An up-close look at some of the country’s in-demand products and services by region and racing segment.

Motorsports retailers and service providers are constantly tracking the latest parts and trends to give their customers a competitive edge. For the latest on which products and services are moving the retail needle, we present the following sales snapshot from shops across the US. 

Carolina Racing Supply

Carolina Racing Supply—the circle track parts provider in Mooresville, North Carolina—told us that one of its bestselling products is an air cleaner specifically for Holley carburetors. 

“The TomCat Performance Flat Base Air Cleaner Assemblies give a dyno-proven bolt-on horsepower increase and have been very hot the last two years. They’re predominantly used on circle track dirt cars and pavement modifieds but are most popular among crate engine classes,” said Tom Sandal. 

“A tech story in a publication brought a big boost to this product,” he said when asked about marketing efforts behind the part. “Other than that, they are sold through our nationwide network of dealers.”

Performance Motorsports

Although Performance Motorsports in Whitelaw, Wisconsin, couldn’t narrow down its fastest-moving products—stating customers may need hundreds of its available components to build a complete race car—Jesse Fuller did note the shop often serves as a popular gathering spot for local dirt and asphalt circle track and drag racers. 

“We have a retail storefront where customers like to have discussions—or debates—on why this part may be better or why a car is faster. It’s always in the fun of the sport of racing along with the competition. Most of these people are friends outside the track, so a friendly discussion is always entertaining to listen to,” said Fuller.

Race Day Safety

When we spoke with Kevin Shaw from Race Day Safety—the performance parts retailer in Dallas, Georgia—about his shop’s bestsellers, he pointed us to the Alpinestars Kart Race Shoes along with Karting and SFI 3.2A/5 Auto Race Gloves made exclusively for the retailer by K1 RaceGear. 

“The kart racing market seems to reemerge in the cooler months,” Shaw said. “Plus, both male and female drivers like to show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness in the month of October.” 

Customers of these products are predominantly dirt and asphalt oval track racers, he added, as well as karters on road courses. 

Thompson Racing Fabrication  

Thompson Racing Fabrication in Cedar, Michigan, is kept busiest by its arrive-and-drive rally customers following the American Rally Association (ARA) national schedule, a segment the company has been serving for more than 15 years.

“We crew for cars at events and do all the prep, re-prep, and repairs between events to keep them ready to compete,” said Ryan Thompson. “We work on a wide variety of vehicles, but many would fall into the sport compact category like Ford Fiesta ST, Subaru STI, Honda Civic, or Dodge Neon SRT-4 that compete in Limited 2WD, Limited 4WD, and Open 2WD classes. For the 2023 season, we’re also building two cars to compete in RC2, an FIA classification.”  

The biggest driver of marketing ROI for Thompson is simply attending rally events and supporting its customers. “It’s obviously desirable for potential customers looking on to want to be part of a successful team. But it’s also common for us to sponsor the events we go to,” Thompson said. “For the past 5 to 8 years, our challenge has been building resources fast enough to keep up with demand. As it is, we’ve grown in almost every regard by a factor of 10 without serious marketing.”