Alexander's death leaves friends in disbelief
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
October 5, 2001
4:33 PM EDT (2033 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson's ever-present trademark grin was replaced by a blank stare of confusion and sorrow Friday morning.
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Jimmie Johnson was stunned to learn of Blaise Alexander's death.
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Twelve hours earlier, he had lost a colleague, a competitor, a confidant.
The entire racing community mourned the untimely death of Blaise Alexander on Friday morning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The 25-year old driver was killed in an accident during Thursday night’s EasyCare 100 ARCA race.
Few individuals, however, felt the sting quite as badly as Johnson -- one of Alexander’s dearest runningmates over the past two years.
“I’m fortunate enough to say that I knew Blaise pretty well,” Johnson said. “He was one of my closest friends back here.
"I really got to know him at the end of ’99. That doesn’t seem like long, but the type of person he was, so open and giving, it’s like I’d known him for 20 years.
“He was just a free spirit, a very caring, genuine, honest person. His family is the same way. His mom, his dad and his brothers and sister, just all great people.
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Blaise Alexander finished 20th in last season's Busch Series standings.
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"It’s extremely sad that this happened. It really doesn’t seem real.”
Like Johnson, Alexander was a family-oriented young man who moved to Charlotte with dreams of achieving racing excellence. An on-track respect and admiration for one another quickly blossomed into an off-track friendship.
The two shared similar hobbies, dreams and senses of humor, and therefore fostered a tight-knit bond that Johnson will forever hold dear to his heart.
“You could see him talk about his family and get that glow in his face,” Johnson said. “He loved them so much. He enjoyed socializing. He was such a fun guy to hang out with, go get a drink, go to dinner, go out on the lake, stand around and talk to. He was such a calm presence.
“I'll never forget the first time we went out. He came and picked me up in a Cadillac. I’m thinking, 'What in the world is this guy doing in a Cadillac?'
"I asked him if it belonged to his grandparents. He was like, 'Nope, it’s mine. I call it ‘Smooth,’ because the chicks dig it.' That’s typical Blaise.”
Both landed full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series ranks in 2000, and while Johnson’s career has prospered, Alexander was forced to take a step back to ARCA in 2001.
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Blaise Alexander had run six Busch Series events in 2001.
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He had performed well heading into Charlotte. Johnson, currently in the midst of a whirlwind weekend of duty that includes his Winston Cup debut, was in dire need of a stress reliever. He came out to watch his buddy race Thursday night.
Alexander started fourth and eventually surged to the front, leading 12 laps before the fatal crash. Sadly enough, Johnson was the last man to shake his hand before he cranked the car.
“I saw the clips on television and it made my knees buckle and I fell to the ground,” said Johnson, slowly contemplating his words. “It made it reality. It’s just so sad. The only thing I can grasp right now to help is that I feel like when you’ve served your purpose here, made your connections, learned what you need to learn, God calls you away.
“It’s time to go on to a bigger plan. We might not understand it, or ever will here, but there’s a reason, and someday we’ll all understand why. Still, this is just extremely sad.”
Although Johnson was deeply saddened by the loss of his friend, he was thinking of others Friday morning.
“I feel really bad for Kerry Earnhardt,” Johnson said. “Kerry’s really tight with Blaise, too, and everything he’s been through this year with his father, and now a racing accident takes one of his good friend’s life. My heart goes out to him as well.”
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Jimmie Johnson will be heading for Winston Cup in 2002, as a teammate to Jeff Gordon.
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Earnhardt escaped the accident, which sent him sliding down the frontstretch on his roof, without injury. Even so, Alexander’s fatal crash lifted the death toll among stock car drivers to a more than coincidental tally, forcing each and every competitor to decide if their love for speed is worth the chance at an untimely demise.
“I want to emphasize to all the drivers to get some head-and-neck devices and build long head restraints to keep your head inside a 30-degree window so that the HANS and Hutchens devices will work,” Johnson said.
“Make sure your seatbelts don’t lay over top of the seat, that they come from the mounting point directly to your body. Those are simple things that all add up and help. Unfortunately, (Alexander’s) impact was so severe I don’t know if anything like that would have helped. I’d like to see, though.”
Sadly enough, no one will ever know if a head and neck restraint may have saved Alexander’s life.
Five drivers have now been killed over the last 16 months. Three -- Adam Petty, Tony Roper and now Alexander -- were Busch Series rookies in 1999 and 2000.
“I think when Adam passed, it made us all think a lot,” Johnson said. “There are some teams and drivers and crew chiefs that have taken the time to update their cars with the most current safety stuff. And I feel that our team has done that, and I’ve been a big advocate of it.
"I just hope that from Late Models up, they pay attention to safety and make sure these cars are safe. People need to learn from what happened to Blaise.
“I just still can’t believe this is real.”
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