A car show can be as simple as placing a few eye-catching vehicles on display and then selling tickets to local enthusiasts. In fact, when Bob Larivee Sr.’s car club, the Motor-city Modified Auto Club (MMAC) participated in the Michigan Hot Rod Association’s (MHRA) first Detroit Autorama in 1953, it featured only 45–50 vehicles parked at the University of Detroit Field House. While the event was modest in size, it was a hit with attendees and the first of many successful car shows for Larivee Sr.

Initiated as a fundraiser, that first Autorama was held to support construction of the New Baltimore Dragstrip. The annual show continued to grow in popularity and, thanks to the MHRA, Michigan’s first official dragstrip opened for business in the spring of 1957. Serving as the track’s inaugural manager, Larivee Sr. got a first-rate education on his two favorite subjects—show promotion and racing.

As a matter of fact, Larivee’s real racing interest was Circle Track. Taking the wheel in 1952, he continued to compete until 1977, tearing across tracks throughout Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

Through his involvement with MHRA, Larivee Sr. met another local promoter, Don Ridler. Immediately impressed by Ridler’s ideas, the MHRA hired him to help expand the Autorama’s appeal to a larger audience. Before long, popular acts such as Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Big Bopper and the Kalin Twins were performing next to some of the best custom cars in Michigan. Ridler also encouraged Larivee to develop his own shows in other markets.

By 1959, Larivee Sr. had formed a partnership with his brother, Marvin Jr., calling the company Promotions Inc. He produced his first two shows in conjunction with Canadian car clubs, such as the Piston Pushers in Hamilton, Ontario, and the Tecumseh Hot Rod association in Windsor, Ontario. Though he didn’t quite break even, the events were well received, and his reputation was building.

In 1960, Promotions Inc. hosted its third show, this time in Toronto. Taking advantage of local radio and print media as well as a sponsorship with the Corsairs Car Club, the third time was the charm. With a profit of $10,000, there was no longer any doubt about Larivee’s future or the success of Promotions Inc.

As Larivee Sr. sought new areas of opportunity, he looked to Southern California—home to some of the world’s best hot-rod builders and the magazines that covered their projects. In the summer of 1962, he headed west and began networking with the likes of Vic Edelbrock of Edelbrock Equipment Co., Ed Cholakian from Weiand Speed Equipment, “Outlaw” builder Ed Roth and Wally Parks over at the National Hot Rod Association. Promotions Inc. quickly grew to 15 shows, capitalizing on bringing together famous hot-rod creations as well as products from the country’s hottest manufacturers.

In 1963, Larivee Sr. realized that the judging criteria for competing vehicles needed a tune-up. In an effort to level the playing field for car owners and promote legitimate competition he formed the International Show Car Association (ISCA). The ISCA adopted a truly innovative system for scoring vehicles, and, to this day, the ISCA continues to be North America’s preeminent judging body.

Fast-forward 20 years, and Promotions Inc. was producing 100 shows annually, publishing books and souvenir programs and maintaining sponsorships with many of the most dominant specialty-equipment manufacturers in the world. As a promoter, Larivee Sr. continued to innovate, incorporating the biggest names in hot-rod building, music, TV and film under one roof. Detroit’s Big Three were also involved, opting to use Larivee Sr.’s stage to debut vehicles, such as the Mustang, and high-performance buildups, such as Chrysler Corporation’s Rapid Transit System line.

After 35 years, Promotions Inc. was sold to Larivee Sr.’s son, but his contribution to the specialty-equipment industry was far from over. Deeply involved in automotive art, he started a fine art exhibit at the SEMA Show, which will celebrate its 25th year on the Show floor this November (2012). Eventually, he sold most of his huge collection of hot-rod art history to “Speedy” Bill Smith of Speedway Motors for his Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska.

As an entrepreneur and a publisher, Larivee Sr. has literally written the book on car shows, titled simply Show Car Dreams. As readers turn each page, it’s apparent that Larivee Sr. was passionate about creating an opportunity for enthusiasts to come face to face with the greatest hot rods ever built.

