Dr. Jamie Meyer returns to preview the second annual High Performance Expo (HPX) in Charlotte, June 2–4, pitching it as a bigger, more business-focused bridge between the aftermarket and racing. The show’s keynote lineup includes Hendrick leaders and a major AI session featuring Ben Schreiner from Amazon. Meyer also details new attractions like the shop car challenge, the Car Show Collective, and a streetcar takeover week that spills into Charlotte Motor Speedway and ZMAX. The episode also includes racing updates on Dallas’s Legends and a drifting indie film spotlight, Drifter.
Dr. Jamie Meyer returns to preview year two of the High Performance Expo (HPX), coming June 2–4 to the Charlotte Convention Center—and this isn’t just another trade show. Built to unite the racing, aftermarket, OEM, dealer, off-road, and overlanding worlds, HPX is quickly becoming the East Coast hub the industry has been missing. After a surprisingly strong debut, year two expands with bigger leadership sessions from Hendrick Motorsports, a major focus on real-world AI applications (including insight from Amazon’s AI leadership), and new features like the invitation-only Shop Car Challenge and Car Show Collective. If you’re in the business—or want to be—this is where connections, ideas, and opportunities collide.
But HPX is more than just a show floor. It’s part of a full “Automotive Performance Week” in Charlotte, with Street Car Takeover joining the action and bringing live racing, culture, and energy to the experience. Whether you’re a shop owner, builder, racer, or serious enthusiast, HPX offers rare access to the people, parts, and conversations shaping the future of the industry. Be sure to also check out Dr. Meyer’s podcast, Automotive Advantage, for deeper insight into the business and innovation driving it all. Learn more and register at TheHPX.com—and don’t miss your chance to be part of it.
"Now, the goal of this show originally was to combine the aftermarket and the racing world together in a new way, and in the summertime, in Charlotte, race city USA."
The aftermarket is the industry that makes parts and upgrades not installed by the original vehicle manufacturer. In performance circles, it often includes everything from engine and suspension upgrades to tuning and accessories.
"The goal of HPX is to lift the entire automotive aftermarket industry, and we are about to announce Ben Schreiner will be on stage."
HPX is the group putting on (or leading) this performance-focused expo. Their goal here is to help the aftermarket performance parts business grow.
HPX is presented as the organization behind the high-performance expo and its mission to elevate the automotive aftermarket industry. In this context, it’s the event/initiative being promoted for the upcoming Charlotte show.
"...we are about to announce Ben Schreiner will be on stage. Ben is the head of all artificial intelligence for the Amazon organization."
Artificial intelligence is software that can learn from information and help make decisions. In the car world, it could help companies find the right parts, predict what people want, or streamline operations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that can learn patterns and make predictions or recommendations. In automotive business contexts, AI is often used for things like demand forecasting, customer matching, and automating parts-related workflows.
"He'll be on to talk about the second annual high-performance expo, that trade show that's in June in Charlotte. It is a very unique trade show, and there will be talks on automotive marketing, artificial intelligence, a shop car competition, street car takeover event."
This is basically a big event where people in the performance car world get together. They talk about upgrades, tuning, and new tech, and there are usually competitions and vendors.
A high-performance expo is an event focused on aftermarket speed, tuning, and motorsport-adjacent tech. In this segment, it’s positioned as a trade show with industry talks, not just a car show.
"And I don't mean just Alexa from Amazon knowing when I'm out of peanut butter and toilet paper. Hello, Robert. This is your favorite Alexa voice, Bert Reynolds."
Alexa is a voice assistant from Amazon. People use it to control things by talking, and cars are starting to use similar voice features for convenience.
Alexa is Amazon’s voice assistant, used here as a humorous example of AI already being integrated into everyday life. In automotive contexts, voice assistants are increasingly used for hands-free control and infotainment.
"It's kind of like a Mazda Miata on steroids, if you will. You learn a lot of driver skill by driving these cars."
The Mazda Miata is a small, light sports car that’s known for being fun to drive. Saying it’s like a Miata “on steroids” means it feels similar but more intense and harder to drive fast.
The Mazda Miata is a lightweight, balanced roadster known for being fun and easy to drive at the limit. Comparing the Legends car to a Miata suggests a similar feel—light, responsive, and requiring good technique—while emphasizing the higher-stress nature of the race car.
"The event this time around, unlike the first one, isn't at one track, it's at two."
Racing at two different tracks in one event changes the learning curve and car setup priorities. Drivers must adapt to different corner types, braking distances, and tire wear patterns across the weekend.
"And I'd like him to run a sports car and I'd like him to try rally. I'd like him to try other disciplines, maybe even a drift car."
Rally is racing on roads in stages, often on loose surfaces. It’s less about a single track line and more about handling unpredictable grip and tight turns.
Rally is motorsport where cars race on public or closed roads in timed stages, often with loose surfaces like gravel, dirt, or snow. It demands a different skill set than track racing—especially car control, pace notes, and adapting to changing traction.
"I'd like him to try other disciplines, maybe even a drift car. I'm okay with that."
A drift car is made for drifting—keeping the car sideways on purpose through a turn. It takes a special driving style and setup compared to regular racing.
A “drift car” is built and driven for controlled oversteer, where the driver intentionally keeps the car sliding through corners while maintaining speed and angle. Compared to normal racing, the setup and driving technique focus heavily on tire management, balance, and throttle/steering coordination.
"If you compare it to like a Fast and Furious movie, which is like 88 days to 90 days, with a crew of sometimes 2,000 to 5,000 people, where our challenge was always time and money,"
They’re using the Fast and Furious movies as an example of how huge and expensive car-movie productions can be. The point is that their project had far less time and money than a blockbuster.
The speaker compares their production schedule to the Fast and Furious franchise, which is known for large-scale action sequences and big crews. It’s a useful benchmark for how much time, money, and manpower are typically required to pull off automotive stunts on screen.
"Don't forget, once per month, we do have Mr. Rick Schmidt from National Parts Depot to talk all things National Parts Depot.
You can send in your questions to me, Robert at themusclecarplace.com."
