Business Today Article

Race Shop Tours in Business Tours Magazine

Other Articles

The Charlotte Observer

RACE SHOP TOURS

A great idea, lots of faith

JEANNETTE ASTOURIAN

May 21, 2006

When Trisha Fuller moved to North Carolina, she didn't have any idea what was in store for her.

Fuller lived in New Orleans and worked as a waitress for years before she accidentally found something that would change her life dramatically. Or maybe it wasn't such an accident. Trisha Fuller credits God with every good thing that she has in life: her daughter, husband and thriving business.

'The Lord guided me in directions where he knew my talents would fit,' she said.

'When I was waitressing in New Orleans, I would help my customers by telling them where to go, and where not to go. Sometimes I would meet them after work,' said Fuller. While walking through the French Quarter one day, she happened upon a guided tour, and realized that she had been doing the same thing, free of charge. She also realized that all of those years of waitressing had helped her to feel comfortable dealing with the public.

Fuller moved to Charlotte in 2000 after the deaths of her mother and sister in Louisiana. 'When tragic things happen, you have to get up or give up,' said Fuller.

She soon had a day job at an office while waitressing at night. The office job led to her involvement in a charity fundraiser at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where she made friends, notably Norrie Baird, LMS director of emergency services.

Fuller overheard a remark about how someone taking people around to the race shops could be a great business. Fuller asked Baird for advice, and he told her that she could do anything that she wanted to do.

Baird introduced her to some NASCAR drivers and helped her become familiar with the racing business. Fuller raided her savings and traded in her Saturn for a used 15-passenger van and started Trisha Fuller's Race Shop Tours.

Learning to drive the van was challenging and expensive; gas money went much further with a Saturn. Fuller was ready to start her business, but was down to her last $10. She couldn't afford to pay for both the van and her rent, but put all of her money in the church collection plate one Sunday anyway. That $10 wouldn't launch her business, but it could help someone else.

Driving home from church, she turned on the radio. A memorial service for Dale Earnhardt was taking place that day in Kannapolis, and Paul Schadt was talking about a frustrating dilemma: the parking lot at the Kannapolis Intimidators Stadium was full.

Fuller headed to the church where the service for Earnhardt was held, to help shuttle people from the church to the stadium. She had enough gas in the van to make several round-trips, but not the $45 needed to fill up the tank afterward.

'There were old ladies dressed up in their best clothes and high heels, moms with babies, all ages and races,' said Fuller. She wanted to help, and didn't charge anyone for the round-trip shuttle. At the end of the day, she had just enough gas to get to a station, and $45 in tips. Everything started falling into place.

Today, Fuller's company covers 23 race shops during weekday tours; some are booked months in advance.

She has married, had a child and is grateful for her life and business. She's grateful to the racing community for allowing her to bring people into the shops and makes a point to never interfere in their work.

She's especially grateful to her clients.

'People come here on their honeymoons or anniversaries,' Fuller said. 'They could have gone to Disney World, or the Bahamas, but they chose to come to Mooresville. I want to make sure that they walk away with a good experience and good memories.'

More details: www.raceshoptours.net; (704) 788-8802.

By Erik Arneson, NorthEast Business Today

In May, Trisha Trosclair gave up her restaurant job at On the Border. Not
that she didn't enjoy the work, especially the friendly interaction with her
customers, but the Texas-born, Louisiana-bred ball of energy was getting a
few too many phone calls to stay focused on the daily specials.
In the winter of 2000, Trosclair had taken her life savings -- $400 in
stashed tip money -- a used Saturn and some encouragement from a special
friend and turned it into a business, starting Concord-based Race Shop
Tours with a 15-passenger program van and her love for making people happy.
A little more than a year later, the adventure that started one frustrated
afternoon in front of the television set, is getting stronger all the
time.
But if it gets no bigger than it is today, Trosclair gives you the feeling
things are just fine the way they are.
"On Wednesday, I had two people in the van -- on Thursday, I had 12,"
Trosclair said. "It doesn't matter how many people are on the tour. I just
want them to have fun. It's great that they pay me, but if the trip is
over and they didn't have a good time, then I'm not happy."
The seven-hour tours, which begin at 8:30 in the morning and end
"somewhere around 3:30" in the afternoon, cost $55 a person and include stops at the
NASCAR race shops of Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing,
Penske Racing, Robert Yates Racing, MBV & MB2 (Kenny Schrader and Johnny
Benson) and Dale Earnhardt Inc. Other stops include the North Carolina
Auto Racing Hall of Fame, JR's Garage and various other sites a rider might
request.
She's even been known to take her clients, some of which are campers at
the Tom Johnson campgrounds, to the grocery store.
Although anyone can drive around and visit the area race shops on their
own, Trosclair believes her business is more than just that of being a driver.
"A lot of the guys at the shop will interact with my clients because they
know me and how much I enjoy what I do," Trosclair said. "One thing a
stranger needs in a new town is a friend and that's what I try to be. You
don't get to know Louisiana without meeting a Cajun and you don't get to
know Charlotte without getting to know NASCAR."
A career waitress until this year, Trosclair points to a series of
faith-driven events in her life that led her to open her own business.
"All I knew was that I didn't want anything to do with a desk job," said
Trosclair, who now lives near Lake Norman. "If you put me behind a desk,
my personality dies.
"I remember sitting in front of the TV, watching Oprah one day and the
theme of the program was 'Make your passion your career,' " she added. "I cried
out to God and asked him what he wanted me to do. I didn't have anything I
was real passionate about."
Enter Norrie Baird, director of emergency services at Lowe's Motor
Speedway.
Through a chance meeting at a Chamber of Commerce function and
volunteer work at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Trosclair and Baird struck up a
special friendship, giving Trosclair an introduction into the world of
NASCAR.
"We were buddies immediately," Trosclair said. "Like Gilligan and
the Skipper. And I think because people looked at Norrie in such a
positive light, they started to look at 'Norrie's friend' in a positive light and I
started to meet a lot of wonderful people."
After overhearing a conversation about what a "gold mine" someone
could find if they offered tours of the race shops in Concord and
Moorseville, Trosclair sought out Baird for advice.
"I thought he might give me some business advice, but in his thick
Scottish accent, he told me I could do anything I wanted to and that was
enough," Trosclair said. "No one had ever had that kind of faith in me
before. That's all I needed."
That and a little practice behind the wheel.
After buying the used van and slapping on a pair of magnet signs,
Trosclair spent the next few months honing her driving skills so she
"didn't kill all her clients," even toting drunks around to get used to dealing
with rowdy passengers.
In May of 2001, she put her new business to work and the passengers
have been anything but rowdy.
"The people have been so sweet," Trosclair said. "One gentleman gave
me a $125 tip on top of the cost of the tour. He told me how much he loved
NASCAR, how I had gotten him closer to what he loved and how special I had
made him feel doing it. That's what it's all about and I feel so blessed.
"I've finally realized that my passion in this world is people," Trosclair
added. "It's a real Cinderella story. I like to say that I pick up
strangers
and drop off friends. What could be better than that?"