Many of the Featherlite
coaches were also equipped
with Blue Ox hitches and the
companies enjoy a successful
working relationship.
Vantare coaches are sold
and serviced at the Featherlite
facility at Sanford, FL, and
other service facilities are located in Marksville, NC, Cresco, IA
and Coburg, OR.
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When asked if the luxury
motor coach business was recession-proof, Tracy replied,
"Not 100%, but pretty close.
Our clients like their coaches
and want to stay current with
new features and accessories
that are added each year. Our
customers will usually trade
their units every 2-3 years, and
that provides us with an inventory of outstanding quality
coaches that have very low
mileage on them.
Among some of the more
famous owners from the
Winston Cup circuit include;
2002 Winston Cup Champion
Tony Stewart, driver of the #20
Home Depot Chevrolet; former
Winston Cup Champion Dale
Jarrett, driver of the #88 UPS
Ford … not the big brown truck;
Ken Schrader, driver of the #49
BAM racing team Dodge; Bobby Labonte, former Winston Cup
champion and driver of the #18
Interstate Batteries Chevrolet;
and his brother Terry Labonte,
driver of the #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet.
Vantare also enjoys loyalty
from several team owners at the tracks, including Richard Childress, Rick
Hendrick, Ray
Evernham and one of the most
well known and popular figures
on the Winston Cup circuit, The
King…Richard Petty. Even
Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, owns a Vantare.
When asked if they have
ever considered building a standard production motorhome,
Tracy said, "We have no desire
to compete in that arena. We
are one of the premier high end
converters and our customers
come to us for the quality and
luxury they can build into their unit, and the level of service we
provide to them after the sale.
We are at most of the NASCAR
races and many other rallies
and events throughout the year
to respond to our customer ’s requests. It ’s the service after
the sale that creates our repeat
customers.
Just outside the Featherlite
office trailer we found Ken Enck
and his crew cooking up a feast
right in the middle of the driver’s garage area. Enck has
developed a close relationship
with many of the drivers and
their teams after being discovered by the Petty family a bout
six years ago. Enck and his
crew are outfitted much like the
drivers with uniforms adorned
with company patches from
their sponsors. People like
Weber Grills and Hatfield
Quality Meats actually help
support this cooking army that
shows up at every NASCAR
race.
Just prior to the Texas race
the teams could choose from a
variety of meats, fish, vegetables
and side dishes on several
Weber Grills. This cooking
team now cooks three meals a
day for 14 teams and each of
those teams has approximately
35 members. That’s a lot of
people, and that’s a lot of food.
Enck said," We just love
cooking for these guys .It ’s a
great atmosphere and they really enjoy the quality meals we
prepare for them. Headquarters
for the catering team is
Manheim, PA, but you can find
them at every NASCAR race
throughout the year and they
are easy to locate. Just follow
your nose, your senses, the
smoke from the grills, and the
long line of multi-colored uniforms who just can’t wait to see
what Ken and his master chefs
have cooked up for them.
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ENCK Catering Crew: Ken
Enck, Denny Millhouse, Dan Duane and Kenny Work. |
Excuse me …I’m hungry …
I think I ’ll try one of those
famous Hatfield Hot Dogs that
Hadden Smith was bragging
about in the Media Camping
story !!