Stacy Tucker - Detroit Speed

interview and photos by Julia and John Aschenberg

LIA Mag: Tell us a little bit about Detroit Speed Inc., like how you got started . . . stuff like that.

Stacy: We Started Detroit Speed in 2001. It is a story you'll hear a lot of a hobby turned into a business. My husband and I, Kyle, grew up in street rod families when we were younger. Our dads had street rods and we came to all the street rod shows growing up before we even knew each other or met. Once we had met and got married we decided we wanted to build our own project but ...

LIA Mag: Oh mygosh then things basically exploded from that point on?

Stacy: Exactly. I went part-time with GM 3 days a week. They were very good to me to let me work 3 days a week at GM and the rest of the time so I could spend at Detroit Speed. We outgrew or moved from our back yard to a little 3,000 sq suite in an industrial plaza. We quickly out grew that. We decided to move to North Carolina. Part of that was due to customers that we sold our Yellow Twister Camaro to. We bought a building and that allowed us to just pick up our equipment and move and everything was set up the way we needed it to be set up. Very little down time. At that point I quit GM and people thought we were nuts.

LIA Mag: I saw at the show that you did the autocross. What was your best time vs. Kyle?

Stacy: My best time was a 31.4 and he had a 30.6.

LIA Mag: That's impressive. He's just a hair less than a second quicker.

Stacy: Yes, he has a little more horse power then I do in his car.

LIA Mag: So are you going to change that?

Stacy: I just got a new engine. I was 150hp handicap last year. So I kept telling him look buddy I need a new engine. So I finally got a new engine this winter. I love my new engine.

LIA Mag: You were saying how you were both from hot rod families. How old were you when you actually became involved in the car scene?

Stacy: Do you mean as a hobbyist interested in it?

LIA Mag: Yes, I guess you could say that as a hobbyist.

Stacy: I helped my dad build his '32 Ford when I was little as much as I could help. I always enjoyed it and always loved cars. For as long as I can remember I was involved in the hobby of loving hot rods and cars. When I was little I always said that I wanted to grow up and work for GM and design Corvettes. I loved Corvettes so I made my mom buy a Corvette when I was little because I loved them so much. So I made her decide she liked them so I would get to ride in one all the time. Then when I was 16 my mom had a 65 Mustang. It was kinda of her summer car show car. I thought I'm going to get it when I turn 16 and it’s going to be my car. My dad thought you want to drive the car and you want it to be yours then rebuild it before the 65 becomes yours. The summer I turned 16 my dad and I spent the summer building the engine, suspension, just everything except the paint and interior on the car. It was an excellent learning experience for me because...

To read the complete interview about Stacy Tucker you may download the pdf from the following link: Stacy Tucker Interview