Tommy Britt passed on a chance to go on to his reward when the small plane he was riding in to Daytona International Speedway around 15 years ago had engine problems, but his name was called on that roll up yonder Tuesday after a lengthy illness.
Britt, 62, was a rabid Clemson and NASCAR fan. But he was riding to Daytona in a small plane with then-University of South Carolina Athletics Director Bob Markum and the late USC football coach Joe Morrison, both of whom were NASCAR followers.
“The left engine on the plane started acting up,” said Britt’s sister, Cathy Kimmerlin. “They were all just scared to death, but Tommy said, ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’ Bob Markum said nobody in the plane was sweating any more than Tommy. Everybody loved Tommy. That’s just the way he was.
“The first thing I think of is how much he loved his family and friends. He never met a stranger. Nobody intimidated him, whether it was the higher ups in NASCAR, Clemson or Carolina.”
Britt was a regular at Howard Goodson’s service station in Darlington.
“Tommy was by here when the sun was coming up and again when it was going down,” Goodson said. “He was always talking about his St. John’s High School Blue Devils, Darlington High School Falcons, the Clemson Tigers and racing. The highlight of his whole year was when the race came to town.
“He talked about how much Dale Earnhardt Sr. had done for so many people and nobody knew about it. He said Dale didn’t want any exposure for the good deeds he did.”
Britt ate many a meal at the Dairy Bar and Joe’s Grill. He held court at the Dairy Bar during lunch and Joe’s at night.
“Tommy was definitely a good man,” said Darlington native Orlando Hudson, a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers who called Britt after hitting a homer in the All-Star game this summer.
“He was always supporting Darlington High School and hanging out at the Dairy Bar. He had that smile on his face all the time. He was a big supporter of Darlington. One of the first things I did when I got home was go by to see him.”
Joey Saleeby is the owner of Joe’s Grill.
“Back before the fire, I had all the collages up on the wall and I probably had more pictures of Tommy than anybody else,” Saleeby said. “The two things I couldn’t replace after the fire were the collages and the hand-drawn picture of my daddy.”
Saleeby and Britt’s favorite photo was of the two of them with Candy Samples, an adult model. Another favorite was Miss Firebird. Saleeby said they could show one of the photos, but not the other.
“We used to pick at him about Clemson,” Saleeby said. “He could always dish it out, but when we would gang up on him he would get mad at us. I still look for him to come in the front door and sit at his favorite table.”
“I’m going to miss Tommy when I come back to Darlington,” said WBTW-TV13’s Cecil Chandler, who grew up with Britt. “He was always smiling. He was just a good person.
“Tommy was one of the few people I stayed in contact with when I moved to the beach. The older I get, the more friends I’m losing. I’ll always remember Tommy.”
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