We have lost another great one

[Guy]

RIP Roland...

 

[robinjackson]

Roland paid us a couple of visits in Britain too. Here is Simon Groves' tribute on Eurodragster.com:

European Drag Racing News

And I took this snapshot of Roland, with Susie and Jerry & Theresa Inouye, enjoying the November chill at Stonehenge. Drag racing, eh?

 

[Butch]

It's not just us......

2003 Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran dead at 56

www.motorsport.com

You're right and here's another.
Just saw this in Forbes,

The last of NASCAR’s blue collar working men drivers has passed away. Cale Yarborough died Sunday morning in hospice care in Florence, South Carolina not far from his hometown of Timmonsville. He was 84.
Yarborough’s passing marks the last of the generation of drivers who worked their way up from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of America’s largest stock car auto racing winning 83 races and three NASCAR championships along the way.

 

[Burnnitro1320]

Add Mike Kopchick to the list

 

[flapjack]

Add Mike Kopchick to the list

of Rage Fuel Systems?

 

[DixonFan]

of Rage Fuel Systems?

Michael T. Kopchick, Sr. Obituary 2023 - Miller Rivers Caulder Funeral Home

View Michael T. Kopchick, Sr.'s obituary, send flowers and find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

www.mrcfuneralhome.com

 

[65 Goatboy]

This is a picture from the Car and Driver article on his induction. So sad.

View attachment 14128

I don't find the picture sad. He was still around to get the reward with his good buddy Don. I watched my Mom slowly die from copd on oxygen. She lived to 81 and some of the best memories I have are the last few years of her life. Which should all be lucky to live to 79.

 

[Randy]

I don't find the picture sad. He was still around to get the reward with his good buddy Don. I watched my Mom slowly die from copd on oxygen. She lived to 81 and some of the best memories I have are the last few years of her life. Which should all be lucky to live to 79.

I didn't mean the picture was sad, but that he's gone.

 

[Rajunz]

Here's an interesting photo. Okuhara and Dixon on the right, 240 Gordie was the driver, and Leonard Hughes crew chief painted on the hood. Leonard (not pictured) was the crew chief on this car for 2 years after they lost the Motorcraft sponsorship and Oswald left. When Candies and Hughes got the got the Smoking Joe's deal, 240 went with Leonard to drive it.

 

[mick]

lance, thanks for that pic and history of roland, leonard, and gordy with this '93 FC

 

[Randy]

Almost looks like Dixon, Jr, on the far right.

 

[mick]

it is larry jr. isn't it? he must have taken a year or two off from prudhomme's teams?

 

[65 Goatboy]

I didn't mean the picture was sad, but that he's gone.

One of the true Nhra legends, not many are left. I vividly remember watching him on tv and I might have seen him live in the 90's at Memphis Motorsports Park, don't remember. Hope all the "young" guys watch the Legends series on Competition Plus. Watched Roland's last night.

 

[Rajunz]

it is larry jr. isn't it? he must have taken a year or two off from prudhomme's teams?

Yeah, the Hawaiian Vacation cars were in 1992 and 1993, so it was right before he started driving for Snake.

Roland always ran his cars out of Keith Black's shop in the late 60s and early 70s. C&H were one of his biggest customers so Leonard was with Roland a lot, they raced together a lot back then. Snake too! The very first aluminum block from Black was ran in C&H's dragster around '72 or '73?

 

[mike]

Yeah, the Hawaiian Vacation cars were in 1992 and 1993, so it was right before he started driving for Snake.

Roland always ran his cars out of Keith Black's shop in the late 60s and early 70s. C&H were one of his biggest customers so Leonard was with Roland a lot, they raced together a lot back then. Snake too! The very first aluminum block from Black was ran in C&H's dragster around '

I think Snow had one of the first blocks

 

[mick]

larry jr. was with snake in '89 in skoal pontiac. i think don went to TF in 1990? not sure if larry was still with him. wonder what prompted him to work
for roland for '93 and '94'? his TF rookie year was '95 ........ slightly related; to think 1994 was don ending his driving career. 29 years later he shows up with capps
at indy for the mattel tribute car.......30 years since we watched the hawaiian, the snake, pisano FC, and others of same era. seems like yesterday. life happens too fast.

 

[vern]

I rember the Hawaiian Punch car running big mph with Wes Cerny tuning it. It did have some huge top end expolsions when they hit the high speed lean-out. I think Dunn said he would close his eyes sometimes when he reached for it.

 

[mick]

cerny tuned the '91 hawaiian w/jim white driving. reset a lot of records and big wins that year. pretty sure he was with bernstein and armstrong the previous year
for the 'king of speed' run in gainesville in '90. prior to '90, i can not recall cerny on the tour. not sure who was making the calls for the hawaiian when dunn was driving it.
best guess would be roland himself.

 

[Paul]

cerny tuned the '91 hawaiian w/jim white driving. reset a lot of records and big wins that year. pretty sure he was with bernstein and armstrong the previous year
for the 'king of speed' run in gainesville in '90. prior to '90, i can not recall cerny on the tour. not sure who was making the calls for the hawaiian when dunn was driving it.
best guess would be roland himself.

Cerny was with Bernstein the year after, 92.

 

[Rich D]

Yeah, the Hawaiian Vacation cars were in 1992 and 1993, so it was right before he started driving for Snake.

Roland always ran his cars out of Keith Black's shop in the late 60s and early 70s. C&H were one of his biggest customers so Leonard was with Roland a lot, they raced together a lot back then. Snake too! The very first aluminum block from Black was ran in C&H's dragster around '72 or '73?

Surprisingly, the Hawaiian Vacation car only had a lifespan of 10 events in 1993 from March (Houston) to August (Sonoma?). 1993 was Prudhomme's second to last year and was winless. Dixon took over for Snake in 1995.