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Welcome to HMS motorsport online

By Joe Marko – August 2008

Welcome to our web site. Credit for the design, development, text, and graphics, goes to Jay Flower - our webmaster, resident BMW E30 expert, and Grammy award winning electronic music composer and musician! If you like the site or have suggestions, please do not hesitate to let Jay (jay [at] hmsmotorsport [dot] com) know.

We have tried hard to make the site easy to navigate and to include extensive information on most of the products that we offer. Don't forget to check out the "Closeout" section on a regular basis – this is where we close out old inventory at significant discounts to you! You never know what you might find so check it often. Sorry, NO REFUNDS on closeout items!

The Evolution of HMS

HMS motorsport started in 1995 as I was tiring of 25 years in the hospitality business. Ready for a life change I decided to follow my passion - BMWs. With two other associates we decided to give it a go… hence HMS motorsport® was born. The letters HMS stood for what initially were the three principals: The 'H' quickly found that a start-up business was not for him; I am the 'M'; and the 'S' just never showed up. Since the logo looked great, and the name was easy to remember, I decided to stick with it.

Our business has certainly evolved since its inception. Initially we offered performance, handling, styling, and car care accessories primarily for BMWs. A couple of years later we added the Schroth Street Legal Harnessbelt line and started to carry other products for BMW customers doing Drivers Schools and Autocross.

In 1996 the first BMW Z3 was produced. I fell in love with the car (as did 110,000 other Americans) and HMS became the major supplier of Z3 aftermarket accessories. I put over 15,000 track miles on our Z3 so everything we sold was very well tested! We sold over 300 of our HMS rollbars for the Z3.

In 2000 Schroth Safety Products decided to close their US Motorsport operation and HMS became the exclusive North American Schroth Distributor. Since that time we have increase the presence of Schroth 10 fold in the US. Every single SCHROTH seatbelt used in Motorsports in the US passes first through our doors and then to our more than 120 dealers across the country.

In 2001 we took over the exclusive NA Distribution rights for RIMO European style indoor/outdoor rental racing karts from Germany. Over the next five years we successfully sold RIMO karts to several of the leading karting centers in the US including F1 Boston and Andretti Indoor Karting. We even sold a fleet to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his backyard "Mini Bristol" oval track - you might have seen that on MTV's Cribs. In 2006 we realized that this was taking the focus off of our developing safety business and we sold our RIMO distribution rights to RJV Enterprises.

During the 2001 Performance Racing Industry trade show, Ryan Newman (NASCAR Penske Dodge #12) and his then crew chief Matt Borland stopped by our booth and listened to our sales talk on the new Schroth Hybrid competition belt. The next week, Carl Schroth and I found ourselves in Charlotte, NC meeting with Ryan, Matt, and the rest of the Penske technical crew. They in turn introduced us to Steve Peterson, Technical Directory for the Cup Series. In July 2002 Ryan was the first NASCAR driver to us a Schroth Harnessbelt in a Cup Race (Winston Cup at that time) at New Hampshire International Speedway. That race turned out to be Ryan's first win - and a great kickoff for Schroth in NASCAR.

2003 was the year the HMS really began to grow the safety side of our business. We became the first official retailer of the HANS® Head and Neck Device. We became the Northeast Recaro Distributor. Our NASCAR harnessbelt business really got going with a tremendous amount of effort and travel to and from Charlotte and various tracks on my part. I was able to participate in a number of dynamic sled tests at Delphi Automotive testing labs in Ohio in conjunction with Schroth and NASCAR. This is also the year that I started on my mission to educate as many people as possible on the proper installation and use of harnessbelts, race seats, helmets, and HANS.

In 2004 we purchased our Trackside Sales Truck - formerly a Busch Series support truck for Racing Electronics. You can often find us trackside at various, SCCA, BMW CCA, HSR, SVRA, PCA, NASCAR, and local circle track events in the Northeast. We carry a complete selection of SCHROTH belts, HANS®, and other trackside accessories – plus the expertise of our staff. If you see our truck - stop by and say hello.

In the last two years we have expanded our showroom to provide the largest display of racing seats, helmets, driving suits, shoes, gloves, and HANS in the Northeast. There is no other place you can go in the Northeast, to sit-in or try-on, safety products. Stop by our shop Monday - Friday from 9AM until 7PM or on Saturday from 10AM to 2PM - our staff will be happy to check out your track or race car safety equipment.

If you are a racer with SCCA, SCCA Pro, IRL, NASCAR, BMW Club, Porsche Club, NASA, SVRA, HSR, or a number of other organizations, we have just about every type of safety equipment that you might need.

In 2006 I started working as a “consultant” to the SCHROTH Safety Products Military Division (now owned by BAE and renamed BAE System Safety Products, Inc.) helping to design restraints for specific military vehicle applications such as the Force Protection Buffalo and several other special purpose land and marine vehicles.

