RIP David Poole

David Poole, writer for the Charlotte Observer and host of "The Morning Drive"on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128, passed away this morning at the age of 50. Poole was one of the best NASCAR writers.

I had the opportunity to meet David Poole on Sunday in the garage at Talladega Superspeedway. We talked for a second, and I told him I loved his writing and his show. It is a tough day for NASCAR fans and media everywhere. Sure, I didn’t agree with everything he said but I respected him.

Poole was a writer for the Charlotte Observer for 13 years. He was a four-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association’s George Cunningham Award has the organization’s writer of the year.

“He was the best in his field, there’s no doubt about that,” Observer editor Rick Thames said this afternoon in announcing Poole’s death to a hushed newsroom.

His last column ran yesterday. You can find it here(http://turn-lane.blogspot.com/). In the column, he called Talladega an “anachronism” a day after Carl Edwards’ crash on the front stretch that sent 8 people to the hospital.

Rest in Peace, David! Prayers to the Poole family and all who knew David Poole.