WOODALL REMEMBERS BEST FRIEND NICOLL AS A ONE IN A MILLION PERSON
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Chip Woodall rarely finds it difficult to find the humorous side of any situation.
Saturday morning, the day after Christmas 2015, was a bit tougher than usual.
"He left me with a $210 bar bill," said Woodall.
He, for Woodall, was his best friend Jim Nicoll, whom he jokingly refers to as the guilty party who stuck him with having to pay up.
As quickly as he laughs, his emotions turn to tears.
Woodall and Nicoll were best friends on earth, up until the moment on Christmas Day, when the man with whom the drag racing community nicknamed Superman, passed away in his Arizona home north of Phoenix from an apparent heart attack.
"This leaves a huge void in my heart; we were every bit like brothers, even the fighting all the time part," Woodall said. "I have been crying ever since I got the call. I have been torn up over this. When you lose someone as close to you as he was to me, it hurts and no matter how many tears you shed, you never really find any relief.
"We have so much history; I think the two of us could have written many books together. He'd been everywhere, and knew everybody."
Today, Woodall finds the inner strength to take one last loving shot at his buddy.
"He skipped out on me here, but I promise you when we meet again in Heaven, he's gonna find me with my hand out waiting for him to pay up," Woodall said, voice cracking with emotion.
