AK: Why am I qualified to build dirt late models?

In the words of the late Winston Churchill: “I am the least qualified person to build dirt late models, except for everyone else.”

I didn’t come from a long line of racecar builders. I came from a family of entrepreneurs. My dad and grandpa started businesses, grew them, and became successful. I was fortunate to grow up in an environment that was conducive to building, learning, meritocracy, and entrepreneurial thinking

I also grew up with was a passion for racecars. Since I was 10 years old racing go-karts, I’ve been obsessed with vehicle dynamics, engineering, and understanding how things work. While other kids were in the trailers playing video games or tossing a football around, I was scaling the kart, working on tires, and trying to learn as much as I could. This passion is one that I have carried my whole life.

After graduating college, I worked as a design engineer in the aftermarket automotive industry. There, I learned the practical side of building things: design for manufacturing, CNC machining, using lasers, press brakes, mills, lathes, CMM arms, you name it. That experience taught me not just how to design prototype parts, but how to design them to be manufactured quickly, accurately, and affordably.

Fast forward to today, I am attempting to join the passion for racecars and how they work with my experience in business and manufacturing. I’m still learning (and always will be), but between myself and the extremely talented people I’ve been lucky enough to become friends with and work with, I believe we are more well equipped to build dirt late models than anyone in the business.

A Different Kind of Racecar Company
Most dirt chassis companies are run by either welders or salesmen. That’s not a knock, both are crucial, but there’s a third path that I believe will be a more optimal path forward: being run by technical founders. Companies led by engineers, who understand both the product and the process at a deep level.

A real world example of this is Elon Musk, someone I derive a lot of inspiration from. He isn't an ivory tower boardroom CEO. He is on the shop floor actively involved in the high level engineering problems faced by his companies. He looks at everything through the First Principles lens. This is an ethos I try to emulate.

One of my favorite concepts of his is the "idiot index" which is a measure of how much something costs relative to the make up of the raw materials that composes the part.

Dirt late models grade out pretty high.

One of the reasons dirt late models are so expensive is because many companies need to outsource their engineering, pay consultants, or worse, skip it altogether and rely on guesswork. Engineers are expensive and that cost gets passed on to the racer. Combine that with inefficient manufacturing processes and you get a $50,000 roller with no real justification behind the price tag.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

At AK Racecars, our mission is simple:
Build elite-level dirt late models with zero compromise in performance or safety, at a price that doesn’t scare people out of the sport. We aspire to be the best first late model someone has ever purchased, and also the best last dirt late model someone has ever purchased.

We believe the sport should be more open, more transparent, and more accessible. There’s a “walled garden” mentality in dirt racing: a belief that unless you’re part of the inner circle, you’ll never get the information or hardware that you need to be competitive. That mindset shrinks the pie.

We want to grow it.

First Principles, Not Snake Oil
We build cars using first principles thinking where instead of copying what others do, we break everything down to the fundamentals and rebuild it with reason and intent.

We challenge assumptions. We question the status quo. We make decisions based on physics, data, and performance.. not hearsay, tradition, or ego. Rather than creating confusion so that we can grift in the gray areas, we strive to help customers learn and understand, so that they can sift through the bullshit. If the customer understands what we are trying to achieve, rather than having to rely on expensive gimmicks that don't move the needle, they will be able to put themselves in position to more consistently run up front.

Why We Do This
At the end of the day, all of my best memories and closest friendships were built at the racetrack. That’s what this is really about. If we can lower the barrier to entry and make the sport more accessible, we create more of those moments, for more people.

That’s the goal. That’s the mission. That's AK Racecars

Our Team:

Perry Strickland

Around the shop, Perry Strickland is known as “Triple M” (Molten Metal Manipulator), a nickname that reflects his talent and experience in fabrication. With years of hands-on work across nearly every type of welding and metal fabrication field, Perry brings a depth of practical knowledge that is a huge asset to AK Racecars.

He has worked alongside some of the top racers in dirt track racing, gaining an understanding of what it takes to build components that can handle the demands of the sport. At AKRC, Perry has played a key role in controlling the consistency of our chassis and bolt-on parts, ensuring they are built to the same high standard every time.

Sometimes welding can be as much of an art as it is a science. Perry brings that artistic touch to his work, turning raw materials into reliable, well-crafted components that form the backbone of every car we build.

Andrew Lee

Andrew Lee brings a valuable outside perspective to AK Racecars as a silent partner, offering insight rooted in both engineering and real-world business leadership. By day, he works as a senior project manager for one of the largest concrete contractors in the country, where he oversees complex projects and strategic operations.

Andrew holds an engineering degree and was a member of LSU’s Formula SAE team, blending practical hands-on experience with a deep interest in vehicle dynamics. Having grown up at the dirt track, he combines this technical knowledge with an understanding of the unique challenges of dirt racing.

At AK Racecars, Andrew is someone we lean on heavily for business strategy, high-level vehicle dynamics discussions, and tackling the challenging problems that arise when pushing boundaries. If you see him at the track, he’s likely deep in conversation about the physics of dirt late model racing while eating some Cheez-Its.

Kyle Estes

Kyle Estes is an accomplished software engineer with experience at Fortune 500 companies and multiple tech startups. Having literally grown up at the racetrack (his parents owned one) Kyle is no stranger to getting his hands dirty, even while his day-to-day work is rooted in high-tech problem solving.

Being new to dirt racing but bringing a highly specialized skill set, Kyle offers a fresh perspective that is both insightful and energizing. His background in software and technology allows him to approach challenges from a completely different angle than the rest of the team, helping AK Racecars think outside the box as we develop new tools and systems for racers.

Kyle moonlights for AKRC, lending his expertise on high tech projects that we’re excited to release in the near future.

Aly Osman

Aly is a newer addition to the team, bringing valuable bench strength that aligns perfectly with our mission at AK Racecars. A racing superfan with a sharp engineering mind, Aly works as a structural engineer at Honda’s private jet division, where precision and performance are part of the daily standard.

His technical knowledge and experience are proving invaluable as we continue to refine and optimize our cars. Aly has conducted multiple simulation studies on suspension components and performed CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analyses; virtual wind tunnel tests that help us better understand and improve aerodynamic performance. His comprehensive reports and detailed approach have provided crucial insights for our developmental projects, helping AK Racecars push further with data-backed decisions.

Strategic Alliances:

Bilstein North America

We have been fortunate to have Bilstein as a strategic partner of AKRC since the straight axle car days. Having worked together for half a decade, it is easy to see why they have become the most dominate shock brand in all of dirt racing. They have a deep pool of resources, lots of engineering firepower, and a solid team of people hell bent on continual improvement. Bilstein was instrumental in helping develop a shock package that fit our objectives and got the car in the performance window right off of the jig. We look forward to further development and a strong relationship with Bilstein.

RaceX

RaceX, founded by Kyle Estes, is a technology-driven racing company focused on developing innovative products that solve common problems and improve upon the status quo in motorsports. Some of these products have already found their way onto the Rev1, designed and manufactured by RaceX to enhance performance and reliability.

At AKRC, we’re excited to partner with RaceX, serving as a development wing to help bring new products to life. This collaboration allows us to combine RaceX’s forward-thinking approach to racing technology with AKRC’s practical experience in building and refining dirt late models, ensuring these new products are thoroughly tested and ready to make an impact on the track.

We’re looking forward to helping RaceX bring its next generation of ideas from the drawing board to the dirt.