National Parts Depot is a place that sells car parts. They’re saying a guest from that company will come on monthly to talk about parts.
National Parts Depot is an automotive parts retailer that’s associated with muscle-car and performance parts. The host says they’ll have Mr. Rick Schmidt from National Parts Depot on the show, implying a regular segment focused on parts and sourcing.
"They know me for 15 years at General Motors, where I did cool stuff like LSX engines and launched the Coppo Camaro"
General Motors, or GM, is the big company behind brands like Chevrolet. Here, it matters because the guest worked there on performance projects tied to muscle-car history.
General Motors (GM) is the parent automaker behind brands like Chevrolet, which is central to the muscle-car and performance-car world. In this context, the guest’s GM work ties directly to performance engine development and iconic Camaro history.
"I think it'll be just like you and your son and your listeners that I just have this deep passion for the automobile and the lifestyle and the people. Drag racing, street racing, street performance is just the most cool thing in the world to me."
Drag racing is when cars race in a straight line over a short distance to see who’s quickest. It’s a big part of the performance car scene.
Drag racing is a straight-line motorsport where cars compete over a short distance to achieve the fastest elapsed time. It’s a core discipline in performance culture because it directly rewards power, traction, and drivetrain setup.
"and a truck, don't forget the largest segment, all of my off-road and overlanding friends. So that's how we want to market."
Off-road is driving on rough trails. Overlanding is like road-tripping with camping gear and equipment, often on tougher routes too.
Off-roading is driving on unpaved or rough terrain, while overlanding is longer-distance travel that’s typically self-sufficient and gear-focused. Both create a major demand for aftermarket accessories like suspension upgrades, tires, lighting, recovery gear, and storage systems.
"Rick Hendrick owns 132 dealerships just as an aside."
The speaker says Rick Hendrick owns a very large number of dealerships. That kind of dealership network can strongly affect what cars and add-on packages people see and buy.
The speaker notes that Rick Hendrick owns 132 dealerships, illustrating the scale of dealership networks tied to motorsports and performance marketing. Large dealer groups can influence which special editions and aftermarket packages get pushed to consumers.
"The keynote sessions were real leaders of industry. The venue itself, very professional."
A keynote is the big main talk at a conference. It’s usually given by important people and often covers the most important updates and ideas.
Keynote sessions are the main presentations at a conference, usually delivered by high-profile industry leaders. They’re often where the biggest announcements, trends, and future direction are discussed.
"You could have left with a job working for Cadillac F1 if you showed up at that trade show. They were just standing there talking to anyone that would like to."
F1 is the top level of professional racing with open-wheel cars. People bring it up when they mean the most advanced engineering and big-time racing.
F1 refers to Formula 1, the highest tier of open-wheel motorsport. In automotive conversations, F1 often represents cutting-edge engineering, sponsorship, and talent pipelines.
Concept
AI
"We've been trying to talk about AI and the use in that space for the last year."
AI is basically smart computer software that can learn patterns from data and make better decisions. In cars, it can help companies improve how things are built or how apps work.
AI (artificial intelligence) refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, like pattern recognition or decision-making. In automotive contexts, it’s often used to improve software, analytics, and quality processes.
"But there's also going to be an audience vote. So if the Mustang team comes out and they want the Mustang shop to win..."
An audience vote means attendees choose a winner, which can differ from judging by shop peers. This adds a “popularity + build impact” element and can reward cars that resonate visually or conceptually, not just technically.
"They may not see what overlanding trucks are doing. They may not see what pro-mod racers are doing in the dirty South, right? So bringing all these segments together at the same time, the same place at the High Performance Expo."
Pro Mod is a type of drag racing where cars are heavily modified to go extremely fast down the track. It’s a specific racing scene with its own rules and build styles.
Pro Mod (often “Pro Mod”) is a drag racing class focused on highly modified, purpose-built cars running very fast quarter-mile passes. When someone says “pro-mod racers,” they’re pointing to a specific performance subculture with different engineering priorities than drifting or overlanding.
"The first caveat is this is a B2B trade show, right? But as you know, this industry is very blurred."
A B2B trade show is an event where businesses go to meet other businesses. It’s less about buying a car and more about making deals, partnerships, and services.
A B2B trade show (“business-to-business”) is primarily aimed at companies—manufacturers, shops, and suppliers—rather than individual buyers. This matters because the expo’s programming, booths, and deals are oriented around partnerships and service contracts.
"You've got exhibitors, OEMs, manufacturers, all the big names on the floor at the same time. You get to see their parts, see their applications, then you get to talk to the technical experts"
OEMs are the companies that make the parts that go into a car when it’s built. At events, they often show what they make and how it’s meant to work on different vehicles.
OEMs are Original Equipment Manufacturers—the companies that build parts or vehicles that are used as original equipment. In the context of a show, OEMs bring their latest components and explain how they’re intended to fit and function on specific applications.
"And then there's a little bit of star appeal, right? We had Jeff Gordon walking around on the floor last year."
Jeff Gordon is a famous NASCAR driver. If he’s showing up at a car event, it usually means the event has real ties to racing and the people who make it happen.
Jeff Gordon is a legendary NASCAR driver, and his presence at an event is a signal of the show’s connection to top-tier motorsports culture. When a mainstream racing figure walks the floor, it also highlights how performance brands and teams recruit and network.
"We had Jeff Gordon walking around on the floor last year. We had Richard Petty walking around on the floor last year."
Richard Petty is one of the most famous names in NASCAR history. His appearance suggests the event is a big deal in the racing world, not just a casual car meet.
Richard Petty is another iconic NASCAR figure, often associated with the sport’s history and mainstream popularity. Mentioning him underscores the event’s credibility and the strong overlap between street-car culture and NASCAR-level business.
"...getting into racing is there are a lot of very significant consumers, technically, in the racing industry that in any other world would be business. Yes. Yeah, you and I laugh about it. But on the corporate side, you start to realize this and you're like, well, I'm used to talking to NASCAR owners and NASCAR teams."
