Charles Lingenfelter sat in the Industrial Distribution Group [http://www.idg-corp.com] suite on the third floor of the zMax Dragway tower entertaining his customers.

When it came time for the Super Stock eliminations at the  NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals in Concord, NC., the President and CEO of IDG stopped talking and started watching.

Super Stock will forever be special to him. Drag racing, too.

“Drag racing has been a part of my family since 1968,” said Lingenfelter, whose brother John Lingenfelter was a past NHRA Super Stock champion. “I first helped with my brother. In 1973, I quit racing and went back to work while he went racing.”

Charles Lingenfelter sat in the Industrial Distribution Group [http://www.idg-corp.com] suite on the third floor of the zMax Dragway tower entertaining his customers.

When it came time for the Super Stock eliminations at the  NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals in Concord, NC., the President and CEO of IDG stopped talking and started watching.

Super Stock will forever be special to him. Drag racing, too.

“Drag racing has been a part of my family since 1968,” said Lingenfelter, whose brother John Lingenfelter was a past NHRA champion. “I first helped with my brother. In 1973, I quit racing and went back to work while he went racing.”

Now Lingenfelter is now in a capacity where racing and work intersect. He’s a large portion of the push which has returned leading Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly back into professional competition.

“I have always been a fan of drag racing,” said Lingenfelter. “We hope to bring a national presence to IDG and engage our customers and provide them with entertainment. We hope to create a memorable experience for them. We are at the nicest drag strip in the country and able to entertain as many as 100 customers this weekend.”

Concord represented a comeback of sorts for Lingenfelter and Connolly, who is racing Pro Stock for the first time since the 2007 season when lack of sponsorship parked his ride.

The weekend also represented Makita Tools first foray into the world of drag racing sponsorship. The front-running industrial power tool company had executives in attendance, all of which were impressed by the drag racing arena. In the future, IDG could open the doors for other new companies to professional drag racing.

“In the long run, we are trying to bring in a number of our suppliers,” Lingenfelter explained. “On Thursday, we had a number of executives out at our headquarters who have shown a great interest. My objective is to put together a program that engages new companies to come into NHRA and make the IDG group more nationally known.”

The decision to return to drag racing was not a painful one for Lingenfelter even though his brother John’s death was precipitated by a high speed crash while racing in the NHRA’s Sport Compact series in 2003.

“Surprisingly it never bothered me that I lost my brother in drag racing,” Lingenfelter admitted. “He was doing something he always wanted to do. He did it every day and passionately.”

Following his accident, John was transported back to Indianapolis, where he was administered the incorrect medicine by the hospital which resulted in cardiac arrest and eventually sent him into a comatose state.

“When he passed on Christmas Day in 2003, it was the best Christmas present I could have received,” Lingenfelter said. “He would not have wanted to be in a comatose state and he was a big fan of Christmas. After he passed, I never realized the large fan base he held. If he could be here, the only thing that would upset him is that I wasn’t sponsoring him.”

The IDG suite at zMax was adorned with various images of John Lingenfelter during his racing days.

“We had racers coming up all weekend to see the pictures and we have some more we’re going to add,” added Lingenfelter.

As much as the emotion could drive him, it’s the business aspect that motivates Lingenfelter.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of different motorsports, promoting our company and engaging the customers,” Lingenfelter explained.

Lingenfelter revealed prior to his return to drag racing, he spent time in NASCAR using it as a medium to reach his customers until a clerical mix-up at Bristol Speedway put him in a suite at the drag strip instead of the oval track.

“I found my customers liked going to the drag racing suite better than the NASCAR suite,” Lingenfelter said. “In drag racing, you have an event every two minutes. It’s a better value for us. Obviously I like it too. Drag racing was not a difficult sell.”

Though Lingenfelter will largely serve as the captain of the marketing ship, he is quick to deflect credit and attention to the program some believe will revolutionize drag racing marketing.

“At my age, I parked my ego a long time ago,” said Lingenfelter. “We have a business, 1200 employees, in 40 states and two countries. My job is to build a foundation in this company that can continue without my involvement. What we’re trying to do is build great connectivity not only with our customers but also our suppliers and associates in our company. A program like this is a great way to do it. I want to build a strong foundation and have fun.”

And for Lingenfelter, nothing says fun and a strong foundation like drag racing.

 

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