In Memory of Ron Eichhorn 09/18/30 - 06/20/00

On June 20, 2000, my father, Ronald W. Eichhorn, the Suite 101 Contributing Editor for the Indy Racing League, passed away unexpectedly. Dad had just finished writing his weekly article the day before, and was visiting a friend when he suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm. As a tribute to his memory, I would like to comment on his values in life and how they are reflected in the sport he loved so much, auto racing. He loved all forms of racing, from Indy to Daytona, from the quarter mile drag strip to the small, local dirt track, or from the deserts of California to the glamour of Monaco. Every form of racing reflected his values in life.

Competitiveness was something which made life worth living in Dad's opinion, and he was a fierce competitor. Whether on the golf course, in his job, or his dealings with others, he loved a "good fight." He loved racing because it is the essence of competition. Men and machines, in competition on a level playing field, provided his greatest pleasure, outside of his family. Even his writing for Suite 101 was entered into with a sense of competition, from getting this column to making his the best coverage of the Indy Racing League on the internet, he knew that he was in competition and he gave it his best.

Family was important to him, and he found the family atmosphere at the track exciting. No other sport accents family as much as racing, whether it's a father telling his kids about a great race from the past as they wait out a rain delay at Darlington, or Michael Andretti diving low at Indy to take a position from his dad. He loved the thought of father racing son, brother racing brother, or the four generations of Petty's following in Lee's footsteps. He passed his love of family and the values of racing on to his three children and their families as well. Dad had one true love in his life, "the prettiest girl I ever met," my mom, and we all loved hearing his stories about their life together.

Fair Play was another of his values that he saw reflected in racing. No matter how close the competition, no matter who won, he was thrilled, as long as it was won fairly. He loved that final lap in the Pocono 500 this year, when Jeremy Mayfield bumped Dale Earnhardt aside to take the checkered flag. That was tough, fair competition, just the way Dad liked it, and he knew that when the battle was over, both would move on to the next race as friends, ready to challenge each other again for the victory.

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