NASCAR is a big American racing series with stock cars. The speaker is saying they’re used to talking to NASCAR teams and owners, and that the business side can feel similar to other industries.
NASCAR is a major American stock-car racing series, and it’s referenced here as the speaker’s familiar “world” for networking with team owners and operators. The discussion highlights how racing business overlaps with consumer enthusiasm for cars.
"And then we're going to leave the floor of the Charlotte Motor Speedway sometime Thursday afternoon and we're going to head to Concord, which is only like 20 minutes away."
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a big race track near Charlotte, North Carolina. Lots of major racing events happen there, so it draws huge crowds and attention from the performance world.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a major motorsports venue in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. It hosts NASCAR and other high-attendance racing events, so it’s a common hub for performance-weekend crowds and industry meetups.
"And then Friday and Saturday, we'll be racing at Z-Max, four wide drag race. Remember, Rob at Z-Max."
In a four-wide drag race, four cars go down the track at the same time. It’s louder and more chaotic—in a fun way—than the usual one-on-one drag racing.
A “four-wide” drag race is a format where four cars race simultaneously in parallel lanes. It’s a spectacle that increases event excitement and crowd energy compared with traditional two-car matchups.
"My background with GM, I was able to work with them on several projects through the years. And that's why we have that camaraderie."
GM is General Motors, a big car company. Mentioning GM is basically saying the host has worked inside a major automaker, which helps with industry relationships.
GM refers to General Motors, one of the major global automakers. The speaker’s GM background is used to explain why they have industry connections and “camaraderie” with others in the automotive world.
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The Muscle Car Place online podcast, episode number 644.
This week, Dr. Jamie Myer returns to give us the full preview of the high-performance
Expo, the second annual trade show event this June in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Now, the goal of this show originally was to combine the aftermarket and the racing
world together in a new way, and in the summertime, in Charlotte, race city USA.
And they did that, and they will again, but the business value component of the Expo this
time around has stepped its game up.
And that's saying something because it was good last year.
If you're in the industry aftermarket or racing, right now, working, whether you're
a one-man band or a corporation, or you're trying to break in, here's a tiny sneak preview
of what you're in for.
You're not going to believe it.
This is a chance to have a face-to-face interaction with an executive that can change your path
for your company, for yourself personally, and move the entire industry.
The goal of HPX is to lift the entire automotive aftermarket industry, and we are about to
announce Ben Schreiner will be on stage.
Ben is the head of all artificial intelligence for the Amazon organization.
This is the Muscle Car Place online podcast brought to you by National Parts Depot.
This is the weekly show dedicated to people worldwide who love American muscle cars.
If you're buying, selling, restoring, even racing them, this is the place for you.
Now, here's your host, Rob Kibbe.
Yes, indeed I am Rob Kibbe, and welcome to the Muscle Car Place podcast.
Well, here we are now, the second show of April already.
I'm releasing this today on Friday, April 10th.
I believe the Artemis II crew will return from the moon tonight, so that's a big deal.
In the interview is Dr. Jamie Meyer, also a big deal.
He'll be on to talk about the second annual high-performance expo, that trade show that's
in June in Charlotte.
It is a very unique trade show, and there will be talks on automotive marketing,
artificial intelligence, a shop car competition, street car takeover event.
I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it before.
Now, the AI component of it is very interesting to me.
AI is here, and you're either going to use it or you're going to get used by it, I think.
And I'm curious to know how everyone in this industry that's going to be speaking is applying it.
And I don't mean just Alexa from Amazon knowing when I'm out of peanut butter and toilet paper.
Hello, Robert.
This is your favorite Alexa voice, Bert Reynolds.
You are out of toilet paper and peanut butter.
Should I order more and zap your credit card?
Also, please tell Bernie that I am very, very, very disappointed in him.
Wow, was that Alexa as Bert Reynolds now?
Bert, place the order, please.
You got it.
Don't forget to take a 10 to 100 before you go to bed.
Thank you, Bert.
Alexa, see?
AI knows everything.
How did Alexa know that if she were the voice of Bert that I would do it?
And I will.
I would encourage you.
Take a look at the high performance expo for all the car stuff that you should be doing.
And then take a look at all those business seminars that sometimes you don't go to.
You're going to have access to people at this show, at this time in history.
You may regret missing.
I'm learning that you got to strike while you can.
Please, people will be here.
It's there for the taking.
TheHPX.com is where you go.
You can register just right there online June 2 through 4.
And I hope to see you there.
I will be a judge again in the new product competition on Wednesday.
And I'm looking forward to that.
Okay.
Why don't we go ahead and get to the Dallas Kibbey Legends Car Racing Update.
Burn, cue the intro, please.
The Rarion's loose.
Car's fast.
Loose is fast and on the edge you're out of control.
Excellent intro, Burn.
Alrighty.
I'm picking up where I left off at the high performance expo.
I'm going to be in Charlotte that whole week.
Because Dallas will be racing down there in the summer shootout.
That's an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It's an eight week long race series on the infield.
Little infield circle boring track, I guess.
It's called at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He'll also be down there to run his very first light model race.
By then it might as be a second or third,
but right now it's scheduled to be the first.
He will be running with Brandon Setzer Racing Development.
Brandon is the son of Dennis Setzer of NASCAR fame.
I encourage you to go check it out.
Google it.
You'll see what I mean.
But it's really cool.
It's a big deal.
I'm excited for him.
He's going to run a test or two in advance.
And if he ends up running another race here or there in advance,
I'll let you know.
But it's called the Carolina Pro Series.
It is a developmental late model series.
The goal here is to get him prepped
to go run something like the Cars Tour.
You've probably heard of the Cars Tour by this point.
But that's the most visible late model touring series
in the country right now.
That is the one that's backed by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
and Kevin Harvick.
So help and dollars put in as many reps as possible.
Speaking of reps, he and I are leaving,
as I record this, in eight hours for Nashville.
He's going to race in the Inex Spring Nationals.
And it's at two different tracks.
Let me go ahead and pull up the schedule here.
The first track is the Veterans Motorplex at the Rim.
