Bob has been instrumental in preaching the ‘gospel’ of how to run and manage a performance business through his prolific writings published not only by various Canadian automotive consumer magazines, but many SEMA publications as well,” said Bob Keller of Turbonetics. “He always professed the best interest of the industry as a whole—not just his niche.”

The “Bob” that Keller was referring to is Bob McJannett of Performance Improvements.

Those familiar with McJannett and his performance retails shops may be surprised to learn that McJannett started his business in 1964 as a small, part-time speed shop, with just $1,500 that he borrowed from Susan, his then-fiancé. Today, the company operates nine retail stores in two Canadian provinces, is responsible for 50 employees and continues to look for future growth.

As a car enthusiast and entrepreneur, McJannett has always whole-heartedly shared his experienced, knowledge and wisdom with others in the industry. For several years, he penned a regular column in SEMA News. Topics included how to increase sales and profits, enhance staff morale, decrease staff turnover and more.

Although located in an area that sometimes felt like a million miles from “what we think of as the mainstream,” McJannett was one of SEMA’s strongest supporters.

“Bob was more active than 90 percent of the people on the board,” said Keller, who sat on the board with him. “I don’t know many individuals who can compare to him as a spokesman for SEMA and our industry.”

“All in all he was a real delight to work with,” said Leo Kagan, who was also on the board with McJannett. “Bob and his wife have always been strong SEMA supporters. They evidence it by the efforts that they put into the association.”

John Towle, executive director of PWA, another organization that McJannett was actively involved with, said, “McJannett is one of the finest individuals in the industry. He is just a stand-up, straightforward guy with integrity at the highest level.”

McJannett always made efforts to open doors and provide opportunities for young people interested in entering the industry. “He’ll go out of his way to help people,” said Dick Van Cleve, who met McJannett about 15 years ago and considered him to be his closest friend. “Bob would hire kids just so that they could be around cars and learn about cars. He’d do that just so that they could learn about the industry.”

Performance Improvements continues to actively support the industry. McJannett helped to oppose an Ontario bill that threatened to ban certain aftermarket performance equipment in Canada earlier this year.

“Bob schooled me on the intricacies of Canadian provincial politics, while remaining open to the tried-and-true lobbying techniques that have proven successful in the States,” said Steve McDonald, SEMA director of government affairs.

“He brought to SEMA a wealth of experience in legislative analyses, coalition building and the development and implementation of association policy. The breadth of his knowledge of the issues of critical importance to the aftermarket has provided SEMA with an effective advocate in Canada and a valuable resource in our efforts to protect and advance the specialty aftermarket industry.”

Whether it was the way he managed his business, his involvement with SEMA or the information he preached through his writings, McJannett always had the industry’s best interests in mind. He was honored with the SEMA Person of the Year award in 1990. Being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, however, is something he never dreamed of.

“I was stunned,” said McJannett. “It’s an honor for me to be in something I never dreamed possible. My heroes are in the SEMA Hall of Fame. I never thought that I would be one of those people.”

Ray Lipper, the founder of Center Line Tool Corp., has built a name for himself and his company based on his background as a designer and engineer. He recognized the need for a stronger wheel in racing, then went to work creating numerous wheels for the industry.

Lipper has produced some of the lightest and strongest one-piece wheels in the industry, from his first attempt, known as the Auto Drag, to his development of the technique for using a single blank that can be split and spun into a one-piece wheel.

Center Line is credited with being the first wheel manufacturing company to produce a modular aftermarket wheel for Harley-Davidson, and the first to develop and manufacture a wheel using a rotary forging process. Lipper and his engineers at Center Line also developed and produced the wheels for the Spirit of America land speed record car.

Lipper has developed his once-small tool company into one of the most recognizable wheel companies in the world.

To label Jim Wirth a car fanatic would not do justice to his passion for the automobile. A quick cruise through his past reveals a history that’s immersed in all things automotive. Born into a family of car enthusiasts, he spent his early years riding around in rumble seats and touring cars. When he was just three years old, his father built him a gas-powered car using parts from old lawn mowers. Wirth drove the car in a St. Patrick’s Day antique car parade, towing a toy rocket ship. Around the time he was to get his driver’s license, Wirth spent an entire year helping his Dad restore a ’28 Model A pickup truck. It was during that project that he learned to respect the hard work and craftsmanship it takes to restore and customize a classic car.

