Episode 37 – HPX Trade Show Talk With Special Guest Jamie Meyer

Rob Munro: Well Chuck, we're back at her, another podcast. And ⁓ you know what? This has gotta be my favorite time of year. This is spring. ⁓ I get that cooped up winter kind of depression going on. But now that it's spring, I'm gonna burn some gas. I got bikes ready to go. I got a boat ready to go. this is my time of year. I'm looking forward to it. How are things in your neck of the woods?

CHUCK: Same, been seeing a lot of bikes out on the road. ⁓ You just have to be willing to handle a little bit of the up and down, right? So it's like cold, hot, cold, hot. But everybody's ready for spring, you know? Like you said, get on the gas, gas on blast. Maybe a little high now, but get out and have some fun. Make you not think about the cost of it.

Rob Munro: Yeah. Exactly. you know, I had to go to town yesterday and I did pass a few street bikes on the road and these guys are all dressed up in their, you know, in their snowmobile suits. I mean, it was still pretty chilly out, but you can tell they've been waiting. They're diehards and they've been waiting all winter. So ⁓ good on them. You know, that's what it's all about for sure.

CHUCK: Okay. Yeah, after a while, know, Steve and I have talked about this. The sad thing about the winter time is like, okay, in metropolitan areas, everything's gray. All the trees lose their foliage and it's gray and it matches the concrete and it's dreary. It's just, it's a depressing thing. So God gives all the color of the green and spring. I've got, you know, pretty bushes budding and so forth. I'm ready for it.

Rob Munro: Well, I'm not ready to mow grass, but yeah, I'm ready for all the other stuff. That's for sure. And speaking of April, ⁓ April is the kickoff of our first regional. So we've got the Jasper regional coming up on April 17th. And ⁓ like I say, that's in your neck of the woods. So, you know, what have you got to tell us a little bit about that one? What can some of the attendees or those folks expect for that show?

CHUCK: So that's coming together a bit more. You know, we have spoke to that presentation coming up. But now everything's pretty much hammered out what's going to happen. So there's going to be a tour on Friday afternoon.

April 17th and then April 18th will be the tech sessions. There's a limited number of spots available for the tour just you know to try to manage that getting people there and so forth. again that'll be in the afternoon allows people to travel prior.

So the open spots are getting close. It's we're we're about done there. ⁓ It's going to be, ⁓ you know, four sessions in and going, who's ever done tech and skills. And, you know, we always have four technical sessions and discussion.

Rob Munro: Well, looks like we lost Chuck. Not sure what's going on. That's the thing about technology is it's all fine and dandy when it's working, but when it's not, and ⁓ all of us kind of are doing this from different locations.

So we'll just carry on. If Chuck logs back on, we'll get him on. And in the meantime, like he was mentioning about the RET, the Jasper regional, that is April 17th, four technical sessions we got on the go for that one.

and there is the tour on the Friday. So if you aren't registered for this one, you want to get registered. This is going to be a great regional and looking forward to seeing everybody there. This is our first one for the year.

It's a great kickoff. again, you know, get registered. can go to our website at aera.org and ⁓ right on the main page there, you'll see the registration for the regional. And ⁓ again, looking forward to seeing everybody there.

Speaking of shows, that's what we've got today. Actually, we've got dr. Jamie Meyer and ⁓ He is the key player behind the launch of the HPX show, which is the high performance expo and This is another show that we're going to be attending June 2nd through 4th Looking forward to this one.

This one's kind of a really key player as far as in the motorsport shows go and ⁓ and Jamie like I say, he's he's gonna tell us all about it and ⁓ Again, this is gonna be a show that we're gonna attend this year.

We're gonna be at an exhibiting as well. So looking forward to seeing everybody there. Jamie, how are you doing today?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Hey, good morning, Ron. Thanks for having me on. I'm excited to talk to you and learn more about you and the organization, but we're excited to have you at the High Performance Expo for sure.

Rob Munro: No, looking forward to it. you know, there's a lot of things I did a little research before I, you know, before I like sort of got onto the podcast and I was surprised to see, you know, there's a lot going on. You guys have got a busy week ahead of you. It's going to be, there's a lot going on. So looking forward to it.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Thank you. High Performance Expo, first week in June in Charlotte. This is the second year. ⁓ This ⁓ is an addition for the audio industry, for engine builders. This is a chance to come together in a trade show environment.

