Elton

"Al" Eckstrand, who campaigned the Lawman series of Dodge Stockers and

toured them overseas to entertain and inform U.S. troops in the 1960s,

died May 10 in Naples, Fla., after a short illness. He was 79.










Elton

"Al" Eckstrand, who campaigned the Lawman series of Dodge Stockers and

toured them overseas to entertain and inform U.S. troops in the 1960s,

died May 10 in Naples, Fla., after a short illness. He was 79.


Eckstrand,

a former Chrysler Corp. lawyer, won the 1963 Winternationals and was

runner-up at that year’s Nationals in Indianapolis. When he retired

from competition in 1965, he worked with upper management at Chrysler

and was given a ’66 Hemi Charger to use in a tour of U.S. military

bases in Europe and Vietnam. A large number of American servicemen were

returning to civilian life after their tours of duty in Vietnam and

were a growing statistic among the 50,000 fatalities on the highways at

the time. In the eight years that the program existed, Eckstrand and

the USA Motorsports Association that he founded gave demonstrations to

hundreds of thousands of outgoing soldiers.


After living in

Europe for three decades, Eckstrand, a member of the International Drag

Racing Hall of Fame, returned to the United States in 1999, bringing

with him the famous Dodge, which was selected to join the collection of

the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Mich.

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LEGEND ECKSTRAND PASSES

Elton "Al" Eckstrand, who campaigned the Lawman series of Dodge Stockers and toured them overseas to entertain and inform U.S. troops in the 1960s, died

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