While his peers were hanging out, Wirth was degreasing engine parts, sanding fenders and handing tools to his Dad. By the late ‘60s he’d been bitten by the musclecar bug. At age 19, he was cruising the streets of his hometown in various big-block Chevys. And despite rumors to the contrary, Wirth contends that he always obeyed the traffic laws. Wirth’s enthusiasm for cars didn’t subside during his college years. His grade point average at Wright State University reflected the fact that he spent more time on his hot rods than on his studies. In July 1974, Wirth married his high-school sweetheart, Della. They rode from the church to the reception in a 1921 Kissel, as part of an antique car parade led by a 1923 Hupmobile that Wirth still has today. And what do you get a car crazy newlywed couple for a wedding present?

A 1940 Ford coupe, of course.  As would be expected from someone as passionate about cars as Wirth, his professional endeavors also centered around automobiles. He went from a part-time tire changer to service manager for a large Goodyear store at the age of 20.  He went on to manage numerous transmission shops while simultaneously discovering the charm and challenge of scouring junkyards and garages for antique car parts.  Together with his wife, Wirth would drive to swap meets with a trailer filled with antique car parts.

In 1981, Wirth launched his own business, Wirth & Wirth Advertising—an automotive-only advertising company. His first real client was Kanter Auto Products. And while both companies have benefited from tremendous growth, they still enjoy a fruitful partnership.

After having established a reputation for offering effective marketing and advertising services in the automotive aftermarket, the Wirths launched a second business, producing their own automotive swap meet. The Springfield Swap Meet & Car Show has grown to become one of the largest in the Midwest. Wirth’s involvement with SEMA started when he attended the SEMA National Management Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Impressed with the way members worked together to address industry concerns, Wirth suggested to Harry Hibler that SEMA consider embracing the antique and restoration industry. Hibler introduced him to then-SEMA President Chuck Blum and, not long after, the Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) was created. To date, Wirth has served three terms on the SEMA Board of Directors.

The industry recognized Wirth for his hard work with numerous awards, including the SEMA Outstanding Achievement Award in 1993, the Hemmings Motor News Benefit the Hobby Award, also in 1993, and he was the first person ever inducted into the ARMO Hall of Fame. He was recognized as the number-one recruiter of new SEMA members in 1993 and was again recognized by ARMO with its Special Recognition Award in 2003. 

The Wirths continue to work together running both businesses and look forward to doing so for the foreseeable future.

Charlie Van Cleve’s reaction to being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame was typical of her humor: “The first thing I was going to do was to call SEMA and say that there’d been some sort of mistake,” she said. “I’m sure I’m not old enough to qualify.” In the case of Van Cleve, her accomplishments would certainly warrant the Hall of Fame committee waving the 40-year minimum age requirement.

Van Cleve got her start in the automotive aftermarket as an inside sales person at Hedman Hedders. Her ever-growing interest in specialty cars and all things performance related-—along with her affinity for the people in the business— compelled her to become even more involved in the industry.

Today, Van Cleve is the Vice President, Sales for Hedman Manufacturing. Her personal rise to prominence during her many years in the industry is matched only by the benefits and successes realized by the industry as a result of her efforts. Van Cleve’s accomplishments are far too numerous to include in the space allotted, so a highlight reel of sorts will have to suffice.

In 1984, Van Cleve was the first woman to receive the Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) Person of The Year award. A few years later, in 1989, she received the SEMA Person of the Year award. In 1999, Van Cleve was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for SEMA—the first woman in the history of the organization to lead the association.

When she was honored as one of the Automotive News Top 100 Women in the Automotive Industry in 2000, she recalled both the PWA award and her being voted SEMA Chairman as being her proudest achievements. Referring to the PWA award, Van Cleve told Automotive News, “At that time it was a huge honor because there weren’t that many of us (women). That opened the door for me, brought positive attention to what I was doing.”

Van Cleve went on to say, “Then, the crowning glory was when I was voted Chairman of SEMA. Over the years, my peers have been mostly men. [These men] had a reputation for the ‘good old boy’ industry. It’s those good old boys who elected me and put me in office. Being the first woman to chair the board of directors for SEMA is a huge accomplishment for our industry and for myself personally.”

