In the mid- 1970’s, two brothers from Statesville, NC, Steve and Mike Heintz wanted to explore one of the hobbies they had in common, so they built a drag car. Their shared pastime became a shared automotive business, even leading to an additional company in the future. Something they liked to do became more than a hobby – it became their livelihood.
When Mike and Steve began going to the drag strip in 1976, they found themselves to be racers prepared for any breakage, carrying extra parts with them to each race. Word traveled among their racing peers, and numerous racers began to visit Mike and Steve’s pit area to see if any of the extra parts fit their own race cars; therefore, the brothers began bringing a supply of parts just to sell at the track. From this, the idea of opening a small parts business in the corner of their garage became a reality, and Heintz Brothers Automotive was officially formed.
Heintz Brothers developed a clientele among drag racers, oval track racers, and individuals interested in the street performance of their personal vehicles, and with Steve handling the parts aspects of the company, and Mike the engine building and repair, their business became known for being able to perform a variety of services. In fact, business grew so much, that by the early 1980’s, the small corner of their garage devoted to parts was not large enough to handle the demand of its customers. This resulted in building an addition to their existing facility which was equipped to stock a great number of parts to meet the supply and demand of the racing clientele.
The Heintz name became well-known to racers across the Carolinas and the Southeast, and soon, even parts manufacturers became acquainted with the Heintz name and contacted Heintz Bros. asking the business to carry their products. While the drag racing community was the company’s major focus in the 1980’s, Heintz Bros. began to search for other racing avenues to explore.
One of these other avenues was created for Heintz in 1990 by the growing number of professional Winston Cup and Busch Grand National teams in the Charlotte area. Parts manufacturers specializing in these types of racecars asked Heintz to pursue the NASCAR market for them as their distributor. Steve began to knock on shop doors, introduce himself and his company, and let these race teams know that he represented a company that could deliver the parts that they needed. The result was that he built real relationships with the teams, and Steve Heintz became known for his honesty, integrity, dependability and service to customers – traits instilled by his father.
The round track division of Heintz’s business grew so rapidly that in 1994, Steve opened a new company in the industrial park on Victory Lane in Harrisburg, NC – directly behind The Charlotte Motor Speedway. Heintz Performance became the new name for this endeavor, and its focus was to service the Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, and Craftsman Truck teams continuing to move into this area; and, soon after it’s opening Steve’s son, Scott Heintz, took the lead as the manager of this company. Scott had been around the Heintz Bros. most of his life, so with the same values that his father and his uncle had started their company, Scott took the many years of experience and knowledge he had in the racing field, and his family’s belief in service to its customers with him to Heintz Performance.
Heintz Performance, (HPI) has evolved into a major supplier for all the NASCAR teams, and as a result of its commitment to excellence, HPI moved into a larger facility across the street from their original building in June of 2000. Their new facility is a 10,000 square foot building which includes a showroom, offices, a large service counter, and quite an extensive area to house the parts race teams demand. HPI works hand-in-hand with Heintz Bros. Automotive, serving all types of racing and high performance customers.
Nearly 30 years ago, the Heintzes worked out of a corner of a garage. Today, Heintz ships nationwide, deals directly with over 200 manufacturers, and has become one of the most trusted names in the racing business. Both Steve and Scott believe that the relationships they have built with their manufacturers and their customers are of the utmost importance to their success; thus, they strive to deliver only their best – both in product and service.
No customer is too big or too small – everyone is welcome and important to them, and their employees share this belief. So, with two trained staffs and two locations, the Heintz name is your local speed shop wherever you may be, whether you are a street performance enthusiast or a major motorsports team. To both father and son, the family name means everything; therefore, they plan to continue to strive to keep the reputation they have earned – one of service to their customers, honesty, quality products, knowledge of these products, and fair pricing – a strong reputation, well into the 21st century.