By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would allow  motorsports to resume immediately under certain conditions.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation (H.B. 2489) that would allow outdoor recreational activities, including motorsports, to resume immediately under certain conditions.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s emergency Business Closure Order does not allow any recreational activity businesses, such as spectator sports, to operate. The bill requires such activities to adhere to the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The bill is currently awaiting consideration in the House Committee on State Government.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website.

For details, contact Christian Robinson at stateleg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would allow  motorsports to resume immediately under certain conditions.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation (H.B. 2489) that would allow outdoor recreational activities, including motorsports, to resume immediately under certain conditions.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s emergency Business Closure Order does not allow any recreational activity businesses, such as spectator sports, to operate. The bill requires such activities to adhere to the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The bill is currently awaiting consideration in the House Committee on State Government.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website.

For details, contact Christian Robinson at stateleg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would allow  motorsports to resume immediately under certain conditions.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation (H.B. 2489) that would allow outdoor recreational activities, including motorsports, to resume immediately under certain conditions.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s emergency Business Closure Order does not allow any recreational activity businesses, such as spectator sports, to operate. The bill requires such activities to adhere to the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The bill is currently awaiting consideration in the House Committee on State Government.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website.

For details, contact Christian Robinson at stateleg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would allow  motorsports to resume immediately under certain conditions.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced SEMA-supported legislation (H.B. 2489) that would allow outdoor recreational activities, including motorsports, to resume immediately under certain conditions.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s emergency Business Closure Order does not allow any recreational activity businesses, such as spectator sports, to operate. The bill requires such activities to adhere to the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The bill is currently awaiting consideration in the House Committee on State Government.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website.

For details, contact Christian Robinson at stateleg@sema.org.

SEMA News—May 2020

RETAIL BEST PRACTICES

By Mike Imlay

Retail Doldrums?

Rethinking Some Basics Can Get Your Business Bouncing Again

Almost every retail owner will experience times when the business feels stuck in the doldrums. But if you can shift your approach in a few fundamental areas, you can soon get your business back on track as a rewarding venture.

Getting “unstuck” is a popular small-business topic, and there’s no end to advice articles online. Most of them deal chiefly with burnout and the motivational blocks that can stymie a business owner. However, small-business expert Barry Moltz believes that there’s more to getting a retail business unstuck than motivational gimmickry—even while he concedes that it’s hard for a business owner to exude enthusiasm day in and day out.

“The problem is, how can you expect your team to be enthusiastic if you’re not?” Moltz said. “That’s why you need to have some kind of mission that is larger than whatever you sell or the service you provide.”

Success, Failure and “Bouncing”

Still, having a mission is just the starting point for getting a stuck retail operation back on course. According to Moltz, real forward movement comes from shifting your views about business in general toward a more realistic appraisal of what defines success.

“Most people think that if you just work hard, you’ll be successful, but I say that it takes a lot more than hard work,” he explained. “Your timing in the market has to be right.”

Moltz pointed to Netflix as an example. Its founders originally wanted to mail customers VHS tapes but soon realized that the videos would be too bulky, expensive and inconvenient. Then DVDs burst onto the scene, offering the perfect solution.

“Their timing was right on that—it didn’t matter how hard they were going to work,” Moltz said. “I also believe that you’ve got to have a little bit of luck with the timing. I believe that the harder you work, the more you spread your risk and the luckier you get. But ‘overnight success’ usually takes seven to 10 years.”

Which means a retail owner must also view failure from a new perspective. Moltz sees a fine line between woefully “accepting” failure versus recognizing that it’s bound to happen.

“I think you have to realize that there’s going to be failure if you are pushing the envelope of any kind of business or business model,” he said. “The key thing isn’t accepting it; the key thing is what you do once you’ve failed. I always say that you can feel really sorry for yourself, have a pity party, cheer the darkness when you fail, but you have to let go of failure. You have to say, ‘Okay, this is what’s happened.’ You may not always understand why [a tactic] failed, but you have to go on and try something else. I believe it’s these patient, iterative steps that really get to where you want to go overall from a success standpoint.”

Moltz said that business owners should embrace the concept of “bouncing,” along with that new approach to failure.

