Firestorm Episode 9 -- Another One
About this episode
This episode revisits the life and legacy of driver Blaise Alexander following his tragic death during a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The morning after Blaise Alexander died, I walked into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Center and watched a member of the NASCAR press corps hold court for anyone who'd listen. Then he bellowed it: "Old Billy France has killed another one." I had never spoken a single word to that man in my life. What happened next was the most unprofessional moment of my career — and I have never regretted it for a single second. In October 2001, a young driver named Blaise Alexander died chasing a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Thirteen days later, NASCAR changed its rules forever. Blaise Alexander Jr. was an emerging talent — a prankster with a warrior's heart, a driver who had already won four ARCA races and stood on the verge of a full-time Busch Series ride. Then, on October 4, 2001, during an ARCA race at Charlotte, the sport lost him. His death sent shockwaves through the NASCAR community — and within two weeks, NASCAR mandated head and neck restraint devices across all three national touring divisions. For Alexander's father, Blaise Sr., that mandate was both a painful acknowledgment of what time could not undo and a lasting tribute to the son he lost. In this chapter of Firestorm…
More episodes of The Scene Vault Podcast
- Episode 395 -- Back to Our Normal Format with More EPIC Ben Leslie Cheating Stories
- Episode 394 -- Firestorm Reaction -- Legacy
- Episode 393 -- Jimmy Spencer Joins the Show to Remember His Protege Blaise Alexander
- Firestorm Episode 8 -- The Belt That Broke ... Dale Earnhardt's Last Unanswered Question
- Episode 392 -- Tony Liberati FINALLY Shows Steve Waid and Rick Houston How to Do the Perfect Interview
- Episode 391 -- Firestorm Reaction -- Firestorm Unleased
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