When, know, Ron, it's funny. think everybody that is in your organization is kind of a real... real life person, right, really likes to do hands-on face-to-face business and it's getting really complicated and hard to do that sometimes.

And in a world where you're really not sure what to believe online, it's great to get together with people and it's a great chance to talk, communicate, see what other organizations, what other small engine builders have going on, what large engine shops, what large manufacturers have available.

And that's what High Performance Expo was built to do. Really, this is a B2B trade show and it was really put together to help ⁓ people in organizations like yours ⁓ do better, have more opportunities and raise the bar in our industry.

Rob Munro: It's amazing how important that face-to-face really is. I think COVID kind of taught us, of course, had to, everybody turned into a content creator during COVID and we all had to do things as virtual as possible, but you can't beat face-to-face. mean, that's where you actually close deals and make things happen.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, for sure. And I learned that when I was running PRI and we were shut down for COVID and we ended up sending a team out to our exhibitors to have them share their stories. And, you know, this is an opportunity for people to get together in Charlotte.

What an incredible ⁓ motor sports, horsepower hungry community Charlotte and North Carolina is. ⁓ We have some great partners, Rob, and it's important for your community to understand that just like you, we have the North Carolina Motorsports Association.

This is an organization that's over 20 years old, founded by Richard Petty and Rick Hendrick, some guys that know a little bit about building engines and racing on Sundays or any other day of the week they can.

But ⁓ they put NCMA together to... grow the business of motorsports and engine building in North Carolina. And we're very pleased to have them as a great partner. Their board of directors, ⁓ anchored by Scott Lampe, who's the CFO at Hendrick, and all the NASCAR teams and all the financial institutes.

And then the great supplier base that this area has, like the Greg Frinelli's of the world with SRI and Stock Car Steel and all the great companies that he represents. A great ⁓ starting point. We had a great turnout last year and we're continuing to roll.

The show is twice as big from an exhibitor standpoint as 25. So we've got great momentum and we've got a lot of interest, especially from small business owners. Those folks that are under 10 employees, let's say, you and I know who they are and...

⁓ Often I've seen through the years it's the husband who's building the car or building the engines and the wife or the family or the the offspring right is running the front office and doing the deals ⁓ and it's very American for me.

It's very a very traditional type of a business and in my mind everything we do at HPX helps grow those small businesses to get them better. chance to have an unfair advantage in this industry. And Rob, again, I'm so thrilled to be partnering with you guys.

Rob Munro: looking forward to it and you know what it we've heard a little bit of an announcement about the streetcar takeover and maybe you could expand on that a little bit that what is that all about for that week.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, thanks. We're really excited about this. ⁓ In June in Charlotte, you can have a real life motorsports activities going on. And that first week of June, the Streetcar Takeover event is in Charlotte, actually in Concord at ZMAX Dragway, the four wide drag strip.

⁓ Streetcar Takeover is an amazing organization. know, I grew up. helping with the NMRA and NMCA, two awesome drag racing sanctioning bodies that Steve Wolcott started. And I see a lot of that energy and early excitement with Streetcar Takeover.

Chase and Sam and Ryan and the team over there have got it really going on, a ton of momentum, a really diverse crowd. really cutting edge class rules like little gangsta, which I don't even know what that means, but it just sounds fun.

But I know they eat engines and they need horsepower and ⁓ they've got ⁓ German muscle cars and they've got Lamborghinis that make 3000 horsepower. And that excitement is adding to the high performance expo momentum.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Party by NCMA, you get to see those executives of those companies. We'll have three days of B2B trade show. I wanna talk about the education program in a bit. So you can get on the trade show floor, learn a ton there.

You'll have the street car takeover guys there. Teams will be there. Big partners will be there. ⁓ Chase will take the floor. He'll talk about what street car takeover has going on. And then Thursday afternoon, we leave downtown Charlotte.

We go out to Concord. They have a kickoff party with 8,000 cars. And then Friday and Saturday, they'll be drag racing at ZMAX. They have 30,000, 40,000 spectators that come in there. They have several hundred race teams.

This is a major, major event that you'll get to take advantage of by being part. on the High Performance Expo. you know, Chuck's gonna have to be well rested. Rob, you're gonna have to make sure you've taken your vitamins, because we're gonna have a long week, okay, trade show, and then a whole bunch of roll racing and drag racing.

So, Street Car Takeover is gonna be huge for High Performance Expo, and we're so excited to be partnered with them.

