Photo courtesy of Ryan Roberts Photography

Faced with the loss of its largest industrial customer, this engine building and machine shop in South Central Pennsylvania restructured and re-invented itself as a multi-faceted operation that now serves up race-winning powerplants for competitors throughout the region and beyond.

For those who have never passed through Breezewood, Pennsylvania, it’s a small town that can best be described as a strip of businesses designed to cater to travelers who stumble upon this strange convergence of Interstate 70, US Highway 30, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Once a sparkling little city of lights dubbed the “City of Hotels,” the town is now more known for its decaying remnants of that former glory than anything, as more and more travelers these days are inclined to just pass through without stopping.

Tucked into this once bustling little town is LaSalle Engine & Chassis, home to one of the premier dirt track engine builders in the area. The building itself is humble, a former bank building Chuck LaSalle has transformed into an engine building operation. The resourcefulness of this group comes through when shop manager Luke Nesbitt points out with pride how the bulletproof glass from the bank drive-through has been repurposed for the engine dyno room window.

LaSalle did not start out with the goal of becoming an engine builder. Instead, the inspiration that became LaSalle Engine & Chassis came about in 1987. LaSalle, a dirt track racer at the time, was competing in a big race and lost oil pressure in his engine. This experience motivated him to build his own engines and try to make a go of machining and building engines for others.

The business started as a two-man shop next to his home and steadily grew until it moved into the 7,800-square-foot former bank building. By then, the company was using top-notch equipment to do all block prep and head reconditioning. In 2014, LaSalle added balancing and crank grinding services, with engine dyno service coming onboard in 2016. In 2021, LaSalle upgraded equipment with a new CWT crankshaft balancing machine and a reconditioned Berco crankshaft grinding machine.

By 2016, the business had reached its peak of 20 employees, and its primary focus had settled on industrial engines, with only a handful of racing engines being built in the shop. It was at that peak of success that a major challenge to the company’s existence occurred. It lost its largest industrial customer, causing it to restructure and redefine the business in order to survive. The loss of business did result in reductions in staffing, but numerous strategies were employed to remain afloat and establish new customers. LaSalle invested in more advertising to spread word of his services, purchased new equipment, upgraded existing equipment, and retrained the remaining workforce to focus on the needs of his customers. To strengthen the business, it evolved from the original mix of 98% industrial engine product sales in 2015, to a more balanced 30% heavy- and mid-truck engines; 25% industrial and farm engines; 25% passenger, classic, and muscle car engines; and 20% racing engines.

Experience Matters

The LaSalle team currently consists of eight employees who possess more than 165 years of combined overall machine shop and engine rebuilding experience, with 115 of those years happening right in the LaSalle shop. LaSalle cited the commitment of these employees to producing quality engines, and as a result, a lack of turnover. Leading the team are Nesbitt, the shop manager who has a degree in machine tool technology, and head machinist Paul Shandor, a journeyman machinist.

All employees are trained on the job for the specific machines used in the shop. During LaSalle’s industrial-focused days, it achieved ISO-certified status. Even though there’s no longer a need for the certification, it still utilizes the ISO-documented processes to ensure its customers receive the highest quality products and services possible.

LaSalle’s customer base is mostly within a 200-mile radius, but some of its racing engines have shipped as far away as Tennessee, Minnesota, and Indiana, with its industrial engines shipping all over the United States and also to other countries.

In addition to engine-building services, LaSalle also sells methanol; is an East Coast warehouse distributor for Champion Oils; and is a dealer for VP Racing Fuels, Outerwears Performance Products, Randy’s Racing Filters, and Klotz Synthetic Lubricants.

All of this is a source of pride for LaSalle, who explained, “I’m very proud of my shop and my guys. We are not engine assemblers; we are engine builders. We can make stuff; we can make valve seats. We can make stuff fit. An engine assembler is someone who buys stuff from the suppliers and puts it together in their garage. We can actually grind cranks; we can do our stuff here. We take engines from scratch and build them up.”

That ability to “make stuff” comes in handy considering the diversity of engines the shop builds. The oldest engine that went through the shop was a single-cylinder, 9-horsepower 1903 Waukesha. Other recent unique builds include engines for a 1931 Studebaker and 1928 Cadillac, along with two 1947 flatheads that were in the shop when this interview occurred.

As LaSalle noted, he and his team will work on a variety of engines, including those for golf carts, jet skis, and boats. This characteristic is something that makes LaSalle Engine & Chassis a bit different as far as most engine builders go. It allows customers to bring in their engines and parts to see if those parts can be used to build a quality engine. The answer is not always yes, but the team will look at what the customer has and give honest advice.

That honest approach is what brought Larry “Pork” Sell to LaSalle as an early customer. According to Sell, “I’ve known Chuck for years, and when he went into business, I thought I’d try him because I knew him. I’ve had no complaints since I started getting him to do my engines. We won three championships in the first four years that we had his engines. We’ve had very little trouble with anything, and if we did [have trouble] he took care of it immediately without any added charges. I started racing in 1982 at Jennerstown and raced against him and his brother. I’ve known him ever since. He’s been nothing but honest with me. My sponsor told Chuck he wanted the best he could build, but it had to be legal.”

Sell’s sponsor is one LaSalle recalled well. He explained, “Larry’s car is sponsored by a business owned by a pastor who stressed, ‘I want a good engine, but it has to be legal.’ He didn’t want to be embarrassed as a pastor and a businessman by being disqualified for an illegal engine. Even more so, it would be embarrassing to me as an engine builder if the only way I could win was by cheating.”

