PHOTOS : VAN ABERNETHY |
gether in 1991 . It was more centrally located and it made sense at the time , but man , those Ohio winters were rough . We grew up in southern California and not only did we enjoy the weather , but we also raced at all those great tracks like Lions , San Fernando , Fremont , Pomona , Irwindale and Orange County .
What were some of your more memorable Pro Stock learning curves ?
BO : Well , first you had to learn how to qualify , then go out there and win the first round . Winning the second round was a different thing entirely . It took us a long time before we won our first race ; 1987 , in fact . Bill Jenkins said it best : “ In order to win , you ’ ve first got to lose every way possible !” The other thing we discovered is that Jerry was a much better driver than I was . I ’ d just go out there and put my foot in it and do something stupid , but Jerry always kept the presence of mind and could get the car down the track .
JE : Sure , you ’ ve got to learn how to win , but just as importantly , you ’ ve got to work on your weaknesses . You actually work on your weaknesses , not your strengths .
Do you have any racing pinnacles that you cherish to this day ?
JE : I won Indy . Once . It was in 1990 . What was so special was the fact that I couldn ’ t believe
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we won . We got to the finals , but we were shaking the tires badly . I said to Bill , “ We ’ ve got to change something !” We were racing Larry Morgan in the finals . He qualified number one , I think , and had just won the shootout . He was a tough customer . Well , we decided to change engines ! Larry was pitted right across from us and they were busy setting bottles of champagne out onto tables . Meanwhile , we ’ ve got an engine hanging from a hoist over in our pits . We were thrashing ! We got the car together in time . Larry had lane choice . I left on him just slightly and we ran identical elapsed times . Bill said it was the longest win light he ’ d ever seen and it seemed like it was never going to come on . The crowd roared . I could hear them from inside the car !
BO : For me , the pinnacle was winning Pomona twice ( 1990 and 1992 ); that was the most special to me . It was our home track and we had so many friends there . Those Winternationals wins were the real highlights for me .
Was there a competitor who always seemed difficult to beat , no matter what ?
JE : Yes . Bob Glidden was always tough . So was Warren Johnson , Lee Shepherd , Frank Iaconio and Butch Leal . You couldn ’ t hardly get to the semis because it seemed like you ’ d always run into one of those guys .
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BO : They were all tough back then ! When your careers in Pro Stock came to a close , what did you pursue ?
JE : I went to work for some other teams , including Kenny Koretsky , Tom Hammonds , Rodger Brogdon and Steve Kent .
BO : I had a history in appliance sales , so I just went back to what I did before .
Jerry , did you ever drive a Pro Stock car again ?
JE : Yes , in 2012 , ironically at age 70 . My friend , Steve Kent , was a big-game hunter ; he went to places like Africa and stuff . One day at Norwalk Steve asked me what I was doing this weekend and I told him I had to mow my yard . Steve told me he was going moose hunting up in Canada and he wanted me to drive his car at the nationals that weekend !
Obviously , I had to get relicensed before I could drive . I hadn ’ t been in a car for so long that my old car would have felt fast , but this really felt fast . I had to make a couple launches , then a half-track pass ; I honestly couldn ’ t believe how quick it was to 60 feet ! The quickest I ’ d gone previously was 6.94 at something like 198 miles per hour ; I ’ d never broken 200 mph . The first full pass I made in Steve ’ s car I ran 6.68 at 205 mph .
I got to drive again at Indy and missed qualifying by one thousandth , and I drove once more at Pomona , which was great , my home track ! I ran 6.58 at 210 mph . What was really special was that it was also Veteran ’ s Day and I ’ m a Vietnam veteran and they had the car all decorated and we had Gold Star families in attendance and I met three Congressional Medal of Honor winners . What an honor that was ! That was actually my very last race and it was certainly a good way to go out . What occupies your time in 2017 ? BO : I ’ m semi-retired , I guess , but I still sell a lot of luxury appliances . I also enjoy restoring cars at home . I spend a lot of time with my grandson .
JE : These days I ’ m driving a school bus ! I went from driving 210 mph to 25 mph ! ( laughing ) True story . The motivation was simple ; I remember the special times at the track when kids would come up to me wanting an autograph . I ’ d get down on one knee so I ’ d be at eye level with them . Sometimes I ’ d rub them on the head . I used to put kids in the car and their parents would take their picture . One day a few years ago this guy who was close to 30 years old came up and showed me a picture of a little boy sitting in my race car . The little boy was him . It brought tears to my eyes . I missed that interaction with kids , so when I heard about a school bus driving position that had come open I applied and was hired .
Sure , I ’ m 74 years old and I ’ m tired from working in my house and in the yard , but I thought , you know what , it ’ s only a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon , so I think I ’ ll take this bus driving job . It actually provides a great deal of enjoyment . I meet a lot of kids and get to have some influence in their lives . And even though it only goes 25 mph , it ’ s yellow and black just like the Pennzoil car ! DI
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January 2017 |
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