Summit Racing Equipment
 | |
| Private company | |
| Industry | Automotive aftermarket |
| Founded | Tallmadge, Ohio, USA (1968) |
Key people | Scott Peterson, President & CEO Al Noe, CMO |
| Products | Automotive parts |
| Website | summitracing.com |
History
1968: Summit Racing Equipment is founded as a part-time parts business in Stow, Ohio. The little business begins to grow as word of the company's great prices spreads.
1969: Summit Racing opens its first storefront in Stow, Ohio, then moves to its first location in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
1970: Summit Racing moves to a larger store in Akron, Ohio. Product lines offered include Holley, Mallory, Hurst, and Mickey Thompson.
1972: Summit Racing expands into mail order by placing small ads for Mickey Thompson ET Wheels in Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines.
1974: Summit Racing publishes its first mail order catalog.
1976: First full-time phone sales and customer service staff is added to handle the additional orders.
1978: Summit Racing moves to four-building warehouse complex in Akron, Ohio, so it can stock more parts and reduce customer wait times for their orders.
1987: The Summit Racing catalog goes from an annual to a six-times-a-year publication so customers can see more products with up-to-date pricing.
1988: Bill Kuhlmann becomes the first Summit Racing-sponsored professional drag racer.
1990: Summit Racing adds 24-hour/7-day order/customer service lines so customers can order parts anytime.
1992: Summit Racing moves into its new headquarters in Tallmadge, Ohio. It features an Order Fulfillment Center, Retail Store, and Customer Support Center.
1993: Summit Racing celebrates its 25th anniversary with the first Super Summit car show.
1994: Summit Racing becomes major contingency sponsor for NHRA sportsman racing. The company remains a sportsman racing sponsor to this day.
1997: Summit Racing goes to toll-free phone ordering, saving customers the cost of long-distance phone charges.
Summit Racing joins the internet age with its own website, SummitRacing.com.
1998: Summit Racing opens a facility in Sparks, Nevada, allowing the company to offer 2-day delivery to Los Angeles and other parts of California.
Summit Racing adds a parts catalog to its web site, allowing customers to find and order parts online.
2000: Summit Racing doubles the size of its Tallmadge headquarters to keep up with ever-growing demand, with millions of parts in stock from several hundred manufacturers.
2002: Summit Racing opens the doors to its new 25,000 square foot Retail Super Store in Tallmadge.
2004: NHRA Pro Stock racer Greg Anderson joins Team Summit and wins his first championship under Summit Racing sponsorship.
Summit Racing becomes an associate sponsor of NHRA Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson.
2005: NHRA Pro Stock racer Jason Line joins Team Summit Racing.
Summit Racing/BIGFOOT Monster Truck debuts with driver Dan Runte. Runte retired in 2016, with Larry Swim taking up driving duties.
2006: Summit Racing opens a new Order Fulfillment Center, Retail Super Store, and Customer Support Center in McDonough, Georgia.
The Summit Racing Tools and Garage Accessories catalog debuts.
2007: Summit Racing acquires naming rights for Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals is held in Norwalk, Ohio.
Summit Racing acquires Genuine Hotrod Hardware, a mail order supplier of hot rod lifestyle gear (now Summit Racing Gifts, Clothing and Memorabilia).
2010: Hundreds of new product lines are added in the circle track, Jeep and off-road, restoration and restomod, tools, and late model performance markets.
2011: OEM replacement parts are added for daily driver and tow vehicles from top-quality manufacturers like Standard Motor Products, Delphi, ACDelco, and Bosch.
Summit Racing offers Landed Cost Delivery service for international customers.
2012: Summit Racing introduces PowerSports Place, offering aftermarket and replacement parts for sport and utility ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, and street bikes.
2014: Summit Racing adds a Mobile App, giving customers easy access to shopping, social media channels, and more from their smartphones.
2015: Summit Racing becomes the major series sponsor of ANDRA, the Australian National Drag Racing Association racing series.
2017: Summit Racing's Arlington, Texas facility opens for business. The new facility will allow one-day delivery on orders for in-stock parts to customers in most of Texas and adjacent states.
Scott Peterson is the current President and CEO of Summit Racing Equipment. Al Noe is the current CMO.
Retail Stores
There are four Summit Racing Equipment retail locations, in Tallmadge, Ohio, Sparks, Nevada, McDonough, Georgia, and Arlington, Texas.
Motorsports
Team Summit
Summit Racing Equipment sponsors NHRA Pro Stock racers Greg Anderson and Jason Line, NHRA Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson and Bigfoot Monster Truck driver Larry Swim.
Team Summit Legends (former Team Summit racers and friends of the company) include the following friends of Summit Racing Equipment: Don Garlits, Frank Hawley, Jim Oddy, Connie Kalitta, Kenny Bernstein, Bob Chandler, Dan Runte, the late John Lingenfelter and the late Scott Kalitta.
Summit Racing Series and Summit-Sponsored Races
Summit Racing Equipment supports and sponsors a wide variety of motorsports events and organizations, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the NHRA Summit Racing Junior Dragster Series, the IHRA Summit Racing Sportsman National Championship, the IHRA Summit Super Series, the Australian National Drag Racing Association, the European Drag Racing Series, the IMCA, the United States Modified Touring Series, and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Summit Racing also sponsors the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in NHRA's Mello Yello Series.
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
In 2007, Summit bought the naming rights to Norwalk Raceway Park, becoming Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (often shortened to Summit Motorsports Park, though it is still sometimes referred to simply as "Norwalk"). The track hosted its first NHRA national event upon becoming an officially sanctioned track the very same year. Summit is also the title sponsor of Norwalk's national event, which features both the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
References
Summit Racing Equipment