ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608190022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Racing
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
Philip Morris swears by it. Jeff Agnew and Tam Topham are on the verge of capturing the New River Valley Speedway's Late Model Stock and Limited Sportsman titles respectively because of it.
It is a Kowalsky racing engine, manufactured by Lynchburg-based Kowalsky Machinery, and it has been responsible for 19 victories in the 34 combined Late Model and Limited Sportsman races held at the Radford track in 1996. That total is the most for any engine builder. To put it simply, Kowalsky has been the power behind the speedway's marquee drivers this season.
Started 10 years ago by Don Kowalsky, the company has steadily built its reputation as one of the top producers of Late Model and Busch Grand National engines in the region. In 1991, Johnny Rumley rode a Kowalsky-powered car to the Winston Racing Series Mid-Atlantic division title. This year Agnew ranks fifth in the Blue Ridge Region. Kowalsky's past Busch clients have included Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin.
"Things are pretty busy here right now," Kowalsky said. "We've got a couple of Busch engines in that we're trying to get back to Danny Edwards. Needless to say, I do this because I like it and have been around it for years."
Kowalsky's business day normally starts at 7 a.m. Occasionally, he doesn't return home until 11 p.m. or later. In the end, the hours of work pay dividends on the region's short tracks.
"We're pretty competitive when it comes to drivers that use our engines," said Tammy Kowalsky, Don's daughter and right-hand employee,. "We like to hear that they are doing well with them. Every Monday, I call all the drivers that run our engines to find out how they did and see if there's anything they need. Most have pretty good things to say."
Tammy Kowalsky has heard all about Agnew's six wins and four poles, Rodney Cundiff's three victories, Morris' two wins and three poles and Topham's eight checkered flags in the Limited Sportsman division. Just three weeks ago, Edwards qualified sixth at Indianapolis.
"We have more drivers at the New River Valley Speedway than anywhere else," Tammy Kowalsky said. "But we've got engines all over the place."
At last count, Kowalsky racing engines are being run weekly at no less than eight tracks - NRV Speedway, South Boston, Langley, Caraway, Kingsport, Franklin County, Ace and Martinsville. Some teams own more than one. Morris has three.
"I would think that anyone thinking of getting into racing should check out one of those engines," Morris said. "The first time I tried one, it pushed me back in the seat and I was like, 'Yeah, I've got to have one of these.'"
According to Morris, Don Kowalsky's commitment to perfection is one of the reasons he has continued to run his race engines. Where many Late Model engine builders prefer to build one basic engine package, Kowalsky works individually with his clients to ensure the best possible fit between engine and driver.
"We like our engines a little different, and Don's real good about giving it to you," Morris said. "It's not unusual for him to come to you with three different carburetors to experiment with. If I want to sacrifice something on the top end to gain somewhere else, he can do it."
At $14,500 a pop for a Kowalsky-built Chevrolet engine and $16,500 for a Ford, race car drivers in today's expensive Late Model division want an engine that will continue to make returns on the initial investment for a long period of time.
"The engines are real durable," Morris said. "I've never lost or dropped out of a race because of a Kowalsky part. Other parts have broken, but not a single one that Don designed. A couple of weeks ago, I had to run our oldest engine because of a wreck in the [Kroger/WDBJ-7 250]. It probably had 15 races under it and was spitting oil the entire race. But we finished second and were coming on strong at the finish. That should say enough about how I feel about them."
According to employee Jeff Spence, the success rate of a Kowalsky engine is a direct result of the efforts of their internal research and development with a couple of test engines.
"Don does a lot of work to make sure the drivers are getting the perfect engine for the type of driver they are," Spence said. "Pretty much everyone knows everyone else's horsepower numbers, but some of the numbers we've seen this year have been at or above the numbers of other Busch teams. A lot of those teams have large in-house groups."
So what's next for Kowalsky racing engines? Possibly a move into Winston Cup engine production says Tammy Kowalsky. More immediately, the entire production is moving five minutes down U.S. 29 to a brand-new 6,000-square-foot location.
"The interstate is coming through here and wiping everything around here out." Tammy Kowalsky said a new highway was expected to claim the property where the old garage is.
``So we're going to move to a new place,'' she said. ``It's kind of a blessing because we've got the opportunity to build the new place to suit our needs a little better."
Odds are, the new location will have a larger wall from which to hang the numerous plaques and awards bearing the names and pictures of Kowalsky drivers winning weekly races.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CHAD WILLIS/Staff. Long days in the shop pay off big onby CNBregional short tracks
for Lynchburg-based engine builder Don Kowalsky. color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING