Originally Posted by Fisher79:
Not trying to rain on the parade here, but I never did understand why all the fans out there liked to cheer for a guy who, a lot of the time, appeared to not really care whether or not he ran over you or turned you around, as long as he got around you.
He won a ton of races and the statistics make his greatness pretty evident, but there are more than a handful of guys who won a bunch as well and won them in a much cleaner fashion, overall.
Fire away.
He certainly wasn't on J.W. Hunts christmas card list, nor Hewitt's.
Rich was definitely the Dale Earnhardt of open wheel racing, but just the same I sure did enjoy watching him wheel a race car! Not to many people could jump in a Indy car at the last minute and put it in the field. R.I.P Rich!
That night began the most horrible 12 hours of my life. Images of that night are indelibly burned into my memory and try as I might I cannot rid myself of them. Rich was a friend and a mentor. He and I would talk several times a week about the sprint car and what we could do to improve our performance, no matter how well it went at the last race.
I was the only Hoffman in attendance as my grandfather (Gus) and father (Richard) and uncle (Tom) stayed at home with my grandmother (the woman who raised me) since she was dying of cancer.
After the accident my (now) wife, my best friend and I raced towards the hospital that they were transporting Rich to only to get word via cell phone from my father that they announced on ESPN that he had not made it. We drove 2 hours home in alternating silence and prayer and I was awakened at 6:30 a.m. to go to my grandmother's room as she was breathing her last breath.
Every year I get a little down at this time remembering what we lost on that fateful night. I see a lot of Rich’s characteristics in Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Like him or not, Rich was a true competitor and champion.
RIP my friend, you taught me much and I will never forget you..
Originally Posted by Fisher79:
Not trying to rain on the parade here, but I never did understand why all the fans out there liked to cheer for a guy who, a lot of the time, appeared to not really care whether or not he ran over you or turned you around, as long as he got around you.
He won a ton of races and the statistics make his greatness pretty evident, but there are more than a handful of guys who won a bunch as well and won them in a much cleaner fashion, overall.
Fire away.
I really don't think a memorial post should be a post to discredit someone, Wait till tomorrow and bring it up.
Like Sammy Rich was often a person you loved to hate and often times just dominated (Expecially in midgets)
I found myself at Terre saying anyone but Levi. That doesn't mean I wish him anything bad either
Me and my brother were driving home from the Kings Royal that night and heard it on 700wlw radio that he had passed. No words were really spoken the rest of the night.
There are many who were much more with Rich than I as a casual fan. The night is a memory to me. To others it was life changing. To Rich it was final. HE Won doing what he did best. What else is there to say?
I was a big Rich Vogler fan when I was a little kid. I would always stay up with my mom and watch the Thunder telecasts. For some reason, that night, I willingly went to bed before the feature began...I had never done that before and don't remember doing it since...she broke the news to me the next day...
Originally Posted by Fisher79:
Not trying to rain on the parade here, but I never did understand why all the fans out there liked to cheer for a guy who, a lot of the time, appeared to not really care whether or not he ran over you or turned you around, as long as he got around you.
He won a ton of races and the statistics make his greatness pretty evident, but there are more than a handful of guys who won a bunch as well and won them in a much cleaner fashion, overall.
Fire away.
Of course there was controversy surrounding Rich Vogler. Like Scott said, Rich was a polarizing figure in racing. IMO, it is a bit out of place to try to drag a deceased driver through the mud, on a thread where fans of his are just memorializing him, on the anniversary of his death. There's a time and a place for everything.
Jerry
A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.
Originally Posted by Fisher79:
Not trying to rain on the parade here, but I never did understand why all the fans out there liked to cheer for a guy who, a lot of the time, appeared to not really care whether or not he ran over you or turned you around, as long as he got around you.
He won a ton of races and the statistics make his greatness pretty evident, but there are more than a handful of guys who won a bunch as well and won them in a much cleaner fashion, overall.
Fire away.
First, MY GOD has it been 19 years since Rich was killed? I really am getting old.
Second I concur with the post I quoted but I will say he had some of the greatest talent any man woman or child ever had that has strapped themselves into a car.
It is a sad day in racing, I was working with ESPN that night and had produced many features with Rich. Sitting in the stands was my wife Cindy [now x wife] who was Rich's ex-wife with our kids. So it was a very bad night for my family as well.
No matter how Rich & I family ties were twisted we were friends. He could be a azz at times but you had to understand that he was a racer first, out to win from hot laps to the feature and you had to respect that in him. I was lucky enough to spend time with him in his shop, sitting him down with a camera for the various TV features I would produce. He really was a good guy deep inside away from the track, at the track he was hell on wheels.
I still remember him in the Armstrong #43 at Eldora, dumping it into turn 3 and it took off over the wall. He acted like that was just a part of racing, bouncing back to the next race.
You didn't have to like him or cheer for him but he would put on a show on the track. It's terrible that his career was cut short, only God knows where he could of gone in his career.
With your thoughts of respect for Rich Vogler you might want to contact Eleanor Vogler and make a donation to the Rich Vogler Collage fund and she also has a very nice tribute DVD produced by Lingner Group Productions. Contact Racefan20 [John Hoover] or Eleanor if you would like one, it a very nice piece. Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber, Gary Lee and Steve Chassey are the announcers in the Thunder stuff. I think it's only $20.00. Plus she might have a few book left. All that money goes to the Rich Vogler Scholarship fund.
God Bless Rich Vogler and his family as they lost D.J. Vogler in the past year as well.
All I can say is RIP Rich.I was a young boy watching him racing but will never forget some of the races I seen him race at.I was greatful enough that one day myself and my father was visiting our friend Billy Throckmorton at his shop and I met Eleanor his Mother.She was the sweetest lady and I was just at a loss for words meeting her.Billy had one of Rich's old midgets in his shop which I think he still may have but I dont know for sure.I wasnt there that fateful night but was there later on when everyone lost Robby Stanley.I know this isnt about Robby but these 2 men are a part of what racing is today.RIP both of you.
