INDUSTRY NEWS
Fast Facts
The Boninfante Group hired Tom Kundrik as ProTorque’s director of motorsports and sales. In addition to fielding customer service calls and offering technical support over the phone, Kundrik will also travel the country to attend drag-racing events and provide on-site service and support for customers. He will also facilitate the launch of several new product lines, including supercharger-specific torque converters for ProTorque. Kundrik comes from Mickey Thompson Performance Wheels & Tires as the motorsports manager.
Speedway Motors announced four recent promotions within the company. Richard Thomas (left) was promoted to director of operations. Thomas, who held various leadership positions in the U.S. Navy, first joined Speedway Motors in 2018 in the compliance department, where he helped oversee regulatory compliance. Andrew Boellstorff (second left) was promoted to director of digital product and technology. With more than 15 years of experience, he’s held positions at GT Exhaust, EMIT Technologies, Nebraska Book Company and Spreetail. Brandon Bisch (second right) was promoted to director of e-commerce. Bisch held numerous positions in the company since 2005. Kaitlin Mathison (right) was promoted to director of marketplaces. She first joined Speedway Motors in 2015.
Banks Power announced Matthew Gamble as its design, assembly and testing manager for its DMax engine programs. Gamble will help design, develop and launch the high-performance, turnkey variants of the Banks D866T engine in his new position, and he will also lead performance and durability demonstration events, among other duties. He arrives at Banks from Edelbrock, where he managed the company’s cylinder head and water pump lines. Previously, he managed 15 successful launch campaigns of Delta IV rockets at Rocketdyne and oversaw the health monitoring systems at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
Warn Industries announced the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Fabtech Industries Inc., a manufacturer of aftermarket suspensions for light trucks, Jeeps and SUVs. Fabtech’s product offerings include suspension systems, shocks and leveling kits. The company was founded in 1989 as a custom fabrication firm specializing in racing suspension systems and prerunner builds, cages, bumpers and other products. Today, the company has more than 2,000 SKUs in its portfolio.
Holley announced that Dominic Bardos was appointed CFO. A financial executive with extensive public company experience, Bardos will serve as a member of the executive leadership team and report directly to President and CEO Tom Tomlinson. Bardos recently served as vice president of finance for Tractor Supply Co. He previously served as CFO for Cambridge Franchise Holdings. Additionally, he held several leadership positions at ServiceMaster, including three years as the divisional CFO for Terminix, its largest division.
Westin Automotive announced that Adam Trowbridge was promoted to COO, which will include responsibility for D.C. operations, product management and marketing. As Westin COO, Trowbridge’s experience and ability to execute will help drive the future success of the business as it grows.
ATI Performance Products announced the appointment of Vince Fourcade as chief transmission technology officer. Fourcade brings three decades of performance racing and automatic transmission building expertise to this new position. Fourcade raced in the Pro Stock, Pro Rear Wheel Drive, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster categories in the ’80s. He opened his own transmission shop in 1998.
The Wheel Group (TWG) announced Gerry Geronimo as its new marketing manager. His past positions were most recently leading the marketing efforts at Vision Wheel. Prior to that, he spent nearly a decade in multiple marketing functions at Wheel Pros as well as other companies outside of the industry. Geronimo will lead the marketing efforts for all 17 proprietary brands in The Wheel Group’s portfolio.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) technical department announced the addition of Lonnie Grim as the new national tech director. Grim comes to the NHRA with more than 15 years of experience within the sport of drag racing. He most recently served as the competition/series tech director at the Professional Drag Racing Association. Grim joins the technical department led by NHRA Vice President of Competition Ned Walliser.
McCarthy Tire Service purchased the assets of Tire Sales LLC, an affiliate of The TSS Group LLC, which specializes in services to the mining and aggregate industries. Tire Sales’ product and service operations will be merged into McCarthy Tire’s current commercial locations in nearby Levittown and Trainer, Pennsylvania. The five key service team employees of Tire Sales will join McCarthy Tire Service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Race Winning Brands Inc., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries LLC, announced the acquisition of Victory 1 Performance, a supplier of manufactured and forged high-performance titanium and alloy valves. Victory represents the eighth add-on acquisition for Race Winning Brands. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Victory has been a source of valvetrain components for engine builders, cylinder head manufacturers and racers for nearly three decades.
MagnaFlow announced the hire of Cary Redman as director of retail sales. Before joining MagnaFlow, Redman served as vice president at Edelbrock, where he oversaw brand management activities along with the conceptualization and implementation of market segment strategies. Prior, he spent nearly 15 years in sales management with Prestolite Performance and Holley Performance. Redman reports to MagnaFlow Senior Vice President of Sales Kevin German.
Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI) announced the addition of Hollie Maxymillian, a veteran automotive retail marketing specialist, to serve as the company’s new Hot Shot’s Secret product manager. Reporting to LSI President Brett Tennar, Maxymillian will review all current Hot Shot’s Secret distribution to capitalize on retail advertising opportunities, co-op programs, shelf placement, in-store and e-commerce promotions.