It was not uncommon for Van Cleve to put the industry before any of her personal accomplishments—as is reflected in her comments to Automotive News. While acknowledging herself as a beneficiary, she always put the industry first. As Chairman, she willingly dedicated the majority of her time to SEMA. She was determined to make sure the goals of the association and the needs of the members were met. After a year on the job, Van Cleve told SEMA Member News: “It’s far more difficult and much more time consuming than I thought it would be, but it’s well worth it.”

When pressed beyond the fact that she may not qualify for the Hall of Fame because she doesn’t meet the minimum age requirement, Van Cleve was clearly moved by the honor. “When I found out, I was really speechless,” she said. “I think of people like Isky and Edelbrock Sr. and the products they’ve produced—products that have made this industry possible.” After a long pause she added, “I totally feel not worthy.” Not worthy? Ms. Van Cleve, the industry obviously, and respectfully, disagrees.

There were really two Smokey Yunicks. The first was the stuff of legends.

Henry Yunick dropped out of school as a teenager to work on his family’s Pennsylvania farm after his father died. His nickname came from a track announcer commenting on the condition of his motorcycle during a 1941 race. He joined the Army Air Corps, flew bombers and fighters in World War II, and then returned from the war to open what was at first a tiny shop in Daytona Beach, Florida, “The Best Damn Garage in Town.”

It wasn’t just bluster. First in NASCAR, then at Indy, Yunick applied his prodigious mechanical talents to making fast cars and making cars go faster. The roster of men who drove for Yunick is a Who’s Who of racing champions, from Allison (Bobby) to Vukovich (Billy). He won two NASCAR Grand National Championships as a car owner and mechanic, and he won at Indy in 1960 as the co-chief mechanic for Jim Rathmann’s Offenhauser-powered roadster.

“Indy was his love,” said Jim McFarland, who was an editor at Hot Rod magazine when he began a 40-year friendship with Yunick in the ’60s. “He came out of NASCAR but gravitated to Indy since he wasn’t bound by all the rules. He could explore more things there. The technological challenges were something that intrigued him.”

Yunick’s speed secrets could be so ground-breaking—or difficult to discern—that some hung another nickname on him: cheater.

“I get offended when I hear that,” said Trish Yunick Brown, his daughter. “He maintained he didn’t cheat. What he did was innovation. As far as he was concerned, if it didn’t say what he was doing wasn’t allowed, then it was perfectly fair. Many things that weren’t in the rulebook on the weekend became rules on Monday morning, courtesy of Smokey.”

Yunick’s talents weren’t limited to the racetrack. Pontiac, Chevrolet and Ford were among the auto makers that benefited from either his hands-on engineering or consulting work. He is credited with developing, among other components, variable-ratio power steering, reverse-flow engine cooling and the extended-tip spark plug.

He was closely involved with the development of Chevy’s small-block V-8. According to McFarland, he “…pioneered a lot of thinking that builders of aftermarket parts picked up on. He came up with a cross-ram intake that Vic [Edelbrock] built later, did cylinder head work, pioneered things ostensibly for Chevrolet that wound up in various segments of the aftermarket.”

Racer safety was a big concern of Yunick’s as well. He stopped competing in NASCAR when the sanctioning body wouldn’t let him use a fuel bladder; and he designed a “safe wall” in the ’60s that would move on contact, absorbing some of a crash’s energy.

The Yunick of legend could be blunt, even ornery. “Cantankerous, that’s a good word for it,” Trish Yunick said. But then there are the stories about the other Smokey, the one who would open his garage in the middle of the night to help a fellow racer, even if he was a competitor. Or who, in his later years, found time for a family that had learned to live without him for long stretches, especially from late April to early June.

Trish told this story about her dad’s other side:

“Smokey and John DeLorean were friends. They worked at Pontiac at the same time. Smokey called John one morning, and John was going through his first very public divorce. They didn’t talk about the divorce, but Smokey knew he wasn’t in good shape. So he hung up the phone and flew to Detroit to check on him. They talked for a while, and Smokey felt better about John, so he flew home. John later said he was thinking about killing himself that night. Smokey did have a bad side, but he really was very human.”

John Simmons got into the performance parts business out of necessity—the necessity to go fast. After graduating from high school in Birmingham, Alabama, Simmons went to work for his father’s electrical small appliance repair business. He started a repair parts mail-order business and called it SECO.

Frustrated by the fact that he couldn't get the performance parts he wanted to fulfill his need for speed, Simmons started his own warehouse distribution business for performance parts in 1962. He began selling parts from a trailer that he hauled to racetracks on weekends. By 1969, the electrical business was closed so he could focus all his efforts on the performance side of things. His business savvy and tireless effort allowed him to grow SECO into the thriving wholesale and retail business it is today.