It's near Goodlitzville, Tennessee.
How it works is this is a, it's like a tournament.
You race six races, tally them all up,
the one with the most points wins.
There are three national events in the Inex Legends series.
And this is a developmental series.
It's, you can get a lot of laps and get a lot of feel
for a really high power to weight ratio car
that has very little tire or grip.
It's kind of like a Mazda Miata on steroids, if you will.
You learn a lot of driver skill by driving these cars.
And at this point, these national events
and the Charlotte Summer Shootout,
this is the competition you need to be racing with
and competing with at a high level.
That's where you got to be.
The event this time around, unlike the first one,
isn't at one track, it's at two.
The first three races are held at Veterans Motorplex at the Rim.
The second three are at the Nashville Fairground Speedway.
That's about 30 miles away.
So you set up at the first event,
you buy a set of tires for the whole week,
you check them out, you get the same date code
as everybody in your class,
and then you have the rest of the day to practice.
On Tuesday, you race.
On Wednesday, you race twice.
So that's three races right there.
Then everybody packs up, moves to the Nashville Fairground Speedway,
and you do it all over again.
Thursday, you practice.
Friday, you race.
Saturday, you race a double header.
That's a total of six.
It's a lot of racing.
So if you recall, two weeks ago,
I took Dallas down to the Nashville Fairground Speedway
because they just had a local race there.
We used it as a prep race,
and that's exactly what it turned out to be.
It got kind of lucky on a fast lap initially.
Couldn't figure out how we did it for a long time.
And then when the race was finally about over,
he finally got there.
So it was prepped for that.
We're doing the same thing tomorrow
at the Veterans Motorplex at the Rim.
Tomorrow's our record this today
as you probably hear it if you get it on release day.
Just running a local race at the Veterans Motorplex
to get some laps to be prepared
for next week's national event.
You know, you can shortcut the path of racing, you can.
It takes a lot of money, more money than I've got,
but you can shortcut that process.
I do think there's value though in putting in the reps.
What Dallas is doing right now is as fast as we possibly can,
because he started racing late, you know,
I'm aware of that,
but as fast as he possibly can
to put in as many quality reps as he can.
I'm not trying to skip any steps here.
I'm trying to do this at the most efficient fastest pace,
but I'm not trying to skip any steps.
I know that we could just leap forward
and go to the next thing now.
I just don't think you should.
I have a feeling it's going to pay off later.
So that's what we're doing.
So that's why he's still running a legends car now.
I think he's got a lot more to learn in this car
before completely committing to late models
or whatever the next series is.
And I'd like him to run a sports car
and I'd like him to try rally.
I'd like him to try other disciplines,
maybe even a drift car.
I'm okay with that.
He's not married to being an ask car driver.
He's just married to being a driver for a living.
I think that's something we can all understand.
It's a big dream.
It's a hard one.
It's what a lot of us have had here.
But you know what?
Why not go for it?
So that concludes the Dallas KB Legends Car Racing Update.
Actually, you can follow along at us legendscars.tv.
If you'd like to watch every single day, you sure can.
You got to buy a membership for that.
I wish I could give it to you.
I can't.
I bought one for me.
Actually, I bought one for my wife.
But you can get that for yourself.
It's excellent coverage.
They do have a superb job.
He is in the semi-pro class if you'd like to follow along.
But otherwise, just follow him on social media.
We'll have all the links in the show post.
You can follow me on social media too.
You can also follow the live race coverage in My Race Pass.
It's free as long as you don't go for the free timing.
You can check that out.
Okay, that officially concludes the Dallas KB Legends Car Racing Update.
Okay, let's end here before we move on to the feature interview.
This is something I've been meaning to tell you about.
Have you heard of the new independent movie called Drifter?
It's with Soon Kang.
I believe that's how he pronounced his name.
He played the character Han from Fast and Furious.
I'm going to play a couple things for you.
First is a little 30-second preview of the official trailer.
And then second is an interview with him
on the YouTube channel Project Destination.
Here they are back to back.
Welcome to Project Destination.
I'm here with filmmaker Soon Kang,
also known as Han from the Fast and Furious series.
Could you talk to us about Lola, your car that's featured in Drifter,
and also about the Rollers?
Sure.
So Lola is a 1986 Toyota Corolla, also known as the Hachi Roku.
She would be the grandmother of Drift Cars.
And because Drifter is about drifting,
what car needs to be the star of the movie?
It has to be the Hachi Roku.
So I named her Lola because it's a Corolla.
And if you could give an overview of Drifter,
like just for somebody who might not know much about drifting,
or like what's it about?
Your overview, the way I describe Drifter is it's the hero's journey,
very similar to Rocky 1.
Have you seen Rocky 1?
Yeah.
The original Rocky?
You have?
I've seen parts of it.
Okay.
So Rocky 1, you take out the box and you put drifting.
So it's a story about an underdog that has a dream to become something in life.
And in our story, it happens to be a Drifter.
And somehow he gets the opportunity to compete on a world stage,
and he makes it there.
And during the 22-day period of filming,
what would you say was the most challenging part?
We only had 22 days of filming.
If you compare it to like a Fast and Furious movie,
which is like 88 days to 90 days,
with a crew of sometimes 2,000 to 5,000 people,
where our challenge was always time and money,
that we had very little of both.
But because of the amazing people that worked on the movie,
you can buy people's time,
but you can't buy people's heart and passion in real life.
So the fact that we had those amazing people on the crew
that gave me their heart into this movie,
we were able to create something special in those 22 days.
And one more question.
What inspired you to make Drifter?
What inspired me to make Drifter was that I really had no other choice.
The desire to play roles of substance,
to tell stories with depth and meaning behind it.
There were not opportunities that were coming to me in Hollywood
as an actor.
So I had to create it myself.
Well, thank you.
Nice meeting you.
Yeah, nice to meet you too.
Okay, there you go.
Again, that first clip was just a little teaser preview.
And the second was from the YouTube channel Project Destination.
If you follow Larry Chen,
you probably have seen a lot more content on this coming up.
