Thu, 10 Jul 2003, 04:21 PM Hey Dad, Hey Steve, I Bagged A Big One!!

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2003

Terry in the winner circle.

Terry Eckard finally won a national event in Super Gas after trying for about twenty years. So, in a family that includes his brother, Steve, and father, Ed,  who are both avid hunters, Terry now has a trophy to hang on the wall, or at least one to put on the mantle. “I’ve been racing since before Super Gas was even a class and to get my first national event win is great. I remember telling the guys who came over to me at the end of the track that it looks like I’ve finally figured out how to do this.”

For drag racing fans who have followed the sport for a while, when you hear the name “Eckard” who immediately think of those classic Anglias that Terry and his brother, Steve, drove for so many year. Steve took his Anglia to a couple of wins at Englishtown back in 1982 and ’83 and he also won the World Championship with it in 1982. With Super Gas still in its infancy, brother Steve beat Carroll Carter at the ’82 Summernationals and then he stopped Mark Dennenbaum the next year at the same event. Terry, meanwhile, wheeled his ’48 Anglia to the final round at St. Louis in 1997 only to foul out against Jeff Nygaard. When I asked Terry if he missed driving the Anglias he said, “Yeah, those things really gave you quite a sensation when you drove them.” In fact, the family still has one of them but they sold the other car to Jeff Hefler a few years ago. “I don’t know what he did with it, but that was a great race car and I had fun with it for a long while.” Today, Terry drives a more conventional Super Gas car in the 9.90 category, a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier with a big block Chevrolet motor that was built by the family’s long time friend, John Lingenfelter. “John built all of our motors over the years and we think about him all the time,” Terry said. “He’s always been a part of our racing operation.” In a little touch or irony, when Terry lost in St. Louis six years ago, his Anglia was beaten by a Chevrolet Cavalier.

Winning in any of the Super categories isn’t easy, and if you don’t believe me, just ask any of the hundred or so racers who compete at each NHRA national event. These drivers are so good and it looks like all of them have the equipment to win on any given weekend. “The key to this class is to cut a light and run the number,” Terry said. “Of course today, you can basically buy a light, if you know what I mean. So you need to have a good car that can repeat. And you have to relax. When I lost the final in St. Louis I was just so pumped up that I jumped the light,” Terry said. “This year, my brother told me to just relax, and that’s what I did.” Hey, Terry, you should listen to your brother more often. “When I came back after beating Steve Drummond in the fifth round, Steve told me that I had a bye in the next round which would put me in the finals. I didn’t even know that before the round. I honestly never look at the ladder and just try to take each round as they come.”

Terry in his Super Gas.

The entire Eckard family has been involved in drag racing for a long time. Ed, the patriarch of the clan, was part of the famous Rod Shop team back in the early 1970’s. “Dad was a part of the team with Gil and Carl Kirk and  that was a pretty good operation,” Terry said. Yes it was, in fact, it was one of the first multi-car teams in the sport and Ed was part of the great B/Altered hemi-Challenger that the team ran in 1971. That state-of-the-art car was a far cry from the small-block Chevrolet powered 1937 Plymouth racer that Ed had been running in the B/Gas class for a number of years. In the time between his B/G car and the Rod Shop entry, Ed and Carl Kirk campaigned, believe it or not, an Anglia, a very competitive Anglia, one that won its class at Indy in 1968 and later set several national records. They also teamed up to win the Division 3 Competition Eliminator title in 1968. Back then, the Ohio area was known for its great collection of gas and altered class cars, just as today it’s famous for producing some of the best “Super” category cars in the sport. “This has always been a tough place to compete because of the competition,” Terry said. Still, he doesn’t feel that his familiarity with the area gave him a home field advantage at Columbus. “Believe it or not, as close as we live to the track, we actually don’t race here that much,” he said. “In fact, we don’t race as much as we used to.”

One of the reasons for the family’s reduced race schedule might be their new home, or homestead, in Ohio. “We have about a hundred and fifty acres a few hours from here and we’re building a really nice cabin up there. It’s a two-story place that’ll sleep about ten and it’s back in the woods. Dad and Steve have already done some hunting up there. It’s really nice.” When I asked Terry what he’s hunted up there he said that he is the one family member who isn’t into that particular sport. “I’m not a hunter. I go to swap meets and street rod runs. I have a nice ’67 Chevelle with a 496 John Lingenfelter motor in it that’ll really cruise. I did the frame off restoration and I’m really proud of it. This thing will idle like a Cadillac but when who step on it, well, it’s a thrill.”

While they may be racing a little less, the brothers have kind of gone back to their family’s roots a bit with another car. “Steve has a new Competition Eliminator car and that’s a lot of fun. I do the work on it between rounds and it’s a real challenge. To pick up a hundredth of a second in that class can mean the difference between qualifying and not qualifying, and between winning and losing.” Terry and Steve plan to run the car at Indy, and who knows, maybe they’ll win there just like their dad did back in the ‘60’s.  “It’s a new Ken Kier car with one of John Lingenfelter’s motors in it. Steve likes driving it and I like the mechanical aspect of it. It’s completely different for my Super Gas car.” Dad won Indy in his class back in 1968, long before Super Gas was even though of, so maybe the boys can join him in the Indy record books with a victory there this year.  “Right now it doesn’t look like I’ll race the Super Gas car there, although I’m still working on that (getting enough grade points). But Steve will run his (Super Comp) dragster and we’ll also have the comp car there.”

No matter how different the cars or the classes may be, one thing remains constant, the Eckard family will continue to be a part of the drag racing scene and they’ll continue to win, and before too long, maybe Terry or Steve will bag another big one and have another trophy to show dad. Or to hang on the wall at the family cabin!!