In addition to his performance-parts business, Simmons found other ways to satisfy his need to go fast. In the early ‘60s, John owned and operated Helena Dragstrip, a place where local racers and enthusiasts could go to race. The track was closed in 1967 due to noise. Undaunted, he and his partners acquired Lassiter Mountain Speedway, which they ran for 10 years. He also had a car that he and a partner raced at tracks around the Southeast.

Simmons joined SEMA in 1969. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship. Simmons served three terms on the SEMA Board of Directors from 1978 to 1982, he chaired the SEMA Finance Committee in 1981. He served on the Awards Judging Committee from 1984 to 1986, chaired the Person of The Year award in 1987 and also served as membership Committee Chairman.

In 1977, Simmons received an award for recruiting more new SEMA members than any other individual. Throughout that time—and up to today—whether he was at racing events or out making business calls, Simmons always encouraged people to join SEMA, urging them to get involved, and he was never shy about explaining how SEMA could benefit them and their businesses.

In 1980, Simmons was named SEMA Person of the Year. All along the way, Simmons made it a point to help others grow and succeed in their businesses. In addition to his SEMA efforts, he was elected and served as a Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) Area Director from 1974 to 1991, served two terms as PWA Treasurer and two terms as National Director of PWA. He received the PWA Pioneer Award in 1993 and was one of the founding members of the AAM/Parts Pro group. In his many years of service, Simmons says he never missed a PWA or SEMA Board meeting.

Today, Simmons handles all of the advertising for SECO and enjoys spending considerable time at his second home in Panama City, Florida. The company he founded remains in the family, with his daughter, Anne Thomas, serving as owner and operator. Thomas is serving a second term on the SEMA Board of Directors and is the Treasurer of PWA.

During a recent visit to SEMA headquarters, Burke LeSage paused in the middle of the hallway. The myriad of past Hall of Fame portraits that hang on the wall had stopped him in his tracks. "This is truly amazing," he said in a voice that was barely audible, as if spoken only for himself to hear.

"Yep. There's Wally [Parks]. I think I first met Wally when I was 14 years old." He went on to tell the story of how he first met Parks at a friend's house which also served as the SCTA office. On that day, even though he was just a kid packing the wheel bearings on a race trailer, Parks treated him with a level of respect and dignity not often experienced by a youngster. "I've always had a great deal of respect for Wally and his ability to relate with people," LeSage said.

Phil Weiand, Sandy Belond and John Bartlett-LeSage had a story for just about every one of the nearly 100 drawings that populate the walls. The fact that LeSage was about to be welcomed into the same illustrious club that includes so many of his friends and heroes visibly moved him.

Anyone who knows LeSage or is familiar with his role in the industry wouldn't be surprised by the level of emotion his return to SEMA elicited. LeSage has a vested interest and a unique vantage point from which to judge the association's growth and success. LeSage was the first paid employee of SEMA.

LeSage said that he went to work for SEMA around 1965 as the Assistant to the President. He worked with Els Lohn, Willie Garner and Roy Richter and continued with the association until the mid-'70s, when he decided to move on within the industry.

LeSage grew up in East Los Angeles. One street over from his childhood home was a man who had a race car in his backyard. One day on his way home from school, LeSage stopped in to talk about the car. The neighbor, Jim Lindsley, asked if LeSage would like to go to the Dry Lakes with him to run his Lakester.

According to LeSage, the Southern California Timing Association broadened its classes to include coupes and sedans in 1951. Lindsley asked if LeSage would be interested in putting the engine from his Lakester into the '34 coupe that had belonged to LeSage's brother.

"So we went up to the first Lakes meet that year, and since it was a brand new class, we were in today's terms 'cherry picking' the class," LeSage said. "It didn't have any established records, so we set records for three or four meets in a row and got enough points to end up being the season's number one."

LeSage was 15 years old at the time. He received his California driver's license in July of 1951 and, at the last Lakes meet of the year in September, Lindsley asked LeSage if he wanted to drive the coupe. "I said, 'sure' and took off, and on my first pass I ran 107 mph," he said. "And that was just 90 days after I had received my driver's license."

