Northam's James Rowland is like a kid in a drag racing candy store after being approached by Boomeracing to take on the tuning responsibilities for the team for the next season, sighting the opportunity as a huge privilege.

"This is an amazing opportunity for me and I'm really looking forward to the challenge," says a refreshingly well mannered and appreciative James, who will be stepping into a whole new world of advising people easily three-times his age.

And with such advanced knowledge for his vintage, one can be forgiven for taking a second look at James' surname for clues of any drag racing pedigree.

"I've grown up around drag racing, with my dad currently holding both the national AA/Funny Car and AA/Altered National records," James says proudly of father Stuart who is no stranger to piloting race cars to sub-six second runs down the quarter mile.

"I've got a lot to learn and I'll certainly be asking dad for tuning tips, as well as continuing to talk to experts both here and in America."

But when asked of how someone can know so much about supercharged engines despite their age, James simply responds with "I read… a lot!"

And it's that thirst for expertise mixed with good old fashioned manners that got the attention of supercharged VT Commodore driver, Maurice Brennan who is doing his best to accommodate James' passion for all things fast.

"How many fifteen year olds do you know who have manners like this kid, and are just a pleasure to have around? He's an absolute credit to his family, not to mention that he's already given the team some tips that have really advanced our progress."

Maurice credits the fresh faced whiz kid with tuning insights that rocketed the car to it's standout 6.55 second elapsed time at the recent 37th Chill Westernationals at the Perth Motorplex in March.

Despite his fascination with speed, James isn't as keen as you might think to take over the driving duties of the 350 kph Commodore.

"Maybe it would be fun to have a "pedal" of the car to see what it's like, but I'm more interested in the technical side of things and working out how to give the car more horsepower on the track."

What doesn't come as a surprise however is James' career aspirations. "I'd love to study to become a mechanical engineer, but if the opportunity came up to work on a race team in America, I'd jump at that," he says leaving you to think that it would be a more than likely outcome, despite his unassuming teachability.

Until then, both James and Maurice will have their hands full with the upcoming Winternationals in Queensland in June which has attracted over 500 teams nationwide, taking the newly famed Commodore for its first visit to the east coast.

And regardless of how the team fares on Queensland soil, be assured there'll be more than a handful of older guys walking past the Boomeracing pits shaking their head after seeing a 15 year old giving the orders.

Not in jealousy, or even as an insult. Just in plain amazement.