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Friday, July 6
Leong a legend in drag racing
By Chuck Etchells
Special to ESPN.com
| |  | | | Epler |
| |  | | | Etchells |
The big news coming out of the Etchells Racing camp as we head to Pomona, Calif., for the NHRA 50th Anniversary Nationals is our hiring of Roland Leong as crew chief on Jim Epler's Racing Champions/Matco Tools Camaro. It's a move we had been contemplating for quite some time but hadn't been able to pull the trigger on until now.
As most of you who read this column know, we came into the 2001 season with the simple philosophy that we would be one team running two cars. Both cars would be set up identically with one person, in this case Terry Manzer, overseeing both of them. We honestly felt that would be the best way to maximize the benefits of a two-car operation.
Needless to say, it would have been a huge undertaking under the best of circumstances, which is the absolute last way you could describe our season so far.
For a sport that goes in a straight line, we've thrown Terry and Larry Meyer nothing but curves. Naturally, they have had to deal with the budgetary restrictions brought on by our extended sponsorship battles, and once Sunoco came on board, they've been working with our suppliers to restock our depleted parts inventory.
If that wasn't enough, we've also been forced to completely restructure the team on several occasions with Terry and Larry handling the recruitment of new crew members. As many of them have come to us without previous experience, quite a bit of time throughout the year has been spent on training. Of course, all of this was going on while they were trying to prepare Jim's and my cars to compete during arguably the most hotly contested season in the history of Funny Car. In retrospect, we asked them to do the impossible.
It soon became evident we needed another seasoned veteran to raise the team's collective IQ, and to take some of the load off Terry and Larry. However, just as I've done when I brought Terry on board, or added a second car with Jim as the driver, I wanted to make sure we had the right person for the job. Whoever we hired would have to complement the people we already had in place, and be able to work closely with Terry and Larry.
I think a perfect illustration of how good a fit Roland will be comes from the process we went through to get him.
After our initial discussions he pretty much knew the job was his to take, but he would not make a final decision until he spent some time on the phone with both myself and Terry learning our competitive philosophy. Roland realizes the importance of team chemistry in a winning combination, and wanted to make sure his way of running a car would mesh well with Terry's and mine. It bodes well for the future of Etchells Racing that he came on board after looking into the inner workings of our team.
Simply put, Roland Leong is a legend in the sport of drag racing, having been involved in the NHRA almost since its inception. In the 1960s and '70s, he fielded a series of race cars carrying the nickname of "Hawaiian" that were the class of the field. Over the course of his career, he has worked with many of the top stars in the sport, including fellow islander Danny Ongais and current Top Fuel ace Mike Dunn, as well as Wes Cerny, who has been known to turn a wrench or two.
Once Roland parked his own team, he started an equally successful career as a crew chief, most notably with Ron Capps, with whom he finished second in the championship a few years ago.
Obviously, Roland brings a wealth of experience that should only help the whole team get better. It may not happen overnight, but I feel extremely confident that you will see the Etchells Racing Team start to deliver the type of performance both you and we have come to expect from us.
Chuck Etchells, driver and owner the Sunoco/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Funny Car, provides a diary to ESPN.com throughout the NHRA season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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