The answer is “yes”. The proof, New Edge Performance celebrates it’s 10th Anniversary in August 2010. Operating 10 years online….that seems like it is not possible. Time flies when you are having fun and learning , not only a new business, but a new business model.

Back in 2000, after we all survived the “Y2K” scare, New Edge Performance was started to serve a new customer in a relatively new market niche, using a new business model. Let me explain; there was a segment of automotive enthusiasts who were looking for vehicles other than what had been traditionally modified for show, racing, etc. Around the year 2000, there were only a handful of vehicles still “available” (new or used) such as the Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac (remember them?) Firebird, and a couple “high performance” versions of some mid-size and full-size pick-up trucks. Older “muscle cars” were out of reach for many younger enthusiasts due to price or the extensive renovation that many required due to the deteriorating condition of such an older vehicle.

So many younger automotive enthusiasts who were not interested in the traditional high performance platforms, turned their attention to the widely available compact cars such as Honda Civics. As the market for high performance parts grew for Hondas and other import cars, many of the traditional speed shops and automotive parts retailers chose not to service this segment of the market. Thus, car stereo shops and cell phone stores were often offering performance parts for the popular import cars to satisfy the needs of the new enthusiasts.

These new enthusiasts were quick to embrace the internet as a reference source for information instead of the traditional print medium of car magazines. These same enthusiasts would also scour the internet for performance parts and accessories that were not available elsewhere. Those retailers offering parts to this market segment by way of e-commerce found many customers ready to spend money.

As the Import/Sport Compact market segment continued to develop beyond the popular Honda Civics and Acura Integras and domestic-made Sport Compact cars became accepted, some retailers chose to cater to narrow market segments such as only serving one make and model of vehicle or only imported vehicles.

In the Summer of 1999, Ford had introduced it’s then new Focus model to the North American market. Ford was making a significant effort to market the Focus to the younger “tuners” hoping to get a new customer and keep them in Ford products throughout their car-buying years. Ford worked with aftermarket and performance manufacturers to get them to offer parts and accessories for the new Focus. And the aftermarket responded with product, lots of product.

There was just one small problem. Traditional Speed Shops and other automotive parts retailers didn’t know how to reach the Sport Compact “Tuner” market. Few Mustang specialists who move lots of high performance parts for Ford Products wanted anything to do with the Focus. And most Sport Compact or “Tuner” Shops wanted nothing to do with a domestic car like a Ford Focus.

This was the “window of opportunity” for which New Edge Performance was created in August of 2000. The objective was simple; offer a large selection of Ford Focus performance parts and accessories by way of e-commerce and have what the customer wanted in stock to fill orders quickly. It worked. There was plenty of competition, but you cannot be afraid of that…especially on the internet.

From this humble beginning with 10 Ford Focus items on a Yahoo Store, New Edge Performance has grown to offer over 550 items for a number of popular makes and models of Sport Compact vehicles as well as the Ford Mustang. Sure, there are larger e-commerce stores out there, some of them call New Edge Performance when they can’t figure out which 2.0L engine is in their customer’s Focus!

As many of my customers traded-in their beloved Focus (Foci? Focuses?), they would call New Edge Performance looking for performance parts and aftermarket accessories for their new rides. This helped to fuel the growth of New Edge Performance’s expansion into new market segments such as the New Mustang (2005 and newer S197), Honda Fit, 2006 and newer Honda Civic and Si, Cobalt SS, Scions, MINI Coopers, Miatas, SRT4, WRX/STi, 350Z, Mazda3, Acura Integra and RSX, and many more to come.

So as August 2010 rolls around, I would like to thank all my customers and suppliers who took a chance on New Edge Performance and made all this possible. I also have to thank those who went out on the various message boards and made recommendations to use New Edge Performance to other like-minded automotive enthusiasts. And I also have to thank my wife and my son for putting up with the long hours …missing ball games, being late for dinner, spending way too much time online. They also made this 10 year anniversary a reality!

Link to see webstore http://www.newedgeperformance.com/

Later tonight at 8:00 PM on Fox is the Bud Shootout…oldtimers like me remember this race as the old Busch Clash.

Duels at Daytona are on Thursday 2:00 and 4:00Pm on SpeedTV

Trucks on SpeedTV, Friday at 7:30 PM

Saturday, Nationwide Series at 1:00 PM on ESPN2

And of course, the Daytona 500 on Sunday 1:00 PM

Live racing on TV, can Spring be far behind?

I feel better already!

Usually too cold to work on your toys.

No live racing, if you are lucky you might see some British, German, or Australian Touring Car Races on SpeedTV. Or maybe some  TV shows about building Hot Rods, or the damn collector car auctions.

What’s a Gearhead to do?  Wait til Spring, I guess.

But whar are the first signs of Spring?

GroundHog Day? Nope.

Flowers blooming? Are you kidding me? It is snowing here in the MidAtlantic Region!

Warmer weather? I wish!

Racing!

