Hal Hamrick, a pioneer in several forms of media coverage of stock-car racing, died Sunday night in Gastonia. He was 79. Mr. Hamrick was publisher of “FasTrack,” a weekly racing publication based in Gastonia, NC . He suffered a stroke on Friday. Mr. Hamrick had written about and talked about racing for nearly as long as there has been a NASCAR. He sat on a soft drink crate to broadcast a race from Martinsville Speedway in Virginia in 1952 and was part of the team that broadcast the first Daytona 500 in 1959. He did radio work for the Universal Radio Network, which pioneered radio broadcasts of NASCAR races, until 1983. Mr. Hamrick was born in Rutherford County and grew up in Asheville.(Charlotte Observer and at the Gaston Gazette)(9-29-2008) SERVICES: The family will receive friends on Wednesday [10/1] from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm at Parkwood Baptist Church, 1729 East Garrison Blvd., Gastonia (704-864-3930), The Celebration of Hal Hamrick’s Life will be at 3:00 pm, Wednesday at Parkwood Baptist Church. Since there will be no graveside services, in lieu of flowers, the family has asked that any tributes be made as contributions to: Parkwood Baptist Church, 1827 Dixon Road, Gastonia, NC 28054 Victory Junction Gang Camp, 4500 Adam’s Way, Randleman, NC 27317 American Heart Association, 222 S. Church Street, Ste. 303, Charlotte, NC 28202.(9-30-2008)
