A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to catch up with one of our partners in the racing world, Troy Gray of RSR North race cars, when we attended the Midwest Thunder Quarter Midget Championship Race Series event in Lansing, Michigan. We first got to know Troy and his race car building business earlier this winter when Troy stopped by the factory to learn about Pit Products. We hit it off well and decided we should work together to promote quarter midget racing, Troy’s quarter midget race car building business, and Pit Products.

A few months ago we wrote a blog article about the enclosed car hauling trailer Troy asked Pit Products to outfit with trailer storage cabinets, trailer workstations, trailer ramps, and an assortment of other enclosed trailer storage and organization accessories. It was excellent to get out of the factory, visit Troy’s trailer, and witness first-hand all he does when he is at the quarter midget race track. Troy’s trailer could be called a quarter midget race car testing, tuning, repair, and service parts sales garage on wheels. The trailer is a mobile version of a quarter midget racing service station, parts store, showroom, and more. Oh, and don’t forget, Troy hauls his son’s quarter midget race cars in the trailer also; so the trailer is not just for show, or just for working on other people’s vehicles, as Troy and his son tune, repair, build, and test their own quarter midget race cars as well! Viewing Pit Products trailer storage cabinets and trailer organization accessories in real world use always helps us get a feel for how our customers utilize our trailer storage solution products and helps us develop new ideas to better serve our customers with improved or new products also. We were impressed with how Troy was using the 6 foot overhead cabinet in his trailer as a place to hang service parts he sells and installs for racing customers. We also appreciated the smart utilization of the 8 foot pegboard Troy installed towards the front of his enclosed car hauling trailer. That pegboard really seems to help Troy get gear off the trailer floor and makes his tools and supplies readily accessible when he needs to work fast to help a racer get back on the track. As is often the case when we tour enclosed cargo trailers, enclosed car hauling trailers, or enclosed trailers of any kind, one of the most valuable improvements trailer owners can make is to install a set of trailer door slider plates over the top of the gap between the trailer ramp door and the trailer floor. You can see by the photo below that Troy is well served by the trailer ramp transition flaps he installed. His race cars, tool cart, generator, rolling storage boxes, pit cart, and other gear he commonly loads into and unloads from his trailer all move into position much easier with the trailer floor gap covers in place. Troy is also benefiting from the installation of a pair of Pit Products trailer door ramps that prove very valuable when working on uneven terrain or when loading low clearance vehicles into his trailer. However, the most important part of Troy’s racing world is that he gets to spend time with his son both at home when working in their garage and when they are at the track racing their quarter midget car or servicing other driver’s vehicles. Troy’s son races as part of the Capitol Quarter Midget Association (CQMA) based in Lansing, Michigan. The CQMA holds regular Saturday Night Thunder events the Gray’s compete in and they also travel to other quarter midget race tracks around the Midwest. It is nice to see that the Gray’s share the passion for racing and for wrenching in common — maybe someday soon Troy will have his son working on a race car that Troy can race!