[Chuck Norton]

The stories about "Big Joe" are sure to constitute a full layer of the finely woven fabric that has held our end of the sport together for decades. I suspect that everyone who ever had a conversation with Joe has a story to tell. It'll be a cold day in Houma before those stories are all told.

I had the pleasure of a single conversation with Joe and that occurred at the inaugural Top Stock race in Norwalk in 2000. While we stood near the starting line, as eliminations were beginning he turned to me (an absolute stranger) and began a sentence with the preface, "I'll tell you what, Bubba..."

I have used that opening line dozens of times since that day and every time it is uttered, that moment comes back to life in technicolor. After all, It's always the people that we'll remember and Joe's legacy is already legendary. Peace and best wishes to his memory, to his family, and to all who will remember him fondly.

c