E3 Spark Plugs News

Tim Spurlock started wrenching with his dad as a kid and was just a teenager when he began building engines as a part-time, after-school business. Twelve years ago, he opened his own paint and body shop which since has grown to two locations with 15 employees. Clearly, his blood is tinged with motor oil. And maybe a little mud. Now, he’s riding high – and fast – as one of his area’s top mud bogging champions.

The latest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner has a penchant for rebuilding and restoring classic Ford trucks, particularly those from 1953-1979. So when he decided three years ago to build a full mud racing truck, he chose a 1978 Ford F150 that he highly modified for competition. That choice proved a good one.

“In the last two years I have been undefeated in two classes for our local series, won a class at every race I have entered in the surrounding three states – a total of 18 first place finishes in 2012 alone,” says the New Paris, Indiana resident who last year partnered with the New Paris Speedway to produce and promote a new mud bog series that has prove wildly popular with regional competitors. “People know my truck is serous and will be putting on a show when it hits the mud.”

While he certainly enjoys the winnings and bragging rights, Spurlock and his Old Blue Mud Racing team truly love hanging with fans at competitions, car shows and cruise-ins.

“At competitions, we spend half the day in the pit area showing and discussing the truck with interested spectators,” he says.

Spurlock and his team often forfeit winnings to benefit area charities and causes. He loyally attends bogs with competitor payouts, where the funds benefit the local Hospice and Camp Millhouse, a summer retreat for children and young adults with mental and physical disabilities. And this year, he headed up the Michiana Mud Bog Series, a partnership between the New Paris Speedway, Ruffriders 4×4 and South Bend Sod Busters, expected to raise several thousands of dollars for worthy causes. Even when he’s off the competitive track, he’s still on the dirt, running off-road ATVs and dirt bikes and camping with his family.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Tim!

Many a graduating high school senior saves his part-time job paychecks and hits up Mom and Dad for help buying a car. Such was the case for John Hummel of Conesus, NY. But he wasn’t looking for a sleek street car that would impress the girls. Instead, he wanted a lean, mean racing machine. And that’s what he got.

The newest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner remembers fondly the 1974 Plymouth Duster he bought just after graduating from New York’s Livonia Central School with honors in 1984. It took him and is father two years to ready the car for Hummel’s first race at Williamson, NY’s Spencer Speedway. Hummel finished his debut race in second place and finished the racing season with two major bragging rights – qualifying for the 1987 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) North East Division Bracket World Finals and being nominated for Rookie of the Year at Motorcity Raceway (now New York International Raceway Park), finishing eighth place in the Street class.

Throughout the 1980s, Hummel would continue to dominate the drag racing tracks, racking up nearly 100 combined final round appearances and more than 50 wins. But his big national media break came in 1993, when he became the first ever two-time consecutive event Fun Ford Weekend Champion – a record that stands to this day. Other great racing moments for Hummel include 1994′s unprecedented third Fun Ford Weekend Championship; three consecutive All Ford Challenge Class Championships; and a second-place finish in the world’s largest sportsman drag race in 2005.

Hummel also is proud of his 2011 Competition Plus Magazines Sportsmanship Award and 2009 POPS Racing Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. Both take into consideration not just his racing talent but his community service as well. Over the years, he has devoted countless hours as a Livingston County, NY D.A.R.E. Programs volunteer; raising funds for the Teresa House, a comfort care ministry for the terminally ill, and the Golisano Children’s Hospital; and organizing and promoting events for the New York State Police Dept.’s Racing Against Drugs program.

“As I look back at my long career, I can say the best part of my racing success is that it puts me in a position to give something back to the community that has supported me so well over the past 27 years,” Hummel says.

It’s Hummel’s on-track talent as well as his heart for community service that helped land him the roster of Team E3 Racing winners. From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, John!

The tiny town of Abrams, Wisconsin is home to just 1,750 residents. But the “titletown” of sorts also boasts several champion off-road racers including Johnny and CJ Greaves, and the newest Team E3 Racing Tier 1 winner Don Demeny.  A racer for 28 years, Demeny aims to add his own name to roster of champions hailing from the small paper mill town.

