a telephone pole while driving intoxicated (hence the use of "was", in the title) and Captain Pearce, a retired fireman.