This year HMS created a sister company called SRS Tech that is now manufacturing harnessbelts for SCHROTH. Operating out of our same facility, SRS manufactures many of the SFI tagged SCHROTH Latch and Link belts. By the end of the year SRS will also be manufacturing many of the FIA belts sold in the US. This capability also allows us to customize belts for special applications and professional teams right here from our facility.

Professional Motorsports – NASCAR & IRL

If someone told me six years ago that we would be spending time with IRL teams and NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers and their race shops, selling belts, and fine tuning harnessbelt installations, I would have told them they were crazy.

This season, more than half the regular Sprint Cup drivers are using Schroth harnessbelts, including; Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Michael McDowell, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, Dave Blaney, John Andretti, Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Clint Boyer, Jeff Burton, Kenny Wallace, and others. We directly service all of these teams from our operation in Danvers. I spend an average of 20 days each year visiting the shops, practice sessions, and the NHMS races. We also work with a number of Nationwide, Craftsman Truck, and Camping World East and West Drivers.

In 2007 we provided 100% of the belts for the Champ Car Series. Now that they have merged with the IRL, we have maintained our dominance by supplying belts to nearly half of the teams. Our “Double-Shoulder Belt” (Over-Under Belt) that has a 3” belt over the drivers shoulder and a second 2” belt over the HANS® has been recommended by the IRL to their drivers as the one for the greatest comfort and safety.

Improving Local Driver Safety

Several times a year we present safety seminars for various organizations such as the Porsche Club, Vintage Racing Group, and BMW CCA

We have been working very closely with the owners of Stafford Springs Speedway in Connecticut and Lee Speedways in New Hampshire to help bring the latest safety information to their weekly series drivers. It is one of our major goals to help make the Northeast the most safety conscious regions in the US!

The HMS Team

Our entire staff is made up of car-enthusiasts and "track junkies" who share my passion for performance cars. We are very heavy on the BMW side but there we also have a MINI, Subaru, and Porsche in the mix. Click through on each person for their own write up about themselves and some great pictures of their vehicles - past and present, and in some cases "future". Everybody is involved in selling and customer service but of course we all have our specific responsibilities.

• Joe Marko - owner and resident small car and track enthusiast. I focus on the business development and marketing efforts of the company, NASCAR, Schroth military projects, safety seminars & training, and of course those typical "other things" that all business owners must deal with. I am quite the Peachtree Accounting expert - my consulting fee for Peachtree support however is NOT cheap! If you want some advice on harnesses or safety equipment, I will be happy to speak with you but if I am not available, please don't think you will get any less quality information from any member of my staff. When it comes time to ordering stuff - PLEASE speak with them as I do a very good job of messing up or forgetting things when I have to process regular orders!
• Jeff Paulk - started with HMS while still in college nearly 10 years ago. Jeff now handles all purchasing, inventory control, product payables, sponsorship, promotional product placement, Schroth for NASCAR & IRL. Jeff tends to be a bit quiet, but don't let this fool you. His knowledge and experience is great on Schroth and all of our products. If you have a new product you think we might be interested in selling - talk to Jeff. Whenever he can get away from the office, he is probably out racing the #5 Schroth BMW E36 C Modified car with fellow racer Phil Sansossio. Jeff and his wife Mary have the company mascot Thomas who likes everyone that comes into the shop except the mailman.
• Jay "Ghost" Flower - is first and foremost our webmaster. He almost single-handedly handles everything web related and computer related in the company. I don't know of anyone who could challenge Jay when it comes to cranking out stuff for our terrific web site. A large percentage of our garage is filled with Jay's E30 project car to say nothing of the several containers of used fluid which he has amassed. You can catch the details and track the progress on his E30 by clicking through to his link. When Jay is out of the office (which is most of the time) he is probably composing or editing music for a feature film, and/or performing his music somewhere around the globe. With the magic of internet he is able to work anywhere he happens to be. His hobbies used to be skateboarding, surfing, trying to fix one of his old E30's, or composing electronic music. Jay was married this summer to Elisa, a Radiologist.
• Matt Long - helps to keep us all entertained! His sense of humor - not always subtle - helps us all to lighten up when necessary. Don't let his kidding nature fool you however. If you owe us money, he WILL collect it. Selling is another one of Matt's great skills. If you have a complicated purchase, are looking for a deal on a big package purchase, or are interested in being one of our dealers - call Matt. He is our resident Recaro expert, and very knowledgeable in all of our products. He also has a sic looking and incredible handling E36 that you are likely to see running around Watkins Glen, NHIS, or Tremblant. Matt is a frequent driving school instructor with the Boston Chapter and Genesee Valley Chapters of the BMW CCA and a licensed BMW CCA Club Racer.
• Tim Grenier – is our resident fisherman, welder, and SRS Tech Production Manager for our SCHROTH manufacturing company. If you are using a SCHROTH latch link harnessbelt or even some of the FIA belts, there is a good chance that Tim’s group has manufactured them! If you order a custom belt – that will be created under Tim’s direction. Tim found us on a recommendation of someone at UPS and he showed up with his Volvo… he has found religion and now has a BMW E28 5 Series and has built and maintains our HMS E30-318 track car (future race car). Tim and Derek have built the HMS E30 318 track/race car to be premiered with its new paint job at BMW CCA Oktoberfest in Watkins Glen September 2008.
• Derek Mulson – has graduated from HMS college intern to a valuable member of our staff. Hailing from upstate New York, he probably has more mechanical hands on experience than any of us from working in his Grandfather’s garage since he was 13. In a very short time he has been quick to get up to speed on all of our products. He is our Quality Production Manager for SRS Tech, and helps Matt with dealer sales development, and will probably install your rollbar or seatbelts if you bring us your car. He has taken over the care of my MINI Cooper S track car and has transformed its performance. His unique skill outside of HMS is that he is quite a talented kicker and is an aspiring Pro or Semi-Pro football player (if he manages to get a contact, I hope he remembers us!)

