Shut Up and Take My Money!

Tom1200 said:

In reply to L5wolvesf :

I knew we had talked a couple of times at LVR SCCA race................the picture confirms it.

I think you may have known Gordon Laduke?

I barely recognize that guy in the pic and you do :) I heard his name is Larry.

I may be getting a bit older (not an admission mind you) so remind me during which time period we talked. I ran at LVIS in the mid-80s (white ITB Pinto) and early 90s (red HProd Fiat 850). In ITB I ran against a local in a Toyota (maybe a Celica), possibly a dentist, who wasn't popular. IIRC I got a class champ there.

Gordon Laduke doesn't ring a bell - remind me pls.

In reply to L5wolvesf :

I ran from 91 until 98 or so (LVR SCCA stopped racing at LVMS in the late 90s)

When we talked you were running the Fiat; I had my 1200 that I ran as GT5, then Eric Moorhouse's old SSC Miata and then the D-sports Racer.

Gordon aka Gordo ran an X 1/9 with his wife Donna and later ran an A/S Camaro. Gordon was a short barrel chested guy who used an old Yellow F350 as a tow vehicle.

As a 45 year old I got to witness the final gasps of the few speed shops left in my late 20's.  We never had a huge network in my small burgh of Cincinnati but they were there.  I miss them greatly.  We had 3 different Euro Part specialist shops that were all fantastic.  We had 3 different speed shops, predominantly American iron but you could refill nitrous and get a dyno run.  Boo that that Internet has killed all but the handful that were big enough or had enough forethought to jump on the website bandwagon.  

I visited an Orlando speed shop last week (Speedzone in Kissimmee), so some still exist.

They had wheels, seats, JDM accessories and the like. Plus lots of die-cast cars. 

I live 1 mile from summit racing.  This is good and bad.  I have access to lots of great stuff for my TR8 due to its Buick 215 based River aluminum V8.  On the other hand they have pushed out many smaller performance shops , not just Akron based Midwest Performance but I imagine many smaller shops around the country.  Parts for my vehicles have always a been thin on the ground for my cars, and getting thinner everywhere.  Big data says FORD CHEVY HONDA and like every company these days they follow the data/money and my selection gets thinner.  Both because they Don't carry it and the companies that used to give me access to that stuff have been pushed out of business by the big data companies.  I can't seem to find The Winners Circle in west Cleveland and another small shop I would visit every other year When traveling for a tradeshow also seems to have disappeared.

David 

I enjoyed this article even though it is several years old. 
I live in Pgh, and we have a great track in Beaver county called Pitt Race. 
We also have some good local speed shops, one is Green Apple Auto and the other is Fowler Auto Street and Track. Both on route 8. 
For a little more of a drive there is Leroy Engineering which is a Miata specialty shop in Chardon OH. 
And one more thing. If you're looking for a guitar in Pgh, you can't get much better than Pgh Guitars in the south side or Nstuff music in Blawnox. 
cheers. 

Oval Speed Unlimited, the local speed shop for the oval track I frequented, Riverhead Raceway, offers so much helpful support, both with knowledge and just overall encouragement. The local speed shops still surviving are definitely assets to the local racing communities.

I live near Maryland Performance Specialties and they're a tremendous resource. Not just in the parts they stock, but the custom work they do and the knowledge they can pass on to DIY. 

I still have Speedway motors just up the highway a bit. Only bad thing is I'm not a american car fan. So it doesn't help too much. 

Add into that discussion local interior shops, local alternator/starter rebuilders, even local paint shops willing to take on non-insurance work.

It's the Walmart-fication of our hobby.

Mine was a speed shop in Wichita Falls TX. I don't remember the name of it but it was up near Eddie Hill's Fun Cycles (yes, that Eddie Hill) in the north side of town. They carried everything I wanted to hop up my '61 Baja Bug...and for a while they got most of my paycheck every other week.

Summitt Racing still exists in Mcdonough just south of Atlanta GA.  Yes they do stock parts and have a huge showroom..But massive internet presence too.

In reply to GregAmy :

Small sidebar: Eddie Hill (yes, that Eddie Hill) has posted here in our forum. :)