LeSage was asked to drive what he refers to as "a machine with an ill-handling manner" at the September Lakes meet in 1954. The machine ended up going over. "It went seriously over," LeSage said. "In those days, these were stock-bodied machines, and they didn't require roll bars. I had an old cotton war-surplus seatbelt, and it disintegrated my first time over and I was thrown from the car. They estimated I was running somewhere around 130 mph."

LeSage was in a coma for 10 days. Despite what he refers to as "the accident that has affected my memory a bit," he was back at the races a month later. His passion for racing remained for more than 35 years and resulted in an unrivaled series of accomplishments, including securing a place in the prestigious Grant 200 MPH Club in 1963.

"In 1988 I was running down the Salt Flats at 185 mph and I thought to myself, 'this isn't fun anymore,'" LeSage said. "It wasn't that the ride was scary; it had just lost its luster. When I got out of the car, instead of folding up my fire suit like I usually did, I just rolled it up and threw it in the support car. I was done."

LeSage found his way to Santa Barbara, where he spent some time as a bookstore owner. He currently resides in Twenty-Nine Palms, California, where he says his good health has allowed him to be of service to some of those around him. As the need arises, he drives a local minister who is losing his eyesight to various functions. As LeSage noted, he started his wonderful adventure driving, and it's only fitting that the latest chapter continues that tradition.

Rick Rollins swore that he would never be a white-collar guy. He distinctly recalls working as a mechanic with his head under a car's hood and telling a friend: "Man, you'll never get me in a white shirt behind a desk. This is all I want to do."  The route from the garage where he made that statement to his office at Superchips, where he is the vice president of sales and marketing (in 2006), has also taken him to race tracks, retail jobber stores, distribution businesses and even a stop at the sheriff's office.

Even before he graduated from high school in Louisiana, Missouri, in 1970, Rollins was a race fan. Working part time in a garage and then at an auto-parts store, he read about his racing heroes in Hot Rod and Car & Driver and watched what coverage there was on television sports programs.  It was in the parts store that Rollins was first introduced to Ray Motes, whom he had just seen interviewed by Jim McKay on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" the week before. Motes was the reigning NHRA Top Gas world champion, and the two hit it off immediately; so much so, in fact, that Motes invited Rollins to join his team on the Motes & Williams dragster. For the remainder of his senior year and for several years afterward, Rollins spent his weekends traveling around the country with Motes and the team.

After the racing season and graduation, Rollins worked as a jobber counterman for a year before being invited to join Motes at Automotive Distributors Incorporated in Kansas City, where Motes ran the performance division. ADI was one of the first companies to actually warehouse parts and accessories, and Motes hired Rollins to be the head buyer for performance parts. Through his associations there, Rollins met industry veterans such as Bob Airheart, Joe Hrudka and Herb Golstein as well as racing legends Bill Simpson, Mickey Thompson and Parnelli Jones.

Rollins stayed with ADI until 1973, then took his only break from the automotive specialty-equipment field. He worked as a deputy sheriff for a year and did a little part-time work at a shoe store, but soon Motes brought him back into the fold. The drag racer owned a sand-buggy shop in Kansas City, and he sold it to Rollins in 1975. Rollins ran American Bugg, which was a Volkswagen performance, racing off-road parts and service center, until the middle of 1980, when he took a job as regional sales manager for Hasting Manufacturing Company. He supervised sales in seven states for the Hastings product line of pistons rings and filters but also began his own racing venture, campaigning SCCA Formula Ford and F2000 cars. Then Motes again made him a job offer, this time as national sales manager at Taylor Cable Products Inc., and he was later promoted to vice president of sales and marketing. Rollins remained with the manufacturer of automotive wire, wiring harnesses and ignition wires and accessories for the next 12 1/2 years.

During his tenure with Taylor Cable, Rollins became active in SEMA as well as the Performance Warehouse Association (PWA). Despite considering himself a relative unknown within the industry, he ran for and was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors in 1991 and served three two-year terms, which is the association limit for consecutive elections. In 1993, he received the PWA's Person of the Year award, which is voted on by the customers who are served by PWA-member companies.

In 1999, Rollins became the national sales and marketing manager for Superchips Inc., the well-known manufacturer of electronic tuning products for late-model cars and light trucks. He again won election to the SEMA Board of Directors in 2000 and is currently serving his third term (as of 2006) in his second string. His enthusiasm for racing remained unabated at Superchips, and he was instrumental in the company's sponsorship of a NASCAR truck, which has also led other specialty-equipment companies to follow suit. His successes with Superchips, including his efforts to bring profitability back to distribution for both warehouses and jobbers, led to a number of honors for Rollins, such as his second PWA Person of the Year award in 2004, and he was appointed to his current position as vice president in 2005.

