This is a tremendous loss.
I still remember the story D.O. told a couple of years ago after a race @ Terre Haute. One where a kid was on the other side of the fence, while they were pitted in the infield, watching Jesse and he had a football his hand. Then Jesse stopped what he was doing a started playing catch with the kid. And how it was obvious that this just made the kid's day, big time. And I'll never forget the war that went on between he and Robert Ballou, at the first Don Smith Classic. It was a classic. And the interview afterwards with he and Robert was also a classic. One (Robert) was victorious and thrilled and the other one (Jesse) was heartbroken, because he had just given his all and came up just a little bit short. But the overriding theme of this interview was that these guys were buddies, whether they had just duked it out for 15 rounds or not. It was one of the best displays of sportsmanship I can ever remember. And when I went to see the TNT series last year, I was witness to more of the same. No matter what the track, before the race and afterwards, people just flocked to Jesse's hauler. The fans just loved The Rocket and he loved them. The young man just had an extra star quality about him and everybody knew it. And who can forget his photo finish win, over Dave Darland last year, at Oskaloosa and the Flyin' Donut that he gave to the fans, in celebration? He was an original. He was a throwback driver. One that could have fit in with Dick Gaines, Steve Kinser, Rick Ferkel, Bobby Kinser, Chuck Amati, Butch Wilkerson, etc. Anybody from any era. He was our greatest current true outlaw sprint car driver and losing him is going to take a big chunk out of this sport we all love. This is such a hurtful loss.
Jerry