The Past, the Present, and the Future

The old adage, “you never know what the future holds”, seems to have a special meaning in the world of motorsports. In racing, nothing is ever a sure thing and anything can happen at any point in time. The racing world evolves and re-invents itself so quickly, many of us are not really sure how we got here in the first place. The advent of Dirtwrap epitomizes that.
I practically grew up at the racetrack, so as long as I can remember, I ate, slept and breathed racing. My dad raced for a living (as the older I get, I realize more and more how difficult that is to do) and he raced what seemed like every night of the week. The racing family was my family, and I loved being a part of it, even though everyone picked on me and teased me non-stop. Every Halloween I wanted to be a race car driver, and it was all that I wanted to do when I grew up. It is either a dream that will never die, or a curse that I cannot escape. I guess it all depends on how I run.
As racing is very expensive (see, you learned something from me already) and my dad made me work for every bit of it, I went to college in order to fund it. I graduated in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State and started working at a large cell phone company in Research Triangle Park, NC thereafter. So you must be asking, how did I get here? Well, before my senior year, my dad and his partner at the time convinced me that I should get into this lettering business thing. Jamie Kuntz with JAM Motorgraphics (awesome stuff) was renting my dad’s partner’s shop, so he would tell me about it. So, without knowing a thing, I got a loan and purchased a plotter, software and some material, and went to work. I thought I was a reasonably intelligent person, I was a decent artist and I loved racing, how could I go wrong? So, Jimmy’s Custom Decals was born. I always thought the name was generic, but marketing wasn’t really my strong point back then. While I only moonlighted with the lettering business, it always seemed to be my top career priority in the back of my mind.
In 2003,my pregnant wife, my daughter and I moved back to Hickory, NC, where I took a job doing concept design work for Harley Davidson. It was a very unique situation as my boss, Wyatt Fuller, had a one-of-a-kind contract with them. It was just him and me, and I was in charge of everything from initial concept, computer modeling, rapid prototyping, CNC machining and general fabrication. While we certainly had our ups and downs, overall I had a great time and I learned a lot. Unfortunately, Wyatt (who was one of the smartest persons that I have ever met, and who I miss dearly) was killed in a plane crash in July 2006. When he died, the contract died, so I was left with a young family in a depleted technical job market. Even though my ideas and crafted parts made it in the magazines, Harley’s Parts and Accessories catalog and even Harley’s archive which will eventually be the museum, I never got the satisfaction from that as I did lettering a race car.
In early 2007, while looking for a job, I purchased one of those “wrap machines” that were beginning to hit the scene (the funny thing is that I had nearly bought one two years before). While I wasn’t sure if I could even design a wrap, I thought it would be a good toy to play with nonetheless. Hence, the subsequent death of Jimmy’s Custom Decals and the birth of Dirtwrap. I immediately figured out that the wrap was going to revolutionized the racing graphics industry, and it seemed to fit my style of design. As I started doing more and more work, I found myself not having the time to look for a job anymore. That was a little more than 2 years ago. Now, we have moved into a 5,000 sq. ft. building, added screen printing capabilities, and hired a full-time employee (plus my part-time office manager wife).
While the growth has been amazing, we will never let it come at the cost of what got us here in the first place. Being a racer, I know how I want to be treated. I want the same quality of parts and service as the big boys get, I don’t want to get my eyeballs gouged out when I pay for it, and somewhere, somehow, I want the people I spend my money with to care just a little bit about me and my racing. So that is why we approach everyone’s car, no matter if you are a big name or a rookie, the same (including my own) and want it to be the best looking car you have ever had or seen. Our service is second-to-none, and are the only ones to offer a guaranteed next day delivery on re-orders. Our prices are consistent, and we don’t add any hidden charges, and more importantly, I consider all of our customers my personal friends. Without that, we would be nothing. We know that to many of us, our race cars are our boats, our sports cars, or our Harleys. We want you to not be able to resist looking at it every time you walk by it. We want you to smile every time you see a picture of it. And we want you to be proud of your car every time you unload it.
So, in closing, thank you for reading this and checking out our new website and the products and services we offer. We hope we can become a part of your team, helping you look good in victory lane. For every racer, I hope that is what the future holds.