Dr. Jamie Meyer Takes The Reins at PRI, Talks Fast Cars and the Future of the Industry
In May, Dr. Jamie Meyer stepped into a new role as president of the Performance Racing Industry. This industry veteran brings years of knowledge and experience to the leadership position, as well as a passion for the race and performance space. RacingJunk reached out to Dr. Meyer to talk about his goals for PRI, and his sense of where the industry is headed, and PRI’s commitment to racers and track owners to help them weather the Covid-19 crisis and beyond.
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RacingJunk: What are some of your goals as president of PRI?
Dr. Jaime Meyer: There are long range goals, supported by the SEMA Board of Directors and the PRI Advisory Committee, but our immediate action is to help the racing community work their way through the Covid-19 crisis with anything we can bring to them. We have tracks that are shut down, we have members of our community that are out of work, we have manufacturers who are struggling – if I can say anything in this interview, this is the most important point – PRI is here to help you. PRI will do whatever we can to help you get your track back open or your business back online. We are actively engaged in this right now.
Long range goals include many programs that will aid the growth of the racing industry. Of course, PRI will continue to deliver the premier trade show in the racing industry. We may look at adding shows as the community has requested and determine if the market can support them. PRI will be building a new Indianapolis headquarters as soon as we do the real estate study and find the right location to really bring value to that community and the racing industry as a whole. PRI has been tasked with building a membership – a program that will add value to individual racing industry members depending on their place in our community. Individual racers will want different benefits than a track owner, for example. We’ll be looking to bring all of this industry into one united voice to help grow and protect racing. And, you know me, and you know the folks that are on the PRI Advisory Committee – we are going to push for the racing community at any chance we can get.
RacingJunk: You have been an advocate for the race and performance industry since your time at GM Performance (and before). How will that serve you as the leader of PRI, and thus, serve the industry?
Dr. Meyer: Thank you. I appreciate the questions. I have loved cars and racing my entire life. My grandfather raced go-carts and backed a local stock car team. My mom, who is super active at 82 years young, has been a go-cart racer, a street racer, and owned Mom’s Racing, a heads-up drag racing sanctioning body that ran for 25 years in upstate New York. My dad, well, he was the smart one – he warned me not to go racing. But, thankfully, I listened to Mom! I started Mom’s Racing while in grad school at Syracuse Med. I went on to freelance writing for folks like Jim Campisano, Rob Kinnan, Steve Turner, James Lawrence, and several others. I helped Steve Wolcott form the NMRA – served as his first editor, racing relations director, and the voice of Ford drag racing for over a decade, and that was while working at Fun Ford Weekend and announcing for George Gonzolez’s amazing World Ford Challenge events. In 2005, the medical industry was flatlined, and the opportunity at GM Performance Parts came my way. I made the jump to full time racing and performance parts then, and I have never looked back.
The point is that I had an early foundation in racing, even though I was a full time Ph.D. student and went on to an eight year post-doctoral fellowship. I did a lot of racing work – passionate work – on the side, and that turned into an amazing career. I greatly value my network in the racing industry, especially my grass roots racers, small parts manufacturers, and family-owned tracks. I understand the passion that these folks share – the love of competition and the incredible amount of energy that it takes to be successful in motorsports. At Chevrolet (and Cadillac, GMC, Buick), I was able to see how that background can work toward a professional career in motorsports. And, I helped shape some of the biggest marketing programs in the industry while there – all around the Chevrolet Performance brand working with professional racers and leveraging that to sell new vehicles and performance parts.
PRI will benefit from all of this, as I bring a lifetime of racing passion, experience, and a dedicated team of racers to the table. I am blown away by the number of people who have responded with my appointment to PRI President with a note of volunteerism. They are ready to come to the call of PRI to help protect and grow their racing industry. And, we will need all of their help as we face the impact of the virus pandemic as well as long term threats.
RacingJunk: What were some of the current challenges facing the race industry, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, particularly for the grass-roots aspect of the industry.
Dr. Meyer: The SEMA leadership, Chris Kersting, Bill Miller, and David Goche have been working with the SEMA Board of Directors – lead by former Chairman Wade Kawasaki, current Chairman Tim Martin, and Chair-Elect James Lawrence – on several initiatives. The RPM Act is most important – a response from SEMA and PRI to an EPA ruling that makes street cars modifications illegal. If the RPM Act can get support by congress, then we will have succeeding protecting the sport that we all know and love.
Like any industry, there is also a constant concern about individual pressures. For us, track owners are constantly being threatened with noise ordinances or other legal actions. PRI will be looking at techniques to help the council of those tracks be better prepared to handle that. But, honestly, it is best to be preemptive about such matters. Tracks should be better members of their communities – host the town strawberry festival for example to make sure that your neighbors will stand up for you if threatened. There is a lot of work on this front.
RacingJunk: The needs of the industry have shifted rapidly over the last few months. How can PRI, under your leadership, move to guide the industry through this current crisis?
Dr. Meyer: It’s really amazing to think that back in January, things were “normal”, and then to look at where we are today. The entire racing industry has been impacted. Tracks are closed, manufacturers are closed, pro teams have had to furlough their entire workforce to make it through, and big sponsors have been forced to pull it back. I really like how NASCAR has handled the situation. Putting a priority on safety, they have still entertained fans, kept their brand relevant, and gotten back on track quickly. A lot to be learned from this, and the PRI leadership is watching closely.
