Well known sportsman motorcycle drag racer Dustin Lee is buying the powerhouse Motorcycle Performance Specialties brand (better known as MPS Racing) from owners Dan and Beth Rudd. Long an electrical and component innovator in motorcycle drag racing, MPS is also a warehouse distributor for many top brands in the sport—including APE, Web Cams, Worldwide Bearings, DME, Vance & Hines, and many more.
Lee has developed a great distributing business of his own with Hard Times Parts and Service, and both of these brands will continue the goal of operating seamlessly as the transition from MPS’ Florida base to Lee’s Tennessee shop occurs over the winter.
“Dan and Beth are absolute legends in our sport, and I am blown away that they thought of me to continue the MPS legacy,” said Lee. “I’m thrilled to continue the brand that is so important to all of us racers and will do my best to fill their big shoes as best as this ole’ hillbilly can.”
“We pretty much chose Dustin,” agreed Dan. “We looked at all the people that have bought businesses in our industry and then went out of business because they weren’t the right kind of person to run it, and Dustin is the right kind of person.
“Beth and I have watched as he’s applied his work ethic to racing and winning, and then starting and growing his own business. His dedication to the sport and its people, and his willingness to put in the hours to get the job done are what it takes to be successful, and we’re proud to pass MPS on to him.”
Dan Rudd started MPS in 1980, placing it on the forefront of the technological innovations that have transformed both drag racing and internet retailing. From the first Mixture Control Unit EFI tuning device in ’81 through the first ever autoshift in ’85 and the leading edge of motorsports websites in ’96, MPS has always been a leader of motorcycle drag racing technology.
“We were the first to have a website address on a motorcycle,” noted Rudd, remembering the then-strange string of letters and punctuation of an internet URL on Mike Konpacki’s sportsman Kawasaki dragbike.
Since then it’s been all-growth for MPS, and Lee is well aware that he will have to gather talent around him to continue the legacy of quality and service that the Rudds have established. “I might have to cut back on my racing a little bit,” laughed Lee, who’s well-known for racing and winning anytime, anywhere.
“We’re willing to help him keep it going,” said Rudd. “44 years is probably enough for us and we’re looking forward to spending more time at the beach house, riding motorcycles, and taking some of the off-ramps we’ve bypassed all these decades going from the shop to the track and back. But we’ll keep the phone on and be there for Dustin when he needs us.”
All parties will work to keep the ownership change from intruding on the customer experience, although eventually MPS customers will find Dustin on the phone instead of Dan and Beth, and Hard Times customers will find an additional business name mentioned as Lee answers their calls. Dustin and his Red Hill Racing podcast co-host Ben Knight, along with Spencer Claycomb, will be trucking MPS inventory and tools to Tennessee in early December.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual at https://www.mpsracing.com/ and https://www.
This story was originally published on November 13, 2024. 
