Ask a Racer

[seattle smitty]

If you need direction to good suppliers of various automotive parts and to the best service shops, here's a suggestion: take a Sunday to go to the races. Sports cars, circle track, off-road, the drags, . . . not a big national series event but just a local club race will do fine.

Get there early, before the racing starts, and if you don't already know, find out which are the top competitors. Then see if you can talk to the owner or crew-chief, and ask him which machine shop he trusts, what brake and clutch supplier/rebuilder, what repair shop, what autobody and paint shop, what driveline shop, what transmission shop. You can get a whole page of names and businesses, ones which do top-notch work, in your pocket notebook, . . . and then have a great time watching the races!!