Ohio Racing Mugs
Description: Perfect Products began forming fiberglass hoods, scoops, and body panels in the early '60s as a white label supplier to other companies. By the late '60s, they had had started advertising direct sales in the various hot rod and drag racing magazines, selling via mail order though their catalog. Whether you needed a bolt on hood scoop or a one piece front clip, Akron, Ohio's Perfect Products was the best in the business.
Description: Midwest Auto Specialties was an early mail order speed equipment merchant. Based in Cleveland Ohio, with a branch in Indianapolis in 1967 and multiple retail stores throughout Ohio, they shipped nationwide. They carried an unbelievable selection of speed equipment and custom car parts making them a true hot rodders resource. The emphasis was on racing and street performance, but especially drag racing. Shifters, intake manifolds, exhaust headers, ignition systems, adapters, camshafts from many manufacturers plus racing steering, and dragster wheels They carried it all and for most people who wanted to soup up their car, they simply couldn't get these items locally, so Midwest Auto Specialties hooked them up by mail!
Description: R.A. and F.D. Stranahan are essentially the founders of Champion Spark Plug Company. Sort of. At the very least, they ended up with the patent on the Champion name which they legally and wisely used to eventually create the largest spark plug manufacturing company in the world. But it certainly didn’t start out that way. More than 20 thousand dollars in debt, and with a company that was fledgling along at best, the brothers had little choice but to move to Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Company offered R.A. and F.D. a contract under which Champion would become the exclusive spark plug of automobiles manufactured at Willys-Overland. The deal came with the stipulation that the Stranahans must make Toledo their home.
Description: Founded in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwise was a chain of auto parts stores in the United States with a loveable mascot known as 'Motor Earl.' In 1974, Nationwise partnered with Columbus-based engine builders, The Rod Shop, sponsoring a series of highly successful drag racecars. In stores, a Rod Shop section was created as kind of a speed shop inside of a parts store. In addition to go fast goodies from all the big names, Nationwise also sold Rod Shop branded performance parts. These parts were typically embossed with NRS (Nationwise Rod Shop), making them easy to identify by collectors, even decades later. The partnership ended in 1987, and less than a decade later, Nationwise became insolvent, and closed all stores on October 15, 1995.
Description: The Flying Merkel is without question among the most notable early American motorcycles ever made. From his original shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1902, Joseph proved to be an innovator, developing industry firsts that still influence motorcycles made today. Always considered a premium quality motorcycle, Merkel Company wasn't focused on mass market bikes, rather enthusiasts and racers looking for the best of the best. Ohio's Miami Cycle Manufacturing purchased the company in an attempt to give them a top tier motorcycle. The 1911 Flying Merkel V-Twin would be that motorcycle, as it built on Merkel's innovative engineering to reach levels of performance previously unheard of both on the road and on the popular wood tracks of the time.
Description: As early motorsport races became popular, kids began holding their own downhill races to emulate the action. With hobbled together homemade karts built from orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels, and pretty much anything else they could get heir hands on, it was clear that these kids wanted to race. As these neighborhood races grew in popularity, the need to formalize them into became clear, as did setting up a proper track that was safer than racing down the same hilly streets cars were driving on. This was back in 1933, and they've been running ever since.
![Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course [outline] Mug](https://images.teepublic.com/derived/production/designs/45849484_0/1685270446/i_m:bi_production_blanks_w00xdkhjelyrnp8i8wxr_1466696262,c_185_48_x705,bc_173169,s_313,q_90.webp)
Description: Otie Smith got his start in drag racing back in 1953, tearing down the strip at the Akron Airport drags in his '32 roadster. Within just a few years, his talent for building and tuning high-performance engines had earned him a reputation throughout the local hot rod and drag racing scenes, leading to the founding of Otie’s Automotive. While Otie continued to spend plenty of time behind the wheel of his own dragsters, he was just as busy in the shop, building custom engines, fine-tuning race cars, and developing some truly unique speed equipment. This design includes a full-color illustration of what is likely Otie's most famous dragster - his 1964 AA/A Dragmaster 23T!
Description: If any single shop could be credited with the 'Ohio style' of hot rod design, it would hands down be Lobeck's Hot Rod Parts. Beginning in the early '70s in Cleveland, Ohio, Barry Lobeck designed hot rods and custom parts that would define the new traditional look. From custom-designed rolling chassis to complete hot rods and more parts than you can shake a stick at, Lobeck's did it all for the better part of four decades, leaving a trail of builds that are highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts.
Description: My drawing of the logo which appeared on the side of the main building of the Magic Mountain Family Fun Center on Scarborough Boulevard in Columbus, OH. This now-defunct establishment (which operated from 1981 to 2026) housed an outdoor miniature golf course, go-kart tracks which were also outdoors, and a video arcade with a large selection of games, prizes, and a snack counter. This piece was done in colored pencils and black Sharpie on white paper.
Description: Founded in 1911 as Electric Autolite in Toledo, Ohio, the company produced generators to power early day buggy lamps. In 1927, they acquired an automotive battery manufacturer, and in 1935, Electric Autolite decided they should get into the business of manufacturing spark plugs. In 1936 the first spark plug was produced at their Fostoria, Ohio plant. Electric Autolite's products were expanded further to include starter motors, ignition systems, and wire and cable products. With a full range of automotive electrical goods in their stables, Electric Autolite began securing supply contracts with leading car manufacturers, providing their products as OEM installations, and allowing Electric Autolite to move into a phase of explosive growth.
Description: R.A. and F.D. Stranahan are essentially the founders of Champion Spark Plug Company. Sort of. At the very least, they ended up with the patent on the Champion name which they legally and wisely used to eventually create the largest spark plug manufacturing company in the world. But it certainly didn’t start out that way. More than 20 thousand dollars in debt, and with a company that was fledgling along at best, the brothers had little choice but to move to Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Company offered R.A. and F.D. a contract under which Champion would become the exclusive spark plug of automobiles manufactured at Willys-Overland. The deal came with the stipulation that the Stranahans must make Toledo their home.
Description: Midwest Auto Specialties was an early mail-order speed shop that got its start back in 1955. Based in Cleveland, they had multiple retail stores throughout Ohio (and added one in Indianapolis in '67), but their big claim to fame was that they shipped nationwide and advertised for people to send away for their catalogs in every gear head and auto racing magazine in North America, making their cigar-smoking tiger mascot a familiar sight for hot rodders from coast to coast. They carried an unbelievable selection of speed equipment and custom car parts, making them a true hot rodders resource. The emphasis was on racing and street performance, but especially drag racing. Shifters, intake manifolds, exhaust headers, ignition systems, and more.
