Australian drag racing has lost one of its pioneers with the passing of Eddie Thomas yesterday November 10th, aged 99.
Eddie was considered the godfather of Australian drag racing, featuring right from the humble beginnings of the sport at Riverside Dragway before going on to help shape the sport we have today.
He was a regular competitor at Riverside Dragway and shattered the track record in 1964, two years after Australia’s first official drag racing meeting at Riverside, with a 10.7 second pass at 128mph. He would go on to break more records and become the first person in Australia to run 8 seconds with an 8.89 second pass at Surfers Paradise International Raceway in Queensland on April 4, 1966.
In 1969 Eddie founded his engineering business, Redline Engineering, which is still in operation today.
Eddie is a true drag racing legend, being honoured numerous times in recent years for his enormous contribution to the sport.
Drag News Magazine passes on it’s sincerest condolences and deepest sympathies to Eddie’s family and many friends.
R.I.P Eddie Thomas.
