NASCAR writer David Poole dies

Observer NASCAR writer David Poole dies at 50
David Poole, a Charlotte Observer and ThatsRacin.com reporter who became one of country’s leading authorities on NASCAR, died of a heart attack this afternoon. He was 50.
Poole had just returned from last week’s race at Talledega, Ala. He was at his Stanfield, N.C., home when the heart attack occurred. His daughter called 911. Emergency crews rushed him to the hospital in Stanly County, where he was pronounced dead.



Poole's Best: On the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. It was always right there in his eyes.

Sometimes Dale Earnhardt didn't say much. But his eyes never stopped talking.

When pulled into an interview he didn't want to do, Earnhardt never looked at you. He stared into the distance or hid behind sunglasses.

When you had his attention, however, he peered right through you. When you had him engaged, you knew it.

When he was in a good mood, as he'd been this month as he raced sports cars and stock cars at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt's eyes danced with mischief.

He was a notorious needler. Last week he'd told Dale Jarrett that if Jarrett were any kind of driver at all he'd drive the UPS truck seen in ads for Jarrett's new sponsor instead of the No. 88 Ford.

If you were standing in the garage and somebody came up from behind and yanked the cap off your head, chances are it was Earnhardt. He'd look back at you and curl up one side of that cheesy mustache in a grin as fans chased him for an autograph.

On the first weekend of February, Earnhardt raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona on a team that included his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Road racers Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins kept telling everyone how serious Earnhardt was about that event. They didn't have to say anything. You could read the focus and determination in Earnhardt's eyes.

When he climbed out of the yellow Corvette after his first driving shift, what you saw was excitement and a desire to get back in the car for his next turn at the wheel. "I was just getting into my rhythm," he said...

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