“A lot of people talk about ‘bouncing back,’” he said. “But I think that when we bounce, we don’t always bounce back. Sometimes it takes us to a different place. It’s almost like a sailboat tacking across a windy lake. You can’t go straight to your target, so you’ve got to make a decision and see what happens. If you end up to the right of where you want to be, you make another decision that pushes you to the left. You make another decision, and it pushes you farther to the left. So these small, patient, iterative steps have you kind of bouncing all over the place. But you’re always trying to go to that general target.”

Having embraced new perspectives on work, success, failure and bouncing forward, the retail owner can next tackle the deeper behaviors that often hamper an enterprise.

1. Succumbing to Daily Distractions

From his frequent speaking engagements with small-business entrepreneurs, Moltz has met many who equate being busy with being productive, missing a crucial distinction.

“Being busy is doing stuff,” he said. “Being productive is focusing on the stuff that’s really important. It’s not a time issue. It’s an attention issue.”

To overcome that tendency, many efficiency experts recommend that retail owners go to work each day armed with a full to-do list and specific action items to tick off before checking e-mail, voice messages and social media. But Moltz recommended a slightly different approach: Each day, set aside two things you have to get done to consider the day successful. Then don’t let the day unfold haphazardly.

“Shut off all the time vampires,” he advised. “For a certain part of the day, for an hour during the day, shut off all your interruptions, whether electronic or in your office or whatever. Then decide the one or two things that you’re going to get done in that hour that will really make a difference to your business. Every single time you have a hard time focusing and want to interrupt yourself, just take a minute and go back to where you were. The hardest thing is to focus your attention, because our attention span is about eight seconds now, and goldfish attention spans are nine seconds.”

2. Not Constantly Marketing

Being small operations, many retailers concentrate on serving and making sales to immediate customers, then shifting to marketing efforts when there’s downtime or sales slack off. Or perhaps they don’t like to do marketing because they hate asking people to buy things.

“They become stuck because they don’t keep their pipeline full,” Moltz said. “They just wait for customers to come in. And you can’t do that. You have to do marketing all the time.”

That is because a retailer can’t actually sell anything to people who are unready to buy.

“If I don’t have the pain or the need that your [business] solves, I’m never going to buy from you,” he said. “But as soon as I have that pain or need, you want me to think of you as a possible alternative.”

That means constantly reminding potential customers that you’re there—preferably through automated systems for email marketing, content marketing, social media or regular advertising that can track where the leads are coming from.

“There are a lot of really easy tools out there,” Moltz noted. “You can hire a consultant for an hour if you want, but it doesn’t take a lot of time. The hardest part is actually planning the content of what you’re going to send out. What I suggest is just coming up with topics. For example, one of the topics might be ‘the most replaced part on a used car.’ That might be the title of an email, and it might point to a survey or some other thing that provides that result. At the least, it reminds people that you’re an expert in this area.”

3. Failing to Leverage Staff

A third common reason that a retail operation can sputter is a lack of delegation of critical roles and decision-making to staff. As Moltz put it, “Instead of it being more hierarchical where the employees that you hire are leveraged to make decisions and do their part in the business, your business remains stuck because you’re at the center of everybody, and every major decision goes through you. There is no leverage. Every person in the company is kind of your assistant, and that’s a problem, because unless you find leverage through employees, you don’t really have a company. You just have
a job.”

Ultimately, Moltz said, success in business relies less on big ideas and more on how entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition. We’ve all seen people succeed with an idea that we might have once thought of but never pursued. The difference is they did.

“That’s why business is all about the people,” Moltz emphasized. “There’s probably nothing unique that any of the readers and their businesses do that someone else couldn’t do. It’s the people executing it that make it unique.”

Barry Moltz is a small-business expert and a frequent speaker on getting businesses unstuck and related topics. He can be contacted at 773-837-8250 or through his website at www.barrymoltz.com.

SEMA News—May 2020

RETAIL BEST PRACTICES

By Mike Imlay

Retail Doldrums?

Rethinking Some Basics Can Get Your Business Bouncing Again

Almost every retail owner will experience times when the business feels stuck in the doldrums. But if you can shift your approach in a few fundamental areas, you can soon get your business back on track as a rewarding venture.

Getting “unstuck” is a popular small-business topic, and there’s no end to advice articles online. Most of them deal chiefly with burnout and the motivational blocks that can stymie a business owner. However, small-business expert Barry Moltz believes that there’s more to getting a retail business unstuck than motivational gimmickry—even while he concedes that it’s hard for a business owner to exude enthusiasm day in and day out.

