As a sportsman racer with 30 years of experience in the corporate IT world, it was a natural fit for Greg Kelley to start a small business selling data loggers to racers. It’s worked out very well for Kelley, whose Motor Sports Innovation business operates today as a Racepak dealer with the coveted Elite status.
“I started out actually selling brands of data loggers that competed with Racepak, the stuff lower on the food chain, smaller systems,” Kelley says. “Between the IT background and working with other data systems, when the opportunity arose to be a Racepak dealer, it was an easy decision. And I had a built-in customer base, so it went pretty good that way.”
Kelley’s experience in the IT world has certainly played a role in his success, but his experience at the racetrack has also been a major factor. His website proudly displays his time slips from iconic East Coast tracks like Atco and Englishtown from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The New Jersey native has raced in a range of classes, like Super Street, Super Comp, local bracket racing and, today, NHRA and PDRA Top Dragster.
That experience helps Kelley in his business, whether he’s helping a current customer diagnose an issue or attempting to sell a potential customer on the benefits of a Racepak data system.
“I kind of have to be a jack of all trades to be successful,” Kelley says. “Whether you’re talking an NHRA Stock Eliminator car or a PDRA Pro Nitrous car, you need to know what those guys need. Even Bonneville guys, tractor pullers, you’ve gotta know what they need. You want to know the sweet spot of all these different cars and classes.”
Kelley, who is proud of his Christian faith and incorporates it into his business ethics, travels to races up and down the East Coast to both race and serve his customers. He stocks his trailer with Racepak components that can be put into use at NHRA national events, divisional races and a few PDRA races.
“I do a fair amount of on-track support at NHRA races where I run the Top Dragster, and some PDRA races,” Kelley says. “That’s an element of what I do, so I bring a ton of stuff with me to support the guys in that way at those races.”
Motor Sports Innovations’ reputation for quality customer support helped the business earn its Elite status as a Racepak dealer in 2015. As Kelley explains, Racepak was once “anti-dealer, so to speak,” before it started recognizing dealers who not only sold its products, but also provided customers with valuable support after their purchase.
“A lot of the race industry is you go buy a relatively small amount of product and you become a dealer, then the manufacturer has all the support headaches,” Kelley starts. “And with something like data loggers, there is a lot of support because you’re helping the guys with their laptops, then there’s interpretation of the data. So you just spend a ton of time on the phone.”
“They finally changed their tune about dealers several years ago,” Kelley continues. “For those dealers who did a great job with tech support – and had significant volume – they did special training at the Racepak site and you got this Elite status.”
As a Racepak dealer, Motor Sports Innovations also offers related products from companies under the Holley Performance Products umbrella. That includes MSD Ignition products and Holley EFI accessories. Kelley also carries EGT sensor kits and various generic sensors.
Motor Sports Innovations offers a wide variety of its products on its online store atwww.MotorSportsInnovations.com. To order through Kelley directly, call 609-265-2110 or send an email to [email protected].
