January 26, 2024

Eric Wolfe - Qlispe Raceway 2023 Pro Eliminator Champion

Eric Wolfe can trace his drag racing roots back to not far after what was then Spokane Raceway Park — now Qlispe Raceway — opened in 1974.

But it was not until 2023 that he won his first track championship with the title in Pro Eliminator. Wolfe parlayed a couple on event wins into securing a 292 to 240 edge over T.J. Loper.

Racing two classes, Pro and Sportsman, Wolfe said. “In sportsmen this year, I just couldn’t do squat,” he lamented.

However, “In Pro it fell the right way, I won,” Wolfe said. “I think I was in three finals in a row and won two of them, so it was pretty decent.”

Wolfe, who actually lives in Fife, Washington near Tacoma and commutes to race in QRP’s Summit Series, first began racing at age 16 in 1980 while a student at University High School in Spokane Valley.

“I remember that was back and when we had (classes like) Run Tuff and stuff,” Wolfe said. “So yeah, there’s just good times.” Wolfe raced then with and against classmate and best friend Bruce Nickerson, and still does.

Like many, Wolfe raced until family obligations got in the way in 1987 and took a hiatus until 1999. He competed for about a dozen years, hanging it up once again in 2011 only to come back again a decade later.

While no relation, Eric Wolfe used to race against a very stout competitor, Henrietta Wolfe, at Spokane Raceway in the 1980s.

“Henrietta kicked my ass at one of the AHRA World Finals, I think it was (19)87?,” Eric said. “That’s why I retired,” he suggested.

Wolfe not just raced at Spokane but also Walla Walla’s eighth-mile track. The convenient part for him is his car was stored at his mother’s house in Spokane which cut down the expensive towing just a bit.

And talk about a dedicated racer, Wolfe would leave work on Friday, drive to Spokane, pick up his car and drive to Walla Walla, drive back to Spokane, unload and head to the west side for work on Monday.

It was during that time Wolfe recalled one of his memorable outings in the 2009 NHRA Division 6 ET Finals Race of Champions at Woodburn Dragstrip in Oregon. It was an all-Spokane final round where Dave Oien prevailed.

But Wolfe got the better of Oien in 2023 who finished fourth in the Pro standings.

“I came back because of racing friends just giving me grief,” Wolfe explained.

It’s been a good couple of years for Wolfe who claimed 2021 Walla Walla Sportsman championship. There he raced against another QRP 2023 champion, Brian Jennen who claimed this year’s Qlispe Sportsman title with Wolfe landing seventh in those standings.

That road trip to Washington wine country was quite demanding for Wolfe so he was excited when the Kalispel Tribe purchased the track from Spokane County in 2021.

“It was killing me,” Wolfe said. “When the “Q” (Qlispe Raceway) opened up, I was really happy. It was just bonus to do good in Pro (Eliminator) this year on the hill,” he added referencing the nickname for the Airway Heights racing complex.

Wolfe turned 60 this past December and works for Dow Jones. He has grown kids who both like hot rods and his youngest races every-once-in-a-while.

QLISPE RACEWAY 2023

PRO ELIMINATOR POINT LEADERS
Pos..............Driver..................................Total
1...................Eric Wolfe..........................292
2...................T.J. Loper.............................240
3...................Jim Bonner........................186
4...................Dave Oien.........................182
5...................Justin Cooper..................170