Episode 47 - Keith Eickert Offshore Race Engine Builder

Keith Eickert stands as one of the most recognized and successful high-performance engine builders in offshore racing history. His career, which began at Mercury Racing in 1972, saw him go on to create power for 37 World, International, and National Champions.
Eickert was drawn to Mercury by his childhood friend, Gary Garbrecht, who headed Mercury Racing. He progressed from working on cylinder heads to becoming one of their top engine builders.
In 1976, Eickert left Mercury to build engines exclusively for racers Rocky Aoki (Benihana) and Preston Hen (Natural Light), the owner of the infamous Thunderbird Swap Shop.
As the race team's participation dwindled and Eickert’s reputation grew, he entered into business in 1981with Jerry Jacobi and Bob Saccenti, founding Hawk Marine Power. He later started KS&W Engines where he worked from 1982 to 1984, followed by a stint with Ben Kramer at Apache Boats where he designed parts to marinize and race V12 Lamborghinis for the first time. Eickert eventually founded Lightning Performance Products and Keith Eickert Power Products, expanding his business to include a complete line of high-performance parts.
After two unsuccessful business partnerships, Eickert relaunched his original Lightning Performance line under the Don Onken group of companies. With Onken, Eickert developed and launched his V-16 engine concept, coupling two 540 cu. in. Big Block Chevy engines and programming the electronically fuel-injected assembly to fire as one 16-cylinder engine. This power plant propelled Onken’s Mystic American Ethanol to multiple Lake of the Ozarks Top Gun victories.
Now in his 80s, Eickert is retired and resides in Florida. He occasionally builds engines to stay busy.
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[@chrismyers5487]

Great interview! Dog lover and boat nerd here as well!

[@gleneasters7185]

Great interview.