Nearly five years ago, after the article you are about to read was published, I was engaged in a heated email exchange initiated by the late great motorsports journalist David Poole. David even went so far as to call for my head from my editors. I went so far as to offer to buy David a beer the next time I saw him. He declined rather impolitely, my editors let me keep my head and we never communicated with one another again.
Oh, I tried. Back when Facebook was still relatively new and I learned he had an account, I asked him to be friends with me. Less than a week went by with no response to my friend request when the unspeakable happened … David unexpectedly passed away.
I like to think that, since he never denied my friend request, he just never got ‘round to it. He was a busy man who was enjoying being a new grandfather as I recall, a feeling I now can relate to. While David and I were never chummy, I did respect the man and I did apologize for calling him ‘unprofessional’ in my article, which as I understood it, was what he was really pissed about anyway.
Why am I telling you all this? With Bruton Smith’s knee-jerk announcement this week to bring back the “old Bristol,” it all seems quite relevant again. The article eloquently states how I feel about Bristol and the announcement I’m sure is giving David, where his spirit may be, quite a chuckle.
However, there is one thing I want to say.
The simple reason people are NOT attending Bristol is NOT the track. Those that didn’t like the new setup quit buying their tickets right away, not all of a sudden. DUH!!!! It’s the economy, stupid!!! Gas prices are approaching the highest they have been in years. While ticket prices have come down a bit, they are still not cheap, just more available. But anyway, what do I know? I’m just a fan.
Without further ado and my beer raised heavenward as a toast to David Poole … Here’s to you, David, have a good laugh on me and know that you are missed.
Stay off the wall, (easier to do since the re-paving!)
Jeff Meyer
About the author
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