Roland Leonard Wlodyka (October 15, 1938 – January 30, 2020) was an American stock car racing driver and mechanic, driving in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1970s and later serving as crew chief in the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series 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 to drive in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. By May 1978, he had given up the driver's seat after 11 racesCareer statistics for Roland Wlodyka at Racing Reference to take on his new role of team manager of Osterlund Racing, while Dave Marcis finished out the 1978 season behind the wheel. For the 1979 season, Wlodyka hired Dale Earnhardt 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, Rodney Combs and Hut Stricklin. In the late 1990s, Wlodyka crew chiefed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, working for Akins-Sutton Motorsports, Circle Bar Racing, Liberty Racing and Phelon Motorsports, working with future Cup champion Kevin Harvick 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 NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pts Ref 1977 Osterlund Racing 91 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH29 DAY NSV 64th 219 98 POC31 TAL MCH BRI DAR36 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT39 CAR ATL ONT15 1978 RSDDNQ RCH26 CAR32 ATL18 BRI27 DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT21 NSV RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 44th 549 Buick DAY19
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