Tributes

Robert (Bob) Etrick Walker was born on August 7th, 1946 in Oakland, California. Bob’s parents moved to Carson, California when Bob was 8, where he attended Carson High School, Bob played the saxophone and also was the drum major in the marching band. After graduating, Bob joined the United States Coast Guard where he served for 4 years on the Pacific Ocean. Bob landed in Hemet, California and started working at Arden Dairy and soon struck up a lifelong friendship with Bob Werner, who also worked there. The two started an auto parts business together in Santa Ana, California, which they ran for many years. Bob moved on and started Econobody, an automotive body shop in San Jacinto, California. Bob was very successfully in this business and landed a contract with Skyline Motorhomes to paint and pinstripe the company’s new RV’s. In 1976, Bob obtained his private pilot license and was an avid pilot. Bob always had a passion for cars and all forms of racing. At 16, Bob was drag racing at Lyon’s Drag Strip in Long Beach, California. In 1978, Bob purchased his first stock car and started dirt track racing with long time friend Don Digby of Hemet, California. Bob won multiple dirt track championships, including The Silver Cup. In 1983, Bob moved to asphalt racing and competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series and raced against the biggest names in the sport, Earnhardt, Allison, Waltrip, and Wallace, just to name a few. Bob was also instrumental in starting the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and was the first driver for the McDonald’s Super Truck team. In 1995, Bob retired from professional racing with over 100 wins and a top ten ranking in NASCAR points nationwide. Bob moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and after finding a beautiful lot he liked, Bob quickly built his own home while obtaining a general contractors license. Bob built many custom homes in the Myrtle Beach area. Bob also loved to build hotrods and classic muscle cars, always attending car shows if the chance presented itself. Bob’s passion for racing arose again in 2016, at the age of 70, Bob started racing in the Palmetto Vintage Series at Myrtle Beach Speedway. Again, he landed in victory lane more often than not. This was the case on Saturday night August 4th , after winning his last race, Bob was taken by the Lord to race in heaven. Bob is survived by the love of his life and soul mate of 30 years, Dianne, 3 children, Michael, Daniel, and Ashley, and 3 grandchildren, along with multiple friends on both the East and West coast. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to PALM Charter High School or The Racing Brotherhood Foundation in his name.

Tributes

Robert Walker

August 7, 1946 - August 4, 2018