Ifย you are Loweโs and you are working on a new set of mechanics tools,ย using the Hendrick Motorsports facility as the backdrop for yourย launch is brilliant. The 100-plus acre Hendrick Motorsportsย headquarters is located in Concord, North Carolina. The campus isย made up of numerous buildings that handle everything that has to doย with race cars. Over 500 hundred people work in this location and upย to 550 race engines are either built or rebuilt here in a given year.ย Given Rick Hendrickโs long history of going fast, he has built up theย facilities to both house his collections of cars and other motorย vehicles and also build some of the most state-of-the-art cars in theย business.
Ourย day started in a presentation room that was set up in much the sameย way as being trackside. Complete with high concrete barrier walls,ย guard rails, and protective fencing. One side of the room wasย arranged to show off the complete line of the new Kobalt mechanicย tools, which were actually displayed in much the same way that weย would expect to find them in the stores. There were three full racks,ย complete with all the SKUs, prices, and full retail packaging.
On theย other side of the room, there were three completely dissembledย Chevrolet R07 racing engines that Hendrick Motorsports builds forย their NASCAR vehicles. The gearhead side of me got pretty excited,ย and I had to exercise extra focus to pay attention to the Kobaltย product launch presentation. Loweโs could not have found a moreย fitting place to launch a line of mechanicโs tools than a facilityย that really takes wrench turning seriously.
Hendrick Motorsports Event
Theย relaunch of the Kobalt mechanics tools really came after theย realization that the current line of tools did not meet the needs ofย the consumer. It was difficult to replace individual items becauseย they were only sold in sets and, frankly, they lacked manyย professional grade enhancements. Loweโs design and marketingย staff quickly honed in on what their customers were interested in andย it was found they wanted MAC quality and features for Loweโs prices.ย
This was a lofty goal and, in part, where the mechanics, and staff atย Hendrick Motorsports came into play. Loweโs solicited the advice,ย input, and car building experience from the guys at Hendrick toย develop a very exciting new line of products that really are targetedย at the guy that needs to depend on his tools for his livelihood. Weย are talking about real mechanics and car guys. Loweโs would like toย think of it as moving beyond serving just the needs of DIY types andย into the world of professionals with their new mechanicsโ tools.
User Feedback and Warranty Replacement
Basedย on what the professionals expect from their tools, Loweโs startedย from scratch and came up with not only tools but a new supportย program to ensure that you have a better experience with theirย products. With a real โno questions askedโ return policy,ย you can walk into a store with a broken socket or wrench, find theย replacement and walk outโฆ well, maybe after checking into the frontย desk first. In addition to a real lifetime warranty, they areย offering, for the first time ever, โSockets for Lifeโ. Whatย this program does it that it allows you to register your tools withย Loweโs. Then, if you have a socket that gets lost or stolen, simplyย call them up and they mail you the new item for a very nominalย shipping fee (they were estimating $4 or $5).
Assembling an R07 Engine Using Kobalt Tools
Onceย we were done with the introductions to the new Kobalt tools, we wereย ready to get our hands dirty putting the R07 engines together usingย only Kobalt Tools. They divided us up into three groups of 4 or 5 andย had us pair up with some of the professional engine building andย tuning staff from Hendrick to guide us through the whole buildย process. With the engine block already mounted on a stand, the restย of the parts were laid out on three tables.
We started off with theย bottom end and put in the main bearings, laid the crank in place andย put on the main caps. I have rebuilt and replaced engines in theย past, but nothing was quite like this. To a gear head, the engineย parts that were strewn around the room looked more like jewelry thanย car parts. Many of the parts are mirror polished and every part hasย had all the sharp edges removed. We continued with the build and putย in the pistons, oil pan, heads, lifters, rocker arms, intake and theย rest of the parts that go into a motor to make it work.
Using onlyย Kobalt tools in the build proved to be a success since they had everyย kind of tool needed, including various torque wrenches, speed bars,ย extensions and specialty sockets.
Firing Up a $70,000 Engine!
As if it was not enough to build upย a $70,000 dollar engine, when we were done, we pushed it outside andย actually started it up and let it run for a few minutes. Theย thunderous noise from the exhaust as I worked the throttle put aย permanent smile on my face for the rest of the day. To think thatย they are able to crank out 820 horsepower from that small block V8 isย amazing!
Hendrick Motor Sportsย Facility Tour
Toย continue our day, we got an inside tour of the Hendrick Motor sportย facility. You might be wondering about the lack of photos for thisย part of the tour, but we were told early on that if we as so muchย lifted a camera to take a photo that someone from the garage wouldย tackle us football style. Since all the areas we visited are part ofย the working shops that build both the cars and engines, Hendrickย takes it serious that we didnโt disclose any secret or experimentalย car building they might be working on. We were, however, given someย photos from Hendrick which we included here.
The biggest thing thatย jumped out at me was how clean the entire facility was. This was notย your typical car shop, there is no grease or oil stains, the benchย tops were cleaner then my kitchen counter and everything had aย polished look to it.
With the bright lights and light gray floors andย specialty equipment everywhere, it was more inline with a sterileย surgery center. Hendrick Motorsports has the space and facilities toย handle every aspect of the cars they they build. All the way fromย bending the tubes to making the frames, to the sheet metal shop,ย paint booths and graphics areas.
Machining the Blocks and Testing
On the engine side of things, theyย have the ability to machine and finish the rough castings theyย receive from GM to make the blocks, heads and intakes. In-house theyย have full machine shops and testing equipment that lets them keepย super tight quality control on every aspect of the car.
What was coolย to see is that not only is Hendrick Motorsports all about the cars,ย they are about the people that build and race them. With full gym andย workout areas on campus, they make sure that the pit crews are readyย for lightning fast pit stops. There is both a public museum and giftย shop and Mr. Hendrickโs private museum as well.
Jimmy Jam!
Asย if this was not enough to check out the inner workings of Hendrickย Motorsports, we finished off the night with the Jimmie Jam where weย had the chance to meet Jimmie Johnson, driver of the Hendrickย Motorsports, Lowes # 48 car along with Montgomery Gentry and Randyย Montana. While I might not be a die hard NASCAR fan yet, I amย starting to come around to realizing that it is not a group ofย rednecks making a bunch of left hand turns for a few hundred miles.ย
The inside tour at Hendrick helped me see that not only is there theย spectator sport aspect to racing, but there is an amazing supportย structure that goes behind it. With literally hundreds of people inย the background making the cars run better, longer, stronger and allย the while using tools to make it happen.
