Another new track

[Coop]

Look at what I got in the Lone Star e-mail yesterday:

HELLO,



LONESTAR MOTORSPORTS PARK RECENTLY ACQUIRED AN ADDITIONAL 88 ACRES. THIS GIVES OUR FACILITY A TOTAL OF 143 ACRES. WE NOW HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO ADD A 2 MILE ROAD COURSE IN ADDITION TO OUR 1/4 MILE DRAGSTRIP EXTENSION. LONESTAR IS LOCATED 6 MILES WEST OF SEALY, TX AND IS NEXT TO INTERSTATE 10. WE ARE 45 MINUTES WEST OF HOUSTON, 1 HR. 40 MINUTES FROM AUSTIN AND 2 HRS FROM SAN ANTONIO.



WE WILL BE SENDING OUT A SURVEY TO AREA AUTO ENTHUSIASTS ASKING RACERS AND ENTHUSIASTS WHAT THEY LIKE AND DONT LIKE AT A RACE TRACK FACILITY.



WOULD YOU MIND GIVING US YOUR FEEDBACK? WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO DISTRIBUTE OUR SURVEY TO YOUR MEMBERS? I WOULD BE MORE THAN GLAD TO PAY FOR POSTAGE, ETC.



PLEASE LET ME KNOW, THANKS!



John Hennessey

www.HennesseyPerformance.com

www.LonestarMotorsportsPark.com

[spiderxvpbiking]

Nice!!!

[Chris S]

It's nice to see that Hennessey is putting all the money he's ripped off from customers to good use! Seriously, I'm surprised he's still in business...I guess there's a plentiful supply of new suckers to replace the ones who've been burned or warned.

[Coop]

Survey information has been sent out via e-mails, so if you didn't get it and want it, let me know via a PM with an e-mail address.

[Coop]

just did my survey

[billy bob]

It's nice to see that Hennessey is putting all the money he's ripped off from customers to good use!

Tell us more.

[Chris S]

http://www.carandmodel.com/forums/ar...hp/t-2486.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=234868

There are many more stories, just do a Google search...

[monkeymaker]

Yikes. Looks like this guy would fit right in with the people who run s2ki.

[Coop]

John Hennessey has been writen about in Car & Driver and just about every other magazine about his cars and how fast they are and the problems he has had, but you know what, we are not getting our cars redone by him.
I don't have extra money to invest in this, but if he biulds a track and I can drive it, I will and that is what this is about. We have a chance to give our input in to what we would want in a track, if you don't want to give your input then don't, but for those who do, then take the survey.

[billy bob]

Coop, track=good. However if the guy is evil, we all ought to be informed so we're careful to only interact with it via Drivers Edge or Porsche Club and not transact with its other services.

[Coop]

hey I look at it as you pay for the weekend on the track, if it's not delivered, you don't go back. I do not plan on becoming a member and if I go it will be as an instructor or I pay for the day/weekend. talk with you a lunch.

[Ulrich]

John Hennessey has been writen about in Car & Driver and just about every other magazine about his cars and how fast they are and the problems he has had, but you know what, we are not getting our cars redone by him.

Speaking thereof, there's an article in today's Chronicle about him:

Feb. 17, 2007, 7:29PM
CUSTOM VEHICLES
John Hennessey likes to modify cars — such as a Dodge Viper, which his company can soup up to hit 218 mph in one mile
Power steering is a real blast
By SANDRA BRETTING
For The Chronicle

Everything changed in 1993 for John Hennessey when he got his hands on a newly minted Dodge Viper.

The Houstonian had already earned a bit of fame for setting a speed record years earlier in a Mitsubishi 3000 GT he customized in his spare time.

But it was the Viper that helped him turn a hobby of customizing and souping up cars into a $4 million-a-year business.

Hennessey, who worked in construction and modified other people's cars out of a 3,000-square-foot shop in the Heights, beefed the Viper's horsepower up to 500 from 400, which caught the eye of Car and Driver magazine. Once the article appeared, his reputation soared.

Small shop to airplane hangar
"We went from a small shop to a 13,000-square-foot airplane hangar in west Houston," Hennessey said. "All of a sudden we're getting calls from people in Europe, South America, you name it, wanting us to work on their cars."

One of those calls came from talk show host Jay Leno, who asked Hennessey to upgrade his new Dodge Viper.

"He thought the car sounded too quiet, if you can believe it," Hennessey said. "He wanted it to sound more powerful."

Since that time, Hennessey Performance Engineering has moved to a newer warehouse in northwest Houston. With eight full-time employees, including five auto technicians, the company can work on up to 30 cars at a time.

Hennessey Performance also operates a Web site. While the site normally gets 50,000 to 60,000 hits a day, that number can spike to almost 200,000 after an article runs in a car magazine.

For Hennessey, the biggest challenge as a small-business owner is finding high-end car technicians.

"I'm an idea guy — I don't get in there and turn a wrench," Hennessey said. "I know what I want a car to look like, but it takes a good technician to make it happen."

Today, Vipers account for 50 percent of Hennessey's business, with the other half ranging from Jeeps to Fords and Chryslers. In fact, Car and Driver magazine's March issue features a Jeep Grand Cherokee that Hennessey upgraded, and dubs it the "world's quickest SUV."

All of that tinkering comes at a price. According to Hennessey, the biggest expense in his industry, after salaries, is parts. His company will add items like turbochargers, exhaust systems and custom shocks, then package the upgrade. Upgrades can range from a few thousand dollars to $200,000 for the fastest Viper.

Billions for customizing
Carl Sheffer, a vice president with the Specialty Equipment Market Association, said Americans spend billions of dollars each year to customize their cars.

"It's up to about $35 billion a year," Sheffer said. "It includes everything from adding new wheels to modifying an exhaust system. But I'd say a significant amount of that money is spent on engine modifications."

While the average car stays in Hennessey's shop eight to 12 weeks, some cars have remained one year as technicians dismantled and rebuilt the engines.

"It's like heart surgery in some ways," Hennessey said. "Look, what we do is a luxury. No one needs these improvements, but they don't need tickets for Texans football games, either. For these car owners, it's a hobby."

Don Goldman agrees.

"I get a bigger thrill from having one of the most powerful cars in the country than I would ever get from hitting a golf ball," said Goldman, 46, who retired after spending 30 years in the hardware business and now owns 11 custom cars. Of those, five have been refurbished by Hennessey Performance.

"My Viper can go up to 225," Goldman said. "I tried playing tennis when I retired, I tried golfing, but nothing beats the thrill of driving one of my cars."

American models best
Although many performance car enthusiasts prefer European models, Hennessey said they can actually achieve more speed for less money by customizing American cars like the Viper.

"You can buy a Viper for $80,000 and upgrade it with another $65,000, and you're still not paying as much as some of the Bugattis," Hennessey said. "Those can sell for over $1 million. Plus, we can hit 218 miles an hour in a mile, while that car can only reach 205."

Given that the maximum speed limit in Houston is far less than that, the obvious question is: Where can car owners drive that fast?

Hennessey has an answer.

Last year he bought 143 acres in Sealy, turned an old one-eighth-mile racetrack into a quarter-mile track and dubbed it the Lonestar Motor Sports Park.

"We needed a place where we could test some of our enhancements, or take clients to try out their cars," Hennessey said. "We also want to start offering driver training for kids who are in junior high or high school. What kids don't need is more lessons in parallel parking. They need to know how to navigate across six or seven lanes of the Katy Freeway."

And just what does Hennessey drive? A Chevy pickup truck — with 400 horsepower, of course.

Source: Houston Chronicle