Racecars and Wrenches

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Standing on the grid of the Indy 500 with 250,000 people around you and 33 cars on the grid—there’s nothing like it.

At the age of 13 I was working on semi-trucks. And when I turned 18, I opened up my first shop in the U.K. It was mobile; just me and a set of tools. 

In 1996, I got a call from Newport Beach, California that said “we need you to be a crew chief for the Indy Lights Team.” 

With no hesitation, I said yes. I was the crew chief for a two-car team for about a year. 

After moving from the U.K. to the U.S., I hopped around a bit. I lived in Oregon, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. I went from being a crew chief to replacing rear tires and fixing exotics. 

In 1999, I worked my first Indy 500 race. And let me tell you: standing on the grid of the Indy 500 with 250,000 people around you and 33 cars on the grid—there’s nothing like it. 

As you’re waiting for the car to drive up, your adrenaline will start pumping. Everyone is in their position, and you’re in charge of changing the outside rear tire.

Formula One guys can do it in 2 to 2.5 seconds because they have a group of 20 individuals, but when you’re the only one on a tire, and everyone’s counting on you, you do it in 5 to 7 seconds.

I remember they put a heart rate monitor on me when I was changing tires at the Long Beach Grand Prix. My heart rate went from 180 to 230 during that wheel change. 

In 2007, I was asked to come to Houston, Texas to run an exotic repair shop down the road.

So, I turned that place around and decided to open up a shop of my own. Because I started off traveling the world when I was focusing on race cars, and the world’s a sphere, I named my shop Sphere Motorsports. 

I started off contracting with race teams, and in 2009 I made the switch to exotic vehicle repairs. I knew the cars, and people knew I could work on them. So, within two hours of being open, I was already booking work.

“...they put a heart rate monitor on me when I was changing tires at the Long Beach Grand Prix. My heart rate went from 180 to 230 during that wheel change.”

But opening my own shop wasn’t easy. My learning curve wasn’t a “curve”; it went straight up. I struggled to manage the scope of repair time and the shop’s schedule as we started to grow.

And it’s impossible to prepare yourself for the amount of money you will invest as a shop owner. 

But you have to go above and beyond for your shop’s equipment. You need a high-quality welder, compressor, tire machine, and lift. Investing in high-quality equipment will help your shop tenfold. 

You have to take quality control (QC) seriously, too. Every car that enters the garage, it doesn’t matter what repairs we’ve done, gets a QC check.

We check the lug nuts, torque, and tire pressure before any customer hits the road.  

Prepare to think about your shop more than anything else, but give yourself the ability to step away. Turn your gears off work-mode when you get the chance. At Sphere, we never work weekends.

“Investing in high-quality equipment will help your shop tenfold.” 

And remind yourself, mistakes are inevitable. Sometimes we miss things because we are human. I made mistakes but I learned a ton and I’d go back and do it all again. It got me across the finish line to where I am now. 

Visit Sphere Motorsports for more info. 

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We're happy to announce that our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction has been recognized! For Spring 2025, G2 has awarded Tekmetric with a range of badges, including Momentum Leader, Best Results, Best Usability, Most Implementable, and Grid Leader.

These awards reflect our customers' experiences and trust in Tekmetric, highlighting their role in our success. 

What These Badges Mean

G2 award badges for Tekmetric.
  • Momentum Leader: We're leading the pack, constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of the automotive industry.
  • Best Results & Best Usability: Tekmetric is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, helping you achieve the results you want.
  • Most Implementable:  Change can be scary – That's why we've made it easy to get started and integrate with Tekmetric so you can hit the ground running.
  • Grid Leader: This badge showcases how our customers describe Tekmetric as the go-to solution for auto shop management.

Thank You to Our Customers

We couldn't have done it without our customers! Your feedback and support drive us to continually improve and deliver the best possible shop management experience. We're excited to continue this journey with you and can't wait to see what we accomplish together in the future. We'll continue to innovate, listen to your feedback, and provide the tools you need to run your shop.

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At Tekmetric, we understand that data security is more than just a priority—it's a responsibility. That’s why we are excited to announce that Tekmetric is now ISO/IEC 27001 certified! Combined with our SOC 2 Type II certification, this achievement underscores our commitment to keeping customer and partner data safe and maintaining systems that operate at the highest standards. 

