Before assuming his new post, EMCO GearsDirector of Motorsports Larry Bishop was well aware of the ever-changing deadlines in the world of racing having worked 17 years as lead technician, service manager, and shop manager; however, it wasn’t until his own career path went into overdrive that he got a true course in those evolving deadlines.
At the end of the 2014 race season, Bishop was aware that he would assume the director of motorsports position and that Dan Cota had decided that December 31st would be his last day on the job. Throughout the 2015 racing season, Bishop has slowly transitioned to being the face of EMCO Gears at the track. However, he’s still meeting new customers who were unaware of Cota’s retirement and his appointment to director of motorsports.
“Everyone at EMCO Gears would like to thank Dan Cota for his 20+ years of service and hope he enjoys a happy and healthy retirement,” said EMCO Gears chief operating officer Rich Wolfe. “Dan was as major part of our company for many years, and we’re positive that Larry will continue to grow our presence in the racing community for a long time to come.
“The 2015 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season was a really big undertaking for our group,” said Bishop. “Servicing and supplying the defending series champions at Action Express Racing, and our great customers at DeltaWing Racing, we had a lot of work to be done just to be ready for the Daytona test and the Rolex 24.
EMCO Gears manufacturers motorsports transmission systems, axle systems, steering systems and a variety of other products specialized for use in the motorsports industry. The company has recently quadrupled the available floor space and shortened manufacturing lead-time. With the expansion and streamlining practices, EMCO customers are receiving their orders twice as fast as they did even two years ago.
“Truthfully, the 2015 season seems to have flown by with the rapid progression rate of everything,” said Bishop. “It’s been a tremendous opportunity to start meeting with our clients and continue working on building success for the future. One of my main objectives is to continue a high level of service to our current partners and to show new prospective clients the wide range of capabilities EMCO Gears has to offer.
“I would say EMCO Gears is the only company in the United States with these type of capabilities. One of our biggest challenges is to educate and communicate to the rest of the racing world as to our capabilities. EMCO Gears wants to be the manufacturer that is attached to the car as it rolls out of the factory because so many series around the world are adapting spec and homologated rules.”
“I’ve worked with many great companies over my four decades in racing,” said Action Express Racing team manager Gary Nelson. “EMCO Gears is without a doubt one of the best companies I’ve ever been associated with and as a team, we are fortunate to have them preparing our transmissions. Over the last two years we’ve not had a mechanical failure on the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP. Having a reliable EMCO transmission gives our team peace of mind on race weekend.
“I began the road racing chapter of my career in 2006, EMCO was in our cars then, and has been ever since. Our approach to racing is to fix the things that need fixing and leave the things that are working alone. EMCO gearboxes are one of the few things that have never appeared on our “need to fix” list. We are hoping to add many more years of success with EMCO.”
For two-time series champion João Barbosa, the EMCO advantage is something he relies on throughout the daunting endurance and the high pressure sprint races that makeup the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship schedule.
“As racecar drivers we typically aren’t as concerned with preserving our equipment as much as we should be,” said Barbosa. “We do what we can, but one of the areas that takes a beating no matter what race is our transmission. With EMCO we know we have a reliable transmission that will take whatever we do to it.”
While Larry Bishop and the rest of EMCO Gears are already deep in the 2016 preparations, they did have an opportunity to celebrate a second consecutive IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup title with Action Express Racing after the team was victorious in the 18th Annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
Action Express Racing combined with EMCO Gears to win four out of ten events this season, with wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in Detroit, the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America and the season ending Petit Le Mans.
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