Over the years, Rollins has also contributed his time and effort to a wide array of SEMA committees and task forces. He served on the Executive Committee for two years, the Long Range Planning Committee for two years, the Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council Select Committee for six years, and he also sat on the SEMA Show Committee and the Nominating Committee as well as the EDI and Technology task forces. With typical modesty, he credits many of his friends and mentors with giving him guidance and help along the way, such as SEMA Hall of Famer Bob Airheart, now retired; Ron Funfar, president of Hedman Hedders; Hall member Jim McFarland; John Simmons retired president of Seco Performance; H.G. Smith now retired; and Ray Motes vice president and general manager of Taylor Cable.

"My passion has always been to help the guys who are working behind the counter or under the hood." he said. "I pushed for the SEMA Scholarship Fund to give some of the scholarships to students at Vocational-Technical schools. I took Vo-Tech for two years. That's how I learned the technical side of working on a car, and I said "these are the guys who are the guts of our industry, and we need to support them.""

As with so many others who have been inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, Rollins will undoubtedly continue to make contributions to his company, the industry and the association for years to come, and he will continue, as he always has, to treat people honestly and fairly.

"I don't care if you're selling pencils, pantyhose or sparkplug wires, it's two people doing business." he explained. "Your product is important, and so is how you sell it. But it's integrity. If you give your word, you've got to back it up. You can't tell people one thing when you plan on doing something else. I think that's helped me in going from one company to another. People have said that they never worried about what I was selling because they knew I would support what I said I would do."

The father of two sons, Richard, 26, and Joe, 18, Rollins has tried to instill his values in them as well as in the younger people he has advised about how to conduct business. But he also counsels them that making mistakes is part of the territory.

"Good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment." he said. "If we were right all the time, we'd never learn anything. You've got to be wrong; you've got to screw up; you've got to make some mistakes or you're never going to learn anything"

He has been married to his wife, Penny, for only a few years after a long courtship, but a note of tenderness enters his voice when he speaks of her. It's a side that competitors don't often see.

"There's always somebody on the other side of the desk or the other lane of the race." he said. "I'll do my damnedest to beat 'em if I can, but I'm not going to do it dishonorably or immorally."

That attitude has taken Rick Rollins a long, long way.

Few people foresee the path they will eventually follow, but Dick Maxwell recognized automotive engineering as his road very early on. His father, Carl, worked on and helped redesign diesel engines during a 42-year career with the Caterpillar heavy-equipment company, and he shared his love of cars with his son. After graduating from high school in his home town of Washington, Illinois, and taking a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, the younger Maxwell went to work as a student engineer with Chrysler Corporation in 1959, enrolling in the company's Chrysler Institute of Engineering and eventually earning a Master of Automotive Engineering degree in 1961.

Even before earning the MAE, however, Maxwell had joined the Ramchargers drag racing team, which included Tom Hoover, The Godfather of the HEMI, as well as other Dodge engineers. That group became one of the dominant forces in 60s and 70s drag racing, particularly because the engineers worked on the race cars as part of their jobs.

The factory drag racing programs really started at Dodge and Chrysler in 1961, when the Ramchargers developed an engine to run in Frank Wileys new car, Maxwell said several years ago in an interview with David Harris for Drag Racing Online.  The thing that really pushed corporate involvement, though, was the emphasis that was being put on [drag racing] by the competition, primarily Pontiac. So we did the first package cars in late 1961 and 1962. From the factory standpoint, we had a lot of people out there racing for us.

His work with the Ramchargers helped solidify Maxwell's reputation not only for understanding how things should work but also for his willingness to get his hands dirty.  The Ramcharger group was like any other volunteer organization, said Hoover.  Theres always a hard core that gets 75% to 85% of the work done, and then there are hangers-on and peripheral talkers. Dick was one of the hard core.

By 1969, Maxwell was the manager of performance activities for Chrysler and had recognized that factory racing programs and the performance parts aftermarket should work together. Chrysler at first tried to market, price and sell its performance parts with the methods it used for replacement parts, but Maxwell and others realized that there was a better way. He pushed for a performance parts program that utilized warehouse distributors and dealers, with pricing and discounts similar to those used for other specialty-equipment products, a program that eventually morphed into the Direct Connection program and later Mopar Performance that still exists today.

