CHICO, Calif. — It has been over six years since former sprint car drivers Steven Tiner and Kyle Hirst opened their shop in Chico just over two miles from Silver Dollar Speedway.
Three years of planning their venture along with the strong work ethic of both men has led to a successful business.
The speed shop has about 75% of their business sprint car related. They rebuild rear ends, fix frames, rebuild shocks, make hoses, use a flow bench to find fuel problems and provide other services.
Winter is not a quiet time as they are busy putting bodies on cars and building used rollers to sell. Relationships with outside businesses have been developed for jobs that are not related to racing.
Goals that were initially set to reach by the five-year mark were attained after just three years. Tiner noted that one goal that is yet to be reached is to own the building that houses the 2,100-square-foot shop.
Tiner Hirst Enterprise has been awarding the open 500 outlaw kart champion at Cycleland Speedway with one free night in a 360 sprint car. Landon Brooks was the first to claim the bonus of being track champion.
Brooks’ free night in a sprint car helped lead to his busy open-wheel schedule this season. Winged 360 and 410 sprint car rides along with midgets and outlaw karts have kept the Rio Oso, Calif., driver busy.
TH Enterprises has created a driver development program. They wanted to share their experience with the youth of California to help lead them in the right direction in sprint car racing.
Tiner said, “Each winter we work on one area that we want to grow and last year it was development program. Landon Brooks and his success played a part in getting the word out about the program. Growing the business in general led to being able to extend the driver development program.
“One of our biggest driver-development accomplishments was having Landon and Rico (Abreu) run one and two in a Trophy Cup main event. Rico is now based in Indiana, but he drove one of our cars last year.”
Braden Chiaramonte from El Cajon, Calif., and Corbin Rueschenberg from Mesa, Ariz., are filling the 2024 driver development program. Chiaramonte was recommended by Silver Dollar Speedway manager Colby Copeland because of practicing in Legend cars with Copeland’s father-in-law.
Chiaramonte won a Sprint Car Challenge Tour at Antioch Speedway from 17th in a TH Enterprise winged 360 and followed that with a recent victory at Santa Maria Raceway in a non-winged 410 sprint car. He is second in SCCT points.
Rueschenberg has been busy racing micros and midgets this year along with his 20-race season in a driver development ride. He collected a couple of seconds in the SCCT Speedweek in Oregon and had praise for the team.
With a well-thought-out business model and looking for ways to increase their services, Tiner Hirst Enterprise is providing support to the sprint car scene in several ways. Increasing the driver development program in size and stature is a goal for the future.