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A procession was led by fire trucks early morning, March 20, as fire fighters led one of their own to his final resting place. Fellow fire fighters and local sports fans were saddened and shocked to hear that Chris Upton was involved in a serious traffic incident, March 14 which sadly took his life. Upton was loved by many including those that played little league baseball and softball as he spent many years as a field official and was active in Church League and co-ed softball as a player. Upton also officiated wrestling matches in and around the area but most would say he found his true calling around dirt racing. He first helped dirt late model driver Mark Brooks and others as a crew member and later became a track official working at Tazewell Speedway’s turn two. He loved the sport of dirt track racing and was dedicated to his work. Upton was fun to be around and always seemed to lighten up any conversation.

Chris Upton, known by many as Stumpy, was 46 years of age and worked 20 years with the Tazewell-New Tazewell Fire Department. He was married to Kristen Upton and his parents are Hobert and Lela Upton. The Claiborne sports family will miss Chris.