They never worked together directly as rider and mechanic/crew chief, but that did not prevent Miguel Duhamel from admiring the late Merlyn Plumlee, before and after he was diagnosed with cancer. “I never worked with him directly, but obviously for many years we worked out of the same truck and we always got along really well,” Duhamel told Roadracingworld.com. “He’s definitely going to be missed, not just in racing but in the world, in general. “Everybody is important to somebody, but Merlyn touched so many people in racing and in life. He’s a worthy person to be mentioned. A lot of time Paris Hilton gets mentioned for no good reason. I think it would be time well-served to recognize the time he spent here and the way that he behaved himself and how it should be an example for other people. “What you saw is what you got with Merlyn. That guy was so great and true to himself and the people around him for his entire life. He did not change one iota, even when he was struck by the cancer, to the last minute he was Merlyn Plumlee. He didn’t change, same fighter, same get up and go. It’s really rare in life that you meet someone that strong and so committed to himself and the people around him. When you get hit with a pretty big blow like he did and to take it in stride and handle it the way he did, I tell you it was an honor to meet that man.” FIRST PERSON/OPINION: Via email: After reading Miguel’s comments, I just wanted to take a moment and share a personal note on Merlyn Plumlee. I never knew Merlyn, but late last week I received a call from him personally wishing to donate to the Red Flag Fund on behalf of an injured roadracer. To me the call was not unlike any one of a few hundred I took last week. Little did I know it was from his apparent death bed. Not that it would have made a difference had I known, but when I read about Merlyn today I was shocked and then awe-stricken. It’s a powerful thing to see a person care for others in the way that Merlyn did with his donation, just a few days before he passed away. I’m saddened that I’ll never meet this man, but wanted to share my brief story about him with you and perhaps your readers. Merlyn obviously was one hell of a stand-up guy who will be deeply missed. Jeff Kufalk President Red Flag Fund, Inc. Sussex, Wisconsin