High Five
Five Decisions that Built The World’s Speed Shop?
If you or your father—or even your grandfather—were into hot rodding back in the 1970s, chances are there was a black-and-white Summit Racing catalog laying around your garage. When you compare that catalog to the detailed, full color Summit Racing catalog that’s on your workbench or in your den right now, you get a pretty good idea just how far Summit Racing Equipment has come over the years.
In just over 40 years, Summit Racing has grown from a side business to the world’s largest direct mail and Internet supplier of high performance automotive equipment. To find the building blocks to the company’s amazing growth, you have to look beyond those catalog pages to five key events that built The World’s Speed Shop.
1972: Summit Racing Goes Mail Order
When you think about Summit Racing Equipment, one of the first things you probably picture is the huge Summit Racing catalog stuffed with performance parts and accessories. But the company’s entire mail order program started with a couple of simple ads in the back of a few magazines.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Summit Racing was strictly a retail operation with stores in the Akron, Ohio area. The company would place the occasional ad in local newspapers but decided to go national by securing ads for Mickey Thompson ET Wheels (priced at just $19.95 each) in Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines in 1972.
These ads proved to be so successful that Summit Racing decided to produce a full catalog to mail to customers across the country. In 1974, the first Summit Racing catalog was produced—written and designed by one person. By 1976, orders were rolling in so fast, the company decided to add a full-time phone staff. Summit Racing Equipment’s transition to mail-order company was in full swing.
In 1987, Summit Racing decided to turn its annual catalog into a bi-monthly publication. Today, the original “Big Book” catalog features full color, highly detailed photos and descriptions of thousands of parts. Plus, Summit Racing expanded its line through other catalogs, including Custom Style, Tools and Garage Accessories, and Genuine Hotrod Hardware. And it all started with those two little ads in Hot Rod and Car Craft in 1972.
1980: Primetime Performance
In 1980, Summit Racing decided to show off its tech expertise by building a project vehicle. The Summit Racing Lazer 917 kit car, the company’s first project car, was featured at the 1980 Car Craft Street Machine Nationals. Summit Racing’s second project car, a Pontiac Firebird, was featured at the 1981 Car Craft Street Machine Nationals. The success of these project cars demonstrated the value of showing the Summit Racing logo at events and races.
Since those first two project cars, Summit Racing has built other vehicles to showcase its products and expertise to its various markets. The 594 horsepower, all-wheel drive QuadraDeuce (2000) was conceived and designed for street rod enthusiasts; the 958 horsepower QuikStang 1995 Ford Mustang (1999) and the 920 horsepower SR61 1961 Ford Starliner (2006) were geared toward street machine guys; and the Under ConsTRUCKtion Ford F-150 (2003) was first lifted then lowered to appeal to a broad group of truck fans.
In the early 1980s, Summit Racing brought the news of its low prices, big selection, and great service to the dragstrips of America. In 1984, the company sponsored its first sportsman racer. By 1990, Summit Racing was sponsoring professional Pro Stock drivers on the NHRA’s popular Winston Series circuit. Today, the Summit Racing logo is on the cars of some of drag racing’s biggest names, including Pro Stock champions Greg Anderson and Jason Line. The company also sponsors three national events and owns naming rights to the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
It seems like you see the red, white, and blue Summit Racing Equipment logo everywhere—and it all started with the decision to take Summit Racing to the people in 1980.
1990: Service Steps Up
In a recent survey, Summit Racing Equipment was rated number one in customer service. Although Summit Racing has always done its best to properly serve its customers, its drive to deliver the best service in the industry began in 1990 when it decided to keep its customer service and order lines open 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
Prior to 1990, the order lines were open until 9:00 pm EST, but performance enthusiasts continued calling long past “closing time.” Realizing that many hot rodders worked on their projects in the evenings and even through the night, Summit Racing saw that it could serve customers better by staying open all night.
Other steps to improve service followed. In 1993, Summit Racing began offering free ground service shipping. In 1994, the Summit Racing Express Line opened to provide quicker, easier ordering to customers who knew exactly what they wanted. Today, Summit Racing also provides the industry’s largest full-time technical department to help enthusiasts complete their projects the right way.
1998: The Westward Expansion
In the 1990s, Summit Racing had a reputation for its huge in-stock selection and fast delivery. In fact, the company was able to offer free delivery in just two days to some parts of the country. However, company management realized additional distribution centers would be needed to provide the free 2-day delivery to more areas of the country.
Summit Racing opened its second warehouse in Sparks, Nevada in 1998. This second warehouse provided the space necessary to stock more parts and ensured free 2-day delivery to customers on much of the West Coast. The success of the second warehouse paved the way for a third distribution center and Retail Super Store, which opened in McDonough, Georgia in 2006. Thanks to this third warehouse and store, Summit Racing is now able to deliver to much of the Southeast in one to two days.
The new retail stores gave the company a presence at three different corners of the country. The popular stores host cruise-ins and car shows throughout the year and reinforce the company’s nickname—The World’s Speed Shop.
1998: Cyber-Summit
As Summit Racing moved toward the new millennium, the management team recognized the popularity of online shopping. In 1998, the company added an online parts catalog to its website, SummitRacing.com.
The goal of the Summit Racing online parts catalog was—and still is—simple: To give customers one more fast, easy way to get the parts they need for their projects. Thanks to the virtually unlimited space available on the Internet, the online catalog features Summit Racing’s entire inventory of parts online—not just the products that fit into a space-limited paper catalog. It also features more in-depth product descriptions, instruction sheets to make the buying decision easier for the customer, and suggested parts to help customers make the most of the products they buy.
Since the debut of the online parts catalog, Summit Racing has enhanced the site’s search capabilities to help customers find the right parts even faster. Shoppers can now search for parts by vehicle make and model, engine family, product category, brand, part number, or keyword. The “Compare” function allows customers to make side-by-side comparisons of product features, so they can make a more informed buying decision.
Once they’ve found the items they want, customers can create a wishlist with the exclusive My Garage feature. My Garage allows customers to plan and organize projects, create parts wishlists, and browse other people’s projects for ideas. Once customers are ready to purchase, they can place orders quickly and easily with the secure, streamlined checkout process.
Today, the Summit Racing website includes extra features to help customers make the right purchase decision. An online tech library with technical articles, FAQs, and the popular “Ask the Professor” Professor Overdrive tech archive helps customers find answers to their tech questions. The Savings Central section includes special money-saving deals, and the Customer Service section allows customers to track their order from the Summit Racing warehouse right to their door and get answers from Summit Racing’s renowned customer service department.
The Summit Racing online store may seem light years ahead of that first Summit Racing magazine ad in Hot Rod and Car Craft. But they’re both a big part of Summit Racing Equipment’s 40 years of legendary performance.
Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and McDonough, Georgia.
