This shows you the kind of person he is and how far his reach went. The article is shockingly tastefully written and the fact tmz has it on their site says a lot about how many peoples lives he touched. Sorry my words are all jumbled up. http://m.tmz.com/#article/2017/05/22/motorcycle-racer-nicky-hayden-dead-35-hit-by-car/
http://thechive.com/2017/05/22/the-...atest-motogp-rider-nicky-hayden-11-hq-photos/ from theChive.com
I will be really pulling for Roger Lee from here on out. Love to see him win the championship this year. RIP Nicky
It still doesn't seem real. Felt like Nicky would be that old man that still frequented the race tracks long after retirement. Motorcycling, It was in his blood and you could tell he just loved to rip it on anything two wheels. I was lucky enough to meet him on many occasions, along with many others I'm sure. You knew he'd seen 1000 faces that day but still made time, if albeit a few seconds, for you. This one hurts for everyone in the States. The last of a generation of American Road Racers. Ride on Nicky! Quick funny story, the first time I met Nicky was in the tower at mid Ohio, I want to say 2001 or 2002. I was there with the starboyz through a friend and scored a pit pass and went up to watch. He was up there between races I think. Being around motorcycles for a while I knew of his older sister and if I recall the first thing I think I asked him was if his sister was at the track that weekend. I think it took all of him not to make a smart ass comment or even swing at me but he just brushed it off and smiled. I ended up being a huge fan of his and looked back at what a dick move that was. I will miss that guy.
While I no ideas on Nicky's alcohol consumption patterns, but the Beeb has >>>PLENTY<<< of alcohol consumption patterns... I propose a nationwide (?worldwide?) TOAST to America's Ambassador of Speed, The Kentucky Kid, at 10 PM Eastern tonight of your preferred libation. Mine will be a good Kentucky Bourbon or a Bourbon Barrel-aged beer/ale/porter in homage to his home and his nickname. See you at 10 PM, go get your pour before the liquor store closes. Deeply gutted, wanting to celebrate this fine young man. Loved his racing at Mid-Ohio. Will be re-watching the Laguna Seca MotoGP races again at toast time...
This hurts so deep because Nicky was *One of us...* We watched him go from WERA novice to AMA Champ to MGP World Champion, all the while with style and grace not often seen in the World today. My Wife called me at lunch today with the news....Made for a bad, bad afternoon at work... Back in the day she would razz me as to why I "let that little kid beat you!" Well, because he was sooo much faster than I was... Godspeed Nicky, A Champion in every sense of the word.....
I gave up on doing work in the shop mid-afternoon, couldn't concentrate. Started watching all the tribute videos and periodically bursting into tears.
