Grassroots Motorsports

JUN 2015

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DRIVERS MEETING Grassroots Motorsports 24 Despite being a lean operation, Ken and Ara make sure that their cars run fast and true. The main reason Szymczak pursued his champion- ship ambition with Alara was that "their cars were fast and prepared well. They always seemed to have great pace and good reliability." Probert agrees, noting, "What I have been so pleased with is the outstanding car prep in terms of reliability, being quick right out of the trailer, and Ken's awesome setup skills for any track environment." Another longtime driver, Harrison Williams, believes that "Alara has the best people in the series, and they consistently give you a car that is dialed in from the frst moment of practice, and then can collaborate with you to make it better." Safety First: Although Ara's pas- sion is racing, his most proftable business is Alara Garage, a storage facility for exotic and classic cars in Houston, Texas (alaragarage.com). Ara recommends "leveraging your racing brand with a street car busi- ness in order to have a steadier stream of revenue." As an illustration, Alara Garage helped keep Alara Racing afoat through the recent recession as the race team went through a period of lower car counts. Ara and his racing business would have been in deep fnancial trouble without the safety net provided by the car storage business. 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 Is Greater Than 4: In addition to its storage business, Alara Garage houses three other businesses under one roof. Sphere Motorsports repairs and services exotic and classic cars; its special- ties are Ferraris and Lamborghinis. M. Brandon Motorcars buys and sells exotic cars. Cavallo Auto Salon, a high-end detailing busi- ness, rounds out the offerings. This is a clever approach that allows a specifc target market–people who enjoy fast, expensive cars–to satisfy a variety of closely related needs in one facility. Each of the four businesses is owned by a different partner. Alara Garage rents the facility, whereas Sphere, M. Brandon, and Cavallo each contribute a share of their revenues in exchange for the space they occupy. To minimize overhead expenses, Ara handles almost all of Alara Garage's functions himself, with only a single shared employee. Importantly, the four businesses all refer customers to each other and cross-promote each other on their websites. Meanwhile, Alison Malkhassian operates a real estate investment business at another location. This also leads to lucrative referrals–Ara's customers who are seeking prom- ising investments are directed to Alison, and Alison's clients who want a new adventure are sent to Alara Racing and Alara Garage. Know Your Limits: What does the future hold for Ara Malkhas- sian and Alara Racing? His desire to compete tempts him to take his thriving racing business to a higher level, he says. Ara will also cam- paign a Mazda MX-5 in the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire series for 2015. But taking on a higher level of competition means much higher expenses. "From a business chal- lenge standpoint," says Ara, "I don't think I have struggled more with a decision than I am right now. The Continental series has extremely high barriers to entry fnancially." Ara is committed to staying in the MX-5 Cup, and adding a more expensive series to the team may simply not make sense. He realizes that the same s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e a n d e g o t h a t makes a racer successful on the track can undermine a business if left unchecked.–Dave Ketchen out there. For an auto- crosser, it could be the move from local to regional or national events. After Cup, Alara Racing has added an IMSA Continental Tire Challenge program to s schedule. photosbyjuha.com

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