Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Tinkle.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got started with racing when we moved to the Chicago area a little over five years ago. My parents took me to an indoor karting place. I had always wanted to race. My mom says I came out of the womb wanting to race. That led to me winning the junior championship and then four other karting championships in electric karts. I was going to go outdoor karting and was training with a coach when we saw ½ scale NASCAR-style stock cars called minicups.
I started racing those just a couple months later. (This is an interesting story that I wrote about in my children’s book “Zachary Tinkle’s MiniCup Decision.” It’s on Amazon). My parents could see right away that this was serious for me. So, we started Tinkle Family Racing to support my racing career. I won Rookie of the Year from Central States Region Super Cups my first year. I won the National Short Track Championship and the Illinois State Championship my second year. In my third year, I won the Rockford Speedway Super Cup Championship. And I just won the CSR Super Cups Championship for 2017. This was my last year in the minicups. I’m moving up to a full size late model with Lorz Motorsports (they are based in Midlothian, IL) and will be competing in the CRA pro late model series that tours the Midwest. This is a couple steps before getting into a NASCAR ride. We are currently looking at marketing partnerships for 2018.
Has it been a smooth road?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road. When we started the racing with the minicup my parents had never even changed oil in a car before. Now, all of a sudden, they’re responsible for figuring out a racecar. My rookie year was one of the worst because something went wrong at every single race. (I wrote about this in my children’s book “Zachary Tinkle’s MiniCup Rookie of the Year Dream.”) That was a year of learning about basic mechanics and perseverance. We showed up every week to the racetrack and didn’t give up. That’s why I won Rookie of the Year. You can’t ever give up.
By my second year, my dad started to figure out how to make the car faster. I won my first feature race, the Illinois State Championship, that year. Instead of being able to have fun and celebrate with my family and friends, we watched my car get towed away by the league because people said there was no way I could have improved that much in a year’s time so they wanted to make sure nothing was illegal. The car was deemed perfectly legal, but it really ruined the moment. There were other similar situations over the years, but I’ll leave it at that.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Tinkle Family Racing’s mission is to grow our marketing partner’s businesses as the stock car racing career of Zachary Tinkle grows. We do that through traditional and unique marketing opportunities customized for each partner. For us, it’s a personal commitment that we don’t take lightly. We believe in the products and services we represent and recommend them to friends. Our philosophy is simple: treat others the way you would want to be treated; pursue your dream with all your heart.
We are most proud of the unique marketing experience that we bring to the table and can offer to our marketing partners like the creation of a customized children’s book. This sets us apart from other race teams because it shows how we go the extra mile to make our partners stand out and achieve brand recognition.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The Chicagoland is a great place for a business like Tinkle Family Racing. Not only are there many racing opportunities in a short distance, but also there are many companies would benefit from having a marketing partnership with a race team. It’s pretty cool for a company to have an event at a racetrack and see a car going around with their logo on it or have the driver and car come to a business to attract attention.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8926 N Greenwood Avenue #293
Niles, IL 60714FREE hero cards available through request form on website - Website: http://www.zacharytinkle.com/
- Email: zacharytinkle@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacharytinkle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacharyTinkle53
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacharytinkle
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