Posted Oct. 25, 2001
What a drag for Richland's racing Waldos
Photo by Molly Van Wagner
By Jeff Morrow
Herald sports editor
Richland's Jim and Eric Waldo
can measure their lives in hundredths - sometimes thousandths - of a second.
You must when you're a drag racer barreling down the stretch at 125 mph - especially if you're a good drag racer, like both of the Waldos.
The twosome pulled off a rare feat last month when they faced each other in the Stock finals at the 47th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
It was the first father-son final in U.S. Nationals history. And after sporting an 0-6 career record against his father, Eric pulled out the victory to give him his fourth national event victory.
But the two admit that the race was won in the semifinals, after both realized they had won and would face each other in the finals.
To get there, the pair had to get through a large and competitive field.
"This is the biggest drag race in the world," said Eric, 33. "There are 176 cars that run in our division, of which 128 cars qualify for seven rounds of elimination. Even qualifying at that race is brutal."
Jim, 62, got hooked on drag racing when he tried it on an airport runway in 1955.
Through 47 years of racing, Jim has won nine national events and was national Stock champion in 1987.
During that time, his wife Linda went with him to the races. Eric and their other son, Gary - who lives in Hillsboro, Ore. - have raced competitively over the last 10 years.
Eric has four national event victories to his credit, while Gary has one.
Even sister Nicole, 24, gets in on the act by helping her dad and brothers with their cars.
National titles - in which drivers compile points at each race - are not what the Waldos are about.
In fact, Eric and Jim are quite choosy about which races they attend because drag racing can be quite expensive.
"The national events are worth a lot of money," said Eric.
Jim added, "but the little ones cost just as much to go to."
So, in the winter, the two map out their schedules for the coming season.
"If we don't start out hot, we kind of slow down," Eric said.
It is Jim who built both cars and works on them constantly. He has been retired from Westinghouse for seven years. It allows him to drive their trailer carrying the identical four-speed 428-powered 1969 Mustangs they drive to each race site.
Eric, who works at CH2M Hill out at Hanford, then flies in to the race site and back.
They compete in 11 to 15 races a year, but nothing may ever compare to what they did last month in Indianapolis.
First, they had to be in opposite brackets after qualifying and be among the top 128.
From there, it's not all skill.
"A lot of luck is involved when you win a race," Jim said. "I won two of them by 1/1000th of a second, another by 6/1000ths of a second."
By the time the semifinals rolled around, Eric defeated Bob Gipson of Bettendorf, Iowa, to earn his spot in the finals.
"My dad was right behind me," Eric said.
As he readied for his semifinal, Jim had no idea if Eric had won.
"I didn't want to see what happened," Jim said. "I didn't want the added pressure."
But Jim upset Texan Kevin Helms, who had been dominating the competition all weekend long. Jim won by 6/1000ths of a second.
"That was when the race was won," said Jim, "because there wasn't any pressure in the finals."
Jim wasn't about to give in to Eric in the finals. But the younger Waldo pulled out the victory anyway.
Linda, the cheerleader for both finalists, said, "To tell the truth, I was really rooting for Jim because he has been at it for so long."
But both parents couldn't have been happier for Eric.
"Eric's dream was to win at Indianapolis since he was a little kid," Jim said. "I can't hardly put it into words. The first year I went to Indy was 1977, and I haven't won there yet. But having the two of us on the opposite sides of the bracket and then meeting in the finals was great."
It makes those thousandths of seconds together on the asphalt that much more precious.
* Jeff Morrow can be reached at 582-1507 or via e-mail at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com.
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