Who owns summit racing equipment

Most Americans just want their car to start in the morning. If it has some spunk getting on the highway-that's great. But for about 1 percent of car owners, the auto is a statement of identity and a fascination. These aren't flashy Corvettes, either. He is rebuilding a Dodge Magnum, replete with a roll cage and a fuel cell, which prevents gasoline from sloshing around, in the trunk.

Traditionally the performance and accessories business has been controlled by small job shops that rely heavily on large automotive warehouses for parts. But in recent years, the warehouses have backed away from slow-selling performance parts. The reason is simple: The faster the warehouses sell parts, the faster they ring up profits.

So parts that don't sell briskly are eliminated from the stock. That leaves people such as Goldinger, who might need a valve spring for that '78 Dodge, in the lurch. And this is where Summit Racing and others have filled this void, loading up on hard-to-find parts and targeting the performance buyer.

Super Shops, based in San Bernardino, Calif. Jeg's High Performance, based in Columbus, Ohio, has three stores and a mail-order business. This competition keeps everybody in the industry wary and private. Sergi takes delight in responding to questions about the business in a game-show format. What are Summit Racing's annual sales? How many people are on its mailing list? But he can't hide the more than ,square-foot reflective glass headquarters in Tallmadge.

It glints like a race car only a few miles from where the Akron tire industry was born in drab red-brick rubber shops. Employees in the vibrant and bustling complex do everything from selling parts to walk-in customers to tracking down parts in the warehouse.

The task can be enormous: Summit's computer inventory contains about 88, parts. On the third floor, telemarketing employees have phones strapped to their heads and feed the warehouse fresh orders within minutes of the call. It's slick compared to Summit Racing's previous operation. It had five buildings of leased space in an area once dominated by tire warehouses.

Sergi, the son of a New Jersey farmer, started the business in the late s to offset the costs of tinkering with Corvettes. His first location was a spare bedroom in his home.

But his sideline grew quickly. Sergi eventually quit his job as an engineer at Terex, a General Motors Corp. Early on, mail order struck a chord. Summit Racing Equipment was started in as a part-time, one-person business operated out of a spare bedroom. This helped us to solve the critical issue of startup funding and establish ourselves in the marketplace. They are quick to lend aid and provide thoughtful solutions.

Joel A. Summit Racing. Tallmadge , OH US. Visit Website.