Maxwell also influenced Chrysler Corporation's image within the street-rod community. While Ford products were and remain the dominant body sources for most rods, and Chevrolet provided the vast majority of the engines, Maxwell pushed for Chrysler brand recognition by instituting the Mopar Country concept at National Street Rod Association gatherings. He had an area set aside at the shows where Mopar-bodied or -powered products could be displayed, and while the other marques remained in the majority, Chrysler made definite inroads.

As Maxwell progressed up the management ladder, impressing coworkers and supervisors along the way, he became more and more convinced that the automakers needed to cooperate with and support specialty-equipment companies in order to reap benefits for both. To that end, he worked within Chrysler to open the company's race activities to the aftermarket and to solidify its relationship with SEMA. As a direct result of his efforts, Chrysler became the first original-equipment manufacturer to join the association and, in 1974, the first to exhibit at the SEMA Show. Maxwell further reinforced his commitment to the association when he later became the first employee of an OEM to serve on SEMA's Board of Directors.

In 1975, Maxwell succeeded one of his retiring Chrysler mentors, Bob Cahill (a 1997 inductee into the SEMA Hall of Fame), and was named vehicle performance racing manager, with responsibility for all of Chrysler's corporate racing programs. His legacy includes the introduction of now-commonplace racing concepts such as team uniforms and component specialists (team members responsible for specific tasks) as well as the first OEM front-wheel-drive race and parts programs, presaging the modern-day tuner phenomenon.

Maxwell was also an off-road aficionado of the first order. He loved to ride dirt bikes, and he became an accomplished rally driver late in his career. In the 1980s, he guided an off-road Dodge truck racing program that included support for two of the sport's most famous stars: Rod Hall and Walker Evans. In fact, co-driving with Evans in the Baja and other off-road events became a favorite activity for Maxwell. The fact that Dodge trucks grew in stature because of their off-road race wins was part of the Maxwell strategy.

Dick was always looking for areas and opportunities to sell new vehicles, because the long and short of it is that we were in business to sell new cars, said Warren Tiahrt, one of Maxwell's oldest friends from the Chrysler days.

Maxwell retired from Chrysler Corporation in 1991 as manager of special vehicle programs for Dodge. From 1991 to 1993, he served as the American Motorcycle Association's vice president of sports marketing, where he managed professional motorcycle competition. A racer, street rodder and motorcyclist, his lifetime of work earned him induction into the National Drag Racing Hall of Fame, election to the Hot Rod Hall of Fame as a member of the Ramchargers, and selection as one of the 10 Most Important Men in Drag Racing.

Tragically, Dick Maxwell succumbed to injuries he received in a highway motorcycle accident in 2002. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Sandy Maxwell, as well as four daughters and one son, Pat, Lynn, Susan, Amy and Eric.

He was very strong-minded, you could say he was stubborn and you really had to have your stuff together if you were going to sway the way he felt, said Tiahrt.  He was a strong guy, and I miss him a lot.

Not many members of the SEMA Hall of Fame made an early career contact in a city jail while waiting to be exonerated, but that’s how Nate Shelton met Bill Casler of Casler Tire Service, who was not only a friend but also instrumental in Shelton’s future. As a young football player at Chaffey Junior College in 1969, Shelton used to make a little side money by selling reconditioned appliances for his dad at the Ontario swap meet in California. One weekend, he also helped out a couple of buddies by transporting some tires to the swap meet. Shortly after the sale began, however, the Ontario police arrived, cuffed them all and hauled them off to jail. One of his buddies ultimately confessed that the tires had been stolen from an area of tire stores but also cleared Shelton of any wrongdoing. Casler arrived as Shelton was checking out with the desk sergeant. Casler Tire Service pioneered the use of recapped cheater slicks, and some of the tires had been stolen from the shop.

When told the full story, Casler admonished Shelton to stay out of trouble but made the other two sweep out his retread shop every day after school to pay back what they had stolen and sold. The pair got to work around old Junior Stockers run by people such as Ed Holman, Gary Hooker and Wiley Cossey, and Shelton visited the site to check out the cars, also developing a good relationship with Casler. When Shelton was discharged from the SeaBees in 1972, he answered an ad for a “locator rep” at Hooker Headers, and Bill Casler once again walked in at a fortuitous moment. Casler, who owned a large portion of Hooker, recommended Shelton to the human-resources folks, and one of the most illustrious careers in automotive specialty-equipment history began.