“The problem is, how can you expect your team to be enthusiastic if you’re not?” Moltz said. “That’s why you need to have some kind of mission that is larger than whatever you sell or the service you provide.”

Success, Failure and “Bouncing”

Still, having a mission is just the starting point for getting a stuck retail operation back on course. According to Moltz, real forward movement comes from shifting your views about business in general toward a more realistic appraisal of what defines success.

“Most people think that if you just work hard, you’ll be successful, but I say that it takes a lot more than hard work,” he explained. “Your timing in the market has to be right.”

Moltz pointed to Netflix as an example. Its founders originally wanted to mail customers VHS tapes but soon realized that the videos would be too bulky, expensive and inconvenient. Then DVDs burst onto the scene, offering the perfect solution.

“Their timing was right on that—it didn’t matter how hard they were going to work,” Moltz said. “I also believe that you’ve got to have a little bit of luck with the timing. I believe that the harder you work, the more you spread your risk and the luckier you get. But ‘overnight success’ usually takes seven to 10 years.”

Which means a retail owner must also view failure from a new perspective. Moltz sees a fine line between woefully “accepting” failure versus recognizing that it’s bound to happen.

“I think you have to realize that there’s going to be failure if you are pushing the envelope of any kind of business or business model,” he said. “The key thing isn’t accepting it; the key thing is what you do once you’ve failed. I always say that you can feel really sorry for yourself, have a pity party, cheer the darkness when you fail, but you have to let go of failure. You have to say, ‘Okay, this is what’s happened.’ You may not always understand why [a tactic] failed, but you have to go on and try something else. I believe it’s these patient, iterative steps that really get to where you want to go overall from a success standpoint.”

Moltz said that business owners should embrace the concept of “bouncing,” along with that new approach to failure.

“A lot of people talk about ‘bouncing back,’” he said. “But I think that when we bounce, we don’t always bounce back. Sometimes it takes us to a different place. It’s almost like a sailboat tacking across a windy lake. You can’t go straight to your target, so you’ve got to make a decision and see what happens. If you end up to the right of where you want to be, you make another decision that pushes you to the left. You make another decision, and it pushes you farther to the left. So these small, patient, iterative steps have you kind of bouncing all over the place. But you’re always trying to go to that general target.”

Having embraced new perspectives on work, success, failure and bouncing forward, the retail owner can next tackle the deeper behaviors that often hamper an enterprise.

1. Succumbing to Daily Distractions

From his frequent speaking engagements with small-business entrepreneurs, Moltz has met many who equate being busy with being productive, missing a crucial distinction.

“Being busy is doing stuff,” he said. “Being productive is focusing on the stuff that’s really important. It’s not a time issue. It’s an attention issue.”

To overcome that tendency, many efficiency experts recommend that retail owners go to work each day armed with a full to-do list and specific action items to tick off before checking e-mail, voice messages and social media. But Moltz recommended a slightly different approach: Each day, set aside two things you have to get done to consider the day successful. Then don’t let the day unfold haphazardly.

“Shut off all the time vampires,” he advised. “For a certain part of the day, for an hour during the day, shut off all your interruptions, whether electronic or in your office or whatever. Then decide the one or two things that you’re going to get done in that hour that will really make a difference to your business. Every single time you have a hard time focusing and want to interrupt yourself, just take a minute and go back to where you were. The hardest thing is to focus your attention, because our attention span is about eight seconds now, and goldfish attention spans are nine seconds.”

2. Not Constantly Marketing

Being small operations, many retailers concentrate on serving and making sales to immediate customers, then shifting to marketing efforts when there’s downtime or sales slack off. Or perhaps they don’t like to do marketing because they hate asking people to buy things.

“They become stuck because they don’t keep their pipeline full,” Moltz said. “They just wait for customers to come in. And you can’t do that. You have to do marketing all the time.”

That is because a retailer can’t actually sell anything to people who are unready to buy.

“If I don’t have the pain or the need that your [business] solves, I’m never going to buy from you,” he said. “But as soon as I have that pain or need, you want me to think of you as a possible alternative.”

That means constantly reminding potential customers that you’re there—preferably through automated systems for email marketing, content marketing, social media or regular advertising that can track where the leads are coming from.

“There are a lot of really easy tools out there,” Moltz noted. “You can hire a consultant for an hour if you want, but it doesn’t take a lot of time. The hardest part is actually planning the content of what you’re going to send out. What I suggest is just coming up with topics. For example, one of the topics might be ‘the most replaced part on a used car.’ That might be the title of an email, and it might point to a survey or some other thing that provides that result. At the least, it reminds people that you’re an expert in this area.”

