Sad News: Tom Higgins Passes Away at 80

Tom Higgins (Tom Higgins Facebook)

Tom Higgins, NASCAR's first beat reporter, died today at age 80 after complications stemming from a set of strokes over the past 11 months. Higgins was most notable as a motorsports and outdoors reporter for the Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, NC.

Higgins was a recepant of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence in 2015.

The Hall of Fame writer began his professional newspaper career in 1957 at the weekly Canton Enterprise in North Carolina. He began covering auto racing in a later move to the Ashville Times (North Carolina) before landing a sports writer position a the Charlotte Observer in 1964.

He was notable as the first writer to cover every race on the NASCAR schedule during a time when media coverage of the sport was spotty at best. On one occasion, he had 12 bylines in a single issue of the paper and consistently penned four or more stories per issue.

Affectionately known as "Pappy", Higgins time with the Observer spanned 33 years from 1964 to 1997. Known as an eloquent story teller, Higgins played witness to the birth and meteoric rise of NASCAR and stock car racing as a whole with an unwavering passion and brilliant presentation of the sport.

Long time friend and colleague Steve Waid broke the news of Higgins' passing on Facebook.

"Tom Higgins passed away on the morning of July 31 due to complications from a second stroke. He was 10 days away from his 81st birthday. The NASCAR world has lost perhaps its most capable, most honored, most popular journalist and certainly its Master Storyteller.

And I have lost my best friend.

Speaking on behalf of his family sincere gratitude is offered for all of your prayers, thoughts and kind words of sympathy. Tom was blessed to have so many friends.

I will pass along information on funeral/memorial services as soon as it is available.

Farewell, Pappy."

Editor's Note: While I never had the pleasure of meeting or personally knowing Tom, I like so many others read his stories and listened to his perspective on panels and racing magazine shows. He was a true pioneer in motorsports journalism and blazed the trail to which today's great NASCAR beat reporters now travel on today.

Goodspeed Mr. Higgins. Thank you for everything you brought to this world, and thank you for the legacy that you leave behind.

Welcome to PixelatedSPEED.com!

Hi. I’m Daniel Vining and this is PixelatedSPEED. I’d like to welcome you to this little corner of the internet. I truly hope you enjoy the content this website will present and encourage you to join in on the conversation.

I’ve created this website as a place where I can share not only motorsports related news content, but my opinions, experiences and observations as well. PixelatedSPEED is more than just another motorsports news outlet. This is a place where I can be myself, raw and uncensored. It’s also a place where ideas can be shared from anyone with an open mind and vibrant passion for this sport.

I’ll post content on a regular basis on topics that are about current storylines as well as topics that are timeless. There is no set schedule, however I do intend on staying as active as I can so that I can keep the conversation fully engaged.

Many posts will originate here on the main PixelatedSPEED.com website, especially long-form content. A large portion of the content generated will come from various social media outlets as well. PixelatedSPEED will heavily utilize platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to carry the conversation beyond the main website.

I have been an active die-hard motorsports enthusiast and evangelist for over two decades. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to be involved in many ways. From a television viewer to photographer and journalist and even a team crew member. All the while I have tried to spread a message that motorsports is more than a mere sport, but instead a full blown lifestyle. I live for speed, adrenaline and the rush of watching or participating in an activity that allows my fellow man to exceed the boundaries of nature. Sharing that passion is my way of contributing to the everlasting excitement of the sport and I hope those that I share that passion with spread pay it forward.

Thank you again for being a part of this journey. I truly hope you find enjoyment in this content. Feel free to join the conversation via post comments and the various social media outlets.

- Daniel Vining, Editor-in-Chief - PixelatedSPEED.com