Speedway Racing Bodies gains worldwide success

By Larry Ott

There is a company based in Buffalo that would be enjoying a bumper crop of success if it were in the farming industry. However, growing corn is not what they are about.

They do deal with bumpers, however, as this company is in the racing business. They have become successful by selling bumpers as well as noses, tails, hoods and complete racing bodies. This sleek crop has made Speedway Racing Bodies (SRB) a business success.

SRB, owned by the Buffalo area husband and wife duo Tom and Ann Hall, has a stronghold on its niche in the racing business world. SRB has grown from its fledgling beginnings here in the Queen City to overseas international success.

SRB manufactures fiberglass aftermarket race car bodies, race truck bodies and hoods, as well as polypropylene front noses, tails, and aluminum spoilers. They also sell Kevlar bumpers.

"We now sell our products all over the world," says Bruce Roll, the sales manager for SRB. "We sold a monster truck body to a gentleman in England as well as truck parts to customers in Japan. Our company helped start a new truck racing series in Brazil about four years ago, and they buy bodies from us."

A few years ago, SRB came out with a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado truck body and recently unveiled the new 2003 Chevy Silverado. One can buy the new body complete, or for those who currently have the 1999 version, SRB has a conversion kit available that will update the older body to the 2003 model at a fraction of the price of a complete body.

The Mini Stock division, which is an entry-level four-cylinder type of stock car, may be smaller in size but has produced large profits for SRB. The business growth of this venture has been phenomenal considering that SRB broke into the Mini Stock market just a year ago.

"One day at our office I was watching cars go by and I noticed a 1979 Mustang that had a sharp looking front bumper on it," said Roll, who also is a veteran area race official. "Something all of a sudden clicked in my mind. I use the National Speedway Directory quite a bit, and after looking through it I found out that there are over 350 tracks that run a Mini Stock division. They use Mustangs. Some of these tracks get 60 entries per night.

"Tracks are currently running models of the Mustang that range from the 1979 to the 1993 models. I thought to myself that there are a lot of guys out there who are getting their parts out of junkyards. Because they are scarce, those parts are time and labor-consuming to get, as well as more expensive.

"So last year we started to manufacture our own two-piece polypropylene noses for Mini Stocks and the sales just took off from there. It has been incredible."

This year SRB has incorporated a Mini Stock two-piece polypropylene tail and hood into their product line. A front nose retails for $110, a tail is $105, a hood is $116, and a complete Mini Stock 2003 Mustang Cobra GT fiberglass body, which SRB has just introduced, can be purchased for $980.

To install SRB’s parts, one only has to purchase the parts from SRB and bolt them on. Another nice feature of SRB’s bumpers is that they have some give built into them so they can take a hit and rebound to their original shape within seconds.

Roll says he believes that his Mini Stock program coincides with the changing face of local short track racing.

"These Mini Stock items have been selling so fast that we can hardly keep the parts in stock," Roll stressed. "Based on what I’ve seen and heard around the country, I firmly believe that within the next five years a number of tracks will feature these lower dollar type classes as their headline divisions, as today’s ultra expensive main classes are quickly pricing themselves right out of the market."

While truck racing has all but died in Western New York, SRB has been successful in providing truck bodies to a larger market outside the region.

"A large number of tracks across this country run trucks, and it has proven very successful for them," said Roll, who has been working as the head of sales at SRB for the last nine years. "We are the spec body manufacturer for the All-Star Truck Series which was formerly known as the American Race Truck Series.

"They have divided themselves into five regions across the country and the rules are the same for all of the regions. They have a total of 450 trucks that race within that organization. So don’t let anyone tell you that truck racing is dead. It is alive and thriving, as you will find if you research it.

"In terms of car counts, many people in this area think that Mini Stocks mean mini-sized fields. Don’t tell that to promoters across the country who pack them into the pits each night."

SRB was started eleven years ago. The Halls own and operate Fiberglass Replacements Parts that assembles fiberglass industrial parts. From there SRB was born and in addition to the success already mentioned, SRB also manufacturers Kevlar bumper covers for use in ARCA as well as for NASCAR Busch North Series competitor Dave Dion.

Roll is naturally optimistic that SRB will continue to grow in the years ahead. "The sky is the limit for us," said Roll.

If the sky is the limit for SRB then the way to the heavens for them will clearly be made of fiberglass, Kevlar, and polypropylene, as well as lots of hard work and dreams. After all, that is what has made them such a success story. They are a positive vision in a city that has been the center of darkening business lights for so long.

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