3. Failing to Leverage Staff

A third common reason that a retail operation can sputter is a lack of delegation of critical roles and decision-making to staff. As Moltz put it, “Instead of it being more hierarchical where the employees that you hire are leveraged to make decisions and do their part in the business, your business remains stuck because you’re at the center of everybody, and every major decision goes through you. There is no leverage. Every person in the company is kind of your assistant, and that’s a problem, because unless you find leverage through employees, you don’t really have a company. You just have
a job.”

Ultimately, Moltz said, success in business relies less on big ideas and more on how entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition. We’ve all seen people succeed with an idea that we might have once thought of but never pursued. The difference is they did.

“That’s why business is all about the people,” Moltz emphasized. “There’s probably nothing unique that any of the readers and their businesses do that someone else couldn’t do. It’s the people executing it that make it unique.”

Barry Moltz is a small-business expert and a frequent speaker on getting businesses unstuck and related topics. He can be contacted at 773-837-8250 or through his website at www.barrymoltz.com.

SEMA News—May 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Aeromotive Inc. announced the promotion of two employees into senior management roles. Johnson Barrick has been named vice president of sales and marketing, while Jeff Stacy has been promoted to executive vice president of both Aeromotive and its Waterman Racing Components sister brand. Barrick, who formerly held the position of sales and marketing manager, surpassed sales goals and pushed Aeromotive into double-digit growth in 2019. Stacy, previously company vice president, pushed Aeromotive into new markets and expanded its body of distributors.

Icahn Automotive, which owns and operates Pep Boys, has completed its acquisition of Tecnicentros Mundial—a six-location automotive service chain in Puerto Rico. The Tecnicentros Mundial locations in Caguas, San Juan Centro, Rio Piedras, Campo Rico, Dorado and Ponce will be converted to Pep Boys-branded service centers, and employees at those locations will join the Pep Boys team. The acquisition will increase the number of Pep Boys locations on the island to 33, of which 30 will provide automotive service. The company will also acquire an existing warehouse facility.

Rigid Industries announced that Brian Hosford is its new director of marketing. Hosford has more than 30 years of experience in the motorsports and automotive industries and 20 years of marketing experience. Prior to accepting his new role, Hosford was a project manager with Rigid’s new-product development engineering team, where he led new-product introductions. Hosford’s experience includes NASCAR and the Go Motorsports Professional Sprint Car Team, where he managed and created sponsorship programs. He has also been a professional driving instructor with Bondurant, a precision driver with Universal Pictures, and has driven in the Baja 1000, Baja 500, San Felipe 250, Mint 400 and Vegas-to-Reno races.

AirPro Diagnostics LLC announced the addition of Eric Newell to its senior leadership team as its vice president for field operations/business development. Newell has a background in collision-repair operations and remote and on-site diagnostics. He most recently held the position of director of field operations with Astech. Newell has been a presenter at SEMA Repair Driven Education programs and served as a panelist on various Collision Industry Conference panels.

The Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation (AACF) announced the selection of Larry Magee as vice president of the board of trustees. Magee has been involved with the AACF for more than 25 years and currently serves on the Foundation’s executive committee, recipient review committee, strategic planning committee and golf committee. During his career in the aftermarket, Magee held CEO/president positions with several companies, including Bridgestone/Firestone, Heartland Automotive and Magnolia Enterprise Group.

Adient sold its Recaro Automotive Seating business to Raven Acquisitions LLC. The license agreement to use the Recaro brand for the development, production and marketing of premium car seats is transferred to the new owners. The brand license is granted by Recaro Holding GmbH, Stuttgart/Germany, the holding company of Recaro Aircraft Seating and Recaro eGaming.

Racing Electronics announced that Guy Gauthier is its director of motorsports technology and development, the newest division within Racing Electronics’ professional services department. The motorsports technology and development department will expand Racing Electronics’ research, development and deployment capabilities for all forms of competitor and spectator communication technology. Gauthier joins Racing Electronics following a 22-year career with Diversified Electronics’ racing radios division.