Rob Munro: You No, that's excellent. Chuck, looks like we got you back. Did you put a few quarters in that phone? We're all good to go now for at least another 10 minutes or so or what?

CHUCK: Right, right. So what kind of platforms should people expect? I know you said even like the the euro supercars, but ⁓ you know, does this kind of align with something like a sick week where you see a lot of the you've seen a lot of the hot rod type stuff come back muscle car? ⁓

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, for me, Streetcar Takeover is a younger, more affluent race team crowd. ⁓ Very heavy domestics, so all the favorite engine platforms that you and I know and love. And then you throw in the German muscles, right? The B58 BMWs that are tearing up the street racing scene. The Lamborghinis, which I'll be honest, I've never worked on a Lamborghini engine. I don't even know how many cylinders they think they have

Dr. Jamie Meyer: 10 or 12 Chuck, do you know how many cylinders a Lamborghini has? 12, so 12, V12, which is insane. That's a lot of pistons moving around. But yeah, all of these different platforms coming together, it's the excitement, right? It's this young crowd. They were just in Pomona. They're the only other sanctioning body other than NHRA that gets to run at those, at that facility.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Charlotte is the biggest event for the street car takeover and we're excited. They're going to be on the floor. New cars come out at every one of their events. My good buddy, Manny Bujiga is supposed to be bringing his car out.

The fastest Shrek radio car in the world, ⁓ will be competing. then his son who won this south or the Northeast little gangster class, he's going to come out to defend that in the Carolinas. So. There's all this stuff going on.

mean, you know, these sanctioning bodies are the core to this industry. We don't need to build a lot of hot rod engines if we don't have these sanctioning bodies and these races going on. This is the lifeblood of your community.

This is why engine builders have to continue to developing technology, power adders, all the components that make more horsepower. So that's why this is just an incredible opportunity to see really the hottest drag racing sanctioning body that we've got right now in Charlotte the same week that you have a B2B trade show.

So we're gonna learn a lot together with these folks all in one place.

Rob Munro: Excellent Jamie and share a little bit with us. I know there's the HPX education and I don't know if you can share who some of the speakers are yet. I don't know if it's still a little bit early, but maybe just let us know what to expect there.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, thank you. mean, we really pride ourselves on the educational program. And I should add where that comes from. ⁓ My background, I have a PhD in anatomy and cell biology. I'm probably the most over-educated person in the industry, but I greatly value that.

⁓ Jen Hoff, who is the co-founder and the owner of HPX, she owns Taffy Events, which is a company that produces dozens of other industry trade shows. So she's been able to learn through a lifetime of experience running trade shows, how to really build a community and how to build an educational program.

And her sister Mindy has helped put this together. ⁓ In general, we've got some of the most compelling speakers in the industry on stage. ⁓ We do what's called power talks, which are on the floor.

So attendees. exhibitors if there's something they want to see they can walk to the end of the floor kind of take in a few minutes and then still keep an eye on their display and not not lose any business.

A couple of great examples when I was announcing the NMRA there was a guy named Charlie Booz who tore up Hot Street which was a naturally aspirated small block Ford class. Charlie Booz is going to be on stage talking about why he thinks the Ford Godzilla engine is the greatest engine ever built.

I don't know if I agree or disagree, but Charlie Booze is a really compelling guy, and I want to hear his argument for why Godzilla is the king of all monsters. The other one we just booked, which I'm really excited about, is Jason Line, who I worked with Jason when I was at Chevrolet Performance in a manufacturer, sponsor, and a parts supplier standpoint.

And Jason has gone on to do great things. I actually need to learn more about his business, but a manufacturer of ⁓ engine blocks and cylinder heads and key components is some of these big horsepower platforms that run in these sanctioning bodies nowadays.

But I asked Jason to take the stage and just talk about where we're headed as engine builders and what does the future look like. And some of the challenges we had a quick conversation about. just the supply issues in engine component manufacturing right now and some of the tariff issues that some of our manufacturers are ⁓ learning about and suffering through.

So Jason's gonna take the line, take the stage. ⁓ I've got my good friend, Mike Gallimi, who runs a little magazine called Hot Rod and ⁓ Mike Gallimi is actually gonna do the interview with Jason Line.

you know, that's some examples of... you know, who am I going to, why would I take time out of my shop? Why, you know, those are the questions that have to be answered for your community, but we're trying to give them exposure to some of the greatest minds in the automotive industry and the engine building industry as well.