I don't know when this movie is coming out,
because it's independent.
But I will keep high tabs on this.
A, I love the topic.
Somebody going for their racing dream is something I'm all about.
Car movies move the needle for pop culture acceptance of cars.
And that's good for all of us.
It's just the truth.
When cool cars are on the screen or good stories are on the screen,
it makes awareness of our industry and our passion so much bigger.
That's a good thing.
So I'll be following for that.
Don't forget, once per month,
we do have Mr. Rick Schmidt from National Parts Depot
to talk all things National Parts Depot.
You can send in your questions to me, Robert at themusclecarplace.com.
And of course, visit nationalpartsdepot.com to prove
for all your muscle car parts needs,
because they find this horse, they expect the best.
There is a difference and they've got the goods.
And we haven't recorded for May yet.
So you do still have time.
Alrighty, feature interview time.
This is Mr. Jamie, Mr. Dr. Jamie Meyer
on to talk about the 2026 High Performance Expo.
Enjoy.
Up next is Dr. Jamie Meyer
on to prepare us for the second annual High Performance Expo
this June in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The inaugural event was a success last year.
It had the original goal of bringing the racing world
and the aftermarket world together
in one hot spot in a race city USA.
Well, this is year number two.
We're going to see what will stay the same,
what will change, what will get bigger, what will go away.
Doc, welcome back to the show.
Good morning, Rob.
We're starting early today.
So thanks for getting my day kicked off the right way,
talking about muscle cars and cool stuff.
So thank you.
In general, the older I get, the better it is to start early.
Because after seven, eight o'clock at night,
there's no brain juice left.
It's all mush.
So I got it.
I'm getting your best right now is what you're saying.
I get your best.
That's good.
Sure.
Yes.
Dr. Jamie, if you could, your famous name in our industry,
but can you remind people who you are
and why they've known you for the last 25 years?
Yeah.
Geez, I don't think about it that much anymore.
But right now, I'm an industry consultant.
I've got several clients in the industry.
One of my favorite projects is a high-performance expo
we're going to talk about.
I've been doing this for a long time.
I've been in the cars since I was a kid.
People know me from announcing their favorite drag races
through the 90s and 2000s.
They know me for 15 years at General Motors,
where I did cool stuff like LSX engines
and launched the Coppo Camaro
and helped the Stingray Camaro Silverado team own
some Cadillac Vs in there, too.
I went on to be the first president of PRI,
the Performance Racing Industry Show and Media Empire.
And I've been a consultant after some private equity work.
I got cool stuff going on with companies
like Badass Broncos and Fox Factory
and the High Performance Expo.
And when I say Dr. Jamie, I mean Dr.,
like you have a doctorate.
You're an educated man.
What is your doctorate in?
I have a PhD in anatomy and cell biology
and I did a eight-year postdoctoral fellowship
at the University of Cincinnati
after I got my PhD in Syracuse.
Go Orange.
I used to design cardiovascular drugs
and teach medical school,
but that's in my past cars are still with me.
You know that, Rob.
I know that 100%, but it's interesting.
Everybody has a story and a path.
I don't hear yours very much, though.
I'm curious.
As we discussed at the High Performance Expo,
which is a paradigm change in our world,
you personally had a paradigm change,
something in your mind and your heart
and your world decided I'm going to pivot
and just do something else.
Was it instant, Jamie?
Was it organic?
Was it told to you?
Why the career change?
Because I don't know anyone that's ended up
pioneering a segment in the automotive industry
that didn't start on that path from the get-go.
I think it'll be just like you and your son
and your listeners that I just have this deep passion
for the automobile and the lifestyle and the people.
Drag racing, street racing, street performance
is just the most cool thing in the world to me.
I still do it.
I was at the streetcar takeover this past weekend in Atlanta.
I still want to be around the latest,
greatest, fastest, coolest cars that I can be around.
For my career change, I was teaching med school.
I was doing very advanced research
in an ion transporter lab, working on transgenic animals,
working with electron microscopes.
But on the weekends, I was announcing drag races
and nights until two or three in the morning.
I was writing car magazine articles.
I eventually just kept sliding.
My weekends got longer and my nights got later
and I just kept doing more and more car stuff.
And eventually I made the jump in 2006.
I got offered an amazing opportunity
to go work at GM Performance Parts and loved it.
And I've loved it ever since.
So for folks out there dreaming about being a car guy
or a car gal and they want to figure out
how to make a living in this industry, you can do it.
You don't have to be a pro driver.
You don't have to be a high-end engineer, Rob.
You can be a great marketing person.
You can go be a technician at a dealership
and you can make an amazing living in this industry.
I'm curious, were any of your friends surprised
when you made the leap or did they see it coming?
Like, oh, yeah, he's gone.
Yep, we knew it.
I think my science friends were surprised.
They knew I did the car stuff on the weekends.
My car guys wondered what took so long because I was with them.
You know how it is?
When you do something you really love,
that's the community you want to be around.
And if I had any good advice,
and I know my 25-year-old nephews are listening right now,
all five of them, I tell them all the time,
you got to do what you love and be around people
that really want to be around you and do the same thing.
So the car industry has a lot of opportunities
like that right now.
I agree.
And if in your heart of hearts,
you know that's the industry you should be in,
when everybody else is telling you,
but you need a real job, that's pretend.
Sometimes they're rung and you're right.
You do have to follow your path here.
So let's talk about what's right.
High Performance Expo was something,
I think in 2024, you started putting some feelers out about.
And I was lucky enough to be one of the people
that you discussed it with.
And he said, we're probably going to do this.
And it's a trade show sort of in the lane of things
that we've seen before, but sort of not.
And it's in the summer, which is odd.
And it's in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is cool.
How did the original High Performance Expo,
you know, last summer was,
how did it hold to the original vision?
But the original vision was a place
where the racing world and the aftermarket could combine.
What worked there?
Yeah, I think that's a profound question
because it's a theory until you do it,
which is true about every science experiment,
if you will, Rob, right?
So HPX will become what it'll become.
