To truly understand Dale Eicke was to know that drag racing meant everything to him.

These were the words of Dale’s widow, Caren Eicke.

“It’s really where his heart was and his passion was always drag racing,” said Caren Eicke. “He started with slot cars and since he lived in southern California he was soon drag racing on the street. He and his brothers loved it so much that they just kept playing around and messing around until finally it turned into a business where they could earn a living.”

To truly understand Dale Eicke was to know that drag racing meant everything to him.

These were the words of Dale’s widow, Caren Eicke.

“It’s really where his heart was and his passion was always drag racing,” said Caren Eicke. “He started with slot cars and since he lived in southern California he was soon drag racing on the street. He and his brothers loved it so much that they just kept playing around and messing around until finally it turned into a business where they could earn a living.”

Dale passed away Thursday, August 8, after suffering a heart attack and stroke simultaneously.

During his heyday in drag racing, Dale immersed himself in the competition, becoming a driving force behind the rejuvenation of the Mopar factory team in Pro Stock. As one of the most sought-after cylinder head specialists in the sport, long work hours at home and lengthy road trips were often tough on the family, who understood and supported his dream.

“I would have rather had him at home because there was something special going on,” she said. “Of course when he was in NHRA they set their schedule and he and I could kind of work around it. It made it difficult raising the girls. There were a lot of times I felt like a single parent and it did get to where sometimes you felt like it was more important than we were. But I don’t think that was really the case, it’s just how it made you feel sometimes.”

Home or on the road, Dale lived his racing status with passion. Those who knew him understood his two loves were his family and racing.

“He was always thinking about drag racing and how to make it more powerful and how to make it better,” Caren Eicke explained. “He really didn’t have any hobbies because he devoted pretty much all of his extra time to that and his family, and that was really what he did.”

Dale might have, for the record, “retired” from drag racing during the last five years of his life. However, as most former drag racers and their families can attest, drag racing isn’t a sport one can easily retire from.

“There were some humps in the road after he had the Dodge deal and he just couldn’t find work in drag racing,” she explained. “So he kind of piddled around here and there and did jobs for this guy, that guy and then finally he did go to work with Barry Grant. And then Barry Grant went out of business and so he went to work with Brad Klein and he just loved that. Brad had a lot of plans and it was kind of sad not seeing any of them come to fruition.”

While Dale plied his trade as one who could work magic with cylinder heads, Caren Eicke said one trait her husband possessed that many didn’t know about was just how loyal he was to those he worked with.

“When he was devoted to a partner he definitely was devoted to that partner and would have gone to all lengths to make their car the best car out there,” Eicke said. “There was no stopping him. He was a perfectionist till the very end. Everything he did he wanted to do the very best he knew how.”

According to Caren, Dale stood in the face of obstacles and never backed down whether the challenge was mechanically or physically. She revealed that during his time in drag racing he had suffered three significant head injuries, which did little to deter his spirit. The first injury was the result of a pit bike accident, which led to brain surgery. Two years later he fell from a golf cart and shortly after this he took a tumble from a ladder.

“I’m telling you I’ve never seen anyone with so much drive. The doctor kept telling us he needed to go on disability and get away from the race track because it just wasn’t being real kind to him after he got hurt the first time,” she said. “He just didn’t want to do that, he just wanted to be working. He just had to be working on something and thinking about finding a way to get more horsepower. It was just in him and he couldn’t help it.”

And those who knew and worked with Dale believed he couldn’t help but be a good man as well.

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