I think one other key add to that list is Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports is a key partner. They're one of the biggest spaces on the floor. My good friend, Alba Colon, who runs Strategy for the Race teams, she was my next door neighbor at Chevrolet Performance in the Renssen in downtown Detroit.

And I got to know Alba quite well, but they're bringing their entire engine program to the floor of the High Performance Expo. So you've got cup team builders on the floor. They're going to be doing demonstrations on their engines and how they're put together.

A lot of that's meant for the younger crowd. The next generation of great engine builders will be in that audience watching the Rick Hendrick team talk about building engines and some of the challenges they have in a racing environment.

And then we'll have their executive team on stage as well. Their top engine builders, maybe even their crew chiefs, will be on stage talking about the challenges of putting an engine together that has to last 500 miles at 8,000 RPM, whatever the requirements are, and talking about what the challenges are.

I'm not an expert in that space. I have great friends that do this. I'm excited to listen to these folks talk about what it takes to win in one of the most competitive environments, obviously, in stock car racing.

But I also have my good friend, Russell Blinas, who runs the powertrain unit. for a little team called Cadillac F1 that is also located in Concord, North Carolina. What can a small engine builder learn from a guy that's run every GM racing program over the last 25 years, who's won multiple NASCAR championships, won Le Mans, and now is taking on the challenges of competing in F1, the global sensation that that sanctioning body is?

So that's some of the lineup. ⁓ Rob, if you'll allow me, I'll also add we've got a women empowerment program. So for female executives or for those, for the couples, right? The husband and wife that are running a small engine shop, we're going to give you Tuesday morning to come in, listen to other women in the industry, to learn on how to improve your game as a woman, how to improve your game as a business owner.

We also have the automotive leadership conference Wednesday morning, which is Tony Wotley's baby who Tony Wotley is just this incredible energetic force. He's got an all star lineup of people that are going to be on stage talking about how to raise your game as a business owners, how to do better with pricing and product marketing, sales, supply, distribution, human resources, and then maybe even.

How do I sell my company when I'm ready to get out after I've built this thing up for 50 years and I'm ready to go retire and enjoy just being a spectator? So ⁓ Rob, how's that? You're gonna be there, right?

Rob Munro: Chuck and I are actually gonna be, there's gonna be another tech of ours, Andy and Steve are gonna be there. Chuck and I both have other commitments for that week that were somewhere else. But yeah, we've got a crew coming too. Yep, for sure.

CHUCK: Yeah, but education and training is a big focus of what Rob and I are headed to a different deal for. So, you know, trying to convey that message is super important, right? And I know you hit on a lot of subjects there for the folks that are maybe already in the industry, but you know, ⁓ push really hard at trying to reach, you know, the younger folks to entice them to enter the industry.

And sometimes, You know, moms can be some of the biggest challenges for us because, know, they want their children to engage in something that, ⁓ isn't, you know, mechanical or whatever, but we try to convey that message that if, if it's a combustion, you know, we're talking thermal dynamics, you know, how does the heat escape from the engine, ⁓ into the cooling system and so forth.

But we also. Heat is the energy that makes the car go around the track and so forth. So this is very mathematic and scientific ⁓ and try to convey that message to young folks. if you're going to be an accountant, math is important.

But if you're going to be an engine machinist, math is important. So there's great opportunity in our industry. You know, and there are some folks who help us promote and they They speak to that often, but every place that we have an opportunity to throw some words out there about getting youth in the industry because you know, back in the day you could go pick up an old car pretty cheap and you could raise the hood and you could see the engine.

Well today you raise the hood and you see a plastic cover and some wires and so I don't think that it is as easy to engage in it. as it once was, you know, say 40 years ago. So, that means it's more difficult for us.

We have to get out there and communicate like you were just talking about. Get these people to, ⁓ you know, speak to from the bottom up how they ended up in a 50-year business or whatever and what drove their passion to stick with it.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot there, ⁓ Chuck, and I can't agree with you more. ⁓ Sometimes this doesn't look like the sexiest work in the world because of what you just described. You look at somebody on race weekend that's in there and they've just swapped the engine or they've torn it down and they're hot and they're dirty.

And it doesn't look like something that moms and dads would encourage their kids to do, except you look at... some of these guys started six figures. And we're approaching over 250,000 high school students in the area because we have several hundred job openings from our exhibitors at the High Performance Expo.

