Nhra Northwest Nationals -- Fiery Crash Has Not Wrecked Hill's Confidence

In a few swift, savage seconds, ecstasy turned to terror for drag racer Eddie Hill.

He hit the finish line in Sonoma, Calif., at a career-best 310.88 mph in a 4.674-second pass. But the front end of his Top Fuel dragster snapped off, the rest of the chassis splintered and the 61-year-old Texan - "just me and my little office there," as he'd say later - bounced off the asphalt like kernels in a popcorn popper until he and the tub became embedded upside-down in a sand wedge.

"It just seemed like it was going on forever and ever. About the time I thought I should've been stopped, I opened my eyes - I was upside down and backwards - about eight inches in front of my eyes was this huge shower of bright orange sparks flying by at, had to be, at least 150 miles an hour. I realized I was still really hauling down through there," Hill said.

"It's hard to tell you how scary that is. I remember thinking two different times, `This could be it.' I even wondered briefly whether it was going to hurt or whether the lights would just go out."

It came within a few feet of where Carrie Neal died in a crash earlier last weekend.

"They told me that if Carrie hadn't had her accident and they hadn't gone ahead and extended that guardrail," he said, "I wouldn't have been here."

Hill is here, preparing for this weekend's NHRA Northwest Nationals at Seattle International Raceway. And he said the ordeal, which left him with a minor burn on his shoulder and two broken toes on his right foot, was not discouraging.

"I did get a clear message, though," he said. "Since we were No. 1 qualifier, top speed, low ET (elapsed time), wound up being the fastest guy ever down that racetrack . . . we can still do this. I'm pumped up, because that's the first really good run we've had in a while.

"It shows all the investment we've made in time, equipment and personnel changes are coming together," said the 1993 Top Fuel champion, who's 12th in points this year. "It looks like we've finally turned the corner and are ready to start racing again."

His competition includes run-away points leader Gary Scelzi, finalist in 11 of 13 races this year; Joe Amato, who won four titles this season to rank No. 2 in points; Cory McClenathan, winner of the previous two events; Portland teenager Cristen Powell, a rookie who won a race in May, and the "King of Speed," Kenny Bernstein.

No, Hill did not inspire the term "old as the Hills," although he won in his first race in a Model-T rod back in 1957.

The silver-haired Hill, who does 80 push-ups, 80 sit-ups and 12 minutes on the treadmill at its steepest incline for a daily workout, still can master a dragster that leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force with which the space shuttle lifts off the launch pad. And he still can tame the engine that produces more than 5,500 horsepower and accelerates faster than a fighter jet.

Perhaps his drag-racing durability comes from not worrying about danger. After all, he raced powerboats when he didn't know how to swim.

He has a degree in industrial technology from Texas A&M but lets his crew fuss over the car. Too much "hillbilly music" blaring in the garage over the years to suit this devotee of Mario Lanza and Luciano Pavarotti.

Besides, he and wife, Ercie, stay busy with their Hill Foundation. They own a motorcycle dealership in Wichita Falls, Texas, but for decades Eddie drew no salary from racing. Since he started to, around 1994, he has funneled most of it into such projects as a kitchen for homeless families in the Pomona, Calif., area.

"The last time we delivered some of these meals to little kids, their faces would light up. It breaks your heart but it makes you feel good they have something to smile about," he said. ". . . These meals and a little conversation, seeing that someone . . . cares about them, seems to make a difference."

Hill established a prize fund last season that has raised $10,000 for various charities. He donates $500 to the favorite charity of the Top Fuel and Funny Car winner at each race. And after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, he and Ercie helped buy a new van for the church across from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building to replace the one lost in the blast.

So no matter who's fastest at SIR this weekend, Eddie Hill's crusade continues. And dozens of Americans will win.

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Northwest Nationals

What: 1997 National Hot Rod Association Northwest Nationals, 14th of 22 events in the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.

Where: Seattle International Raceway, Kent (I-5 to exit 142-A, east on Highway 18, follow SIR signs).

When: qualifying tomorrow, 9:15 a.m.-9 p.m. (pro-class sessions at 3 and 7 p.m.) and Saturday, 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (pro-class sessions at noon and 4 p.m.); final eliminations Sunday, 11 a.m. Gates open at 7 a.m. each day.

Defending champions: Shelly Anderson (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock).

Purse: Record cash and contingency awards of $1,246,750, including a cash purse of $478,650 and bonus awards of $71,000.

TV: ESPN2 (Live Friday night qualifying, 7-9 p.m.; same-day final-round coverage Sunday, 5:30-7:30 p.m.).

Tickets: General admission with pit pass - $31 tomorrow, $37 Saturday, $42 Sunday. Reserved seat with pit pass - $47-$49 Saturday, $52-$54 Sunday, juniors (12 and under) $17-$19. Three-day pass - $105.