Last night I got a call from a good friend in Macon, he told me he had heard Jeff took his own life. I have been friends with Jeff for some time but hadn't spoken to him recently. He worked with Jerry Cooper for a long time in Macon doing fantastic work,then Jeff moved on to run his own shop. From there things get fuzzy for me as I was told he was in a really bad car accident. I hope someone from the area can shed more light on this tragedy and I'm sorry if the story isn't 100% accurate. I really wish this wasn't the case but I'm afraid there's another great tuner in heaven today. R.I.P. Ole friend, I'll never forget what you did helping Dane Westby's career in the early days. Jerry Cooper and Jeff Walker went way above and beyond to make sure Dane and I had the best shit period.
When I met Jeff he addressed me as "Sir". Two weekends later I was "you yankee cocksucker" Apparently that was a term of endearment. He was one of the fastest novices on the WERA national circuit in 2001. He joined Neighbor of the Beast in 2002 and, after putting in a stellar performance building the engines for the R6s and riding fast and smooth, joined Army Of Darkness in 2003 We were undefeated in 2003. We won every single race and finished second overall virtually every weekend. We were so dominating that I didn't write any articles for Roadracing World because I didn't feel like I had anything to write about. One day he was telling a story about some customers coming into a bike shop he and Mark Crozier were running. He said "So a couple of red necks walked into the shop...." I stopped him right there. "Jeff" I inquired, displaying my yankee ignorance (despite DC being south of the Mason-Dixon line) "if they were red necks, what are you and Mark?" He paused a minute. "We are sophisticated cosmopolitans." "Then who is a red neck?" "Billy Ethridge." * * * He was a fast rider and really hard working team mate. As soon as he had his helmet off he'd have a wrench in his hand. I'll remember him for his open heart, team spirit and tireless work ethic.
I first met Jeff after I made a close pass on him on the first lap of the Nelson Ledges endurance race in 2004. When I got off the bike Bruce told me I had pissed Jeff Walker off and I should go talk to him. I went over and told him I was sorry for the move and, while I can tell he still wasn't too happy with me, we shook hands and forgot about the incident. Later he built up my GSX-R engine for AMA Supersport. He was a great guy, a great racer and a great tuner! Godspeed Jeff!
I'm very saddened by this. Jeff was a great teammate and tuner. Plus, I believe he's the one who slipped a copy of "How To Speak Southern" into our toolbox so we wouldn't be completely lost at the southern nationals. He was very conscientious about educating us yankees. I kinda lost touch with him over the last couple of years, but I will miss him. Jeff and Stacie in happier times.
Only two words need to be on Jeff's tombstone. Turbo and VIR. I'll never forget standing by the tree watching that thing spin through the kink down the front straight during practice. The original RoadRace DVd documents that day.