PHOTO: VAN ABERNETHY |
Together again thanks to Rudisill’ s recreation
By Van Abernethy
The team of Bill Orndorff and Jerry Eckman was a powerhouse combination in Pro Stock racing during the late 1980s through the following decade. The California natives eventually rose to stardom from the ranks of unheralded, unsponsored racers who went winless in their first six seasons of professional racing, only to capture their first national event title in dramatic fashion when they won the 1987 Summernationals at Englishtown, New Jersey. Major sponsorship deals from Pennzoil and Pontiac were inked in a matter of weeks following their first win and the team went on to enjoy major financial backing and competitive outings for the next 10 years. They won eight national events and finished third in national points on
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three occasions, along with a trio of huge paydays for winning the Winston All Stars event, later known as the Winston Invitational.
After a very visible and long-standing sponsorship with Pennzoil ran its course, Orndorff and Eckman found themselves without major backing and back to running on a very low budget. Unfortunately, the derailment of this team led to a far steeper fall from grace when the“ shot heard round the world” came in the form of an exploding nitrous-oxide bottle on a fateful day in 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. Their Pro Stocks careers effectively ended that day. The details of what happened in Columbus have been well-publicized many times over. It truly is old news. This is not that story, but refreshingly a new one entirely.
Recently emerging from North Carolina was the announcement that veteran Top Sportsman racer Jeff Rudisill was constructing a tribute car, an exact replica of the one Orndorff owned and Eckman drove to victory in 1987 at Englishtown. When the news reached Bill and Jerry, who now
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reside in Ohio, the effects were somewhat profound. It was actually Rudisill who reached out to them with inquiries of paint codes, pictures, decal information and pretty much every detail about the former car that would prove beneficial for an exact recreation of a new one. Orndorff and Eckman were somewhat taken aback for several reasons, not the least of which was Jeff’ s overall passion and zeal for this project.
After the car’ s immaculate construction was complete, Jeff trailered it halfway across the country to compete in a nostalgia Pro Stock race, in which he won. Orndorff and Eckman were invited to attend and see the car in person. They gladly excepted. The duo met up at Illinois’ Cordova Dragway and became acquainted with not only Rudisill, but also his good friend, Tyrone Graham and wife Leslie, Lee Laney, and eventually everyone else in Rudisill’ s tight circle. From that first weekend together in Cordova they vowed to remain friends forever. On that memorable day, Orndorff and Eckman stood on the starting line
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January 2017 |
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