24 hours of LeMons and ChumpCar have both completed their first $500 “claimer” road racing endurance events. Dirt Late Models and Modifieds are competing on the clay at East Bay in Florida. This weekend, the green flag drops on the 24 Hours of Daytona starts the Sports Car road racing season.

Next week, the NASCAR boys (and girls…remember Danica is racing some Nationwide Series events this year) kick off their season with the Daytona shootout. OldTimers like me still call it the Busch Clash, a name this event had for many years. With this event, the “redneck high holy days” commence!

I feel better already!

From the original circuit where I had the pleasure of learning to race in Regional SCCA Events, Bill Scott made numerous improvements for both the driver’s and spectators. How many of you remember when the only shower on the premises was an outside shower? Damn it was cold too! Luckily, improved facilities were added throughout the complex. In addition to improvements in expanding run-off areas, new pavement and curbing, orchard of gourmet apples was started  next to the 3000+ ft front stretch of the original course. I recall attending a Lobster Dinner held in the apple packing house as part of a SVRA Vintage Racing weekend.

Being located in the Mid-Atlantic region, there are only so many “good weather” weekends that are scheduled to host events. With this dilemma, Bill Scott found the only way to expand his business was to build more racetracks! On the same location. And he started it off with the Jefferson Circuit. The Jefferson Circuit is smaller than the original course and designed with the capability to be run in either direction.  As part of the Jefferson Circuit, a structure was added that would work as a classroom, registration for events, and restrooms. Now Summit Point could accomodate two events simultaneously. But that was not yet enough to satisfy the demand for racing events.

Next was the Shenandoah Circuit. It was designed to be run in a number of different configurations. One of the more interesting characteristics of the Shenandoah Circuit is the portion modeled after a portion of the Nurburgring and it is said that this section is dimensionally accurate. Now with three tracks available, Summit Point Motorsports Park has sufficient demand to host more amateur racing groups in the relatively densely populated MidAtlantic Region.

From a business standpoint, it was genius! But who would have guessed that there would be so much demand for amateur road racing facilities? Summit Point Motorsports Park has hosted Professional Road Racing events in the past such as IMSA, Trans Am, etc, but it’s main focus is providing a safe racing experience to the growing amateur road racing ranks. SCCA, NASA, Vintage, track daygroups, various car clubs, motorcycle and karting sanctioning bodies all are clients of Summit Point Motorsports Park.

Currently, the Gasoline Alley project is underway which will provide facilities for racing and automotive related businesses. Think of it as a racing industrial park complex. Bill Scott worked with West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to attract businesses to Gasoline Alley.

In addition to being a great businessman, Bill Scott was also an accomplished race driver and used those talents to teach others to race. This teaching talent was also used in many of his car control and anti-terrorist driving classes that were offered through BSR.

But most importantly, he gave many of us a place to race.

God Speed Bill Scott.

Link to Summit Point Motorsports Park

http://www.summitpoint-raceway.com/

Link to newspaper article

http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=235643&format=html

http://chumpcar.com

Seems that the most significant, growing interest in road racing in America is in the 24 Hours of LeMons and the ChumpCar series. I guess people want to be part of the action without spending a fortune to do so. And they look like they are having fun doing so. Have you seen any of the pictures of the cars and drivers online? Or any of the videos on YouTube? I get a good laugh every time I watch a video or see the pictures from the latest event.

Maybe more people relate to keeping a cheap car running? Or is it the fact that they can have fun and walk away from their investment in scrap metal without fear of financial ruin? Or could it be that both series provide a significant “bang-for-the-buck” when it comes to the cost and the amount of track time (assuming your racer can stay together long enough?).  Or, maybe it is the fact that “fun” is a larger part of the equation?

While some people have asked “how can they equalize the competition among so many different types of cars?” The answer is easy. Cheap, worn-out cars with limited preparation will be equalized by mechanical failures, refueling (faster cars may require more pit stops for gasoline), driver changes, amateur pit crews, and other maintenance issues over the course of racing hour after hour. A dependable mount is a better choice than a really fast car. Besides, if you are too fast in the LeMons series, you might be voted off the island with the Peoples’ Curse award. And your car subsequently destroyed by construction equipment or an angry mob of your competitors. In the ChumpCar series, race officials can claim your car for a pre-set price and auction it off. Proceeds above the claimer price go to charity and yes, the race team whose car was claimed is eligible to buy it back…just make sure you bring your wallet!

There are other differences between the LeMons series and the ChumpCar Series relating to rules, penalties, format etc. Check the websites of each for the specifics.

Is the success of these series the result of other road racing series inability to attract fans and capture their attention? Or is the success attributable to the lower barriers to entry that LeMons and ChumpCar offer compared to most road racing series?  Or do lots of enthusiasts just want to have fun with cars without going broke? Or all of the above?

Maybe I like them both because I’m a cheapskate.

Links below to both series:

http://www.24hoursof lemons.com

http://chumpcar.com

Review the 2010 schedules of both series and go witness the insanity when it comes to your area!