PRI is reacting in many important ways. Our Washington DC legislative office, under the guidance of Dan Ingber, is working 24/7 to monitor state-by-state activities and guiding track owners on what they need to do to get back online. Dan’s team is working with the legislatures to put pressure where we can. PRI has hired three ambassadors, Tom Deery, Gene Bergstrom, and Frank Hawley, to go track-by-track to find out what owners need, what PRI can do, and then put a plan together with the PRI staff. We have launched a call center effort with PRI staff calling every track in the United States, extending a hand of help, and putting a plan together with our PRI Ambassadors to get the tracks back online. And, most importantly, we are sharing information. Every member of the racing community will find something for them on the PRI website (www.PerformanceRacing.com). This includes a state-by-state guide with rules, best practices, and the latest news on your state’s progress. You can also contact us directly there if you need help.
Again, PRI is here to help you get back to racing.
RacingJunk: On a personal level, what has this change meant for you as you go from leading a team at one of the big three to leading an organization dedicated to the racing industry?
Dr. Meyer: I have nothing but the best wishes for my team at General Motors. Mary Barra, Mark Reuss, Ken Morris, Jim Campbell and the rest of the executive team have been very kind to me over the years, and they have their own challenges as they try to get plants back online while dramatically shifting the focus of their product line to an all-electric future.
PRI is extremely focused both in the people that I now serve as well as the industry that we need to protect and grow. I can be way more focused at PRI, making sure that we put racing first – always. We have an amazing trade show that will be critical for 2020 so that we give this industry a boost into 2021. And, we have several programs in development to help each and every racer, fan, track owner, sanctioning body, and manufacturer in the industry.
RacingJunk: Indiana vs Michigan. Which is the winner? (And what does this transition look like for you? Winter is still terrible!)
Dr. Meyer: New York wins! Sorry, upstate New York will always be my home. Michigan has been a great place to live, and there is nothing – and I mean nothing – like the car culture in the Detroit area. Everyone is in the car industry in some capacity, and you can just feel the love of cars everywhere. Indianapolis will be all about racing – I am really looking forward to it. However, I also want to help set a new level of car culture in the town. As we develop the new PRI HQ, I am looking for somewhere that can host a monthly Cars and Coffee event with a decided racing influence. And, as the yearly calendar is filled out, we will look to have PRI people involved in races around the country – bringing a little bit of the PRI show to your race as we roll out new programs.
RacingJunk: PRI is part of SEMA, which is also a lobbying organization for the aftermarket and the automotive industry. How do you see that connection strengthening? Basically, how do the advocacy efforts of SEMA and the more hands-on industry goals of PRI work together right now?
Dr. Meyer: Right, great question. We are already leveraging the SEMA DC office as I just described. And, those folks are going after it, trying to work with the states to get restrictions lifted from racetracks. This work is going on right now – every day, all day. PRI lobbyists are at work right now trying to get your track back open for you.
In the future, you will see more and more of this. And PRI will need it’s own PAC to help fund these opportunities. PRI will be on the scene working to protect the racing industry from legislation as well as economic impact. Having the SEMA expertise makes this much more viable.
The PRI Membership that I mentioned earlier – look at this as a voting group, united to protect racing. The larger we are in numbers and voice, the better chance we have to influence our elected officials. You will see this all united by PRI.
RacingJunk: You’ve been a supporter of the RPM act, and the United States Motorsports Association. The USMA has been working with multiple organizations and leaders to develop leadership councils in different states. Is that something that PRI is a part of?
Dr. Meyer: We are actively talking with Shawn Stewart at USMA, and I applaud his efforts to fight for the rights of tracks and racing. We will continue to keep the dialog open with USMA, bring them into the conversation, and work with them as best we can.
RacingJunk: Is there a race car you’d like to get behind the wheel of right now? Or a race series you think is really rising to the top of the heap in terms of innovation (whether that’s technology, communication, diversity, expansion, etc).
Dr. Meyer: There is nothing hotter than heads-up street racing right now – the TV coverage alone forces you to pay attention. It is great to see where the work of Steve Wolcott and Mike Galimi has gone. And, it is amazing to see so many independent races becoming stand alone major events. I am looking forward to getting back to the track and interacting with some of the teams that I used to announce for. That will be fun.
Also, watch the off-road truck market. Super innovative and amazing marketing from folks like Matt Martelli at the Mint 400 is taking this sport to the top of the attention meter.
As for me, personally, maybe a look at some local autocross activities. Short tracks, lots of driver input, and a wide range of vehicle types make this very interesting to me.
RacingJunk: We always end with this — what’s your favorite thing to go fast in?
Dr. Meyer: My go-to race car right now is my 2019 Corvette Z06. It’s nasty fast for a street car, and it’s a challenge on a quarter mile with stock tires. But, you know, I have been busy the last couple of weeks looking for black Mustang notchbacks. Maybe, I’ll build another one …
Thanks for the time and a chance to chat with you. I have always loved the work you guys do at RacingJunk.com. Maybe, I’ll go check out the drag car section.