About Us
Our First Race Car
Lonnie Smith, 1968 Dart, Gen3 Hemi
Racing Roots Drive Innovation
My name is Brian Smith and I want to share a bit about myself and how Smith Innovation was thrust into existence. Like most people, I inherited my love of cars from my Dad. In fact, my ride home from the hospital where I was born was a medium green ’68 Dodge Dart GTS. It was dad’s first new car that he bought while working as a mechanic at Race Motors in Marion, Ohio.
Our family’s racing heritage began in the early 1970’s when dad brought home another ’68 Dart GTS. This car became a regular at racetracks around central Ohio and I was there every step of the way as usual. I was right there for every tweak, every modification and all of the maintenance. Today, this same car is still running and is campaigned by my brother with a Gen3 Hemi. When I made the decision to change platforms from traditional wedge power to the modern hemi I found a real need for performance parts that the aftermarket simply did not make. Here we had plentiful OEM blocks, cranks and cylinder heads capable of holding 2-3 times the HP of their wedge counterparts, but not the supporting parts needed to make them easy to swap or race. I acquired my first one in 2006 and started tinkering with it.
Innovating Modern Hemi Power
My career as an engineer has provided very diverse exposure to many different facets. I have worked in material handling, Unit handling, automation, steel processing, space exploration, medical devices and many other industries that have helped hone my skills. Enough so, that I hold no less than 4 patents for my efforts.
My professional experience, paired with my love of automotive performance, puts me in a unique position to develop products for the modern Hemi enthusiast. To that end, we have a pair of hot rods that we will be using as test platforms for new and existing products. They are a ’65 Plymouth Valiant that currently has a stock stroke 392 Gen3 Hemi under the hood that we are competing in Lil Gangsters 5.30 index and bracket racing as well as our in process Top Sportsman 1967 Dodge Dart GT that we hope to chase the first 5 second Gen3 Hemi record with. It is equipped with an all-aluminum Gen3 Hemi with a crank driven centrifugal blower. Both cars are filled with Smith Innovation! Unlike other suppliers, we have a passion to continue to refine existing products while noodling ideas for new products. We develop parts for the mild to the wildest of dreams.
SI 1965 Valiant Lil Gangster/Bracket