“Hooker was quite a good training ground for me and quite a few other people in the industry,” Shelton said. “I went from being a locator rep, which is basically the guy who followed a vehicle to the design shop, to writing the instruction sheets to running the technical department and then sales manager.”

During the succeeding years, Shelton held jobs at such diverse companies as Cam Dynamics, Koni Shocks and VDO, returning to Hooker as director of sales and national sales manager in the mid-’80s. In 1987, he made another life-changing move when he joined K&N Engineering in Riverside, California.

“It was a pretty small air-filter company in 1987,” he said. “We did about $4 million that first year. They were big in motorcycles and wanted me to take them into the automotive business. We put together an automotive program and built the company into a $100-million-a-year corporation in about 14 years. I was eventually offered an opportunity to acquire part of it and become more involved.”

He led K&N Engineering to four PWA Manufacturer of the Year awards, working hard to create operational systems and build the business.

“It’s probably been repeated so much that people don’t like to hear it, but we always said that the customer is king,” he said. “We did everything we could to make our distributors as profitable as we possibly could. We kept in mind that we were in business for the core performance customer rather than for the mass merchandisers or the volume retailers. The core PWA warehouse distributors were the guys who built our business. We were the first company to win four Manufacturer of the Year awards. That said a lot about where we had come from and what we had accomplished.”

While at K&N, Shelton was instrumental in the development of high-flow air filters and cold-air intakes, and he is “the father of the fuel-injection intake kit” and the inventor of the X-Stream Filter Lid. Many of those innovations are among the first and most popular modifications made in the automotive performance arena today. In addition, he and the other K&N principals were responsible for creating some of the manufacturing processes and machines that are unique to the air-filter industry. “We had to build them ourselves,” he said, “because they didn’t exist anywhere else.”

Shelton sold his interest in K&N in 2002 and thought he was going to retire, but then he started a rep business, S&S Marketing. By June of 2005, he had hooked up with Dubin Clark & Company, a private equity group, and they put together a deal with Brian Appelgate to buy B&M Racing and Performance. They subsequently purchased McLeod and Hurst and are still looking for other opportunities. Shelton now serves as chairman of the B&M Automotive Group that is headquartered in Chatsworth, California.

His resume of participation in SEMA’s organizational structure is also phenomenal. Shelton served 12 consecutive years on the association’s Board of Directors; was chairman of the board for two years; served on the SEMA Business Committee, Manufacturers’ Rep Council (MRC), Hall of Fame Committee, Warehouse Distributor of the Year Committee and Scholarship Committee; and chaired the Unfair Business Practices Task Force. He was one of the founders and was the first chairman of the Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC). He was the PWA Person of the Year in 1994, the SEMA Person of the Year in 1998 and received Northwood University’s Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award in 2001.

In addition to Casler, Shelton credits Neil Gates and Tom Cates as instrumental in the development of his career. He said that Gates, who ran the design shop when Shelton first started at Hooker, gave him his love for the business, and he said that Cates, who was the general manager at K&N, taught him about the higher levels of business.

“Both of them were guys who were in the business just because they loved it,” he said. “They cared about what they were doing and wanted to be involved, and I have a great deal of respect for them.”

Shelton works to maintain that respect, but also to retain his perspective about the joys of work and family.

“It’s easy to get full of yourself when you’re successful,” Shelton said. “I think the most important thing you can learn about business is being yourself. Don’t be something you’re not. Sometimes you can get so busy playing a part that you’re not doing what you should be doing. People can see right through that.”

In 2007, Shelton celebrated his 38th year of marriage to his wife Jeannie, exchanging vows with her on July 20, the same day that men first walked on the moon. He takes great pride in his 36-year-old daughter Kimberly and 35-year-old son John, who add to this extremely enjoyable phase of his life.

“I’ve got a wonderful wife and a wonderful family,” he said. “I’ve had a great career, and I can take a little different approach and look at things a little differently now. I enjoy what I’m doing, and I love the industry. This award is the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, because it assures me that I can continue to go to the SEMA Show, see my buddies and be there for that Hall of Fame luncheon. This industry is all I’ve ever done, and I just hope I can continue to be a part of it.”

Obviously, the industry shares in that desire.