About Us
From our high school days the founders of Big 3 Racing have had a passion for high performance. After we graduated from the Medina County Career Center, we all attended the University of Northwestern Ohio.
As we matured into our college years, our drive to be in the industry only grew. We quickly made a reputation for ourselves, resulting in many noise complaints as we raced down the sleepy streets of Lima, Ohio.
After the first year, we purchased a house in the small town and started to work on streetcars from our small garage. For the remaining three years of college, we spent every penny we borrowed and earned on our streetcars and parts. Dashing ahead, we graduated from college and sped home with bright futures ahead of us. However, we returned home and faced an entirely different race. Coming home to a harsh reality, our dream jobs faded into “9-5” careers. We soon realized if we could not find our path, we would make one.
With much deliberation and no plan for the future, we found a 3,000 square feet space in November of 2006 and quickly invested into to become our shop. What started as a shared hobby and an escape from the daily routine, rapidly developed into something much bigger.
At this time Rick, one of the founders was heavily into Drag Racing, he would race every weekend. Rick’s “grandma green” 72 Plymouth Duster stuck out like a sore thumb however it was one of the best known “sleepers” in the area. In the high performance industry you need to be bold and take risks, a principle Big 3 Racing was founded on. We quickly grew a following and decided to name our shop ‘Big 3 Racing’, after the “Big 3” American Motor Companies.
The big secret was out; Big 3 Racing was flying and quickly became noticed by locals and national customers. Our team quickly outgrew the small storage facility and moved to a larger space to compliment customer needs. Upon the move our team decided to leave their current jobs and commit to the shop full time. Within 6 months every team member was working full time, mostly on more general repairs and slowly transitioning to high performance vehicles.
After one year into their new shop the team took another stride and purchased a Chassis Dyno. With the help of one of the founders, the Chassis Dyno customers came speeding in. The team invested most of their earnings in new tools for a better, faster and more efficient shop. Along with a growing reputation came the need for more employees; we found ourselves overwhelmed with work and made a decision to hire more sets of hands. Thus bringing Alex as a full time technician, Dustin, a service manager, and Rick’s sister to help with financial balance, to the team.
The shop is currently operated by the three original owners, Bob, Chuck and Rick. Big 3 Racing has major plans for the future; including traveling to new locations and exposing our brand even further. Big 3 Racing now resides in Hinckley, Ohio in a 14,000 square foot facility. Our largest facility to date and is equipped with a two Chassis Dyno's, 8 lifts, a metal fabrication shop and a large customer lounge.