Today's a sad day, the 13th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death. I was rooting for Earnhardt as he was running third in the Daytona 500. He was in a fatal crash in turn four while his two Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers, Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr., were heading toward first- and second-place finishes, respectively.
Since then, I've gone to few races and watched little racing on TV. I still look to see who wins, but it's not fun anymore.
One more thing about that day, Feb. 18, 2001: A newspaper is much like show business; the show must go on. Despite my sadness, I called the sports editor at the local newspaper and said I could write a story if he needed one. First, he said no, and we hung up. A little bit later, he called and asked if there was anyone not in Florida that I could call for a story.
I said Buddy Baker was at home in N.C., so I called him. His wife said he'd gone upstairs and locked himself in a bedroom, but she'd try to get him. About 10 minutes later, he came to the phone and said in a sad voice, "Hi, partner." (Buddy knew who I was, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know my name.)
We talked about 20 minutes, and I think we both felt better afterwards. It was easy to write the story, but I wish I didn't have a reason to write it.
Since then, I've gone to few races and watched little racing on TV. I still look to see who wins, but it's not fun anymore.
One more thing about that day, Feb. 18, 2001: A newspaper is much like show business; the show must go on. Despite my sadness, I called the sports editor at the local newspaper and said I could write a story if he needed one. First, he said no, and we hung up. A little bit later, he called and asked if there was anyone not in Florida that I could call for a story.
I said Buddy Baker was at home in N.C., so I called him. His wife said he'd gone upstairs and locked himself in a bedroom, but she'd try to get him. About 10 minutes later, he came to the phone and said in a sad voice, "Hi, partner." (Buddy knew who I was, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know my name.)
We talked about 20 minutes, and I think we both felt better afterwards. It was easy to write the story, but I wish I didn't have a reason to write it.
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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE
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(the book of great NASCAR stories)
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Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie
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