RIP Dean McNulty

Blunt, to the point, and usually on point with his observations. I only saw him at Michigan International Speedway twice a year, but he'd usually get the microphone in the media center and tease Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya, Dario Franchitti or Sam Hornish about wasting their time racing hardtops. As the open-wheeled guy in a room full of NASCAR disciples, I always tried to hide my smile.

 

Interesting thing about Dean was that he spent most of his career, if I recall correctly, as a deskman and middle-management editor. He was with the Sun organization for most of it. He did not become a full-time auto-racing writer until late in his career and at a time when newspapers were cutting back on the beat. But he quickly established himself as the top racing writer in Canada, covering all the top tier types of racing. A good guy.