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| MARK MARTIN |
Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott didn't know my name, but they knew I was from Charleston. RP, Earnhardt and Elliott never called me anything during an interview.
Buddy Baker called me Pardner to my face and on the phone. I guess he called people that if he didn't know their names. But Buddy knew who I was.
I don't know if Jeff Gordon knew my name; he always called me Sir.
Mark Martin knew my name, as did the Bodines, the Labontes and Davey Allison. I was going to explain to Mark who I was during a phone interview, but he said, "I know who you are." He called me Tom when we were about to hang up.
Benny Parsons knew my name, and he normally called me Tom. If he got in a playful mood, he'd call me Tommy. I didn't mind; he was Benny, and I was Tommy.
I once tried to call Kyle Petty, and a guy at the shop told me to call back at 2 and ask for someone. I called back at 2 and asked if this guy was there, and the voice on the phone said, "Is Tom Gillespie there?" It was Kyle.
(By the way, my name's Gillispie, but a lot of people say Gillespie. They expect Gillispies to be named Gillespie.)
What's the big deal about someone knowing your name or recognizing you? It's easier to strike up a conversation or get an interview if they know your name. In a couple of cases, I even struck up a friendship.
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK
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(the book of great NASCAR stories)
EDITOR@WORK blog entries
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Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie
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