This is a video that should make you angry, annoyed, make your blood run cold, and get your passion up for the racing industry. The story of PFI Speed has been told but this is a video that goes into the depths of the government overreach into a company which makes dedicated race car parts for cars that see the track, not the street.
The bottom line is that WE ALL NEED TO SUPPORT THE RPM ACT because without it, the industry that we all known and love will continue to be unfairly treated, unfairly attacked, and ultimately harmed. PLEASE watch this video and understand what’s happening. This is a huge deal and the story of PFI speed is one of many that are starting to become more public.
We NEED the RPM Act and we need to support this industry. Bottom line.
Here’s the words from PRI (video below the words!) –
Recently, the EPA issued a fine against PFI Speed, a small speed shop in Colorado, for selling just 37 Hondata S300s over a two-year span. The fine was issued after company owner Brent Leivestad complied with an EPA inquiry for details about the company’s sales. Without any other contact from the EPA, Leivestad was shocked to receive a letter accusing the shop of selling illegal products. The letter included an $18,000 fine that, if not paid within 30 days, could increase to as much as $180,000. “I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t even believe it,” said Leivestad. “I am a speed shop and sell race parts—I didn’t know that was wrong. I didn’t understand the basis of the EPA’s claim, I didn’t go in front of any trial or talk to anybody from the EPA, and the threat of ‘settle and pay within 30 days or else’ felt like a real shakedown intended to deny my rights.”
Visit http://saveourracecars.com to support the RPM Act! “There are thousands of legitimate motorsports businesses that are at risk of EPA overreach,” said Dr. Jamie Meyer, Performance Racing Industry (PRI) President. “The EPA is putting these businesses—which are typically small, home grown, less sophisticated shops—in situations where they have to take on the full might of the federal government. The EPA is doing nothing to validate its enforcement efforts, and these small businesses are left with little choice but to comply.” “The RPM Act must be passed into law to provide the racing community with certainty and confidence in the face of EPA threats,” said Meyer. “Without the RPM Act, businesses will shut down and the entire motorsports community will be severely impacted. It’s time for the motorsports community to push back and protect our racing rights.” Leivestad agrees: “I’ve been doing this for 20 plus years, and it sounds like the EPA is trying to put us out of business. We need to get behind the RPM Act and get it pushed through now, more than ever.”
Additional information about the RPM Act, which was recently introduced in the House of Representatives and is expected to be introduced in the Senate soon, can be found at http://saveourracecars.com Motorsports businesses and enthusiasts are encouraged to contact their legislators and urge them to pass the RPM Act to clarify that it is legal to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars used solely on the track. Racing businesses and enthusiasts can also join the fight to protect motorsports at www.performanceracing.com/membership. Visit http://saveourracecars.com to support the RPM Act!
I feel sorry for this man and his shop–They clearly seem to have done nothing wrong or that is not being done by a thousand other places and makers–He is being attacked by a department that does not have the knowledge to complete their mission fairly so……I kept asking myself over and over during this film–Why in the world did he not mention” Lawyer Up” right off the bat!!! I would have contacted my lawyer two minutes after opening that letter–If SEMA and PRI wanted to help the guy –why didn’t they offer their corp lawyer right away? That would have made a powerful statement of support.
You could have put a 55 gal barrel out at PRI and collected funds to pay his lawyer–they would have needed two drums I bet
Maybe they have, maybe they did, maybe we are seeing just a fraction of this sad tale I hope so
At my engine shop we kept data and records for decades showing HazMat compliant disposal of every qt of oil we ever ordered, billed out or sold including filters–Just to be sure! That is the length you have to go to to protect a small business ( or a large one) That and about a dozen other steps but how do you protect from malicious prosecution from a possibly ignorant office?? Answer is ???? Better call Saul
A few things.
“I didn’t understand the basis of the EPA’s claim…” As we all know, ignorance of the law, is no excuse.