Demeny first got hooked on racing as a teenager, watching the engine-revving, dirt-slinging action from the stands of the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in nearby Crandon, WI. By 16, he was competing himself. Ever since, “Off-road has been our life,” says Demeny of his team, which includes his father, Gene, as crew chief, and his beautiful wife, Amy.

Over the years, Demeny has racked up many race wins including a 2002 Crandon series championship title. He currently races a 2013 Dodge Ram in the Traxxas Torc Off-Road Championship Series, doing nearly all the fabrication for new trucks in-house. On the track, he consistently finishes in the top three in feature races, making his sponsors, including Mickey Thompson Tires, Nsight Teleservices, Cellcom, Abrams BP, Colortech of Wisconsin and now, E3 Spark Plugs proud. His team wrapped the 2012 season in second place in points, and peers voted him in for the Hard Charger and Best Win awards. But he’s got his eye on the top podium spot for the 2013 season.

“2013 is our year,” says Demeny, who also serves as a Supervisor for the Town of Abrams. “We came close last year, but this year is ours.”

Off-track, Demeny and teammates love participating in car shows, parades and other events, meeting fans and showing off their racing trucks. He also lends his time, expertise and support to the racing field as Vice President of Midwest Off-Road Racing, an organization dedicated to ensuring affordable racing for the Midwest sportsman off-road racer by uniting racers with a common voice.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Don!

It all started with a mystery Christmas gift. Then 15 years old, James Steffenhagen, Jr. was a bit perplexed when he unwrapped a small package that contained a toggle switch.  But when he realized that the switch was for a car’s ignition system, it all made sense.

“It confused me at first,” said Steffenhagen, the newest Team E3 Racing Tier 1 winner. “But then Dad explained that it was my turn to get into the car and see what I could do.”

Steffenhagen had been enamored with the racing world since he was 10 years old. His Uncle Ed Steffenhagen ran NASCAR modifieds at tracks throughout New York and Pennsylvania and his father worked crew. Eventually, both of James’ parents would race as well, his father driving a street stock numbered 31. So, it’s no wonder that the youngest Steffenhagen would anxiously await his turn behind the wheel of a racecar.

“The car we had was older, obtained cheap after a big wreck, and put back together, complete with home built motor,” Steffenhagen says of his first racing ride. His first time competing proved he had some potential – “which means, I didn’t get lapped,” he says. But victory would prove elusive early on.

“I had dreams of winning, holding the flag in victory lane, but it didn’t happen that way,” he recalls. “After a few good wrecks, and some bad finishes, I started to think maybe it was me, maybe I just didn’t have what it takes. I immediately dismissed this however, because to me, I was driving that thing as hard as it would go.”

Steffenhagen refused to give up. He continued racing and gleaning pointers from fellow competitors and racing vets. Some advice he put into practice – other tips, he tossed. Still, cracking the top 10 in race finishes and series points proved tougher than he had expected.

“Someone said, ‘It’s just bad luck,’” he recalls. “I couldn’t accept that. In my head the same four or five guys were winning every week, and no one’s luck is that good.”

To debunk the luck theory, Steffenhagen began pouring himself into researching what makes a winning racecar. He found a book that explained “just about everything there was to know, from Ride Height, to cross weights and so on,” he says. Once he put his newfound knowledge – and a little superstition – to work, things changed quickly. He finally – and consistently – began finishing in the top 10 of nearly every race.

“I couldn’t help but remember that line though, ‘It’s just bad luck’. So to challenge, that I changed the number from 31, to 13. First one win, then six, then seven straight feature wins. Needless to say, my lucky number is 13.”

Steffenhagen has been a regular on the winner’s podium for both race wins and series championships ever since.