SEMA is eternally grateful for Bob Larivee Sr.’s willingness to redefine car shows and for making them something that families, generation after generation, continue to enjoy. It may be hard to define a car guy, but you can start by studying SEMA Hall of Fame member Bob Larivee Sr.

Mark Heffington was born October 2, 1941, in his grandmother's home in Memphis, Tennessee. As a fifth grader, he enjoyed helping out in the school library, where he became inspired by three car books, The Modern Racing Engine, a technical book published in late '40s, and two fictitious novels, Hot Rod and Street Rod, both written by Henry Gregory Felsen. By the time he was 15, he had his mother taking him and friends to local drag races.

Hooked on cars, Heffington pursued a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee and then began his career in the aftermarket industry as the chief cam designer for Crane Cams. In 1972, he founded Cam Dynamics, a leading manufacturer of high-performance and racing camshafts. In the early '80s, he sold the company and began consulting on camshaft design and engineering for United Technologies and General Motors.

In 1984, Buick called Heffington in for help with the cam and valve problems affecting its Indy V6 engines. While at the Speedway, he first encountered the emergence of computer-controlled engines on race cars. Told that the new cars could no longer be tuned by individuals, Heffington immediately realized how such a revolution could significantly impact, and even hinder, the performance industry by leaving tuning to factory engineers with proprietary information. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"I felt like John Belushi at the Triple Rock Church when he had seen the light," Heffington recalled. "In a matter of seconds, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and saw the opportunity. And then you just go and do it."

Heffington poured himself into research and exploration. He founded Hypertech Inc. in 1985 in Bartlett, Tennessee, and engaged engineering consultants to help with computer programs and reverse engineering of codes to develop aftermarket onboard computer reprogramming devices. In 1986, he introduced the first Power Chip to recalibrate the early automotive computers that used replaceable PROMs or "chips" in their electronic control modules. In 1994, with later generations of electronic control units eliminating such chips, Hypertech kept pace, releasing  another first, the Power Programmer to access and alter the "flash" programmable memory associated with the newer OBD-II technology. In fact, during Hypertech's early years, the company cornered the market on such products, chiefly because few manufacturers understood the technology as Heffington did.

Heffington's pioneering contributions to the aftermarket and racing communities brought him induction into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame in 1997. His company also became a five-time winner of SEMA Best New Performance-Street Product and Best Engineered Product awards and a two-time Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice award winner for product innovation, among other industry accolades. In addition, he currently serves on the SEMA Political Action Committee, lending his considerable industry experience and expertise to the efforts to favorably shape public policy to the entire aftermarket's benefit.

In fact, since his successes in the '90s, Heffington continued to demonstrate zeal and innovation for the industry. Heffington took an early stand with his company, creating only street-legal products that met emissions standards. In 2009, Hypertech introduced the Sport Power Programmer, the first street-legal line of tuners for imports.

"The reason I started Hypertech was for people just like me," he explained. "People who like to drive a high-performance street car every day of their life."

Over the years, onboard computer controllers have become more and more sophisticated, regulating fuel, spark, transmission and even radiator cooling fans. However, Heffington views that less as a challenge than an opportunity for even more performance gains. In its 27th year (as of 2012), Hypertech remains a leader of engine tuning products, and Heffington continues to look to the future, seeing better ways to control highly modified engines equipped with nitrous, cam changes or superchargers as well as the ever-changing production models.

William Henry Getty France Sr. is remembered throughout the world as the founder of NASCAR, the most successful stock-car racing series on earth. Born in Washington, D.C., on September 26, 1909, France developed an interest in racing early on. As a teenager, he played hookie from school to take the family Ford Model T to a local board track near his Laurel, Maryland, home. Legend has it he would while the day away doing laps at the track until the last possible moment, then race home before his father could get there and discover what he had actually been up to.

