So long Easy Drifter....

[Mark in Oshawa]

I am posting here on the Indycar board although I suppose it could be linked to the Chit Chat but Easy Drifter is no longer with us.

Many of us were speculating on a thread on the whereabouts of some of the forum members we haven't heard from. I realized I hadn't heard from Easy Drifter in a while, and since I don't live far from him, but I didn't know exactly where he was, I couldn't be sure where he was. I searched the Ontario Obituary listings for the last year and didn't find him so I thought he was still with us but needed some confirmation. So I remember he wrote for "theGarageBlog", a Canadian automotive enthusiast site and I contacted Gary Grant there, and he informed me Easy Drifter passed away on Feb. 2, 2011 at Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Orillia Ontario.

For those who didn't know him well, his real name was Leighton Irwin. He raced, and was a mechanic for Jensen Motorsports as well as working on the car for his wife Judy when she raced. He was a great raconteur, a fan of racing, and yes as we all know...cantankerous at times. I missed his input this year, and I knew something had gone wrong but didn't want to pry and find out for sure I guess. Anyhow, his posts on "TheGarageBlog" will live on, as does some of his posts on whatever on MSF.

Rest in Peace Easy Drifter....

[DBell]

I'm sorry to hear this. I had a bad feeling when I looked at his profile a while back and saw that he said he had been struggling with the flu, shortly before he stopped coming here. I had hoped Mark would find otherwise. Thanks for letting us know, Mark.

R.I.P. Easy Drifter. I enjoyed your input here and you will be missed. My sincere condolences to Easy Drifter's family and friends.

I agree with Mark that this should be linked to Chit Chat. He had a lot of post there and many who don't look at the IndyCar forum may want to see this.

[gm99]

Really sorry to hear that :(
I enjoyed reading Easy's contributions to this forum and also his jokes on the chit-chat forum. He will be missed around here. R.I.P., Easy Drifter

[Hoop-98]

"May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Hoop

[Marbles]

I miss you Easy Drifter. Your posts always caught my eye.

R.I.P.

Thanks Mark.

[slorydn1]

Wow- I was not ready to hear that. Thanks for finding this out for us Mark.

As those of us in the public safety community say when we lose one of our own:

RIP Easy Drifter, we have the watch now


Your knowlege and passion for racing was unsurpassed by any on this board.

You will be sorely missed.

[DBell]

For those here that didn't know, Leighton Irwin, aka Easy Drifter, wrote stories for thegarageblog.com. Some were about modern racing and many were about his experiences in racing in the 60's and 70's, a particular interest of mine. They are good reads, both interesting and entertaining. I'll leave the link for anyone who may be interested.

Leighton Irwin (http://thegarageblog.com/garage/author/riftvalley/)

Also wanted to leave the link for the story on ED's passing. Some good pictures to go along with it.

Leighton Irwin takes his last fast lap (http://thegarageblog.com/garage/leighton-irwin-takes-his-last-fast-lap/)

[garyshell]

This one especially caught my eye, and I know Ken is gonna love it too.

Sarah Fisher, One classy Act (http://thegarageblog.com/garage/sarah-fisher-one-classy-act/#more-13448)

Checkered Flags Easy Drifter!

Gary