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Another legend cut short...
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Reflections
of a great person and a great drag racer...
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By Bobby Bennett, Jr. Photos by Roger Richards |
The flight home is a long one, but for some reason this one has opened my mind towards the important things in life. Family, health and the little things that make life a blessing to experience are those things that come to mind. The flight home after we lose a member of our drag racing family is something that always puts our minds in motion. We think. We daydream and yet it all comes back to this being a sport that we immerse ourselves in with passion. It doesn’t matter what we do, whether it is to race or write, take pictures, turn the wrenches or just throw ourselves into the passion of the sport as fans, we get flustered, often threaten to walk away, but the reality of it is that we won’t. We just want racing to be the way we want it to be. That’s the nature of having a passion. Darrell Russell was a passionate young man and one that always carried a smile as wide as his face would allow it to stretch. For a person living the dream as Russell was, it wasn’t hard at all to show that grin. Darrell was a kind man and a good friend to many. Although I wasn’t as close on a daily basis to him as some were, I always knew that he was more than willing to extend his hand and offer a firm grip that always proceeded the words, “Good to see you, hope things are fine.” When I saw his crash, something in my heat dropped because I knew this was a bad one. I recalled that day in September of 1985 when I was on the starting line at my first national event and the feelings of despair that permeated my heart when I watched my first real-time fatality in drag racing. Somehow or another, I used to think the more and more that I was witness to these kinds of tragedies that it would lessen the sting. This one hurts badly. Just to think at any given time we could see him visiting the pressroom. Death is a part of our sport and one that certainly comes with the territory, but Darrell is in a much better place than this hateful and spiteful world could ever hope to be, but that doesn’t mean we want miss the heck out of him. If Darrell’s death has taught us any kind of a lesson at all, it is has reminded us how precious life can be. It has also shown us how a person’s positive attitude and demeanor can touch millions of people that have never had a chance to meet him personally. His courtesy and spirit were contagious. Darrell certainly made an impression on all of us…those that were close to him and those that just knew him from a distance. His legacy will carry on in this sport from decades to come, just like that of the late Blaine Johnson. Both of those guys will be forever known as two of the best this sport had to offer. The one common denominator between Johnson and Russell that all will remember is…they just wanted to drag race and it meant the world to them. Guys, you meant the world to us, too. We urge you to read Rob Geiger’s heartfelt message regarding the loss of his friend at NHRA.com’s article. Rob was a great friend to Darrell and I was lucky enough to witness their friendship over the years. In Darrell’s memory we have reposted two articles that we wrote on him. One was before his ascension into Top Fuel and the other was just two years ago. Darrell Russell - A Star on the Rise A special guestbook has been set up at the ICRA for those wishing
to extend their condolences. You can visit by clicking on Darrell
Russell Memorial.
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