The ASE Education Foundation announced the officers for its 2020 board of directors. The new chair is Chris Wallace, technical training integration manager for General Motors. Vice Chair Ted Hood is the division sales manager for Genuine Parts Co. Donna Schaar, AVP talent at CarMax Inc., is the new treasurer. The secretary is Michael Godson, a professor at Clark College. Lenora Jackson, manager of training operations for American Honda Motor Co., serves as past chair. New members of the board are Todd Berman of Berman Auto Group and Rafael Garcia of Hill Country European Autoworks. Two others joined the board in mid-2019: Mike Hoffman of FedEx Freight and Trey Michael of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Engine Parts Group Inc. appointed Jesse Jones as president of the engine parts distribution group. Jones has vast experience with both automotive aftermarket and OE suppliers, including senior management positions at Mahle Clevite, Dana Inc. and Cometic Gaskets. Jones will be responsible for the group’s overall leadership, including growth initiatives and strategic planning. His focus will include strengthening the group’s supplier programs and relationships, expanding product line coverage, and developing new market opportunities.

Keystone Automotive Operations Inc. welcomed BMR Suspension, a leading suspension manufacturer in the street-performance, stock suspension drag-racing and Pro Touring markets, to its performance handling category. Founded in 1998, BMR builds performance suspension products for more than 22 different late-model and classic musclecar applications at the company’s manufacturing facility near Tampa, Florida.

QA1 announced that the company moved into a brand-new headquarters, located just 2 mi. from QA1’s previous facilities. The new building combines all of QA1’s operations under one roof, providing more than 100,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing, office and distribution space. The new address is 9574 217th St. West, Lakeville, MN 55044.

VP Racing Fuels announced a strategic business relationship with Meyer Distributing to provide distribution of VP’s packaged consumer products to its full network of branded gas stations, fast lubes, car washes and marinas. For VP’s retail owner/operators, that translates to increased service levels for ordering and stocking VP race fuel, automotive additives, two- and four-cycle fuels, sportsman’s container and apparel.

Driven Brands announced that Tiffany Mason joined the company as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mason will oversee all finance, accounting and IT functions for Driven Brands while working across the business to drive continued strong performance, further strengthen the Driven shared service platform, and drive its organic and acquisition growth agenda.

Goodguys Rod & Custom Association has announced a strategic marketing and services partnership with the Utah Valley University (UVU) Transportation Technology program and the UVU Auto Expo in conjunction with the inaugural Goodguys 1st RaceDeck Salt Lake Nationals, May 15–17, at Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City. The goals of this partnership are to produce an annual automotive event with UVU, help raise funds for the UVU Transportation Technologies students and to prepare and train both UVU students and automotive enthusiasts for a career in the automotive industry.

Hennessey announced the hiring of Nathan Malinick to the position of director of design. He reports to Founder and President John Hennessey and will serve as director of design, overseeing design direction for both Hennessey Performance Engineering and Hennessey Special Vehicles. Malinick will be responsible for developing the company’s design strategy, philosophy and principles in conjunction with the engineering and manufacturing functions as well as the marketing and customer insights team.

MOTOR Information Systems will deliver its line of manuals and guides through a new distribution network. MOTOR has announced a partnership with Matco Tools. Customers can now purchase MOTOR’s collection of manuals exclusively from Matco’s nearly 2,000 distributors. Matco customers can now purchase all their repair manuals, labor time guides and automotive tools from a single point of contact.

Yukon Gear & Axle presented its first Master Installer Training Program, February 20–22, at LetzRoll Offroad in Mesa, Arizona. Through the new training program, led by owner Andrew McLaughlin, six Master Installers were certified. Graduates of the inaugural class included Klimek Bachleda from Defiant Motorsports Inc., Lucas Kowalski from Pro Trucks Inc., Art Geahr from Geahr Offroad, Quinn Thomas from All J Products and Aaron Pullen from Aaron’s Olympic 4X4.

Automotive Racing Products Inc. (ARP) has taken over sponsorship of the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award, beginning with the 2020 edition of the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). Additionally, ARP has gotten behind the Al Slonaker Memorial Award. Named after the founder of the Oakland Roadster Show, from which the GNRS evolved, it honors the best non-roadster in the show. Winners of both the AMBR (Monte Belsham’s ’32 Ford) and Slonaker (Ron Ernsberger’s ’36 Willys) awards received trophies and a check for $12,500.

SEMA News—May 2020

FROM THE HILL

By Colby Martin

Ignited We Stand

Unearthing Common Ground With Elected Officials

U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA) celebrated Independence Day at a local car show.

