35 replies to this topic

[DavidR]

I was sad to hear today that veteran slot car racer Tommy Flythe passed away from complications of COVID. I heard from him a little over a week ago; he was in Piedmont Henry Hospital with bacterial pneumonia. He had decided a few weeks ago to get the transfusion treatment for COVID after he had tested positive the first week in February. He said he felt good after the treatment but a week later he was admitted to the hospital. That was the last I heard from him. God bless you, my friend.

 

Please keep Tommy and his family in your prayers. Here is a picture from a race several or more years ago someone on Facebook posted; Tommy is in the middle.
 

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Sorry to hear.

 

RIP.

 

Prayers to his family and friends.

[Kim Lander]

Oh wow... so sorry to hear this sad news...

 

Tommy was a unique fellow, always in a good mood... will miss him greatly.

[MSwiss]

How incredibly sad.

A great racer and a nice guy.

May Tommy rest in peace.

[Pablo]

Tommy always gave more than he got. He will be missed, until someday we will re-join.

 

I'll bet he wins the first race in Heaven – he deserves it.  

[Eddie Fleming]

I had been out of the hobby for several years when I walked into the track in Peachtree City. Tommy was there and we talked some time. I can hear him saying, "Come on, man, get back in, you know you want to." He was a promoter of the hobby and a great, positive guy. 

 

I will miss him.

 

RIP, Tommy.

[Tony Powell]

Tommy was a great guy who truly loved slot car racing but more than that, he enjoyed the friends he made through the sport.

 

I met Tommy in the early '90s and he was always a joy to be around. Winning or losing, he always had a smile and funny comments.

 

You will be missed, my friend.

[Clyde Romero]

Tommy was a racer's racer. Aways lending a hand to fellow trigger-pullers at the track. Fierce competitor on the track. Loved wing cars immensely.  

 

Was always a lot of fun to race against with his funny statements. When things happened at the track he would have you laughing with his famous statement after a bad crash: "Someone got some." I still laugh when I hear that.

 

A little-known fact: he was a US Army veteran of over 20 years of service. He served his country in Europe at one of my US Air Force bases while I was stationed there in Germany. He served in Korea and was a drill sergeant. 

 

Slot cars will not be the same without him.

 

Take care, my friend. Rest in peace, Tommy.

[Cheater]

Jay Guard and I were at the Sebring 12-hour race yesterday, with about an hour and a half to go, when I got a text that Tommy has passed away. Didn't pay much attention to the race after that, as my mind was flooded with memories of Tommy and all the times he and I spent together, mostly but not exclusively, in a slot car raceway. I'm sure we met at Tim Ferguson's Georgia Hobby Center in the late '80s or perhaps at Ray Gardner's Bullet Raceway in the very early '90s, so Tommy was a friend for nearly 35 years...
 
Tommy went into the HVAC business after he left the Army and not only was he good at it, he helped so many people in the slot car world. Pretty sure he repaired the AC at Jeff Chamber's raceway in Fayetteville once before a big race there. He helped me many times with my old unit in Norcross, and would never charge me even what the Freon cost, so I had to make him accept what the job was really worth. When he finally replaced my nearly 40-year old unit, he saved me thousands over what I would have paid a retail vendor.
 
I recommended him to my younger son when he had his first house and here's what Graham texted me last night after I told him about Tommy's passing: "Damn. Thanks for telling me. Hell of a guy. Just talked to my wife and father-in-law about how Tommy saved us thousands when we sold our house by fixing it with an obscure part and his experience. Just an extreme gentleman and a sweet guy. The world is less great in his absence."

Then there were all the cars he lent me to run at Cordle's and ASCR when I was kind of winding down my personal racing.
 
Tommy is one of my all-time favorite people I met in this hobby. Gonna miss him terribly.

[Cheater]

That picture in David's first post is from the very first SERRA Retro race at Flashback's in Snellville, GA, in Jan 2008. There are at least three people in that picture who are no longer with us...

