Despite top speeds in excess of 330 mph and quarter-mile elapsed times of 4.5 seconds, the feisty Hill remains ever-anxious to prove once again that he has what it takes to be on top of the very sport he helped build.

Hill first felt the competitive urge of racing as a young boy in Texas when he would match his Shetland pony "Peanut" against a passing school bus each day. By age 11, Hill garnered the first championship of his life when he captured the 1947 Tri-State Flat Track Motor Scooter title in Shreveport, La. A few years later, he moved on to cars and won the first drag racing event he ever entered with a Top Eliminator car he built himself and actually drove to and from the track.

The move to the professional ranks of the fledgling NHRA circuit was inevitable and a young Hill was finally baptized as a pro when he lined up and raced against Jack Chrisman's "Sidewinder" in 1959 at a racetrack in Inyokern, Calif. Since that date with destiny Hill has literally done it all in the world of drag racing, both on land and in the water. He is credited with introducing small-profile front tires and aerodynamic front wings to dragsters, charcoal-filled breathing masks for safety, and the practice of smoking the rear tires prior to a run to heat the rubber surface and improve traction.

The record books show Hill to be the first driver to cover the quarter-mile strip in less than five seconds, a feat he accomplished with a 4.990-second pass on April 9, 1988, in Ennis, Texas. He was also the first driver to break the 200-mph barrier in a gas-powered car when he reached 202.07 mph in 1962 at a small track in Hobbs, N.M.

Over the course of his career, Hill also proved to be one of the best drag boat racers of all time. His most notable accomplishment as a boat captain occurred in 1983 when he covered the quarter-mile track of Phoenix's Firebird Lake in 5.16 seconds. The feat marked the first time in history that the world's quickest quarter-mile time was recorded on water rather than asphalt. Hill went on to set records in all four sanctioning bodies of drag boat racing and collected five world championships along the way. He was also noted in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1984 and 1985 for recording the fastest speed and quickest elapsed time ever in a propeller-driven boat.

Regardless of what transpires in the future, Hill's place in the annals of drag racing history is already secure. He was admitted to the NHRA Hall of Fame in 1978 before most of his current racing adversaries were old enough to drive. The International Hot Rod Association and Car Craft, Hot Rod and National Dragster magazines have honored him as the Driver of the Year on several occasions. He holds the distinction of being the oldest driver to win an NHRA Top Fuel Championship at age 57 (1993) and an NHRA national event at age 60 (Denver's Mile-High Nationals in 1996.) He is second only to Joe Amato in number of appearances in the yearly Big Bud Shootout, which invites only the top eight qualifiers from the Top Fuel class.

Ever the romantic, Hill married his wife Ercie on Valentines Day in 1984. Since their union, the pair has been apart for just one day when Eddie had to fly to an appearance and Ercie was forced to stay behind with an ear infection. Eddie has two children, Sabrina (age 42) and Dustin (20.) He is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology. Eddie, his father, and his daughter represent three consecutive generations of Texas A&M graduates.

Hill is the namesake and co-owner of Eddie Hill's Fun Cycles in Wichita Falls, Texas. The company is the oldest and largest Honda and Kawasaki motorcycle dealership in the state. Hill has also found success as a land developer. Together with his motorcycle dealership partner Steve Littlefield, Hill is co-owner of the H & L Land Company. Additionally, Eddie and Ercie have established the Hill Foundation for injured drivers and the Inner City Volunteers service organization, which benefits disadvantaged families. The couple currently resides in Wichita Falls.

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