Win Sunday, Sell Monday

Kenny Tran
Owner, Jotech Motorsports

It’s a decades old adage, but one that Jotech owner and professional drag racer Kenny Tran has taken to the next level. Originally conceived as parts and service tuning facility, Tran started Jotech Motorsports in 1995, right in the middle of the Honda/Acura sport compact drag racing boom. A shop demo car was built for promotion and competition and Tran soon found himself behind the wheel of a class-winning Honda Civic.

Consistent and repeated wins allowed Tran to further his racing career while the newfound popularity of the Jotech name allowed the shop to see banner periods in sales and installation. “In 2002, we signed a major sponsorship contract with Quaker State Motor Oil to campaign our Honda race car for five years,” Tran explains. “Our focus shifted to 70- percent Kenny Tran Racing and 30-percent Jotech Motorsports. We had major commitments with our sponsors and ran up to 22 events within a ten-month time span.” Still, as Tran continued to win and firmly establish himself as a drag-racing pioneer and record-setter, Jotech Motorsports continued to flourish.

By 2007, Tran had made the manufacturer switch from Honda to Scion and, later that year, captured the NHRA Sport Compact Hot Rod Championship. A little over two years afterward, Tran had more than fulfilled his commitment to his Quaker State contract and the then-new R35 GT-R was starting to make its way into consumer hands and into the hands of eager tuners Stateside. With a schedule free of major racing commitments, Tran again shifted his attention back to Jotech Motorsports. “We got our hands on the GT-R and immediately set the record for first GT-R in the 10s in 2008. The following year, Jotech moved into its current 14,000 square-foot facility and started building more dual-purpose street and race cars, especially GT-Rs.” In the years since, Jotech has captured a number of competitive titles, including back-to-back wins with GT-Rs at the TX2K11 and TX2K12 competitions in Texas. In all, Tran and Jotech Motorsports have over 50 victories in major racing events combined.

“The single most important thing we have over our competitors is heart,” Tran comments. “We do everything with passion and with care and we push hard to achieve our goals and our customer’s goals.” Tran continues, “It also helps that we have great success in competitive racing in our bloodline. This affects everything we do at Jotech by ensuring we always end up with the best possible result for the customer.”

Tran is excited about the number of current and future vehicles coming to market with forced induction from the factory. “These vehicles have naturally stronger internal and supporting components, offering interesting challenges for us as tuners to modify these platforms and increase performance.” [pullquote]THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE HAVE OVER OUR COMPETITORS IS HEART.[/pullquote]He adds, “I do see direct fuel injection as a slight obstacle as power production will be limited once the fuel supply system reaches its limits.” We’re sure that, given Tran’s performance and history to date, a few trips down the 1,320 will help Jotech find a solution for consumers to benefit from.