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.

Hilborn is a popular name in the Indianapolis 500 race, because Hilborn fuel injection units have been on Indy race cars for more than three decades. It was Stu Hilborn, an automotive engineer and lakes racer, who designed and developed the hybrid injection system, a variation of which is now used on new cars in an electronic configuration. His injectors have been used successfully and set many records in all types of racing including oval track, drag, dry lakes, super modified, off-road, motorcycle, tractor pulling, hydroplanes and Indy Lite series.

Bob retired from Chrysler Motors Corporation in the late 1980s, but he did so with credit for keeping the Chrysler nameplates prominent in all forms of racing. Bob is known as the originator of Mopar, a unit of operation that began as a performance parts division for Chrysler. It’s reported that he ran Chrysler’s Pure Oil Performance Trials team and the Mobilgas Economy Run efforts, and led the racing group that developed the Hyper Pak-powered Valiants for NASCAR’s short-lived compact car racing series. Mopar Magazine wrote that he “dreamed up” the Max Wedge and HEMI package cars Chrysler built from 1962 to 1968.

Pete was the co-founder of Pete & Jake's, a large and very successful street rod products manufacturer, also responsible for the design and construction of popular hot rods, among them the award-winning "California Kid" coupe. He has built, or had a hand in building, a number of notable rods, including the Eliminator coupe and two “HogZZilla” custom motorcycles for ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. He was also involved in the restoration of several historic hot rods for Bruce Meyer, including the Doane Spencer roadster, Pierson Brothers coupe and Alex Xydias’s original So-Cal Speed Shop belly tank lakester. Pete is also the owner of So-Cal Speed Shop. In addition, he was Vice President of Marketing at SEMA, and was instrumental in the formation of the Street Rod Equipment Association, a SEMA council. He was inducted in to the SRMA Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Hall of Fame, National Rod & Custom Hall of Fame, Hot Rod Hall of Fame and the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame. He has been awarded the Grand National Roadster Show Builder of the Year, Detroit Autorama Builder of the Year, Legends of Speed Lifetime Achievement Award and NSRA (UK) Hot Rod of the Century Award.