 

Edit: Four of those shown have passed away. One later lost his life with the Army in Iraq.

[Cheater]

Tommy made the cover of Slot Car Bulletin a few years back after winning a big Boxstock race (IIRC). If anyone has a copy they can scan, it would be nice to have the cover picture in this thread.

[Rotorranch]

Damn... RIP, Tommy. You will be sadly missed.

 

Rotor

[MG Brown]

I liked to think of Tommy as a good friend. There were things that we didn't agree on but we didn't let it become an issue with us. I'll remember the USRA Tri-State races that we competed in forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cheater]

I liked to think of Tommy as a good friend.

If you weren't good friends with Tommy, the problem was you, not Tommy.

[MG Brown]

Perhaps I could have worded that better - sorry – who among us didn't like the guy? Godspeed.

[Bud Greene]

Tommy was a good fella, going to miss him. Prayers to his family.

[DavidR]

I got to know Tommy at Eddie Cordle's model speedway. He was always in a good mood, always positive, and willing to help racers.

 

We became closer when my old heat/AC needed replacement and I asked if he would do it. He found me a great deal and installed it over a period of two days. I was impressed at how knowledgeable he was and I often bragged on him as one of the only persons that had done a big job and it was perfect from day one with no issues. I will miss my AC expert but more so my friend.

 

God bless you, my Tommy.

[Aeropro]

Shocked and saddened by this news. A good man is gone. 

 

Farewell, friend.

[Bill from NH]

I never met Tommy in person, only knew him through OWH and Slotblog posts. He was always polite in asking or answering questions. I recall he was involved in setting up the electronics for the Peachtree City raceway tracks. I recall he was presented with some unique challenges there. I will miss seeing his name mentioned in the race reports.

 

My condolences to his family and friends.

[Pappy]

I never raced with Tommy but I did meet him years ago at Greg Wells' house. The greatest attribute one can achieve is the trust of others. When Tommy left, Greg told me he'd trust Tommy with the keys to his house and go on vacation. 

 

RIP, Tommy.

[Rotorranch]

Pretty sure he repaired the AC at Jeff Chamber's raceway in Fayetteville once before a big race there.

 
I had a guy come check my AC. He said the leak was the air handler... $5,000+.
 
Tommy looked at it and in about 20 minutes it was working. A couple of lines in the compressor rubbed together and wore a hole. He soldered a splice and charged the system. He wouldn't let me pay him. Never had a problem with the AC there again. Tommy had free track time for life.
 
Rotor

[Charley]

I met Tommy about 30 years ago. As things went, we lost contact then one day he walked into Cordle's raceway. Man, was that a great day. We shot the bull, and caught up on things.

 

I watched Tommy help new racers understand things. I have three of his Can-Am cars with his signature Z-Force bodies on them. They will be put up.

 

Tommy was the kind of person that no matter what you may have disagreed on, if he ever called you "friend," then, damn it, you were his friend.

 

I will miss him greatly. For those of us who knew him, we greatly understand what a great loss this is. For those of you who didn't know Tommy, you truly missed out on a great man. 

 

Godspeed, Tommy. See you on the other side. 

[Jay Guard]

I raced with Tommy many times at Eddie Cordle's raceway in Atlanta and always enjoyed it. He was very competitive but understood that winning wasn't all it was about and he always had a great time and kept a great attitude, win or lose.

 

He was also very generous and would lend a car to anyone that needed one. I often found myself racing again two or three of his "Z-Force" cars in a race.  

 

He will be missed by all that knew him. Godspeed, Tommy!

[Fast Freddie]

I met Tommy several years ago ('90s) and enjoyed racing against him. A tough competitor and a really good guy. 

 

All our prayers to his family. See you again in time, Tommy.

[LindsayB]

Only just read the news - so sad. A lot of people said Tommy would help anyone. Such a sad day. I remember going to races and Tommy would have three cars running, two hand-outs and his car. Can't remember how many races I went to with Tommy.