Carroll Edward Caudle

Carroll Edward Caudle, passed away on Thursday October 1, 2026, in Amarillo, Texas. He was 86 years old. Carroll was born in Elk City Oklahoma on February 12, 1940, to Woodrow Wilson Caudle and Thelma Louise Caudle and raised in Maud, Oklahoma with his 5 younger brothers and sisters. He graduated from Maud High School in 1958. While growing up he developed a love for mechanics and driving cars fast. In 1959 he started college at Oklahoma State Tech Trade School in Okmulgee, Ok. studying auto mechanics and related subjects. After graduating he moved to Texhoma Oklahoma where he worked at Panhandle Chevrolet and Implement.

Texhoma is where he met the love of his life, Gwenda Blackmore. They were married on November 3rd 1961. In 1964 they moved to Amarillo Texas where he worked at A&B Automotive. In 1965 they opened their own automotive repair shop, Carroll’s Automotive Service at 310 W. 7th Street. During this time Carroll began his competitive racing career and they began to build racing and performance engines while continuing the automotive service business. Together they traveled across the country drag racing, specifically the NHRA series. Carroll made a name for himself winning many events. In 1968, 1969, and 1970 he was the NHRA Division 4 points champion. In 1970 he won the World Championship in Dallas, Texas. In 1971 he won the Winter Nationals in Pomona, California. He set numerous world records with two different cars, a 1955 Chevrolet and a 1972 Vega that he converted, from Gwenda’s anniversary present, into a race car. In 1979 he was inducted into the NHRA Division 4 Hall of Fame and in 2015 he was in the inaugural class of the Amarillo Area Motorsports Hall of Fame. In 1963 they had their first daughter Tricia and in 1970 their second daughter Jenny. In 1976 they moved the shop to 319 S Monroe renaming the business to Carroll’s Performance Engines. Racing was a family lifestyle. After retiring from competitive racing the family continued to race through Carroll’s customers. Carroll learned how to fly and they traveled the country working on customer’s race engines. Carroll and Gwenda built drag racing engines, circle track engines as well as blue printed street engines. Carroll developed a love for circle track racing and helped many customers across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle win many races and championships all the while maintaining his automotive service business.

Carroll and Gwenda were members of the Southwest Church of Christ for over 50 years. Carroll and his family made many lifelong friends at church and enjoyed many camping trips to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado where the family’s love of riding anything with an engine continued. If you could keep up with Carroll on a mountain trail you had an accomplishment to be proud of. Carroll loved serving others with his mechanical gifts. The stories of his service to others are too numerous to count. As Carroll and Gwenda were blessed with grandchildren he enjoyed taking them to the dirt track in Amarillo on a summer Saturday night to watch the races and bet pennies on which car would win a race. Carroll loved his family and showed his love through his life’s example. Carroll loved the Lord and made sure that his family knew that a relationship with Jesus was the most important thing he could pass on.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother, brother Dennis and granddaughter Shaylie Ubrig.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Gwenda, of Amarillo, Texas; two daughters, Tricia (Alan) of Gilbert Arizona; grandchildren Meg, Landon (Sydney) and Zach; Jenny (Larry) of Amarillo and grandchildren Hailey and Calan of Amarillo; sisters, Florence Hall and Iris Caudle; brothers, Randall (Jan) Caudle and Woody (Michelle) Caudle.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM, Monday, October 5, 2026 at the Southwest Church of Christ in Amarillo. Kyle Wade of the Southwest Church of Christ will officiate. The burial will be in Texhoma, Texas. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd, Amarillo, Texas.