Why are we different?

Experience. We all own (or have recently owned) BMWs (ok… Derek has a Porsche 944 that is older then him) and drive them on both the track and the street. Most of our cars are well tweaked with the products we sell - so when we are speaking about our products we are generally speaking from first hand experience. If we don't know something - we won't give you a line - we will tell you we don't know and make every effort to find the answer to your question or direct you to a better source of information. Our entire staff is very well trained, so whomever you speak with, will be able to assist you with questions about any of our products.

No printed catalogs. We do not waste trees with paper catalogs - this web site is our complete and only catalog. All of the effort that most companies put into their printed catalog is focused on this site. If you have ideas on how we can further enhance this site, please feel free to contact Jay.

NO COMMISSIONS! No one works on commission. It is our goal to provide you with the best product for the best value. No one has any incentive to sell you something that you do not need. You might find us suggesting a less expensive product than you called us about if we feel it is of equal performance or greater value.

Sponsorship. We believe in giving back to our customers. Here is a short list of organizations and individuals that we are helping this year:

• Official Safety Supplier to BMW CCA Club Racing
• Ultimate Driving Schools of the BMW CCA Genesee Valley Chapter
• Boston Chapter BMW CCA Drivers Schools & Club Races
• Clemson, Cornell, and MIT Formula SAE Teams
• BMW Club Racers - Mike Gilbert, Steve Fitzgerald, Phil Abrami, Phil Sansossio
• Paulie Harraka – NASCAR Diversity Driver
• Northeast Region PCA- Instructor Training & Drivier School Intro Classes

Trackside Sales. You can often find our HMS mobile store trailer trackside at sponsored events. We carry a good selection of consumable parts such has brake pads, rotors, fluids, and safety equipment. We are one of the first retailers to bring HANS head and neck restraints to track events with immediate fitment and installation.

Customer Service. We pride ourselves on the best customer service in the industry. Our philosophy is simple:

• We will spend the time necessary with you to provide a complete understanding of the available upgrade options to meet your driving style.
• We will not sell products that do not work or provide little or no value. If a $50 product will do as much or more than a $150 product we will try and sell you the $50 product!
• If we do not have the product to meet your needs we will recommend another quality supplier that has what you need.
• We will do everything that we can to ensure that you are a satisfied customer.
• Our Web Site will provide useful information on the proper use of the products that we sell rather than just a list of items with a price.
• If you are not happy with a product you purchased, we offer the most generous return policy in our industry.

Privacy. WE DO NOT SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH ANY OTHER COMPANY. We will only call you if we have a question with an order that you have placed or to make sure that your order was received properly and that you are satisfied. Your email address will be used to send you shipping confirmations or to reach you in case there is a problem with your order. In addition we might send you a maximum of one or two emails per month detailing special products or events that may be of interest to you based on the specific car you own or interests that you indicated on our web site. Of course if you tell us you do not want to receive these types of emails - we will respect your request.

Our Facility, Operation, and Hours

HMS sells via internet/mail-order, retail and wholesale. Our 8,000 sq.ft. facility is centrally located in Danvers, MA just 14 miles north of Boston in Danvers Industrial Park on the Southbound side of Route 1 – ½ mile South of route 62. Over 2,000 sq.ft. of our facility is dedicated to our "try it before you buy it" showroom - stocked with Schroth harnessbelts, HANS Head & Neck devices, helmets, racing seats, drivers suits, shoes, and gloves. We also have those other necessities such as Red Line and Motul fluids, Performance Friction & EBC Brake Pads, Cryo Treated Frozen Rotors, Zymöl wax, and great styling accessories.

Our mail-order and retail hours are Monday to Friday from 9AM until 7PM, EST and on Saturday from 10AM until 2PM. There is really no other location in Eastern New England with the variety of products on display. Our experienced sales staff can certainly answer most of your questions and advise you on the best products to fit your budget, skill, and driving/racing needs. We do provide installation services on HANS, harnessbelts, and rollbars.

If you are retailer or specialty shop, and are interested in any of the products that we sell, please give us a call. We have dealer programs on Schroth, Recaro, ShockDoctor and many of the other products that we sell.