LEXINGTON, Okla. (KWTV) – To many, he’s known as the Dale Earnhardt of Oklahoma. He’s been bringing home the checkered flag for more than five decades.
“It’s been in my blood my whole life. It’s fun and games.”
Hands of precision, bracing speeds of 140, Drag racer Jim Hale lives an adrenaline-filled life.
Jim is 77 and has been racing on the professional NHRA circuit for 55 years.
“I had some friends down the road that had a Ford tractor. They would ride on the hood and could pull the governor and out run me so, I put string on the governor of my old Moline, so I could pull my governor and out run them,” said Jim.
He eventually graduated from tractors along the Canadian River bottoms in Pittsburg County, to street car races. Chrysler signed him on to build and race for them. And that was just the beginning of a successful independent racing career. With his wife Mary as his pit crew, they travel the country – winning.