Ed Dykes Killed in Plane Crash

From: www.nhra.com

The tight-knit internet racing journalism world was stunned Monday by the death of Ed Dykes, a popular and well-respected electronic journalist whose FastNews Network covered the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series for NHRA Online, Summit's Drag Race Central, and other web sites.

Dykes, 45, of Marietta, Ga., was at the controls of and the only person aboard his private plane when it crashed in a mountainous area of Hawkins County, Tenn.

Dykes was en route from Louisville, Ky., to visit his parents in Kingsport, Tenn., when his plane crashed on Clinch Mountain, about 10 miles northeast of Rogersville, near midnight. A search began Monday morning and the wreckage was discovered around noon.

Beginning in the mid 1990s on CompuServe's Motor Sports Forum, Dykes, along with programmer and fellow reporter and race fan Larry Sullivan, pioneered drag racing coverage on the Internet, using an innovative program designed by Sullivan to not only log runs but also provide updated qualifying standings and more. Dykes and Sullivan were honored by the editors of Car Craft Magazine with a Special Achievement Award for their efforts. In 1996, Dykes accepted the NHRA's national Media Award.

Dykes, known affectionately among his fellow reporters as "Fast Eddie," moved from the online service to the World Wide Web a few years later and created the FastNews Network, employing a cadre of fellow racing enthusiasts and journalists -- including Sullivan, Rick Green, Dan Bennett, Jerry Reynolds, Mike Jex, and other original members of the CompuServe team -- to cover the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series. Their detailed run-by-run reporting and insightful comments have entertained visitors to NHRA Online for several years.

"This is a tragic loss to the internet motorsports community," said Phil Burgess of NHRA Online. "Ed was an incredible talent, a dedicated and passionate reporter, and a good friend to many of us. As quick with words as he was a friendly barb, his presence in the NHRA pressroom and on the Internet will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

NHRA Online will provide more information as it becomes available. Dykes is survived by his parents, Wesly and Mary Dykes, and his brother Randy. Services for Dykes are pending.