David Poole was the ultimate NASCAR reporter. He passed on, yesterday afternoon, too soon for any who knew well of him, at the young age of 50. To those of us who were familiar with the man, he was known as a devoted husband/father/grandfather, a very respected and thorough reporter, and a man who was determined to tell the harsh truth as he saw it. He had been the lead NASCAR reporter for the Charlotte Observer, for nearly 13 years, and for four years, had been the co-host of Sirius Radio's "Morning Drive", along with Mike Bagley. Among countless numbers of other awards, David was a four-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association's Writer of the Year (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008).
Since the news of his call to Heaven, endless numbers of friends and fans have blogged, called the Sirius radio shows, Facebooked, etc., to express their sympathy and to tell a personal aside relating to David (aka DPizzle or DP). The scale of the response seems equal to that when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. passed away.
I did get to speak with him, one day while on my way to work, and listening to the Morning Drive. Fortunately, DP and I agreed on my view that Kyle Busch has always been the type of driver and personality that he is, and that race fans need to just get over it and get used to it. Countless other callers weren't so lucky. If DPizzle disagreed, he bluntly told you that you were wrong, and then succinctly told you why you were wrong. Many callers hung up understanding that they had been corrected. Other callers hung up mad, insulted, or a combination of these feelings. Like him or not, I suspect that all of the rebuked callers recognized that they had been successfully debated by the top dog. Those same callers likely will now hold there personal experience with high regard ("Ya know, I talked to David Poole, once..."), and as a badge of honor.
I'll miss DP, and I am so deeply saddened by the hurt and loss felt by his wife Katy, sons Matthew and David, daughter Emily, and cherished grandson Eli. May God's comfort and blessings be with them in the sorrowful days ahead.
The family has requested, in place of flowers and gifts, that donations be made to the Pennies for Wessa fund (http://www.penniesforwessa.org/) and/or The Victory Junction Gang Camps (http://www.victoryjunction.org/).
Since the news of his call to Heaven, endless numbers of friends and fans have blogged, called the Sirius radio shows, Facebooked, etc., to express their sympathy and to tell a personal aside relating to David (aka DPizzle or DP). The scale of the response seems equal to that when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. passed away.
I did get to speak with him, one day while on my way to work, and listening to the Morning Drive. Fortunately, DP and I agreed on my view that Kyle Busch has always been the type of driver and personality that he is, and that race fans need to just get over it and get used to it. Countless other callers weren't so lucky. If DPizzle disagreed, he bluntly told you that you were wrong, and then succinctly told you why you were wrong. Many callers hung up understanding that they had been corrected. Other callers hung up mad, insulted, or a combination of these feelings. Like him or not, I suspect that all of the rebuked callers recognized that they had been successfully debated by the top dog. Those same callers likely will now hold there personal experience with high regard ("Ya know, I talked to David Poole, once..."), and as a badge of honor.
I'll miss DP, and I am so deeply saddened by the hurt and loss felt by his wife Katy, sons Matthew and David, daughter Emily, and cherished grandson Eli. May God's comfort and blessings be with them in the sorrowful days ahead.
The family has requested, in place of flowers and gifts, that donations be made to the Pennies for Wessa fund (http://www.penniesforwessa.org/) and/or The Victory Junction Gang Camps (http://www.victoryjunction.org/).
Very sweet Honey.
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