NAPLES — Over the course of the last six decades, an array of audacious adjectives have been used to describe swamp buggy racing.

Truth be known, the sport is defined by a single proper noun -- the first name of man whose legacy will live long after the engines are silenced.

Leonard.

He’s been called everything from “The Godfather of Swamp Buggy Racing” to a “scaly ol’ reptile” emerging from the muck.

Leonard Chesser -- he turned 70 years young on Feb. 27 -- has earned all of his monikers. And when he drives the last lap of his storied career Sunday at the Florida Sports Park, no one has yet dared to suggest how he will be replaced.

“You can’t replace Leonard Chesser,” says longtime track announcer and Swamp Buggy, Inc., Board Member Emeritus John Norman. “Leonard Chesser is swamp buggy racing.”

Chesser is holding true to the prediction he made two years ago, when he said he would hang up his steering wheel when he reached 70. On Friday, the man who has won more Big Feature races than anyone in the history of the mechanized mudslinging, insisted this will be his official retirement as a driver.

“We’ve heard before that Leonard is retiring,” chuckled Norman. “I will say this: When Leonard looks me straight in the eye and tells me he’s retiring, I’ll believe it.”

In Sunday’s Spring Classic event that begins at 12:30 p.m., Chesser again will be at the wheel of his famous orange Pro Modified screamer called Dats Da One. This is actually the third generation of the machine.

As for how much money Chesser has spent racing over the years, the crafty carpenter doesn’t even want to think about it.

“Heck, no,” he says. “I’d probably be a millionaire.”

Fellow competitor Randy Johns doesn’t want to think about Leonard’s tab, either.

“I know I’ve been racing for 10 years and I’ve invested about $400,000 in it so far,” the driver of the Top Gun buggy says. “I know Leonard has to be well beyond that.”

The methodical Chesser says that by laying aside about $300 of every paycheck, he’s stayed competitive in a class where one motor can cost up to $40,000.

“The only reason I’ve been able to keep racing is because I don’t have any bills,” Leonard says. “I’ve lived on the same property for a long time and, even now, I live off the land as much as possible.”

Chesser now likes to spend about three months each year in Alaska, where he enjoys –- and benefits from – moose hunting.

“I can bring back 150 to 200 pounds of meat every year,” he says.

The logic makes sense. What Chesser doesn’t spend on food and drink, he can spend on racing.

Behind the wheel, his reputation is well-documented. He’ll race hard, and he’ll race fair.

“Some of the tightest races I’ve had have been against Leonard,” Johns says. “You can race him side-by-side and you know he won’t try to take your lane or push you over. That’s just the way he’s always driven.”

The Chesser name always has been huge at the Mile-O-Mud. His brother, Lonnie, drove for years before finally deciding to devote his effort to building buggies for others. Leonard’s daughter, Amy, and son, Glen, both will be racing Sunday. Eddie Chesser, the current Budweiser Cup Series points leader and seven-time Cup champion, is Leonard’s nephew.

“I won’t drive anymore, but I do want to keep comin’ out and helpin’ Amy and Glen as much as I can,” says Leonard, a former stock car racer who won his first Big Feature in swamp buggies back in 1970. He’s won 25 such races in all, and he thinks he has a chance to win Sunday as well.

“I don’t care about Bud Cups because the way the points are, you can win a Cup without having any competition in your class. That’s something that needs changing,” he says. “I like the competition in the Pro Mod class. The tight races are the ones that are the most fun. I don’t like runaways.”

Nor does Leonard appreciate drivers and teams who bend the rulebook.

“I don’t hold grudges, but I don’t like cheaters,” he says emphatically. “A while back, we had some guys using illegal gas and we cleaned that up. You know, when a guy is winnin’ by cheatin’, he’s only foolin’ himself.”

As a member of the Swamp Buggy, Inc., Board of Directors, he’s been able to provide some valuable input to those responsible for making sure that the playing field is level.

“He’s been good for this sport in all respects,” Swamp Buggy, Inc., President Rob Swift says. “He means a lot to the sport. He is swamp buggy racing. On the board, he’s really done a good job of helping us with what we need to know to be able to put on good races and a good show for the crowd.”

Of course a man who has been racing since 1956 has had to adapt. Many of his former foes -- Lee Hancock, David Sims and Terry Langford -- no longer compete, and Leonard misses them.

“Man, some of the races I had with those guys were just unbelievable,” he says. “They were a lot of fun.”

Chesser says he’s always believed in helping out other competitors at the track on race day. He’s been known to offer all kinds of parts to drivers who have suffered unexpected problems.

“Absolutely,” Norman Tester, another longtime Swamp Buggy, Inc., board member says. “He’s always helped others like that. And there’s one thing about Leonard: If you race him and he wins, he’s deserving of it because he’s race fair and square.”

A man known at times to shy away from the spotlight, Chesser has become the object of considerable storytelling over the years.

“Oh yeah, there’s a lot of good stories about Leonard,” Norman says. “Some of them go way, way back. I mean, you know we’ve been talking about Leonard turning 70 years old for about 20 years now, it seems. So I guess now if he says he’s 70, that sounds about right.”

Sunday’s Spring Classic should last about four hours. One way or another, Chesser will be there 'til the end.

“All good things eventually have to end,” Johns says. “We’ll sure miss Leonard.”

E-mail Tom Rife at heart22@comcast.net