He’s currently on the Big 10 Super Stock Series Roster and plans to make his 2013 season debut May 17 at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, NY. He’s part of the JamesGang racing team along with fellow Team E3 Racing winner Darryl Barrett. Long term, he’s got his sights set on NASCAR. But as much as he loves winning, he loves interacting with fans, too – especially kids. He’s been known to take young fans for a spin through a track or event venue parking lot in his racecar.

“I hate it when guys velvet rope or have ‘do not touch’ signs,” he says. “In my mind, if a kid can break something on your car, it’s probably junk to begin with.”

Steffenhagen credits his family with being a solid support team. This includes his beautiful wife and toddler son, Uncle John, siblings numerous cousins, aunts, nephews, nieces and friends.

“My Dad does almost everything on the cars himself,” Steffenhagen says. “He is a retired mechanic and, as much as he won’t admit it, loves doing it. He paints the letters on the tires orange every week.”

But he has a special place in his racing for his late mother, also a racer.

“My No. 1 fan rides with me now as I lost my mom to cancer a couple of years ago,” he says. “I’ll never forget the time I won, and she took the mic from the announcer and told a story about me in a plastic pedal car, saying that it was in my blood to win. That’s my favorite racing memory of all time. I couldn’t tell you anything else about that night.”

We expect there will be many more memories over the course of a very successful racing career. From all of us at E3 Spark Plugs, welcome to the team, James!

Most days, Tyler Shepard suits up and plies his relatively tame trade as a medical industry sales rep. But upwards of 20 weekends a year, the latest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner dons a much flashier getup than his workday jacket and tie, wowing crowds as the “Wheelie Wizzard.”

Shepard was just 14 when he first saw “Wheelie King” Doug Domokos perform at a flattrack race in Celina, Ohio in 1995. The young rider immediately began developing his own daredevil style and within a few years, made his own debut before a crowd. For 13 years now, he’s been performing a family-friendly motorcycle entertainment program showcasing his famous wheelies at major events nationwide.

Just about any rider with a little experience can rev the engine, pop the clutch and grab a wheelie. But riding on that back wheel for any real distance is tricky.

“You have to keep the rear brake on the entire time, then adjust the throttle for how high you want the front wheel to come up,” Shepard told reporters recently.

It’s an art that Shepard has perfected. In fact, in one particularly popular show feature, he rides a Honda XR 50 with no front wheel detached altogether – sometimes flying over the top of a Ford box-van. Not surprisingly, he holds the current world record for the highest wheelie on a 50cc motorcycle.

Shepard uses four different bikes in his shows. Two are stock Honda CRF 50s. One is a Honda CRF 50 with custom sprocks that allow for performances in small venues. With a modified gear ratio, he can ride a wheelie slower than the average person can walk.

Shepard’s talents have landed him gigs with top-name clients and events including Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, Sports Illustrated, Lucas Oil on the Edge and the Monster Energy Supercross Series. Throughout the 2013 season, he’ll be the featured attraction at the Monster Nation and the Toughest Monster Truck Tour! But his favorite part of performing actually happens between popping those wheelies.

“The people who come out with all of their kids,” he says when asked about the most enjoyable part of his work. “They have stories about when they used to ride, and the kids are telling me about how they have bikes. I just like hearing stories fans tell.”

We’re looking forward to hearing lots of stories of the Wheelie Wizzard’s continued success. From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, welcome to the team, Tyler!

Coalton, West Virginian Danny Phillips has been racing lawn mowers for 15 years and has a mantle full of more than 50 first place trophies to show for it. But those trophies are far less important to Phillips than the message his custom-built racing mowers bear. That’s why Phillips is the newest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner.

“I have dedicated my 2013 team as a tribute to firefighters, first responders and 9/11,” says Philips, noting that one of his mowers has the names of all 343 first responders who lost their lives in the series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. area on September 11, 2001.” “No matter where you may travel across the country, you can count on firemen and first responders to be there in times of emergency.”

Phillips’ tribute is a deeply personal one.

