Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó David Poole, who spent 13 years covering NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer, died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 50.
Poole was stricken at his Stanfield home and his daughter called 911, the paper said. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Poole, who joined the Observer in 1990, covered Sunday’s race at Talladega, where Carl Edwards’ car flew into a safety fence on the last lap and injured seven fans. Poole’s final column ran Tuesday morning. In it, he questioned what it would take for NASCAR to realize changes needed to be made to the racing style at the Alabama track.Poole, who also hosted “The Morning Drive” show on Sirius NASCAR Radio, was a four-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association’s writer of the year.
“He was the best in his field, there’s no doubt about that,” Observer editor Rick Thames said.
A Gastonia native, Poole is survived by his wife, two sons, daughter, and one grandson.