One of the major perks of working at SEMA has been exposure to a wide array of interesting personalities. Like so many, I grew up inspired by the countless influential talents found in the automotive field. The well-known faces and brands are usually linked to a unique style of craft, innovation or entertainment. While I don’t always share their tastes, I can appreciate their unique expressions. At the end of the day, a common thread unites us enthusiasts: the love and dedication for all things four-wheeled.

In my role as the SEMA Action Network (SAN) director, the “who’s-who” roster includes folks I never considered meeting: elected officials. I had falsely assumed that nobody in government shared my sense of fun with four wheels prior to this position. Through in-person experiences with lawmakers and staff, my perception has been proven wrong. Lawmakers such as Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) have previously attended the SEMA Show and the Washington Rally, but it wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to personally interact with our industry’s legislative allies. It turns out that cars and trucks transcend just about every line—even political parties! It’s been so refreshing to meet lawmakers in my home state who have a similar affection.

California Assembly Member Tim Grayson (D) represents the 14th district in the California Assembly, which includes parts of Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Assembly Member Grayson was one of the driving forces behind legislation to immediately restore law enforcement’s ability to issue fix-it tickets, providing car owners with 30 days to correct suspected violations of California’s exhaust noise limits. For his effort, he was awarded the Stephen B. McDonald Legislator of the Year award at the 2019 SEMA Show.

Assembly Member Tim Grayson (second from right) was recognized for his efforts in the California legislature to promote policies and legislation that support the automotive aftermarket industry. During the 2019 SEMA Show, Assembly Member Grayson accepts his award from West Virginia Delegate Gary Howell (left), national chairman of the State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus, SEMA’s Christian Robinson (second from left) and Daniel Ingber (right).

I first met Assembly Member Grayson, as well as his wife Tammy, at the 2018 SEMA Show. It didn’t take long to recognize a kindred spirit. He was excited about the possibility of taking a hot lap in an exhibition Cobra outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. In fact, Assembly Member Grayson believes that his own ’67 Ford Mustang Fastback is a “bipartisan car.”

“My colleagues may have never sat in a muscle car or even heard one run,” he said. “And then, all of a sudden, they hear that car roar in the basement of the Capitol. It gets their attention—and some of them become very passionate. It causes us to lay down our differences and to appreciate something that is complete Americana all the way.”

When U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA) recently paid a visit to my workplace, I was interested to learn about both his life experiences and his passion for Corvettes; now this was a politician speaking a language I could understand! In 2018, Rep. Cisneros was elected to represent California’s 39th Congressional District, which is home to SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California. A first-time elected official, Rep. Cisneros served 10 years in the Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. He served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and later worked as a shipping and production manager for Frito-Lay before being elected to Congress.

As an automotive enthusiast, Rep. Cisneros has been an advocate for the automotive aftermarket during his time in Congress, serving as an original cosponsor of the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act and as a member of the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus.

“Growing up, my dad and I bonded over our love of cars, and I have many fond memories working on his old ’56 Chevy,” Rep. Cisneros said. “Although I was a proud Corvette owner, I’ve since been forced to trade it in for a minivan following the birth of my twin boys.”

U.S. Representative Norma Torres (D-CA, center) posed for a photo with SEMA staff.

Even though U.S. Representative Norma Torres (D-CA) is my member of Congress, I was unaware that she had her own meaningful connections with the industry. As a constituent in the 35th Congressional District, I’ve sent her office many personal messages on automotive issues. I’ve learned that, when given the opportunity, she’ll proudly mention that she enjoys driving a ’66 Ford Mustang that her husband Louis restored. With that in mind, it was only a matter of time before she made her way to the SEMA Garage, also at SEMA headquarters.

During her SEMA Garage tour, Rep. Torres was especially interested to hear about Project Underdog, in which local youth customized and displayed at the SEMA Show a ’72 Maverick, with guidance from Fast & Furious star Sung Kang. Project Underdog brought Rep. Torres back to the days when she drove a 302-powered ’74 Maverick. Hearing her recount colorful tales to my co-workers and me about time behind the car’s wheel left a lasting impression.

Prior to being elected to Congress in 2014, Rep. Torres worked as a 911 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department for nearly 20 years before deciding to run for elected office. Her distinguished career in public service includes service as mayor of Pomona and on the city council, in addition to the California State Assembly and Senate.