So, Chuck, I will promise you that if you're a young person and you're really good in math, like you're describing, and you really have an appetite to go racing on the weekends, I will promise you I can get you a job interview June.

two, three, or four at the High Performance Expo with a world-class organization that would love to have you consider working for them on a really exciting race program that will take you around the world and make you a very wealthy person when you retire from that company in 25 or 30 years.

These are the types of jobs that young engine builders that really want to do this have right now. There are needs. hundreds of jobs for folks that you talk to every day need this skill set in this industry.

And it can be the OEM powertrain folks like you describe, as well as ⁓ a weekend warrior that wants to ⁓ build engines and just supply their local racetrack. So there's a lot of opportunities. This trade show is a great way to bring all these people together and sort this out and grow the industry.

Rob Munro: No, that's super cool. Geez Chuck, I wonder if they're hiring any old fart 60 year olds that are on the tail end of their career. No, that sounds pretty exciting. I wish I was 40 years younger, a could really take advantage of that for sure. That's right, exactly.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: You're young at heart, Rob, can tell you're young at heart.

Rob Munro: And Jamie, you mentioned Hendrik, and they're going to have their engine build there. And that's always an exciting event. Do you think we're going to see any 20 minute assembly times this year? How's that looking?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, ⁓ it was one of the questions this week with the hundred team was we need to know what time of day we can run the engines. So I know what they're planning on doing, right? But they run a wonderful program.

⁓ This is all under Jeff Andrews and all the Cologne, just great people there. And yeah, they have this educational. So you'll have a ⁓ pro that works on all these engines every day. Talk about the components as they tear it down.

and then they will have a couple teams come in and they do a competition to put them back as fast as they can and the payoff is to hear a cup engine run. I think Alba's gonna change it up a little bit.

They're heavily involved with Greg Anderson, the legendary pro stock racer. That's a Hendrick Carr sponsored vehicle and I think Greg's gonna bring one of the pro stock engines in for kind of the same type of, I don't know they're gonna start that sucker but.

⁓ Anyways, just talk through a different engine platform just to put a little variety in there. But yeah, I think, Rob, but what you hit on right is at the high performance expo, you can get exposure to people who have done this for decades, have made a career out of this.

And it may just expand where someone wants to go with their business or where they see their kids going or a business opportunity, right? All of these big companies need suppliers and maybe it's a... a little part that adds up over all of this activity, but the way you find this is these face-to-face interactions of a trade show like HPX for sure.

Rob Munro: And Chuck and I talk about this all the time, the importance of the networking. know, everybody uses that, know, ⁓ I don't know if I can afford time away from the shop. I don't know if I can get away from the shop, but, you know, you come home on Monday morning, rejuvenated a handful of contacts that you wouldn't have had before.

And those contacts, you know, a quick phone call to someone that you met that's across the country can help, you know, get a, get a, an engine that you have, you you're trying to find a part you've been having trouble with that networking at a show like this is super.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: That's a huge point, Rob. Underline that when you put this podcast out. This is where you network with real life people. And look, it only takes one interaction at this show. It only takes one moment where you realize, ⁓ that's something my company could do for you.

I didn't realize you were having trouble finding that supplier. Or you meet the right person that needs to relocate to where your company is and they can take your company to another like whatever that match is What an incredible platform?

And that you know, it gets me excited because that's the vision of high performance expo is to bring these business Opportunities together and and yeah follow up make sure you've got business cards Chuck Make sure you got your business cards ready at high performance expo.

Okay, they're gonna want to know who you are. All right

CHUCK: Thank You know, the, the biggest thing, you know, that you can bring from that is like when you turn a competitor into a collaborator, you know, when you get there, because oftentimes you see these folks on social media and whatnot, and you're like, you pay attention to their stuff, but you're not really, you know, maybe the biggest fan.

And then you talk to each other to trade show and you shake hands. And next thing you know, you're calling each other and sharing ideas. So again, it was competition until it became collaboration and sometimes that stuff lasts forever.

I mean, we're actually very fortunate on the AERA tech line that people were reaching out to us for help and we connect people all the time. So you see that being so valuable. I mean, it's the only way we could exist is, you know, collaboration and you know, that's why I love these shows so much.

makes you feel very, good to make those connections. and, we all, it's all about competition. We love it. You know, it's racing. mean, there it's it, we die competition, right? The second is first place loser and all the things that we say, but we don't, we don't really mean that those are just, you know, cause we want to, we want to see everybody succeed.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: ⁓ It's a great point. you know, the other reason that the high performance expo exists is the competition within industries, right? This is our industry, guys. You know, we love the horsepower.

