Bill Text: TX SR71 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Commemorating Eddie Hill Day in Wichita Falls.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-01-24 - Reported enrolled [SR71 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR71-Introduced.html
88R6386 TBO-D | ||
By: Springer | S.R. No. 71 |
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WHEREAS, Residents of Wichita Falls are gathering on | ||
October 12, 2022, to pay tribute to hometown hero and motorsports | ||
superstar Eddie Hill; and | ||
WHEREAS, A champion racer on land and water, Eddie Hill has | ||
been named the 2021 Legend of North Texas by the Museum of North | ||
Texas History; in conjunction with that honor, Eddie Hill Day is | ||
being celebrated to recognize his racing legacy and his | ||
contributions to the Wichita Falls community; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Longview on March 6, 1936, Mr. Hill received | ||
his first racing trophy at age 11; he began building dragster cars a | ||
few years later and continued to compete while attending Texas A&M | ||
University; after earning his bachelor's degree, he won the | ||
American Hot Rod Association championship in 1959 and set several | ||
records over the course of the following years, including one for | ||
breaking the 200-mile-per-hour barrier in a gas-powered car; he is | ||
credited with numerous racing innovations during this period, | ||
including introducing front wings to dragsters and inventing the | ||
tire-smoking burnout, which became standard practice for top fuel | ||
cars; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1966, Mr. Hill opened Eddie Hill's Fun Cycles, | ||
beginning a successful Wichita Falls business that has continued | ||
for more than five and a half decades; to promote the dealership, he | ||
started racing motorcycles, earning over 100 trophies in the next | ||
eight years; he shifted his focus to boat racing in 1974 and went on | ||
to hold the Guinness World Record for fastest speed in a | ||
propeller-driven boat in addition to winning regional, national, | ||
and world championships, including two titles in the World Series | ||
of Dragboat Racing; and | ||
WHEREAS, A severe crash concluded his boat racing career, but | ||
this determined competitor opted to return to asphalt drag racing | ||
in 1985 following a two-decade absence from the sport; three years | ||
later, he became the first person to break the five-second barrier, | ||
and in 1993, at age 57, he became the oldest person to win the | ||
National Hot Rod Association top fuel world championship; he | ||
retired from drag racing for good in 1999 and was inducted into the | ||
International Drag Racing Hall of Fame the next year; he is also a | ||
member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the Texas | ||
Motorsports Hall of Fame; and | ||
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Hill has drawn strength | ||
from his religious faith; he also benefits from the love and support | ||
of his wife of 37 years, Ercie, and his two children, Sabrina and | ||
Dustin; and | ||
WHEREAS, A world-renowned figure who has excelled in multiple | ||
types of motorsports racing, Eddie Hill is a source of great pride | ||
to the residents of Wichita Falls and the Lone Star State, and he is | ||
indeed deserving of this prestigious honor; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature | ||
hereby commemorate Eddie Hill Day in Wichita Falls and commend | ||
Mr. Hill for his many achievements; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Mr. Hill as an expression of high regard by the Texas | ||
Senate. |