Roland Leonard Wlodyka was an American stock car racing driver and mechanic, driving in the

NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

in the 1970s and later crew chiefing in the Cup and

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

in the 1980s and 1990s.

Racing career

Wlodyka quit drag racing to begin oval track competition in 1970. By the beginning of the 1977 season, Wlodyka had joined

Rod Osterlund Rodney W Osterlund (November 19, 1934-) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car owner spanning from 1977–1981, and then again from 1989–1991. He earned his money off rental property in California. Osterlund's first race as a car owner was at the ...

to drive in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. By May 1978, Roland had given up the driver's seat after 11 races to take on his new role of Team Manager of Osterlund Racing, while

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

finished out the 1978 season behind the wheel. For the 1979 season, Wlodyka hired

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...

who drove for Osterlund until the conclusion of the 1981 season. In the late 1980s, Wlodyka served as a part-time crew chief in the Cup Series, working with

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...

Rodney Combs Rodney Combs (born March 27, 1950) is an American former stock car racing driver. He has not been in NASCAR since 1997, when he was released from his ride in the Busch Series. Combs entered NASCAR after many years on the open-wheel and short trac ...

and

Hut Stricklin Waymond Lane "Hut" Stricklin Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Stricklin grew up in Calera, Alabama. He married Pam Allison, the daughter of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison after they ...

. In the late 1990s, Wlodyka crew chiefed in the

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

, working for Akins-Sutton Motorsports,

Circle Bar Racing Circle Bar Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 1997 to 2010. The team was most notable for its relationship with Ford Motor Company as well as its long-time driver, Rick Crawford. Beginnings ...

Liberty Racing Liberty Racing was an American auto racing team co-owned by former Cleveland Cavaliers player Brad Daugherty and owner of Liberty auto Group Jim Herrick. The team ran a single Ford in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series between 1995 and 2000. Nota ...

and Phelon Motorsports, working with future Cup champion

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...

while at Liberty.

Death

Wlodyka died in Lake Wylie, South Carolina on January 30, 2020.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

* * 1938 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California Racing drivers from San Jose, California NASCAR drivers American people of Polish descent {{NASCAR-bio-stub