Upon her election to Congress, Rep. Torres embarked on a Job Creation Listening Tour, meeting with more than 200 business owners, employees, education professionals and local economic leaders. Rep. Torres then introduced a bill to direct the U.S. Department of Labor to help fund pilot projects that provide education and training programs for jobs in advanced manufacturing. Rep. Torres’s bill, the JOBS Act, would connect educational institutions with manufacturers to give workers the training and skills they need to find jobs in growing industries—a top SEMA priority. Additionally, Rep. Torres supported the automotive aftermarket by cosponsoring the RPM Act and pushing the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete a rulemaking to allow the production and sale of completed replica vehicles.

What’s the big takeaway? While you may not have party affiliation or policy views in common, put them aside and give a fair chance those elected to represent you and your neighbors. Make an effort to connect on topics that are revered equally. Rep. Torres summed up the sentiment nicely:

“Visiting the SEMA headquarters in Diamond Bar was like taking a trip down memory lane,” she said. “It was great to be around people who have the same passion, love and enthusiasm for hot rods that the greater Inland Empire and I share.”

SEMA News—May 2020

FROM THE HILL

By Colby Martin

Ignited We Stand

Unearthing Common Ground With Elected Officials

U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA) celebrated Independence Day at a local car show.

One of the major perks of working at SEMA has been exposure to a wide array of interesting personalities. Like so many, I grew up inspired by the countless influential talents found in the automotive field. The well-known faces and brands are usually linked to a unique style of craft, innovation or entertainment. While I don’t always share their tastes, I can appreciate their unique expressions. At the end of the day, a common thread unites us enthusiasts: the love and dedication for all things four-wheeled.

In my role as the SEMA Action Network (SAN) director, the “who’s-who” roster includes folks I never considered meeting: elected officials. I had falsely assumed that nobody in government shared my sense of fun with four wheels prior to this position. Through in-person experiences with lawmakers and staff, my perception has been proven wrong. Lawmakers such as Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) have previously attended the SEMA Show and the Washington Rally, but it wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to personally interact with our industry’s legislative allies. It turns out that cars and trucks transcend just about every line—even political parties! It’s been so refreshing to meet lawmakers in my home state who have a similar affection.

California Assembly Member Tim Grayson (D) represents the 14th district in the California Assembly, which includes parts of Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Assembly Member Grayson was one of the driving forces behind legislation to immediately restore law enforcement’s ability to issue fix-it tickets, providing car owners with 30 days to correct suspected violations of California’s exhaust noise limits. For his effort, he was awarded the Stephen B. McDonald Legislator of the Year award at the 2019 SEMA Show.

Assembly Member Tim Grayson (second from right) was recognized for his efforts in the California legislature to promote policies and legislation that support the automotive aftermarket industry. During the 2019 SEMA Show, Assembly Member Grayson accepts his award from West Virginia Delegate Gary Howell (left), national chairman of the State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus, SEMA’s Christian Robinson (second from left) and Daniel Ingber (right).

I first met Assembly Member Grayson, as well as his wife Tammy, at the 2018 SEMA Show. It didn’t take long to recognize a kindred spirit. He was excited about the possibility of taking a hot lap in an exhibition Cobra outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. In fact, Assembly Member Grayson believes that his own ’67 Ford Mustang Fastback is a “bipartisan car.”

“My colleagues may have never sat in a muscle car or even heard one run,” he said. “And then, all of a sudden, they hear that car roar in the basement of the Capitol. It gets their attention—and some of them become very passionate. It causes us to lay down our differences and to appreciate something that is complete Americana all the way.”

When U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA) recently paid a visit to my workplace, I was interested to learn about both his life experiences and his passion for Corvettes; now this was a politician speaking a language I could understand! In 2018, Rep. Cisneros was elected to represent California’s 39th Congressional District, which is home to SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California. A first-time elected official, Rep. Cisneros served 10 years in the Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. He served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and later worked as a shipping and production manager for Frito-Lay before being elected to Congress.

As an automotive enthusiast, Rep. Cisneros has been an advocate for the automotive aftermarket during his time in Congress, serving as an original cosponsor of the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act and as a member of the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus.

“Growing up, my dad and I bonded over our love of cars, and I have many fond memories working on his old ’56 Chevy,” Rep. Cisneros said. “Although I was a proud Corvette owner, I’ve since been forced to trade it in for a minivan following the birth of my twin boys.”

U.S. Representative Norma Torres (D-CA, center) posed for a photo with SEMA staff.

