| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Residents of Wichita Falls are gathering on |
|
|
October 12, 2022, to pay tribute to hometown hero and motorsports |
|
|
superstar Eddie Hill; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A champion racer on land and water, Eddie Hill has |
|
|
been named the 2021 Legend of North Texas by the Museum of North |
|
|
Texas History; in conjunction with that honor, Eddie Hill Day is |
|
|
being celebrated to recognize his racing legacy and his |
|
|
contributions to the Wichita Falls community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born in Longview on March 6, 1936, Mr. Hill received |
|
|
his first racing trophy at age 11; he began building dragster cars a |
|
|
few years later and continued to compete while attending Texas A&M |
|
|
University; after earning his bachelor's degree, he won the |
|
|
American Hot Rod Association championship in 1959 and set several |
|
|
records over the course of the following years, including one for |
|
|
breaking the 200-mile-per-hour barrier in a gas-powered car; he is |
|
|
credited with numerous racing innovations during this period, |
|
|
including introducing front wings to dragsters and inventing the |
|
|
tire-smoking burnout, which became standard practice for top fuel |
|
|
cars; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 1966, Mr. Hill opened Eddie Hill's Fun Cycles, |
|
|
beginning a successful Wichita Falls business that has continued |
|
|
for more than five and a half decades; to promote the dealership, he |
|
|
started racing motorcycles, earning over 100 trophies in the next |
|
|
eight years; he shifted his focus to boat racing in 1974 and went on |
|
|
to hold the Guinness World Record for fastest speed in a |
|
|
propeller-driven boat in addition to winning regional, national, |
|
|
and world championships, including two titles in the World Series |
|
|
of Dragboat Racing; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A severe crash concluded his boat racing career, but |
|
|
this determined competitor opted to return to asphalt drag racing |
|
|
in 1985 following a two-decade absence from the sport; three years |
|
|
later, he became the first person to break the five-second barrier, |
|
|
and in 1993, at age 57, he became the oldest person to win the |
|
|
National Hot Rod Association top fuel world championship; he |
|
|
retired from drag racing for good in 1999 and was inducted into the |
|
|
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame the next year; he is also a |
|
|
member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the Texas |
|
|
Motorsports Hall of Fame; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Hill has drawn strength |
|
|
from his religious faith; he also benefits from the love and support |
|
|
of his wife of 37 years, Ercie, and his two children, Sabrina and |
|
|
Dustin; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A world-renowned figure who has excelled in multiple |
|
|
types of motorsports racing, Eddie Hill is a source of great pride |
|
|
to the residents of Wichita Falls and the Lone Star State, and he is |
|
|
indeed deserving of this prestigious honor; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby commemorate Eddie Hill Day in Wichita Falls and commend |
|
|
Mr. Hill for his many achievements; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Hill as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
Senate. |