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Crew Chief
No. 33 RoadLoans.com/Camping World Chevrolet
Wally Rogers will crew chief the
No. 33 RoadLoans.com/ Camping World Chevrolet for the 2008 NASCAR
Nationwide Series. A second-generation racer, Rogers’ father drove
Modified cars at the historic Wall Stadium racetrack in New
Jersey.
“I got started in racing as a kid,” remembered Rogers. “My father
raced Modifieds at Wall Stadium in New Jersey. I think I was about
17 or 18 when I went to work part-time for the International Race
of Champions (IROC) Series. I worked there right up until 1995. I
actually went to college for awhile, but found out quickly it
wasn’t for me because all I could think about was working on race
cars.”
Rogers’ progression up through the NASCAR ranks was steady. After
leaving the IROC Series in 1996, he joined Andy Petree Racing as a
mechanic. Showing promise early, he quickly became car chief and
front-tire changer for Petree’s No. 33 Sprint Cup Chevrolet driven
by Joe Nemechek. In 2001, Rogers got his big break when he became
crew chief for the Ed Evans owned No.7 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Chevrolet driven by Randy LaJoie. Wally’s ability to guide the
team to two wins, nine top-five and 27 top-10 finishes solidified
his standing with Harvick as a crew chief at Kevin Harvick Inc.
(KHI).
“DeLana and I got to know Wally when he was working with Joe and
Randy,” said team co-owner Kevin Harvick. “We hired him in 2003
just to get things rolling at our shop and help out on a couple of
races with us. We liked what we saw and decided to go ahead with
him as our crew chief. We thought that age-wise and attitude-wise
he fit into what we were trying to do.”
The New Jersey-native sat atop the KHI pit box for the first time
in 2003 at Las Vegas helping LaJoie to a 13th-place finish. The
next time was Phoenix where he and his new co-owner took the No. 6
KHI Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Although this early start helped
him with the transition from cars to trucks, he still feels he has
a lot of learning to do.
In his duties as crew chief, Rogers not only sits atop the team’s
war wagon and directs race strategy, but he also supervises the
building of the team’s equipment in the KHI race shop in
Kernersville, N.C. Rogers led Ron Hornaday and team to a
fourth-place finish in the Truck Series point standings in 2005.
The team earned a victory early in the year at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor
Speedway and a pole at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway, with seven
top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
Throughout the 2006 season, Rogers pulled “double-duty” 11 times
as crew chief of the No. 33 Outdoor Channel/Old Spice Nationwide
Series car and the No. 33 Chevrolet in the Truck Series. Rogers
led the No. 33 Nationwide Series team to a 10th-place finish in
the Owner’s Point standings. Assisting with the No. 33 Truck
Series efforts, Rogers helped Hornaday finish seventh in the point
standings.
During the 2007 season, Rogers took over the role of crew chief on
the No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series. With a total of six drivers, Kevin Harvick,
Bobby Labonte, Ron Hornaday, Scott Wimmer, Brandon Miller and
Kertus Davis, the No. 77 Chevrolet defined teamwork as it finished
the season 15th in Owner’s Point Standings. Rogers and crew
recorded one victory throughout the season and compiled three
top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
“I think hooking up with Kevin is an incredible opportunity for
me,” says Rogers. “I look at what Kevin’s done within the last
few years as an owner with DeLana and I’ve seen how he’s grown.
He has visions for the future and he’s including myself and all
the guys at KHI to be that foundation. I think that’s going to be
a good foundation for a Nationwide Series team, or maybe even a
Cup team ten years down the road, if that’s what Kevin wants to
do.” |