It'll be a reflection of the automotive aftermarket industry.
We've invited the key people to be there and be a part of it.
A lot of folks are watching.
You can't say the entire industry is watching,
but for this conversation,
the entire industry is watching this experiment.
It was started with the right reason, the right intent,
meaning the East Coast is underserved
from a trade show perspective.
These areas have the bulk of the population
in the United States.
They have the bulk of the racing in the United States.
And there are a lot of companies that are critical
for the automotive aftermarket industry.
And this includes new vehicle manufacturers
that all have accessories and performance parts groups.
This includes all dealers that go to market
with special editions on their floor.
I mean, you and I have seen these through the years.
And then as well as the manufacturers of all the race parts
and accessories and the cool bits that you can put on a car
and a truck, don't forget the largest segment,
all of my off-road and overlanding friends.
So that's how we want to market.
The show was very reflective of it.
Being in Charlotte, you've got this huge cultural advantage.
It's led by the North Carolina Motorsports Association.
You know those folks well now after coming to HPX number one.
But this organization started by Rick Hendrick and Richard Petty.
Now the chairman is Scott Lampy,
the CFO from the Hendrick organization,
Greg Fresneli and other key players around this board.
They wanted a trade show.
They wanted to showcase what North Carolina
and that region of the world could do for the auto industry.
Rick Hendrick owns 132 dealerships just as an aside.
So there's heavy dealer input into the show.
The show held up very well.
The folks that were there did a lot of business
and we're really excited to ramp it up for year number two, Rob.
I'm going to give you some credit here.
I had expectations at a certain level.
This was not the event that I expected at all.
I mean this in a good way.
It was good.
And I mean that in all honesty, when you go to a first year event,
you typically have a low bar.
At least I do.
I've gone to several that, man, they weren't prepared.
This was above and beyond what I could have dreamed.
The keynote sessions were real leaders of industry.
The venue itself, very professional.
If you showed up with a resume and were seeking a job,
you probably left with one.
You could have left with a job working for Cadillac F1
if you showed up at that trade show.
They were just standing there talking to anyone that would like to.
That's what was there and available.
So I hope you take this with the credit I'm giving here.
It's a compliment that I underestimated what the value would be.
I assume it will be larger this year, I'm guessing.
Now it's the same venue, still the Charlotte Convention Center?
Same place?
Downtown in Charlotte, June 2, 3, 4 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Yeah, it's a great venue.
You know that.
Who will be the keynote speakers?
Well, look, we had the Hendrick Organization kick things off.
Year one, they will be back in several ways.
We have a women empowerment program.
And this is for the female executives in the auto industry.
Alba Cologne will be there.
Alba is the mastermind of the Hendrick NASCAR team strategy.
She's a brilliant engineer.
She happened to be my next door neighbor at the Rensen
when we both worked for Chevrolet.
Jeff Andrews will come in.
He's going to be speaking about what it takes to be a winner.
He's the president of Hendrick Motorsports
and is certainly in a position to talk about what it takes to win in this industry.
We'll have Scott Lampy on stage, the CFO.
He'll be given a financial outlook.
What does the second half of 2026 look like from his perspective?
So if you're a female executive, if you're a business owner,
if you're someone that is trying to figure out what all of the chaos in the world
means for your small business or big business,
and we're going to put key leaders on stage,
let them speak, ask them some key questions,
but then you get time with them in a live event like this, Rob.
We've got to remind our listeners,
this is a chance to have a face-to-face interaction with an executive
that can change your path for your company, for yourself personally,
and move the entire industry.
The goal of HPX is to lift the entire automotive aftermarket industry
and incremental improvement in what this industry is.
I'll tell you one more session I'm really excited about.
You, I hope, listened to a couple of my podcasts,
like I listened to yours.
We have Justin Sessler and I put on the Automotive Advantage.
We've been trying to talk about AI and the use in that space for the last year.
Justin's actually going to be the moderator of an artificial intelligence keynote,
and we have people that have done AI-backed apps.
We have people that work with OEMs using AI quality improvement programming,
and we are about to announce Ben Schreiner will be on stage.
Ben is the head of all artificial intelligence for the Amazon organization.
So we have that level of speaker on stage talking about real-life issues, politics,
the economy, and even AI, and how all of this is going to play into your future,
both at an individual level, corporate level, and all the small businesses that listen to you.
Rob, we're here to help each and every one of them,
and I think you're going to be there too, most importantly.
Well, I will be there.
I think I'm not the most importantly part, but I will be there.
I had a actual line of thinking about AI because I knew some of the topics that were coming.
It's everywhere, so you're nice enough to let me bring my son last year.
He's an aspiring racer.
I'll bring him again this year.
He's currently using AI to build websites for local companies.
He's building in an hour what used to take us six months,
and he's doing that to raise money for racing,
and he's using AI to find the businesses that need his product.
Now, in this modern day and age, with the ability to connect with people through LinkedIn
and TikTok and Instagram, I do find that a one-on-one personal human being connection
like a trade show can give you the advantage now that everybody is skipping,
and while this is a big trade show, it's not a big trade show.
You will be able to see everything.
You will be able to talk to everyone.
You'll be able to touch everything.
It's not acres and acres and acres of trade show floor where you just can't do it all.
You can pull that off.
I want to talk about the flip side of it.
So specifically on this show, I mean, we have shops, small shops, car builder shops,
and we have a lot of enthusiasts.
What is the shop car challenge?
That is new to me.
I don't remember that last year.
And we're about to announce the shop car challenge.
The idea came from Justin Keith from Killer Performance.
You know him, formerly of the Streetcar Takeover Group.
Justin said, you know, I would go to a trade show if there was an area
where I could bring a customer's car and show off the best that my shop can do against other shops.
And we took that and we've run with it.
So for year one, it'll be a curated group.
It'll be an invitation only, very broad.
So we don't want 10 Mustang shops that we would like a Mustang shop.
We'd like a Porsche shop.
We'd like an off-road shop.
We'd like a race shop.
You know, a diverse JDM should be in there.
West Coast, East Coast, right?
