"Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released as her debut single on April 6, 1988, by Elektra Records. It served as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. Chapman's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988 helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and led the album to top the Billboard 200. The single also reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and topped the charts of five other countries.
"Fast Car" received three nominations at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the last of which it won. It also received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video.
Since the release of Chapman's original, the song has had success in two electronic dance versions by Swedish DJ Tobtok and British DJ Jonas Blue, as well as a country cover by American singer Luke Combs. Combs's version was a number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in 2023, and won Chapman the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, making her the first black person to win the award.