What is ISO/IEC 27001?

ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally recognized standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). It represents a comprehensive framework for managing and protecting an organization’s information assets, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.

To obtain this certification, Tekmetric went through rigorous audits and a thorough examination of security protocols, risk management practices, and data protection measures.

As we continue to innovate shop management solutions to best support our customers, achieving this certification reinforces that our platform and internal workflows protect the highly sensitive data customers and partners trust us with. 

What This Means for Tekmetric Customers

For Tekmetric customers, achieving ISO/IEC 27001 certification means you can trust that we adhere to the highest standards for information security. 

  • Enhanced Data Security & Trust: Our certification guarantees that Tekmetric has stringent security measures in place to safeguard sensitive data, including customer information, financial records, and business data. 
  • Reduced Risk of Data Breaches & Security Incidents: By adopting a proactive approach to risk management, Tekmetric minimizes the likelihood of security breaches and disruptions
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This certification reinforces our commitment to safeguarding your data, providing you with peace of mind and confidence in our Shop Management platform. To learn more about all our certifications and our commitment to security, visit our Trust Center.

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Tekmetric, the leading Houston-based automotive repair technology company, has been recognized as a 2022 MOTOR Top 20 Award winner for its recent integration with RepairLink by OEConnection (OEC), a renowned technology provider for the aftersales industry.

The integration, selected by industry experts as well as public popular vote, allows shop owners to seamlessly order original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts directly from the Tekmetric Shop Management System.

For over three decades, the annual MOTOR Top 20 Awards have recognized outstanding new industry solutions across the automotive industry, from the most innovative tool or equipment to creating the best customer experience.

Winners are selected by automotive professionals and experts who voted over a thirty-day open voting process from a selection of this year’s most valuable contributions to the industry.

“As a leading shop management system, our team at Tekmetric shares a mutual belief with our partners at OEC that we best support shop owners in all their business needs by providing modern and relevant solutions,” said Sunil Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of Tekmetric.

“We are honored and humbled to have the Tekmetric-RepairLink integration recognized by both our customers – shop owners – and our industry peers as one of this year’s most innovative solutions.”

With its combination of Tekmetric’s cloud-based capabilities and RepairLink’s parts ordering platform, the integration builds upon Tekmetric’s existing parts ordering offerings to streamline the process of ordering OEM parts for auto repair shops. Through the integration, shop owners can track orders or returns with real-time online updates, as well as address orders in one screen, transferring any quoted parts and VIN numbers automatically into Tekmetric.

“Vehicle sophistication is growing rapidly, and all signs point to even more advancements, meaning it’s absolutely necessary for repairers to have enhanced access to critical parts and information,” said Bonnie Coleman, OEC Director, Mechanical Retail.

“This is why OEC is thrilled to partner with Tekmetric, and that this integration has been recognized for the valuable contribution it offers to the industry.”

To learn more about the MOTOR Awards and view the 2022 Top 20 Awards, visit https://www.motor.com/top20awards-winners.

About Tekmetric

Tekmetric, a Houston-based auto repair technology company, offers a cloud-based platform that enables auto repair shop owners to enhance productivity and increase profitability through its streamlined workflow management processes.

Designed by a former shop owner, Tekmetric’s platform drives shop efficiency through real-time data, a customizable user interface and customer-centric communication tools.

Since its launch in 2016, Tekmetric has disrupted the industry with its robust fully-integrated system, developed with an emphasis on customer transparency and user collaboration.

For more information, visit www.tekmetric.com

About OEConnection Holdings LLC

OEConnection Holdings’ portfolio includes OEC, the leading parts ecommerce technology provider for OEM distribution networks, serving over 20 OEMs and 100,000 dealership and repair customers.

Providence Equity Partners is the majority stakeholder of OEConnection Holdings; Ford Motor Company and General Motors are minority stakeholders.

The company is headquartered in the greater Cleveland area at 4205 Highlander Parkway, Richfield, Ohio, 44286

Additional information is available at www.OEConnection.com.

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