“The passion I have for these brave men and women is wrought from my and my wife’s more than 20 years of service with our local fire department,” he explains. “I personally know the sacrifices made to work and volunteer in this field. Some people are not aware of risks involved with this service. Sometimes, we firefighters forget this as our focus is doing the job at hand, blind to the risks. Unfortunately, these brave men and women do not always get the respect they deserve, so I wanted to show my respect and share it with others.”

Phillips’ mowers, emblazoned with vivid decals bearing images of firefighters, the World Trade Center’s twin towers and the iconic American bald eagle, garner much attention from fellow racers, fans and the media at races and promotional appearances. That attention is sure to grow as Phillips’ racing aspirations continue. He’s already helped take a local annual lawn mower race to a faster, flashier and more professional level.

It began about 15 years ago when Phillips and other locals competed in race down a main street on stock mowers during Coalton Days, an annual hometown homecoming celebration. Over the years, competitors learned secret, sneaky ways to speed up their machines and up the ante in the friendly competition. When a fellow racer spotted a mower racing competition on TV, he recommended the track be move to a grass field lined with hay bales. This proved safer and lent a more exciting, “true race” feel, Phillips says.

But the real change came when Phillips, who recently was honored as the Coll Rides Online Featured Member of the Week, and wife Sarah stumbled upon a United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) race while traveling in Ohio.

“We were intrigued,” Phillips says. “We booked a room for the night and returned to watch the race the following day. The racers shared a lot of information with us and we were overwhelmed by the friendliness and camaraderie of everyone we met. This lit a fire under me.”

Back home, Phillips began daily research on building new, souped up racing mowers and rallied the local racers who helped mine and share information.

“When we returned to Coalton Days the following summer, the fans, which numbered 600-800, were treated to an awesome show and the race was the talk of the county,” Phillips says. From then on, the crowds turned out in ever increasing numbers, rain or shine, to watch the on-track battle and cheer for their favorites. Phillips aims to continue pushing the limits, improving and promoting the experience for Coalton racers and fans.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Danny!

Kevin Harter of Brunswick, Ohio has raced karts for as long as he can remember. Now, he’s a dad helping his son and other youth experience the thrill of racing. That’s why he’s the newest Team E3 Racing Tier 1 winner.

Harter’s racing experience includes competitions and wins in everything from karts to dirt bikes to gymkhana nationwide and in Japan. Today, he owns Championship Racing Performance, the only full service kart shop in the nation that specializes in 2-cycle sprint kart racing products designed specifically for young racers ages 5-12. He managed 2-cycle kart shops since 1988, before opening his own business in 2006. The shop offers new kart sales and service, engine building and blueprinting as well as trackside support and driver coaching.

Harter has a very personal stake in being the best in his business. His 13-year-old son, Kaden Harter, is already a veteran on the kid kart tracks, competing since age five. The teen is the 2010 Beaverun Motorsports Complex Yamaha Jr. Sportsman Track Champion and the former Barberton Speedway Kid Kart Track Champion.

Kevin Harter also is President of the Great Lakes Sprint Series, the nation’s largest World Karting Association divisional kart racing series. His and his family’s passion for motorsports is clear. So, from all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, welcome to the team, Kevin!

It all started with a 1969 4X4 El Camino he began building in 1980 at age 16. A family, a few moves and multiple custom-built trucks later, Bobby Brown is a regular on the mud truck competition circuit’s winner’s podium. He’s also the latest Team E3 Racing winner.

Brown began competing in mud racing in the 1980s while also working as a shrimper and scallop fisherman in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and later as a mechanic at a Texaco service station in his hometown Fernandina Beach. In 1998, he won his first competition at the Monster Jam in Jacksonville, repeating in 2001. He continued racing the Monster Jam, plus other events in the United States Hot Rod Association National Pro Stadium Points Series and Family Events’ 4-Wheel Jamboree Mickey Thompson Tough Truck Series, racking up 22 first-place wins with Chevy trucks alone over the course of his career.

Among the most memorable career moments was racing the TNN Monster Jam in March of 2001, just weeks after the death of NASCAR great Dale Earnhart.