We love the engines being built. There's a lot of other things you can do than go racing or build a hot rod, right? You can just sit on your couch and watch Netflix. You can watch stick and ball sports.

You can just do other things. But the more activity we have, The more racing that we do, the more incredible engines that we build that all draws attention to this industry, this automotive aftermarket, this motorsports industry that we love.

And it just raises ⁓ the playing field for everybody and gives everybody more opportunities. So, you know, we got to get out there and do it. You've got to come out and support great sanctioning bodies like Streetcar Takeover.

We want you to have performance expo to grow your business. ⁓ And this is. the way that we take this whole industry to another level.

Rob Munro: And Jamie, who could you kind of expect for exhibitors? You who typically exhibit their, you know, what are some of the faces we can expect to run into there?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: I'm glad you asked. I'm gonna a hot list right here. I want to see this floor. I'm like, these guys are gonna ask me who's on it. No, this is just kind of my fun like engine pro, which I think you guys know they'll be there.

Edelbrock, Fox Factory. I talked about Hendrick already. Vengeance Racing, which is this incredible speed shop out of Atlanta. Hoosier, Quantum Machining, SRI and all their companies. Skag and Vicky, and then we're working the final deal with IHRA, which is making a lot of.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: moves and consuming a lot of engines. So that's a quick list, an overview, Rob, though there's a lot of engine parts manufacturers and machining companies that are on the floor right now.

But I would invite anybody that's serious, know, a couple things. Go to thehpx.com, get registered with us so you can get our email and... get updated on what's going on at HPX. We'd love to have you register for the show as an attendee.

And then you can look at the floor. We have an active floor plan there and you can look for your favorite company and send us a note if there's a company that you want on the floor that you don't see.

⁓ Our sales team would love to get that lead and ⁓ go after them for you and get them out there. And you guys are gonna be there. That's the important part. So that's good.

CHUCK: So Jamie, ⁓ who can attend the Leadership Conference and what's the criteria for attending?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: So, I mean, in general, Chuck, right, it's someone that is looking to expand their business, but I think it could be a younger person that wants to get in the industry and wants to get exposure to senior executives that have been there and done that.

I really think we built it for folks that are at a plateau with their business, meaning they've gotten to the $10 million mark and they don't know how to get to the $20 million mark and they need help with a specific component of their business.

Either I need a partner, I need a distributor, I need more people, need someone that has taken a company to $100 million to give me a breakthrough where I can see the future of the company. ⁓ We also have a lot of folks that are registered from large OEM companies.

had all the big three represented in our attendees last year. Those folks come in to work on their game. They're working on ⁓ business teams and they're looking for insight into the aftermarket. And ⁓ they won't admit it quite readily, but you guys will have some engine builder there that has done something crazy that may allow an OEM powertrain engineer to think a little bit differently about some vehicle they're working on 10 years in the future.

They're looking for that breakthrough for them as well. But you can get registered there. I would say you're free to come in if you're serious about B2B business growth in the automotive aftermarket space.

Rob Munro: kind of like an HPX shark tank in a way. You just might find a future investor or future person that's gonna invest in you. it's, yep.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: For sure. Well, I mean, Rob, Charlotte is the second biggest financial hub in the United States, and every one of those banking institutions is represented on the NCMA board. Fifth Third is on the floor. I'll give David Morton a shout out there. But every bank in Charlotte will be at HPX. yeah, they all have high net worth individuals involved with their financial institutes. And they're always looking to make money. Isn't that funny, Rob?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: So you got opportunities there, so let's go.

Rob Munro: That's right. No, exactly, exactly. And then I heard a rumor ⁓ you also are gonna have ⁓ possibly have the mayor there where you're a proclamation. ⁓

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, can you believe this? we, I don't think we put the press release out yet, but with NCMA's involvement with the high performance expo and now put the streetcar takeover on top of it, the mayor of Charlotte has officially proclaimed the first week in June as the automotive performance week in Charlotte, high performance week in Charlotte.

So we now have a very historically relevant. mayoral proclamation for this event, which is just super cool. I don't know of any other event like this that's had this type of ⁓ formality. And you can say, well, yeah, that sounds great, Jamie.

