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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