Jerry Eckman loved drag racing right up to the moment he took his last breath on Christmas Eve, 2022. 

Eckman, 80, passed away following a brave battle with Alzheimer’s Disease with his wife Marcia at his side while the song House of the Rising Sun by the Animals played. 

“Drag racing was everything to Jerry,” Marsha said. “That’s all he ever talked about.”

Even after Alzheimer’s began affecting Eckman’s daily life, Marcia said he drew enjoyment from a video made by his stepson David of his old racing clips from Diamond P videos. 

“He would just lay in bed and watch that, and it was the highlight,” Marcia said. “He’d say, ‘There I am! There I am!”

Eckman raced NHRA Pro Stock for nearly two decades, scoring eight national event victories. He worked as a car chief for team owners Kenny Koretsky and later Rodger Brogdon, who enabled Eckman to relicense in his Pro Stocker after being out of the cockpit for a decade. 

Eckman’s love for automobiles can be traced back to his 14th birthday and a trip to Disneyland. 

“I fell in love with those motorized cars,” Eckman said in a 2007 interview. “I got back home and took the engine out of my dad’s lawnmower and began tinkering with it,” 

Eckman got his driver’s license a year later.

“I got my license and went out to San Fernando Drag Strip the next day,” Eckman continued. “It was fun, challenging, and motivating. I hung out with a great group of guys with the competitive fever.”

Eckman’s racing endeavors were put on hold after he joined the U.S. Army upon graduating high school. Much of his enlistment was in Germany, and as his time wound down, Eckman extended. He was then sent back home to the United States to train for his next assignment. Eckman would become one of the “advisors” to the Army of Republic Vietnam [ARVN].

“I heard the term advisor, and I believed it was a job where you wore a business suit and carried a briefcase,” Eckman said in a 2009 interview. “I learned quickly there was one of us assigned to so many of the ARVN troops. We were advising them, showing them how to fight their war. We were right there with our combat suits and guns. We didn’t have those suits and briefcases like I envisioned.”

Eckman, by then an E-5 sergeant, quickly developed a bond with his “students” and incoming American troops, who referred to him as the “old” man at 23 years old.

“I felt really sorry for the young kids coming to Vietnam, who were from the small towns and had never been out of the hometown before,” Eckman said. “Some of those kids believed they knew everything - big mistake. I at least had four years in the military before then.”

Eckman returned to California following his military service and became friends with Bill Orndorf. Together they pooled their resources and went Pro Stock racing in 1980, where they competed until 1997. They returned in the late 20-teens to support a tribute car campaigned by Jeff Rudisill, honoring the Camaro they ran in 1986. 

Orndorff said life would never be the same with his friend gone. 

“That guy could flat-out drive a race car; I will say that about him,” Orndorff said. “He was a great friend for decades. It’s pretty tough to lose him. I could always count on him calling me every Christmas Day. Now, this year will be tough to get through. We had a lot of memories together. It’s been a rough day, and finding the right words is tough now.”

Eckman was a master of rolling with the punches, and when he was no longer behind the wheel, he quickly found a place in the pits. He went to work for Kenny Koretsky as a car chief and worked for about five years. Koretsky said having Eckman there helped him with his driving and provided valuable life lessons. 

“Just a great guy,” said Koretsky. “We had a lot of fun over the years. His personality made you want to be around him. He was a trustworthy person. He was as good-hearted as they come.”

Rodger Brogdon said Koretsky’s statement was spot on. It was Brogdon and then partner Steve Kent who provided the opportunity for Eckma n to finish out his drag racing career with his competitor’s license and one last chance to race the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 2012.

“Talk about a guy who worked hard, he was in his 60s, and he worked like those who were a third of his age,” Brogdon said. “He was an amazing person and was always encouraging those around him. Jerry wanted to help every around him be better. He was always full of positive energy.”

After Eckman retired from drag racing, he made the most of his free time, devoted to car projects and driving a school bus until he got sick. 

Eckman is survived by Marcia, a son, Jerald, and daughter, Amber, from his first marriage, and two stepsons from his second, David and John. He has four grand grandkids and four great-grandkids. 

CompetitionPlus.com Editor Bobby Bennett said Eckman was one of those guys you always looked forward to seeing in the pits. 
“He was a genuine person,” Bennett said. “When Jerry asked you how the family was doing or how life was treating you, you walked away feeling it just wasn’t a gesture. He wanted to make sure you were doing okay. In this life, you are blessed to make friends with certain people, and while Jerry was all too often one of my article subjects, he was as good of a friend as you could hope for. This world was a better place because Jerry was in it, and today it’s hurting because we have lost someone who was important to it.”

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with burial expenses - JERRY ECKMAN