What's the big deal? Well, the big deal is it gets a lot of attention for the area companies and area people. Like, wow, what's going on? Why is the high performance expo got the mayor's attention? So I think the mayor's booked up, but we will have the city council members there and ⁓ whatever the vice mayor is called.

We should have some dignitaries in attendance, which again, it draws attention to the attendee base. It draws attention to businesses in the area. And again, it just raises the bar for the industry, which is what we're after.

CHUCK: Yeah, because we all live in a big bowl of spaghetti, right? There's so many things that are just adjacent. And so you have to take those opportunities and kind of investigate what is close to you, what's around you and see if it's something that you couldn't, again, collaborate outside of industry just because you're near or adjacent.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Well, Chuck, it's a great point because remember the audacity of what we've done here with the High Performance Expo. This is the first automotive aftermarket trade show started since 1962.

So to start something new, to start a new business, I know your audience will appreciate this. It's very tough to exactly do what you're saying, Chuck, to break through all of the noise and all the competition and all the other things you can do with your time.

But to go out to a trade show, and have these opportunities for the first time on the East Coast, for the first time in Charlotte. Guys, I've got companies on the floor that have never displayed at a trade show in the history of their 25-plus-year-old company.

We've got attendees coming to the High Performance Expo that represent major buyers, major distribution outlets that have never gone to a trade show before. This is how you grow your personal business is getting in touch with big buyers that want new suppliers to come on board.

So these are the things we're doing to try to make awareness for all of our partners.

Rob Munro: Yeah, that's super cool. So June 2nd through 4th, High Performance Expo, Charlotte, North Carolina. Jamie, you I gotta ask, you mentioned earlier in the podcast, you mentioned that you come from a, you know, your schooling or anything came from a medical background and you, you know, did you just have a huge passion for cars?

Like, are you the kid that had Hot Rod magazine open when you were supposed to be studying? that, was that kind of how this all got started or what kind of got you into this?

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Yeah, it really is. My grandfather was a hot-rotter. My mother was a street racer. My dad told me to never do anything with cars, but somehow I found my way. Yeah, was ⁓ in ⁓ college and grad school through the late 80s, early 90s, which was the heyday of the five-liter Mustang.

So I was a professional announcer while I was writing my PhD thesis. I was... announcing drag races and writing for Car Magazine when I was at my postdoc at the University of Cincinnati. And then I had an opportunity to go work for GM Performance Parts in 2006 and I took it.

I had a great run at General Motors. ⁓ Still, some of my products are still coming out, which is exciting. But I went on to run PRI for three years, then I did a stint with private equity and now I'm a consultant to the industry and I have different clients.

And ⁓ now I'm proud to say I'm a co-founder of the High Performance Expo, which we think is, we say is the future of the automotive aftermarket. So ⁓ trust me, this comes from a very deep passion space, which I think we're all a little bit nuts to get in this industry, but we love it so much.

just keep going. And ⁓ those are the people that I want to help Rob, guys, guys like you that just can't get enough of this. And we all know why we can't really explain it very well, but when we come together.

We all have that common bond and we all get it and we all help each other. So that's what makes us fun.

Rob Munro: gear heads at heart really, know, Chuck and I have this conversation all the time, just, you it's, you would think at the end of the day when, you know, you just worked an eight hour show and you're all tired and everything, and what's the first thing we talk about when we're sitting for dinner? More engines, you know, it's just kind of how, it's just how we did it is, were gear heads at heart, yeah.

CHUCK: Yeah, I tried to leave the industry once. It didn't last long. You know, your friends start talking at you and you miss just how things are managed and so forth and here I am. I'm back again.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: It never leaves you. It never leaves you for sure. Because you talk to the older crowd that's in their 70s and 80s, and especially guys like you, first thing they do is, tell me about that engine you're doing. This is what they do. So here we are. So let's make the most of it.

Rob Munro: Right? Well, Jamie, before we let you go, I gotta ask just cause you're in the heart of it all, you know, for our shops, like for the engine builders, is there a segment in this industry, in the motor sports industry or race industry that engine builders kind of need to be, you know, get their thumb on? Is there something for us to get ready for? there, you know, maybe just give us a little bit there of what your opinion is and what your thoughts are.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: Well, really, I'm very humbled you'd ask me that question. I do watch a lot of what's going on. I think the hottest platform coming out of Detroit right now is the coyote engine. If I had to put my finger and point something.