So a great mix of shops that build great vehicles
that want to showcase what their customer's vision was and how they brought it to life.
It'll be between five and 10 shops.
We're going to let them vote amongst themselves and which car they like the best.
But there's also going to be an audience vote.
So if the Mustang team comes out and they want the Mustang shop to win,
they're probably going to get the audience choice of who the best shop in the world is.
But it's really a chance to see innovation.
It's really a chance to get exposed to other segments.
Rob, you're a well-traveled guy.
You get around.
Some people only go to drifting events.
So they only see drift cars.
And they may not see what overlanding trucks are doing.
They may not see what pro-mod racers are doing in the dirty South, right?
So bringing all these segments together at the same time, the same place at the High Performance Expo.
Hey, look, the shops are going to have a blast.
They're going to be talking smack and pointing things out and helping each other.
The audience is going to get the real gift, which is, wow, look at the talent in this industry
and look at all the things I can dream about doing with my car someday.
That's the shop car challenge.
For the consumer-minded person, so while we do have a number of small businesses
in this audience here, we have a lot more consumers.
Is there something for a consumer there?
I can think of a few things, but it's your show.
What would you tell them?
Is there something for them to go to an industry trade show like this?
The first caveat is this is a B2B trade show, right?
But as you know, this industry is very blurred.
We've got sportsmen racers that spend $10 million a year on their sportsmen racing program.
If you're a manufacturer and that type of customer, B2C, that type of end consumer comes up to your
booth and says, I'd like you to run my engine program or I'd like you to run my shock program
for the next two years, buddy, it doesn't matter if you're a consumer or another business,
you'll book that deal.
With that caveat in mind, remember, I ran PRI, which has a great attendance of hardcore sportsmen
racers. Those folks are the buying public, if you will, that a B2B trade show certainly
welcomes. So that's my, hey, you're all invited, but look, for a consumer, there's several things.
You get to see the manufacturers. This is decades old, my friend, you know that.
But to see the part and touch the part and actually imagine how it goes on your car or truck
is something that we still love to do in this industry. So that is number one.
You've got exhibitors, OEMs, manufacturers, all the big names on the floor at the same time.
You get to see their parts, see their applications, then you get to talk to the technical experts
that built it, that designed the part. That's huge. Shopcar challenge is a chance for you to
imagine how can a shop build my car? We have something called the Car Show Collective,
which is this great collection of the best car clubs in the area, in the east coast,
coming together. And then there's a little bit of star appeal, right? We had Jeff Gordon walking
around on the floor last year. We had Richard Petty walking around on the floor last year.
And then we had an endless number of CEOs and company owners that, for me, are celebrities,
because I love to hear how their businesses are going and what's the next opportunity in the
industry. And then I think for younger folks like your son, Rob, our recruiting hub was
unbelievable last year. We had several schools, several manufacturers. It was an entire row
that led you to the Hendrick display. Oh, by the way, there's jobs available at Rick Hendrick's
Hendrick Motorsports Group. Bring a resume, bring a dot card, bring something, a business card,
and get ready to go find your next job in the auto industry. So there's a lot of things for
the B2C crowd to take advantage of here. And I know it's a new B2B show, but that was an eye
opener for me getting into racing is there are a lot of very significant consumers, technically,
in the racing industry that in any other world would be business.
Yes. Yeah, you and I laugh about it. But on the corporate side, you start to realize this and
you're like, well, I'm used to talking to NASCAR owners and NASCAR teams. And then you have an
entrepreneur that walks up that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This is not an exaggeration
for me when I was selling Coppo Camaros. There's no difference, Rob. There's no difference. It's just
where the guy or gal spends their time during the day. But they all love racing. They all love
modifying cars. They all love accessorizing the latest, greatest new vehicle from their dealer.
And that's ultimately what the high performance expo is about, bringing all these people together.
Let's talk about streetcar takeover. My understanding is that will be a companion
component to this this year. Is that right? Will it be at ZMAX June 5 and 6?
Yeah, this is amazing, Rob. Have you been to a streetcar takeover event?
I've only seen it online. No. And that's where they really live. And they grew up out of this
1320 video culture. Remember, they spawned Cletus McFarland, the streetcar takeover, which was
what Cletus came out of. I already mentioned Justin Keith, but the current ownership, Chase
Lautenbach and Sam Bennett and Brian Otis. I'll give him a shout out because just an awesome team.
I just went to the Atlanta streetcar takeover this past weekend. It was a great event.
Run in conjunction with Ron Mullen from Vengeance Racing. Ron's one of our big exhibitors on the
floor, big supporter of high performance expo. And now streetcar takeover has their event scheduled
in Charlotte the same week as the high performance expo. This is such a big deal, Rob, that the
mayor of Charlotte has issued a proclamation. I mean, I can't make this up. It's a marketer's dream.
The first week in June will now be Automotive Performance Week in Charlotte as the honorable
mayor has proclaimed. So you'll start your week, Rob, with a welcome get together from the folks
from NCMA. You'll get to meet the executives that make that industry go, the motorsports industry
in North Carolina. Tuesday will be opening day from the high performance expo and all the great
stuff we have going on. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we will have heavy streetcar takeover
presence on the floor. You'll see examples of their race cars. Sam is bringing out some crazy stuff.
The famous Bandito 69 Camaro that makes something over 5,000 horsepower. You'll see 50 shades of
brown, another famous street race car, and a large collection of their entourage.
The little gangster class, which is blowing up on the East Coast. So examples of those cars.
Chase is going to take the stage. He's going to talk about the future of streetcar takeover,
street racing, how to build a multimillion dollar company with online promotions.
And then we're going to leave the floor of the Charlotte Motor Speedway sometime Thursday afternoon
and we're going to head to Concord, which is only like 20 minutes away. You know that.
And we're going to go to the Twin Peaks Thursday night opener, which brings in six to 8,000 cars
just at the opener, Rob. And then Friday and Saturday, we'll be racing at Z-Max,
four wide drag race. Remember, Rob at Z-Max. Yeah, I know. And they have north of 30, 40,000.
