RIP David Poole

Well, hell.
RIP...

 

Just got off the phone with my mother ... she saw the open to NASCAR Now and wanted me to get my resume into Charlotte soonest.

 

The way he carried himself in the media room could be strange to those who weren't around him all the time, he was loud, boisterous, gruff, etc. If you weren't around him much, it could rub you the wrong way. It did me at first in the wide-open spaces of the Indy media room back when I first started covering the Brickyard 400, when he was going off on some topic de jour within earshot of where I was trying to work.

But it was clear if you covered any NASCAR -- even if it was just a race a year like I do -- that he was loved by everyone. For the best of reasons.

Like others have mentioned, his work was definitive. Along with Ed Hinton, he was the dominant figure at every NASCAR presser I've covered, including the tire problems at Indianapolis last summer, when hard questions of NASCAR were warranted.

Keep in mind that NASCAR's media is chock full of brown-nosers, etc., who are keen to ask softball questions. Poole always stood out against them and I admired his zero tolerance for NASCAR's seemingly endless capacity for bullshit.

As 21 mentioned, his SJ contributions here were also must-reads.

He was also very funny. Last year, before a presser, he launched into his Chris Economaki impression, since the media was assembled in the Chris Economaki Media Room at Indy. It was off-color, disrespectful in a loving way, and extremely hilarious. IJAG was there too and she had one of his Economaki lines in her sig for a while.

I wish I would have got to know him better. The more I was around him, the more I liked him. As I got older, I came to realize that someone being himself in the media room wasn't really anything to get worked up about ... just sit back and enjoy the show.

 

I mentioned in the thread on the journalism board, but this is such sad news.

RIP.

 

Only knew David in the media centers a couple of times a year, but I'll echo what many others have already said. He could be loud and opinionated (and my opinions didn't always mesh with his), but he was unfailingly helpful and gracious to me in our few one-on-one conversations. I always thought the fact that Tony Stewart obviously liked and respected David spoke volumes. I always looked forward to Tony's appearances in the media center so we could be treated to their interaction.

Fifty. Damn.

RIP.

 

My mom said the same thing! About me, not you.

I obviously didn't know Poole as well as a lot of you. I covered some races in Richmond and Martinsville, and I think he sort of recognized me as one of those guys he'd see when he was in Richmond or Martinsville. The man could hold court in the press parking lot at RIR on late Saturday nights.

A memory springs up: I was doing a feature on a local driver at Martinsville, and I somehow managed a seat next to the man himself in the infield media center. He was in a feisty mood and felt like giving Mike Mulhern grief, and needed someone to be his audience. That was me that day. It was pretty cool; I'll never own a hard card, but for a few minutes I felt in the middle of the scene.

Godspeed, David. He's probably yelling at the angels to shut the fuck up so he can catch Earnhardt's post-race comments in the pits.

 

Jeff Gluck of NASCAR Scene is getting a gathering going for those who knew Poole.

I've called and given my card number to buy a round for all who show up, and am about to fax them a letter accepting charges (no $30 drinks, guys). Anyone else who knew Poole who wants to attend or contribute to the drinking, you can PM me for the info.

 

This is very sad news. RIP to Mr. Poole.
He is one of the reasons why I want to cover NASCAR someday. His writing was is excellent, and condolences to his family and those who knew him professionally (and personally).

 

Quite a loss to the racing community, and to ours.

RIP.

 

Terrible news. Condolences to all who knew him.

 

I was covering the NFL draft Sunday, and when I saw the footage of the Talladega wreck, my first thought was "I wonder what Poole is going to say about this?"

I only covered one race weekend with him, but he lived up to everything I had heard about him. I'm truly disappointed I'll never get a second chance, but that's a tiny consideration compared to the loss suffered today by his family and friends.

RIP.

 

From a friend:

We will have a second Poole memorial Thursday at 8 p.m., starting in the lobby of the Omni in downtown Richmond. All are welcome.