“…felt like a real shakedown intended to deny my rights.” And what “rights” are those? Owning a business, manufacturing anything, and making money are all privileges, not rights. Every industry has a slew of regulations and rules with which one must comply in order to do business. Because, in the end, the primary shareholder of the US of A is the government. That money you’re making? Property of the government. The land underneath you? Can be seized by eminent domain at any time.
Not trying to defend the EPA or say that what PFI Speed did anything wrong. Just pointing out the reality of the situation. This is how capitalism works. Some businesses succeed, some do not. Should we all pool our resources because AMC couldn’t keep up with the Big 3? It was the free market that made that decision. In essence, we all chose not to fund AMC by buying more Shevys and Ferds.
Just look at last year, sure, the pandemic was tough on some businesses. But some were able to increase profits by adapting to a changing marketplace.
Or maybe I’m just an ignorant jackass with no empathy.
Owning a business is a right, manufacturing products is a right of your business as long as it doesn’t break regulations and making money is absolutely a right. Where in the heck did you get your info?
A few things.
\”I didn’t understand the basis of the EPA’s claim…\” As we all know, ignorance of the law, is no excuse.
\”…felt like a real shakedown intended to deny my rights.” And what \”rights\” are those? Owning a business, manufacturing anything, and making money are all privileges, not rights. Every industry has a slew of regulations and rules with which one must comply in order to do business. Because, in the end, the primary shareholder of the US of A is the government. That money you\’re making? Property of the government. The land underneath you? Can be seized by eminent domain at any time.
Not trying to defend the EPA or say that what PFI Speed did anything wrong. Just pointing out the reality of the situation. This is how capitalism works. Some businesses succeed, some do not. Should we all pool our resources because AMC couldn\’t keep up with the Big 3? It was the free market that made that decision. In essence, we all chose not to fund AMC by buying more Shevys and Ferds.
Just look at last year, sure, the pandemic was tough on some businesses. But some were able to increase profits by adapting to a changing marketplace.
Or maybe I\’m just an ignorant jackass with no empathy.
Brett, where in the hell did you go to school?
“Because, in the end, the primary shareholder of the US of A is the government. That money you\’re making? Property of the government. The land underneath you? Can be seized by eminent domain at any time.”
The primary shareholder of the USA is us, the citizens! How in the world does the money I’m making belong to the government?! It’s mine because I worked for it. Yes, they can tax me, but there should be no taxation without representation (unfortunately we passed that mark a LONG time ago). The land I own is mine because I paid for it. The government has a few options to take it but they must be valid, and there are numerous cases that have prevented the government from doing so. Why don’t you open a freaking history book and study up on your freedoms? Have you ever read the Bill of Rights and the Constitution? How about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Which entails owning a business and making a profit if you can. Of course there are regulations in any industry that we have to abide by, but for non-elected government entities to be able to fine people to the point of financial ruin is counter to every principle our country was founded on.
How many S300’s were sold to non racecar owners? “Rollin coal”, smoking street “burnouts”, fender less jeeps with their rock chucking tires… Freedom was never free, you figure it out.
As an EPA retiree I have some insight into this situation. Sadly, many of the EPA enforcement people are not car people and do not understand us or our situation. They have a “rulebook” (The Code of Federal Regulations or CFR) and they are left to interpret it basically in a vacuum.
So someone in a management position in the enforcement group has interpreted his/her job as putting racers and racing companies out of business. This is made worse by the fact that there have been some gross violators in the past (“catalytic converter test pipes” for example) so these management types feel empowered that they are doing the right thing.
But if we go back to the CFR – that’s the basis of the problem. These documents are subject to interpretation and actually are pretty difficult to understand. This is why we NEED the RPM act! It will get published into the CFR and eliminate the need for interpretation of what is or is not a racecar and clarify that a racecar is not subject to the same rules as a new street car. The reality is that compared to the millions of street cars in the pool the few racecars have very little to no effect on pollution or global warming.
SO YES PLEASE! Support the RPM Act! Call your representatives and demand they take action and soon. If we make our voices head this can change.