As a young man, France found a job at a local car shop, and then operated his own service station before eventually working his way to Daytona Beach, Florida, opening an auto repair shop there in the early ’30s. By 1936, he was lending his compelling presence to efforts to lay out the locality’s first beach/road course and, as a racer, finished fifth in the course’s inaugural competition. Two years later, he was assisting with the promotion of the races on the sands.

France quickly became known as “Big Bill,” due as much to his 6-ft. 5-in. stature as the big thinking and unfaltering confidence that earned him a towering place in motorsports history. Throughout his early career as a racer and fledgling promoter, he experienced firsthand the challenges of the racing business, from recruiting drivers and spreading the word to creating tracks, hiring ticket-takers and generating profits. Although World War II interrupted much of this work, he promptly resumed when peacetime returned.  Along the way, he developed the conviction that if stock-car racing was ever to truly succeed, it needed a single, firmly governed sanctioning body.

In 1947, France gathered a group of race promoters, drivers and mechanics for a now-famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel on road A1A in Daytona Beach, a structure that stands to this day as a racing landmark.  Together, the group established the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), with France as president. They officially incorporated the organization within a year, and more than 14,000 fans attended the first NASCAR event on the Daytona Beach road/beach course in February of 1948.

Under Big Bill’s leadership NASCAR saw fast-paced development throughout the ’50s and ’60s. He built two superspeedways that came to personify the sport—the 2.5-mi. Daytona International and the 2.66-mi.  Talladega (Alabama). He also founded the International Speedway Corp. (ISC) to operate the two tracks plus others involved in NASCAR’s three national series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 1972, he stepped down from his NASCAR presidency, handing the reins over to son William C. France. However, he continued for several years as a consultant and ISC chairman/president.

Throughout his career, the senior France also pioneered standards and practices in safety, organization, infrastructure, scoring and purses that elevated racing’s profile to new levels of respect within the realm of professional sports. In the words of noted motorsports journalist Larry Woody, “Big Bill France looked at an untamed diversion called stock-car racing and saw a promising future…. He founded NASCAR and, through sheer iron will, hammered it into shape.”

Not surprisingly, France achieved many lifetime honors, including induction into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcaster Association Hall of Fame.

Big Bill died of natural causes on June 7, 1992, leaving a larger-than-life legacy. In May of 2010, he was honored again posthumously as one of five initial NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees. His induction into SEMA’s Hall of Fame pays homage not only to his many accomplishments, but also to the racing heritage that continues to inspire and fuel the performance aftermarket.

Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At 13, he was reading articles by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

In high school, Schubeck met fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris, who had just opened a speed shop and couldn’t find the time to finish a rig buildup. Although no money changed hands, Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck had the flathead engine burning nitro methane and ready for competition. His fantasy of being a racer was about to come true…and then he took to the track against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up next to Arfons’ Bologna sled, and I was scared as all get out,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get the hell out of here, I’m going to be sliced bologna.’”

Schubeck kept it close but failed to shift and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out that flathead engine.

By his third year, Schubeck met Joe Sparatelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I had built my own tubular chassis,” explained Schubeck. “That was the first tube chassis in ’58, and then in ’59, I rounded up a bunch of people that wanted them. So I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

One of the most difficult pieces to construct was the aluminum transmission bellhousing. He knew there had to be a better way to manufacture the part, and while visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a machine called the Hydroform.

Through persistence and hard work, he developed a die to put in the Hydroform, and 20 seconds after the engineer flipped on the machine, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, blowing cars in half—sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

“It was obvious that what I needed was to make a bellhousing out of steel,” said Schubeck, “And Jack Harris told me, ‘If you could make that thing out of steel and it will contain that clutch, you would have a multi-million dollar product on your hands.’”

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to shows, selling merchandise and all that—that was just a life changer for me.”

