INDIANAPOLIS, August 27, 2001 - Defending U.S. Nationals champion.
That's the well-deserved title Chevy Camaro Funny Car driver Jim Epler earned
after winning last year's event in a final-round showdown with Whit Bazemore.
Now Epler returns to the "Big Go," driving out of the Chuck Etchells Racing
camp, sporting a commemorative 35th anniversary Chevy Camaro paint scheme and
seeking his second victory in a row at IRP. He was also runner-up at this
event in '99.
"This paint scheme is particularly exciting to me because I started drag
racing in a '67 Camaro," stated Epler. "Who would have thought that twenty
years later I would help celebrate the Camaro's 35th anniversary with the
ultimate hot rod - a 6,000 horsepower Nitro Funny Car painted to look like
the special 35th Anniversary edition.
"It promises to be a very special weekend. We're going to have a large
contingent representing Camaro Clubs from all across the United States on
hand to cheer us on, so the pressure will be on us to give them a strong
showing. The best way to do that is to have the 35th Anniversary Camaro win
the NHRA's biggest race during its 50th anniversary season."
Epler is a drag racing veteran who's compiled four wins in 12 final
rounds over the course of his career. He won his first race at the '92
Winternationals and was the first Funny Car driver to exceed the 300 mph
barrier at Topeka, Kan., in '93.
This season Epler has a runner-up finish at Sonoma to his credit and
sits 11th in the points standings, less than five rounds out of the top 10.
After a slow start at the beginning of the year, the 43-year-old Phoenix,
Ariz., resident has seen his fortunes improve with the July arrival of Roland
Leong as crew chief.

Have you enjoyed being a part of the Chuck Etchells team? "Yes I have. We
started a two-car team with Chuck (Etchells) after coming off two years with
Jerry Toliver. I had an idea on how a two-car team should work so we put our
heads together. I knew it would be a slow start. Putting a two-car team
together is a lot of work. Getting the right mix of people took a lot of
work too. Originally when we first put it together, Terry Manzer was going to
be crew chief of both cars. It was very difficult for him to do that because
we kept running into problems with our crew. People would quit on us, or
they didn't get along and we'd have to let some go, etc. So we got off to a
slow start from that standpoint. We didn't have a lot of success. We decided
to bring Roland Leong in to help us out. He is concentrating solely on my
Chevy Camaro and Terry is concentrating solely on Chuck's car now. We feel
like it's going to work out a lot better that way. We're still working on the
right combination to get our crew guys together. We've built a shop in
Indianapolis. We wanted everyone to be based here and have more of a normal
life for a crew guy. That's what we're working on for long-term
arrangements. I think that's going in the right direction."

Are you happy with how your team has been running? "I've been to one
semifinal and a final round. We would like to of course get some more of
those. But really, what we're doing now is getting ready for next year with
both cars. Sponsors are big pieces of that. I'm going to end up having 14
different-sponsored cars this season. For me that's been a lot of work. But
the best thing has been getting those sponsors exposed to the sport. We have
gotten some of those that will in turn be a part of the program in the long
term. The goal is being accomplished that way. I wish we were running
better and going for the championship, but now we have to look at it as a
long-term goal. So if we come out of this with good, solid three-year
programs I'll consider it a success. We'll have one year under our belt as a
two-car team, and we'll know what works and what doesn't. Next year should
be a lot more fun."

Are you going to try and keep the same crew members you have now for next
year? "Well, I'm real happy with our top people. Roland (Leong), Dave
(Hutchens), Terry (Manzer) and Larry (Meyer) are exceptional. We need to try
and keep recruiting other key people. What will help with that is when we
can sign some long-term sponsors, then that will attract better people."

Are you enjoying the season? "Yes I am. The thing is when I was with
Toliver, I wasn't involved in the business end of things. In the past, I've
always been involved in that. That's what I like to do. I don't like to
just be a driver and I was just a driver there. We were successful to a
certain extent, but it wasn't what I wanted. I'm happier being a part of a
team with Chuck. I like Chuck and I like working with him. We have no ego
problems and that means a lot."

Is it a confidence booster heading into Indy where you are defending
champion? "Yes it is. We won last year and we were runner-up the year
before. We've had success at this track. But I will say it is a completely
different surface now. It's going to be just like Chicago where the really
good cars are going to be fast and consistent. We can't rely on high 4.90s
and 5.00s to win Indy this year. You're really going to have to run good.
We tested there, and it looks like to have a good weekend you're going to
have to run in the 4.80s every round if the conditions are right. The
surface is that good. If it's cloudy and cool it will be really good. So,
even though we won here, this year it's a totally different track."

What's a typical weekend for you and your team and how do you prepare? "Well,
Roland is very methodical about how he wants to go about a race. As you can
see from the past few races he gets progressively quicker every round. He
likes to go out right away, get down the racetrack, figure out where it's
good and where it isn't and where he can improve. Then he tries to get it
better each round. Then when we go up to the line for first round on
raceday, based on who we run, he'll have a pretty good idea as to what we'll
need to do to beat him. I really like doing it that way. It takes a lot of
pressure off of me even though sometimes we are at the bottom of the order,
and during the last session we end up in the middle of the pack. What we
want to do now is start out in the middle of the pack and then run more
towards the top in the end. The way Roland is doing it is the right way. The
thing about Roland is that he is such a good racer and he understands how to
win. He's got a good understanding on what it takes to win."

What goals do you have set for the rest of the season? "Top 10 realistically.
Based on our struggles, getting in the top-10 would be a great
accomplishment. I hate to not finish in the top 10. Really my goal is to
come out of this year with three, solid long-term sponsors for both cars.
That is the goal. Performance is one thing but we really did this to put
some solid backing in Etchell's racing."

What does your future look like in racing? "That's a good question. I look
at a lot of guys and they're in their 50s and Force is still in his prime. I
don't know if I want to do it that long, but I think I do. The key is to be
competitive. Once you have a taste of that you have to always strive to do
better. I hope it doesn't take until I'm 50 to get a championship, but I can
see myself driving for another 10 years and then being involved in the sport
long after that with sponsors."