JUPITER, Fla. – It appears as if the sprint car industry is losing one of its iconic businesses. Kear’s Speed Shop in Tiffin, Ohio, is closing March 21 after 54 years of serving racers.
The business, inventory and name are for sale and it may continue with new ownership at a different location. Kear’s Speed Shop has been family-owned and operated since 1969 when Shirley Kear and her husband, the late Chuck Kear, started selling racing parts.
Soon after the All Star Circuit of Champions was formed in 1970, a Kear’s parts truck was at the tracks, supplying teams with everything they needed while on the go.
The famous Rick Ferkel No. 0 sprint car with Kear’s Speed Shop emblazoned on it brought the business notoriety across the country through Ferkel’s travels. I remember seeing the Kear’s name in central Pennsylvania when Ferkel, who was known as “The Ohio Traveler,” would visit area tracks.
Through the years, the company had three trucks at tracks in Ohio and other states. I would also see them at the dirt tracks down here in Florida every year during Speedweeks.
On March 17, 2017, the building that houses Kear’s Speed Shop suffered a fire and it took nearly a year for things to be repaired.
I would always see Shirley, her daughter Vicki, or her daughter Micki and Micki’s husband Mark in the parts truck at the races. The family was always involved in the speed shop and racing was all they knew growing up. I already missed seeing them down here in Florida during February. In fact, I didn’t see any parts suppliers supporting the teams at East Bay Raceway Park this year.
My first visit to Kear’s Speed Shop in Tiffin, I remember well. I crossed the bridge over the Sandusky River and the business was on the right, located on the river front. The building was built around 1910 as a car dealership and was one of the only riverfront buildings to survive the famous 1913 flood.
The building has considerable history as it is more than 100 years old. However, it will be torn down this year for a 74-unit, six-story apartment complex overlooking the river. The riverbank apartments will have some great views.
I hope somewhere in the lobby of the complex they place a plaque mentioning the business that was on the location for 54 years. They are renovating downtown Tiffin, and I hope they preserve some memories from the past occupants of the space.
Members of the Kear family will no longer have to work when they are at a race track. Finally, they will be able to relax and watch the races.
Shirley Kear, who was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2016, and her family would like to thank all of their customers, vendors, fans and members of the racing community who have supported them through the years.
In turn, I would like to thank Shirley and her family for their tireless efforts in supporting the sprint car industry for more than half a century.
This story appeared in the March 15, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