Even though U.S. Representative Norma Torres (D-CA) is my member of Congress, I was unaware that she had her own meaningful connections with the industry. As a constituent in the 35th Congressional District, I’ve sent her office many personal messages on automotive issues. I’ve learned that, when given the opportunity, she’ll proudly mention that she enjoys driving a ’66 Ford Mustang that her husband Louis restored. With that in mind, it was only a matter of time before she made her way to the SEMA Garage, also at SEMA headquarters.

During her SEMA Garage tour, Rep. Torres was especially interested to hear about Project Underdog, in which local youth customized and displayed at the SEMA Show a ’72 Maverick, with guidance from Fast & Furious star Sung Kang. Project Underdog brought Rep. Torres back to the days when she drove a 302-powered ’74 Maverick. Hearing her recount colorful tales to my co-workers and me about time behind the car’s wheel left a lasting impression.

Prior to being elected to Congress in 2014, Rep. Torres worked as a 911 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department for nearly 20 years before deciding to run for elected office. Her distinguished career in public service includes service as mayor of Pomona and on the city council, in addition to the California State Assembly and Senate.

Upon her election to Congress, Rep. Torres embarked on a Job Creation Listening Tour, meeting with more than 200 business owners, employees, education professionals and local economic leaders. Rep. Torres then introduced a bill to direct the U.S. Department of Labor to help fund pilot projects that provide education and training programs for jobs in advanced manufacturing. Rep. Torres’s bill, the JOBS Act, would connect educational institutions with manufacturers to give workers the training and skills they need to find jobs in growing industries—a top SEMA priority. Additionally, Rep. Torres supported the automotive aftermarket by cosponsoring the RPM Act and pushing the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete a rulemaking to allow the production and sale of completed replica vehicles.

What’s the big takeaway? While you may not have party affiliation or policy views in common, put them aside and give a fair chance those elected to represent you and your neighbors. Make an effort to connect on topics that are revered equally. Rep. Torres summed up the sentiment nicely:

“Visiting the SEMA headquarters in Diamond Bar was like taking a trip down memory lane,” she said. “It was great to be around people who have the same passion, love and enthusiasm for hot rods that the greater Inland Empire and I share.”

SEMA News—May 2020

HERITAGE

Mickey’s Meet

By Drew Hardin

Photography: Jim Kelly, Petersen Publishing Company Archive

The place was Lions Drag Strip in Long Beach, California, the date November 12, 1966, and the occasion was the second annual gathering of Mickey Thompson’s exclusive 200 MPH Club.

So began Car Craft’s February 1967 coverage of “Mickey’s Meet,” what the magazine said was “the last big race of the season” and “the final chance for budding dragster hopefuls and proven pros to strike it rich in ’66. Top money for the winner was more than $5,000.”

Racer/speed-parts manufacturer/strip manager Thompson had launched the race the year before “as a means of rewarding his regular customers,” said the magazine. Thompson stipulated that his company’s rods and pistons had to be used in the engines of the 200-mph dragsters to be eligible for the race. Other manufacturers got involved, too, “with contingent and non-contingent awards for the winners.”

The evening’s schedule included eliminator brackets and a Funny Car match race between Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick’s new Pontiac and “Dyno” Don Nicholson’s flip-top Comet. But the undisputed stars of the show were the “high gear only nitro burners,” including a 56-car Top Fuel field and a combo eliminator bracket of AA/Gas dragsters and Junior Fuelers.

“Goodyear’s new 183-series slicks were on a majority of the cars,” said Car Craft, “and combining with Lion’s sea-level super traction asphalt surface, this resulted in some blistering times.” The Crietz & Greer Top Fuel team out of Tulsa set low e.t. during qualifying with a 7.25-second pass, and top speed of the meet was clocked by Neil Leffler in the A&W Root Beer Special at 216.86 mph.

Petersen’s Jim Kelly caught this shot of Lions’ unique roller-start area just behind the starting line, where dragster pilots fired up their engines rather than using the traditional-for-the-time push start. The race team’s push truck would nudge the car until its slicks were on the rollers, then “the driver depresses the clutch and signals the fire-up starter,” the magazine wrote. “A flick of an electric switch starts the rollers in motion, spinning the big slicks. The driver then lets out the clutch, builds desired oil pressure, and flips the mag switch. Immediately, the big supercharged engines roar to guaranteed life. Rollers and tires are stopped as the driver disengages the clutch, and the car is moved to the starting line, ready to race.”