Jerry Eckman didn’t need fifteen years on the sidelines for him to realize he made a terrible spectator.

Thanks to a forgiven fine from the NHRA, and a generous offer from Rodger Brogdon and Steve Kent, the former U.S. Nationals Champion Eckman made passes of 6.68 and 6.69 to relicense. It is unknown at this team whether Eckman will compete in Full Throttle competition. However, with Brogdon and Kent’s busy work schedules, they have named Eckman as the testing driver.

Jerry Eckman didn’t need fifteen years on the sidelines for him to realize he made a terrible spectator.

Thanks to a forgiven fine from the NHRA, and a generous offer from Rodger Brogdon and Steve Kent, the former U.S. Nationals Champion Eckman made passes of 6.68 and 6.69 to relicense. It is unknown at this time whether Eckman will compete in Full Throttle competition. However, with Brogdon and Kent’s busy work schedules, they have named Eckman as the testing driver.

Eckman became the poster child of the NHRA’s equivalent to the major league steroid scandal. He was the only driver fined and suspended for “unsafe practices” related to a nitrous explosion during the 1997 NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus.

In this CompetitionPlus.com Audio Podcast by Joe Castello, Eckman provides the inside story to what happened on this fateful day. He also discusses 15 years of being typecast as a cheater.

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