Drag Boat King Is Unhappily Retired, but He May Not Be Over the Hill

Traditionally, professional drag boat racing has been characterized as a good-time party sport, as much an excuse to drink beers and sunbathe as to perform athletic achievements.

Certainly everyone is having too much fun in this sport to be concerned with anything that might be at all controversial.

Or so it used to be.

The capricious image of the National Drag Boat Assn. has encountered some turbulence recently as its once-revered rider, Eddie Hill, has retired in a less than gracious manner. His departure has left a void in the high-speed sport and has caused at least a few flip turns among NDBA officials.

Matt Culbert, who was timed at 146.74 m.p.h. at the NDBA Coors Championships, which began Saturday at Irvine Lake, said of Hill’s retirement, “He’s great for the sport. He’s a real nice guy, he raced hard, and he played fair. He’s definitely missed.”

Dexter Tuttle, a longtime rival of Hill’s, downplays the retirement.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Tuttle, who lead all qualifiers with a time of 210.31 m.p.h. Saturday. “I raced Eddie three times, and I beat Eddie three times. But, of course, we really geared up to beat him. We pulled out all the stops. But I think within the last year he’d really dropped off.”

Said NDBA president Rob Grasso, when asked if Hill would be missed: “No. This place built him. Hill got a lot of notoriety from people in this area because they needed a figurehead, and he was it.”

Grasso’s assessment underscores what has become a deep-seeded feud between Hill and the drag boat association. The official word from the NDBA on why Hill left the sport after 10 years is because of a serious accident he was involved in last October on Firebird Lake at Phoenix. But Hill claims it has more to do with the NDBA’s “unprofessional” practices.

“It was a big concern of ours when they wouldn’t give me certification of a world record I got last year (229.00 m.p.h.),” said Hill in a telephone interview from his home at Witchita Falls, Ariz. “They acknowledged it, and they advertised it, but I never got a certificate for it. They didn’t deny my record, but I never got a certificate to hang on my wall. Plus, I never got my World Series certificates for 1983 or 1984. We heard about those through the media. But we have no proof.”

Grasso claims the record was nullified because of substandard course conditions.

“We disapproved one of his runs because the course wasn’t set up right,” Grasso said. “And he’s been bitter ever since.”

Hill, who has taken up auto racing, also criticized the NDBA for its lack of concern for its fans.

“(Auto racing) is more professional in that they run on time, and there’s no endurance contest for the spectators,” he said, in reference to the tendency of drag boat races to start late, and last until after dark.

Culbert concurred with Hill’s accusations.

“Everybody’s had that problem,” he said. “You get fed up with it. I can see that. They never finish races on time. That just comes down to the fact that they’re up there screwing around. They’re not doing their job.”

Other racers, however, don’t see these factors as being all that significant. Billy Todd, who had the second best time on Saturday (203.53 m.p.h.) said, “There’s a lot of little things that can happen that can make you a bit bitter. And, you get tired of getting crapped on sometimes, but you’re right sometimes, and they’re right sometimes. No one’s always right.”

Despite his animosity toward the NDBA, Hill admits he nonetheless misses the sport.

“What I will miss is the tremendous fans,” he said. “We really miss that. When they come up to you after a race and say, ‘atta boy, Eddie, go get ‘em,’ that really gets you going.”

Most people involved in drag boat racing, including Grasso, suspect he will return.

“He’ll be back,” Grasso said. “He’ll miss it.”