In the last couple of days, I have been getting asked for my opinion on Paul Walker and Roger Rodass death. so here it is; Paul and Roger were both very talented professional drivers. Their shop, Always Evolving Performance Motors was a well known shop in the industry, especially on the west coast. Paul Walker changed my industry forever with The Fast&Furious which was his idea, he approached a producer asking to film a movie where he was an undercover cop, or a street racer. The car that took their lives, was a notoriously frighting car. The Stig wrecked one on Top Gear, professional rally car driver Walter Röhrl described it as terrifying, Jay Leno spun his out at 180 mph. Porsche discontinued it after 3 years of production due to its inability to handle at high speeds. That being said, police found a 200 foot long trail of power steering fluid leading up to the crash site, indicating that the car lost power steering. the thought of loosing power steering at 160+ gives me chills. My heart ached when I heard the news, Paul was a father, a son, a brother, a philanthropist, a marine biologist, a compassionate man, a man who cared about the world, and did his best to change it, overall an incredible person. If only we all were as concerned with the rest of the world as he was, this planet may be a better place. I understand that they were being unsafe, but I also understand his passion, as well as the seductive nature of speed. I myself am a retired street racer. Even though I have given that life up, I will always have the itch, that surge of adrenaline when another car on an equal playing field as yours, pulls up along side of you, pops into neutral, and bounces off the rev limiter. In that moment, the anticipation of a heads up race captures you. Im not saying I condone it officially, I am just saying I understand it. We lost two good men, lives cut short, as I have seen before in my own life. I have buried friends who have fallen from street racing. Never did I condemn them for their actions, we knew the risks. Celebrity or not, the fact remains that two good people died. But went out like a couple of Bosses, literally in flaming wreckage, backwards into a tree, splitting a super-car into 3 pieces. As cliche as it is to quote movies, Ill end with these, Every man dies, but not every man truly lives- Mel Gibson, (Braveheart) and of course, I live my life a quarter mile at a time, for those 10 seconds or less, Im free - Vin Diesel F&F
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:31:11 +0000
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