“It was the third month, third week, third day and the number I drew for my truck was number eight,” Brown says. “I raced my Chevy S10 to semi-finals and was barely edged out of the finals. But as luck would have it my opponent’s truck would not crank for the finals. I came back as the fast loser and won the race.”

Other accomplishments include creating a GM / Chevy Colorado 4X4 and Silverado 4X4 pro stadium concept vehicles for the 2005 and 2008 SEMA Shows.

This season, Brown and his Wild Gator Racing team are gunning for the 2013 4-Wheel Jamboree Mickey Thompson Tough Truck Championship. Brown aims to complete his next competition ride – an S10 MEGA truck, and begin developing other Chevy concepts for future SEMA shows. Apparently, racing runs in the family. Brown also plans to help his son into a V8 Pro Lite to race in The Off-Road Championship series. And he’s developing plans for an off-road motorsport park and race track in Northeast Florida.

Brown has big plans and we here at E3 Spark Plugs are proud to support his efforts. Welcome to the team, Bobby!

Little Aidan Hinds could grow up to become an accountant, an architect, an astronaut – anything he wants. But chances are he’ll become a famous auto racer. After all, he’s already got a big head start. That’s why he’s the latest Team E3 Racing winner.

Hinds has spent nearly every Saturday night of his seven years at the Dirt Late Model race tracks with his dad, Kenny, and spends his evenings in the garage, learning all about the mechanics of sleek, powerful racing machines. Plus, racing runs in the family. Grandfather Richard Proffitt also was a racer. So by age five, young Hinds was ready to hit the tracks himself.

In 2011, the Aidan Hinds Racing team was founded in Loveland, Ohio and Hinds’ competitive mojo revved up quickly. In just his seventh race weekend, he took the pole position and outclassed the field throughout the entire weekend at the Kid Kart Nationals Restricted race held in St. Louis, MO. Clearly possessing a natural talent, Aidan went on to rack up an impressive 23 wins in his rookie season.

In his sophomore season, Hinds raced in seven states, running the Great Lakes Sprint Series and competing in the Ohio Valley Karting Association. A nasty flip in Camden destroyed his kart and sidelined him for three races. Still, he managed to finish the season fifth in the final GLSS point standings.

Hinds, who drives both a Birel B25 Chassis and a 2010 Haase Chassis, starts the 2013 season with 51 wins and an eye on two championships. He’ll continue to race in the GLSS Kid Kart Division and run the Route 66 and OVKA Series. He also plans to run dirt ovals and is developing a dirt racing team.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Aidan!

Erik Gehrke is always in hot pursuit of someone. During the day, it’s drivers violating Illinois’ speed limits. But come evening and weekends, it’s his American Super Cup Series competitors. The newest Team E3 Racing Tier 1 winner makes his living as a law enforcement officer, but fulfills his passion as a driver for Lawmen Racing, Inc.

A nine-year, fourth-generation police offer, Gehrke is an active hostage negotiator for the northern Illinois region. But he’s also a pro at negotiating the curves of a race track at top speed. He started working on Legends cars in 2002 for CPM Racing, then drove Legends cars in the 2003 season. In 2004, he began racing in the Super Cups series. He’s since racked up more than 40 wins, landed the 2005 National Short Track Championship and took back-to-back Super Cup Championships in 2007 and 2008. Gehrke has won all three of his feature races at Madison International Speedway and three feature races at Rockford Speedway on the last lap.

If Gerhke’s name sound familiar, that’s because he was a Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner last year. He made the most of his win by having his entire Lawmen Racing team don E3 Spark Plugs T-shirts and hats and plans to do it all again this year, adding our logo to all cars in the Super Cup series and thousands of handout cards. Based in Antioch, Illinois, Lawmen Racing is comprised primarily of current or retired police officers and their families, performing every racing-related task from driving the cars to maintaining the engines to marketing the brand.

Gehrke races a Chevy Impala Minicup car with partner and fellow Team E3 Racing winner David Cerer. He’ll race throughout the 2013 season while also helping his son rev up his own racing career.

Welcome back to the team, Erik!