That's a real number from Greg Walter, the president of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Group.
They own Z-Max. We'll have over 40,000 fans at that event. So it's an entire automotive
performance week in Charlotte the first week in June, Rob. Don't miss it. Don't miss it, Rob.
I won't. I'll be there. I think I have to be, but I would be anyway.
I think you're under contract to be there. I want to end with this. You do have a show.
You have a podcast, the automotive advantage. And I do listen. Actually, I watch.
And you've had a lot of guests on. And you've covered a lot of topics. Maybe it's five or six
months ago with David Freyberger was definitely one that was listened to a couple of three times.
This audience will relate well to Finnegan and Freyberger. That's their guys.
We have Finnegan on this show all the time, but Freyberger has only been on once.
What he did with you was a peak under the hood of total honesty.
And it was interesting because the both of you had a relationship when you were both with
major corporations. And now you're both independent doing your own thing. And in David's case,
he doesn't have the power of the media goliath behind him anymore. He's fighting for the same
scraps we all are. And he's finding a way to do that. And luckily he has a large background on that.
Why did you start the automotive advantage? Because I see a lot of themes and discussions
and lines of thinking in that show that I frankly see in the high-performance expo.
Well, thank you for being a listener and watching the podcast that we put on YouTube.
Automotive advantage really an extension of what Justin and I were doing,
I would say as side hustles or just trying to dig in and find other business opportunities
in the automotive aftermarket, they're out there. Rob, look at you. Look at the podcasting empire
that you've built out of a labor of love. For me, the way that our show is set up is
after the first day of a trade show and you're at the restaurant or the bar with your group of
people and you're sharing what you learned that day. And maybe somebody invited somebody you don't
know and they're talking about their business. We want the automotive advantage to be that conversation
every week where our listeners can tune in and they can get what we call an unfair advantage
in this industry by having access to people that we think help lift everybody's game by
sharing their story. David did a huge favor to come on one of the early episodes. The timing
was right. And I think that was recorded in August. I think to your point, David really wanted to
tell his story about breaking out and doing his own thing and some of his early learnings.
I will tell you, he doesn't need the corporate backing anymore. David Freiburger is his own brand
and he's a monster in the industry just like Finnegan. I love both those guys. My background
with GM, I was able to work with them on several projects through the years. And that's why
we have that camaraderie. But you are always welcome to come on. I would love to ask you
questions about all of the millions of dollars you make as a podcaster doing this all these years
and how you built this empire and get all the secrets out of you, Rob. So, yeah, you're always
welcome on my show, pal. Yeah. If I were to do that, I will walk you through why not to do this today.
It wouldn't work today. You shouldn't launch this business today. It doesn't work today.
It only works because of the enormous history that it was built upon. But if you're starting from
today, I wouldn't do this at all. I would do something entirely different. But a lot of us would,
right? No, no. A lot of us would. But a lot of people rely on you. And you know, because they
listen to you, Rob, when people see you or interact with you or call you, they've already got an
ongoing conversation. They already know you. They already have something on their mind about
something you've said. And for me, that's been the big advantage that Automotive Advantage has
given me is that it's just a way to reach people. And you know, the way the fractured media is
around this industry, around every industry now, connecting with people is very challenging. And
come together to see real people, see real projects, and maybe take some of the social
media filters out of the way. And you get to see things, you get to experience them,
and then you get to interact and choose how that's going to affect your life.
For youth 30 to 40% of our audience that are small business owners,
I would just come here and listen to all the classes, soak it up. It's the cheapest education
you're going to get. Probably best of the year. That would be my quick advice to all of you.
Jamie, how do people register and sign up and learn more?
Well, look, we want to invite everybody, especially those small business owners. And I think one of
the challenges for small business owners, they don't have the time, right? That's what you'll
hear them say to you and me for years. I just don't have time, especially the first week in June.
I would argue you have to make time to figure out how to make the next phase of your business
successful. And that's how we've designed the High Performance Expo. And get registered at
thehpx.com. Registration is open. Exhibitor space is much bigger than last year.
And we are registering attendees right now. And look, with a streetcar takeover,
with a shopcar challenge, with a performance plus competition that you're going to be a part of,
this is going to be a landmark show. And everybody's invited.
Dr. Jamie, I appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you in person again.
It would be nice to actually have a beer this time. So let's do that too.
All right, we're going to schedule dinner or lunch or something. And we'll get to hang out.
But I appreciate your support. You know, I've been a fan of yours for many years. And I appreciate
what you do for this industry, pal. I really made that. You helped me out. My first big interview
and something in the recording failed and we had to do it twice. And it was the scariest thing that
I had to do to reach out and tell you, I'm pretty sure I failed here. Can I do it again? And you
gave me no grief. Your co-host did. Well, these things happen. But I understand. I understand.
And I'm glad you're still here. You know that. Thank you. All right, bye-bye.
Thank you, Jamie. See you soon. Very soon. Okay, that's it for this episode. Please
follow us along next week while Dallas and I are at the Inex Spring Nationals. You can just Google
Inex Inex Spring Nationals and you'll find everything you need there. This is a big part
of his growth to chase his dream. That's a big deal to me. And I really appreciate those of you
who have enjoyed following us along and the nice comments and he sees those when you post those.
And it really does lift his mood. I can tell you that he's trying to deal with this as a teenager
and there's a lot of stress that goes along with that. But it means a lot to me when you guys support
him online. Just know it's appreciated. USLegendsCars.tv is where you can watch it. You'll have to pay for
that if you choose to do that. Otherwise, just follow us on social media. We'll have all the
social links that you'll need in the show post. Programming note. I will either record from the
road next week or just record when we get back. I'll either be back in one or two weeks. I don't
know yet which, but you will absolutely get your third show of April because the people demand it
and we're here to help. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to subscribe to
us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. And the Dr. Jamie Meyer interview is absolutely on
YouTube. You can always find every show plus all the merch at the homepage of the MuscleCarPlace.com
website. And as always, don't forget to keep chasing your dreams like you've let me chase mine.
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