Dirt Track Domination

LaSalle’s passion for the world of dirt track racing is obvious after stepping through the doors of the LaSalle shop, with all the pictures on the walls of his winning customers. But he quickly added, “I like anything that goes fast or makes a lot of noise.”

To explain the logistics of this customer base, the old real estate adage of “location, location, location” applies to LaSalle’s dirt track customers. He explained that a large part of the passion and emphasis on dirt track racing is due to about a dozen dirt racing tracks within a two-hour tow of the shop and a number of others not too much further. Due to this proximity to local tracks, LaSalle builds engines for hobby cruisers, street stocks, semi-lates, limited lates, super lates, and modifieds.

On top of that, South Central Pennsylvania is also a hot spot for sprint car racing. For that style of car, LaSalle builds a “house engine” for the 305 sprints, an engine program Austin Reed runs. Since 305 sprints are popular throughout the country, LaSalle has customers as far away as Oklahoma, Minnesota, Indiana, and New York. One of its more recognizable customers, Jones Performance, whose parts are featured on the “Trick My Truck” TV show, uses a LaSalle engine in its sprint car, driven by Roman and Vivian Jones. With LaSalle power, Vivian was able to win in her fourth time out in the car.

Success is not unusual for cars using LaSalle engines. He reported that in 2021, “our engines won 63 races and five track championships.” Even with the reduced racing schedules in 2020 due to COVID-19, LaSalle engines still earned more than 50 wins. “We have a lot of good customers, a lot of good guys.”

Even though LaSalle has a well-balanced customer base, he quickly clarified that the business doesn’t just build dirt track engines, as it also has customers who participate in drag racing and tractor pulling, along with customers who focus on restorations. LaSalle also proudly noted that his team built five engines for vehicles that crossed the auction block at the famed Barrett-Jackson car auctions.

Helping Others

Outstanding service after the sale for each and every customer is a hallmark of LaSalle’s success, which is evident in the dirt racing program. During the racing season, Doug McGinnes, who assembles most of the racing engines, will attend events at the local dirt track for quick repairs.

To stay informed, LaSalle and his team keep up with the latest technology through magazines, webinars, and related events, including attending the annual PRI Trade Show. LaSalle reported that the team constantly talks with their customers and their parts and equipment suppliers, and, of course, listens to what is going on at the track. Once they have received input from those sources, they incorporate the best ideas into the engine building process and then move on to testing in the dyno room. Finally, drivers running their house engines provide feedback, which is then used to enhance the performance of all of the builds.

Although some businesses may seem detached and lack personal attention, LaSalle has found the opposite to be true for his company’s success. “We are not competitors with other engine builders,” he said. “We want to be friends and work together. That’s how you become successful. Everybody is surprised to find we’re friends with other engine builders. Yeah, we help each other. It’s not about me against you, we’re friends. We call back and forth and help each other when we can; not working against each other. That’s how I was raised and that’s how I do business.

“When you make true friends, that’s priceless,” he continued. “Money can’t buy friendships. I cherish my friends and the people I work with more than anything. Our shop manager, Luke Nesbitt, is an example of that. He’s an amazing person. Always thinking, not about one thing in particular, but he thinks about all kinds of engines; how to get more horsepower, how to get that old tractor engine fixed when we cannot find the parts we need. That’s what made this business. It’s not me. It’s my guys. It’s everybody here. Every one of my employees has a special talent, and it’s a combination of all of them. It’s not one person. Everybody here has something to contribute. My guys are all open-minded and smart. I wouldn’t know what to do without them. I love them.”

The feeling of friendship and family that is felt within LaSalle’s staff and is spread through its suppliers and customer base is reflected in one of its newer customers, Drake Troutman. It’s hard to imagine Drake as a veteran racer, as he is only 16 years old and just got his driver’s permit.

“They don’t cut any corners,” Troutman said. “They’re the type that only puts out the best. Chuck won’t do a motor unless it’s going to be 100%. If someone doesn’t want to go to 100%, then he won’t do that motor for them. That’s the kind of people they are.

“They hopped onboard with me not long after I started racing, which was when I was 11 years old back in 2016. I haven’t switched since. Their engines are the only thing I run. They’re like another set of grandparents to me, great people, church-going people. They won’t cheat you out of anything. I feel like they’re really out for what’s best for the customers.”

As a result of running LaSalle engines, Troutman won 55 races in the past five years and multiple championships, including three track titles and the 2021 Renegades of Dirt Modified Tour championship. “I’m trying to step up to the late model series right now,” he added.

Troutman credits LaSalle, Nesbitt, and the entire team for their engine building expertise. “They have a good crew up there,” he said. “They’re small and local, but they’ve proven themselves every weekend. They have a lot of 305 engines out there. As an engine builder, Chuck’s as good as anyone out there. Chuck’s the type who wants the best. If someone comes in and wants to cut corners, he won’t do it [the job] because he doesn’t want it out there with his name on it. He doesn’t need a ton of people, but the people he does have, he wants good people who will go all out with their motors and with their program. They’re a class act. Chuck cares about everyone who works for them. It’s awesome to see how much their business has grown in just the last four or five years since I’ve been with them. One of them is always out there at the track to help.”

All of these factors—the skill to build its own parts, its high level of service, doing what it takes to keep the business up to date and viable, a commitment to excellence and honesty, and treating everyone like family—adds up to the successful business that is LaSalle Engine & Chassis.