While I was not planning on this chore for Saturday morning, I did get to get some “garage therapy”.  Something about working on your car in the sanctity of one’s garage is very therapeutic to me. Not sure if it is the sense of accomplishment or the feel of the air gun in one’s hands, or the hum of the air compressor, or all of the above.  I have performed this chore thousands of times for my customers in my days at the DLTS (Dirty Little Tire Store as it was lovingly referred to by a customer), so it was not like I was “breaking new ground”.  But it was satisfying.  Some car guys will understand that doing your own work is more than just saving money, it is taking care of your car on your own terms. True, there is no shortage of great mechanics and technicians that could do this job probably better and faster than I did it, but I like knowing that is was done the way I liked it.

Not only did I save money on auto service, I saved money on a therapist.  Gotta change the oil in the SVT soon!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I spoke with a number of people who have spent some money on big ticket items like cars (after the Cash 4 Clunkers deal ended) and major appliances despite what the media says about the economy being sluggish. I still have orders to fill in my online performance parts business, so there are people spending money there as well. We may not be out of the woods yet, but I see things slowly getting better.

Have you noticed all the 2010 New Camaros on the road? Seems like GM might have a hit on their hands with that one. One day while eating lunch, I noticed three Camaros go by in about 20 minutes. I do not live in a big city and there are only two Chevy dealerships in the area. As I have said in the past, “if they are here, they must be everywhere by now”. The New Camaro was one of the biggest news items out of the SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) in Las Vegas  in early November. Lots of Camaros modified and many new performance parts introduced to satisfy the expected demand for this new platform. I guess I better start working on a New Camaro section for the New Edge Performance online store?

Kia also had some big news at the SEMA Show, the Kia Koup will be racing in the GrandAm Koni Challenge Series in 2010. Kia using this racing series to promote their good-looking Koup to the performance market. Some comments about the Kia Koup are that it looks a lot like the current Honda Civic Si Coupe. I was always told that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I wonder if Honda sees it that way? Kia performance parts cannot be far behind.

This sounds crazy, who would do this? Some recent events had over 140 entrants. Not all teams are selected to participate! You often need a theme to increase your chances of being selected. Some teams not only have themes, they decorate the car and the drivers and crew dress up as well. Recently a Super Mario team had all team members dressed up like the characters from the popular video game as well as having numerous Mario-related decorations adorning their racing machine. Then there was Team PorcuBimmer…something about a joke about BMW owners and their similarities/differences with a porcupine. Their ride was decorated with quills on the roof. You get the idea, have fun and do not be too serious.

How do they prevent cheating you ask? Car must be inspected for safety and then a “BS factor” is assessed. If the judges, who are usually clad in robes and white wigs, think that you have spent too much in preparing your car, they will assess a penalty of a number of laps. Bribing is allowed, even encouraged.

Still not convinced that the above will deter cheaters? The Peoples Curse usually does the trick. Think of it as being voted off the island for those of you who are fans of reality TV. Winners of the People’s Curse will have their car destroyed before their eyes by any number of methods such as an angry mob with sledgehammers, or a bulldozer…have you ever seen an engine removed from a car with an excavator? It is quite a deterrent for most participants. Don’t believe it? Check out YouTube for video evidence, (it is quite entertaining!)

Grassroots Motorsports Magazine (one of my favorite print reads) December 2009 issue has an article about the 24 Hours of LeMons, you can check it out at www.grmotorsports.com. Circle Track Magazine had a series of articles showing the preparation and results of their entrant in a LeMons event this past year in Kershaw, SC.  Online, Autoblog and Jalopnik often have results as well as extensive picture galleries from most LeMons events. You have to check this out, it will put a smile on your face, When was the last time NASCAR did that?

If you “get” my starting analogy, you will probably “get” what I have to say about life, cars, auto racing etc.

When you are a small child, your parents may have given you toy cars and trucks to play with….some say I have never moved beyond that. Now the toys, tools, parts, books and magazines take up a lot more room. For the last 20 years, I have made my living in the automotive industry. First as an owner-operator of a small tire store and now as an online entrepreneur selling performance auto parts. You could say that I am very much immersed in the automotive lifestyle.

As part of this automotive odyssey there have been many people who have helped me along the way, many of whom I cannot name. Some were writers and editors of the myriad of car magazines that I have read over the last 30 plus years while others were friends, employees, or acquaintances who taught me something about working on cars, racing, or life. Now, I see it as my turn to repay those who helped my by passing on the little knowledge I have retained over the years.

With the Internet becoming a bigger part of our daily lives, there have been some casualties along the way. In the last year, three of the car magazine subscriptions I have enjoyed have been discontinued and combined with existing titles. As I mentioned in the above paragraph, I have had a car magazine habit for a long time and find this change disappointing, but hardly surprising. True, there are many great automotive blogs looking to “take up the slack” such as Autoblog, Jalopnik, SpeedSportLife, MotoIQ, TopSpeed, but there is still “something missing” that the car magazines provided. I will make an attempt to fill part of that void with my experiences in the car hobby, auto racing and automotive performance business as well as my perspectives as an entrepreneur, gearhead, racer and race fan.