In Memory of David Poole

David Poole, NASCAR journalist for "The Charlotte Observer" and co-host of "The Morning Drive" on Sirius NASCAR Radio passed away Tuesday morning. Following his radio broadcast, Poole suffered a heart attack. He was only 50 years old.

David Poole was not the guy who writes the article that appears in the sports page of Mondays local paper, recapping the race from the day before. David Poole was the guy who wrote the article that described what the race was about. Most newspaper articles about NASCAR are pretty cut and dry, black and white. The casual fan who saw the 60 second highlight reel on Sportscenter could write the same article. David Poole was different. He lived in the gray areas, and wrote his articles and columns the same way. A David Poole article was for the people who watched the race, but read the paper or searched the internet to learn something new about it. He never disappointed.

When Sirius Satellite Radio took over the exclusive contract to carry a 24/7 NASCAR channel in 2007, they hired David Poole to host "The Morning Drive", a call-in show that airs every weekday morning. Whomever the programming director was who made that decision is a genius. David Poole could stir the pot. He knew how to express his opinion in a way that would rile up the masses and get the phones ringing. Most of the people who would call, disagreed with his opinion. I never understood why that was. I think it's because David explained his views so well, there was nothing left to add. His opinions and his ideas were thought out so well that they were difficult to argue. Many people tried to compile an opposing view to combat him, but Davids knowledge made most of them look foolish.

David had a knack for getting the entire story. When something seemed to be pretty clear, David was able to find something to change your outlook. He would question the NASCAR organization and its forefront players without thinking twice about it. Many drivers commented yesterday that there may have been a time or two when they didn't like what he wrote about them, but it was always fair. The respect he had in the garage area allowed him to write in the manor in which he did.

David was also a softy. He rarely showed that side, but when he did, it made an impact. He devoted his column on June 14, 2008 to remind his readers about Wessa Miller, the little girl who gave Dale Earnhardt the lucky penny that was glued to his dash as he won the Daytona 500 in 1998. Thanks to that article, money was raised to help the Miller family get some needed help. Countless stories were told yesterday on Sirius NASCAR Radio about the small, random acts of kindness he passed along. David Poole heart was truly as big as his bark.

For me personally, David Poole was the best of the best. I write these blogs as a hobby, but there was a time I wanted to make a living as a NASCAR journalist. If anybody is trying to do that now, the writings of David Poole should be your textbook. Nobody has ever covered NASCAR for the print media better. It's amazing to see how much of an impact he made in motorsports journalism in just a few short years. I sure am going to miss stopping by ThatsRacin.com to read his latest post.

Besides his amazing work with "The Charlotte Observer", he was the star of Sirius NASCAR Radio on satellite radio. There was nothing better then tuning into "The Morning Drive" on Monday mornings and listen to David rant about everything from the race, to his red-eye flight home. When my phone would ring in the morning and my dads number would appear on the Caller ID, I had better fire up my satellite radio, because it usually meant Poole was going off about something. I had the honor of talking to David on that show one morning, and it was to agree with him on a particular topic. I never once called to argue a point he made because I know he would have made me look dumb, easily. Besides that, I almost always agreed with him. Most lifelong NASCAR fans did.

For me, this loss ranks right up there with the loss of Dale Earnhardt in terms of impact on the sport. David Poole was the best at what he did. Nobody has been able to fill the void left by the great Dale Earnhardt, and I don't see anybody who can fill the void left by the great David Poole. MRN Radio may call themselves "The Voice of NASCAR", but the real "voice of NASCAR" left us Tuesday morning, with way too much ink left in his pen, and too many pages left blank in his notepad.

Godspeed David Poole. You will be missed.