So if you're not at least exploring what the coyote has going on, check that out. But I will tell you, I'm going to take it in a different direction, Rob, which is ⁓ everybody that listens to you and everybody that reads what you guys put out there.

⁓ If you don't have artificial intelligence in your daily routine, you have a lot to catch up to and you have to make that a habit every day. ⁓ You should at least be on chat GPT. I've recently migrated to Claude.

⁓ There are dozens out there. You can ask these AI agents anything from how do I build a better engine to how do I make a better cylinder head or how do I price my product line better, who is my competition in a hundred mile radius and how do I beat them on social media platforms?

This is an overwhelming generational change in how we are doing business right now. And we have to embrace artificial intelligence and make it part of our business plan and our daily improvement plans.

So to that end at the High Performance Expo, we will have a panel of AI experts. We are also, we're trying to figure this out, but we will probably have a first timers table or new to AI where we'll literally download Claude on your phone and help you get set up and start asking these AI agents questions.

But our panelists include ⁓ Paul Fagali who worked for me at General Motors. He was the Hummer accessories. program manager. He went on to the Harvard Business School. He's now at a startup where they use AI to identify quality concerns for automotive and engine companies that are either internal complaints or external by scrubbing the internet and giving you a look at what your quality should be at your companies.

The one I'm really excited about, Rob, is Last week, I met the head of all AI intelligence for Amazon, the entire Amazon company. His name is Rob Schreiner, and he is going to be on stage at the High Performance Expo.

He is going to give examples of how Amazon has helped the NFL, the PGA. and F1 racing to improve race strategy, product development, engine design, and a whole host of tools that they've used. ⁓ Some people are going to be shocked by that.

Some people are going to be, yeah, I heard about it yesterday. The point will be we want to give exposure to our engine builders out there, how these amazing tools can take their companies and their personal skill to another level.

⁓ I'll add that when Jeff Gordon opened the High Performance Expo in 2025, he talked about artificial intelligence as a strategy tool four years ago at Hendrick Motorsports. So these are well-adopted tools.

They're learning more every day, and you just simply have to make it part of the future of building great engines. So how's that Rob? Does that get you excited?

Rob Munro: Yeah, no, that's a good insight. Appreciate that for sure. Well, Chuck, if HPX is definitely a place to be, Jamie, we couldn't appreciate your time more. mean, we do appreciate you coming on ⁓ and sharing with us what's going on with HPX and looking forward to it. We know you're a busy guy. know everybody. We do appreciate your time. So thank you for sharing that with us.

Dr. Jamie Meyer: No, guys, it's great to get some time with you. ⁓ Chuck, don't forget your business cards at High Performance Expo. You're gonna be very busy. ⁓ But again, get signed up at thehpx.com, get registered, be an attendee, come see me, or drop me a note on LinkedIn and tell me what you wanna see when you get to your trade show and how I can help your business at HPX.

But guys, thanks so much. Thanks for being such a valued partner in all the things you do for this industry. You know I greatly respect that, so thank you.

Rob Munro: So if you're not subscribed to the Engine Professional Podcast, there's a lot of engines in those words there, Engine Professional Podcast. You can subscribe to any of our podcasts through any podcast listening services or through the YouTube page.

So we also do like feedback. We do have an email. It's ⁓ eppodcast at aera.org. So you can always give us questions, topics, anything that you want to hear. Just let us know some feedback in that email.

That's a great conversation, Chuck. You know what? It's going to be a good show. Looking forward to hearing back and some feedback and stuff. And like I said, I know you got a couple of bikes in the garage.

We talked about spring and everything. So you know what? It's time to dig that thing out. It's not going to ride itself. So you got to get out there. I want to hear about some, put some miles on this summer for sure.

CHUCK: That's a fact. That's a fact. So, I know you're on a lake as well. So, ⁓ I'm ready to hit the water. Now, you do things a little different than I do. You like the water skiing and so forth and I kind of explore uncharted territories via kayak and stuff. But I am so glad Springs here and ⁓ looking forward to ⁓ catching up with you at some event here in the near future.

Rob Munro: No, looking forward to it, Chuck. Well, as always, you enjoy, you stay cool, and we'll talk again next month.

Episode 37 – HPX Trade Show Talk With Special Guest Jamie Meyer

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