• Huge 2014 Brian Weber KU racing series article Through a 2014 interview CEO Brian Weber reveals it was always about racing. "Then I got the fever and had a little bit of money". In 2012 "he" bought the modified that he crashed? LOL!
(added rough paragraph spacing for easier reading)
PAGE 16 - AREA AUTO RACING NEWS - TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014 Brian Weber Outlines Plans For New Southeast Based KOMA Modified Series
Kevin RICE Questions Or Comments Received at NEChatter@aol.com Southern Style
This weekend, a tentative 2014 schedule for the "KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series" is expected to be released. As stated in the most recent issue of AARN, this is a brand new series for Modified teams, with up to ten races planned for the inaugural season, all in the southeast region of the country.
In an exclusive interview with AARN, Brian Weber, co-founder of the series, part-time racer and CEO of BeBevCo of Statesville, N.C., revealed what the objective of the new series is. He also spoke about the tracks in play and many more of the details surrounding what he hopes will bring more popularity to the open-wheeled cars in the south.
Weber's racing interest began as a teenager, working on a crew of a Street Stock at the now closed Islip (N.Y.) Speedway on Long Island. That soon led to him racing as a teen in 1983, first in a Strictly Stock car and then on to the ACT and NASCAR Busch North Series, now known as the K&N Pro Series East. "Then I moved to North Carolina and found out I wasn't rich or good looking so I had to keep making money," Weber joked.
For the next ten years he worked a day job, but Weber also raced on occasion. A 1994 appearance at Lime Rock (Conn.) in a Jamie Aube ride was one of roughly a dozen starts over that ten year period. "Then I got the fever and had a little bit of money," he quipped. "I spent $7-800,000 and had my own Busch team. I think we made about 23 races that season. In '03 we made 13 Busch race attempts. Then I decided that I was going to go back to work again and I developed a beverage." That beverage business, known as KOMA Unwind has been very successful since it opened in 2009, and it is becoming available in more stores daily worldwide.
This new Modified Series is part of Weber's plan to spread the word about his beverage company. Despite his business success, it's evident that Weber can't get away from his love for auto racing.
"The very first KOMA Unwind truck was at Talladega (Ala.) in 2009 with my good friend Steve Park," Weber recalls. "In 2010 we had a truck team and we went to Daytona (Fla.) and finished tenth and fourteenth with J.J. Yeley and Carlos Contreras. "We made it through the season and then decided to focus on the drinks, not racing. That (sponsorship exposure) was good for the brand, but we didn't really have the time or the resources to do both." Forward to 2012, and Weber found himself back into another racing venture. This time it was with his first love, the Modifieds. He is among the board members selected to comprise the schedule, rules and ideas for this new KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series. His return to the Modifieds made headlines of a different sort last season.
"I've always had a love of the Modifieds and bought a Modified in 2012 from a Long Island guy," Weber explained. "Last May I went to Bowman Gray (N.C.) and I hit (and cleared) the guard rail coming off turn four and ended up on the Fox News Alert at 10:00 p.m. That was it for that one. It tore the hell out of the car. I just got my new chassis from the paint shop a couple of weeks ago. I may buy another Modified to have two so if I do that again I've got a backup." Weber hopes to have guest drivers in his car to help get the new series going. Steve Park and Jennifer Jo Cobb are among the names he mentioned as possible drivers.
The KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series inaugural race is tentatively scheduled for the third weekend in March, which is an off weekend for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. "This is not trying to take them down," Weber emphasized when asked if the series would conflict with any NWSMT races. "This is trying to get more places to run for the Modifieds and bring all of the hot dogs together. "We're hoping this brings some people out of the woodwork. I'd rather run on a Wednesday night than run against the tour. There may be one race that's a conflict, but I'm pushing hard to not have that happen. It doesn't help anybody to do that. If Bowman Gray Stadium is running on Saturday, we will run either Friday or Sunday. If there is a Sunday event after the Stadium runs, that will be a close location for the teams."
Among the tracks certain to be on the schedule according to Weber are Ace Speedway, Southern National Motorsports Park and Hickory in North Carolina; and also Anderson Speedway in Williamston, South Carolina. Other tracks that could be in play next season if not this year are: Myrtle Beach, Dillon Motor Speedway and possibly Greenville-Pickens. All are located in S.C. Gresham Motorsports Park and Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia, the Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway and even Montgomery, Alabama if that track remains open are being looked at for future events.
"We opened our office up at the beverage company for our first (Modified Series) meeting and 30 people showed up, so the interest is there," Weber noted. "That was just to get a feel for if people were interested. We want to have safe racing that pays more money and in more places and quite frankly I told some of the drivers I'm going to ask you to drive a little further for two or three races out of ten. You've got to remember that I'm building a global brand here with my beverage. "For us there's a major front side of brand building at these race tracks. We have pretty specific attendance goals in mind. Modified racing is extremely exciting. I'm going to be all about making this successful as a company." To do that, Weber is asking some of his corporate partners through the beverage company to get involved by sponsoring events and allowing car displays to be set up at businesses near tracks before events. His hope is that this can add fans to both the Modifieds and his KOMA Unwind beverage at the same time. "We're in most of the Walmarts here in the south," Weber added. "Where the races are near we'll do a pre-event promotion, giving away tickets and working on the local radio stations. We plan to have a play area for kids; an unwind zone for them to play and try to bring fans back to the short tracks races and leave with some memories. We will sell shirts at a reasonable price. Kind of do the things that tour racing used to do that they don't do anymore."
The idea for the KOMA Unwind Modified Series originally came from a conversation Weber had with Randy Myers. Randy was heavily involved with the former SMART Modified Tour, which held events across the south until 2005. Myers is listed as the organizer of the current series. The races will pay $3,000 to win, and $475 to start, with a four Hoosier Tire limit per race event. Drivers running in the limited Modified divisions at both Ace and Caraway (N.C.) will also be allowed to compete with some rule modifications to help them be more competitive. The highest finisher among those cars will learn a $200 bonus. "I was kind of hardcore about having a discussion with American Racer but Hoosier seems to be the one to go with because they will put money into the point fund," Weber revealed. "Randy only wants a three year deal and then hand it off to someone else. I've put the brand behind the series. We want safe, economic racing where everybody is treated fairly."