In addition to the success, he found a way back to the dragstrip. Much to his surprise, George Hearst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special sister car to the Hearst Hemi M Class. The rig featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 horsepower. Shubeck was hesitant to pilot the vehicle, but George ultimately had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid down a photograph on a table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’m going to hire for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “It was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And he said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and she’ll be there to take your top hat and your white gloves and help you get in the car, and she’ll be part of the pit crew.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentlemen Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included long tails and was completed by a fireproof bow tie. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer on the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, his invention is still saving lives every weekend at tracks all across the country.

Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those cars with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store from Scandinavia, including Sweden and Finland, and searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife, Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena.

“I remember our first 53-foot truckload of gaskets coming in,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I set up all around the house. We filled the entire living room, dining room and kitchen with these gaskets, and I used the plywood to make little tunnels.”

Hoping for advice on operating his small business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, which including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Before long, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with the sales managers and sales vice presidents at member companies; he was interacting with the CEOs. At this point, he met someone who would serve as a mentor, a colleague and an employer—Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of work in [SEMA] leadership with him—especially serving as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

“I get to work with people who I enjoy being with and who have grown far beyond co-workers and are really close friends,” he said. “I don’t know how retirement could get better than this. I’m really enjoying this spot in my life.”

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, becoming a founding board member of the SEMA PAC or working with the SEMA Show long-range-planning task force, he has always generously donated his time to the association. In fact, he continues to dedicate his time to numerous councils and committees purely out of gratitude to the association.

“If it wasn’t for the mentors that I met in getting involved in SEMA, I wouldn’t be where I am,” he said.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. He and Rose have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was additionally cast in two TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame, the entire family was beyond proud.

“Everybody talks about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment. I know that there are probably a bunch of folks out there who are more deserving than I, but there’s certainly nobody happier than I.”

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It’s advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: If you do something you’re passionate about, work will actually be fun and you will do some really amazing things.

At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a "car guy" per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

"I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan," recalled Grant. "I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960. I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level."

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who had degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

"Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965," he said. "They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles. I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal."

Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers and service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

"When we did that, it just opened the floodgates," he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

"We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania," he quipped. "The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge."

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. "They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles," he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto "safety arm" for its industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. 
 
Grant passed away on December 22, 2013. 
 
 
 
 

No one can deny Boyd his rank in hot rodding and customizing. Boyd’s remarkable success with the production and sale of high-end billet-aluminum custom wheels is unprecedented, and his specialty-vehicle designs have received worldwide acclaim for craftsmanship and originality. He opened Hot Rods by Boyd in the late 1970s, while the late 1980s brought Boyd Wheels. His custom rims gained fans in the hot rod world as well as the hip-hop community. Meanwhile, his custom vehicles garnered Boyd the Grand National Roadster Show's America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award, the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Hall of Fame, the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame and the Hot Rod Hall of Fame.

Butch is recognized as being one of the specialty aftermarket leaders, an individual whose business acumen has led to a preponderance of successes in the wholesale and retail distribution of performance parts and customizing accessories. Butch has been an ad director, account manager and marketing director. He has served on the SEMA Board of Directors and as the SEMA Treasurer as well as on various committees. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors for AFFTA and SREA. He was both Director and Treasurer of PWA. PWA awarded Butch with its Pioneer Award in 1996, and he received the SEMA Person of the Year Award in 1984.

Joan Weiand overcame the obstacles that lay before her when she took over Weiand Industries in the wake of her husband’s death.  Joan supported industry causes with zeal; she established and maintained a SEMA Scholarship Fund in her husband Phil’s memory.

The founder and CEO of Superior Industries, former used-car salesman Lou radiated the spirit of entrepreneurship. He started his company, Superior Industries International, with the design and production of alloy custom wheels. Today, Superior wheels are found on tens of thousands of production-line new cars. He had been on the company's board of directors since 1958, serving as chairman until 2007. Lou was also a major supporter of the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund and one of the Scholarship's subfund sponsors; the L.L. Borick subfund is awarded each year to students seeking careers in the specialty-equipment industry.