CHAMPIONSHIP BUILDS INGRAM ENGINES

INGRAM ENGINES HAS been building championship engines for parts of five decades. Beginning as a part time operation in 1989, Ingram became a full-time venture for owner Mike Ingram around 1997. Since then, Ingram has had one goal: win.

“When we show up at the racetrack we want to win. We’re not just there to show up and be seen,” Mike Ingram said. “When you put all that time and effort into building, you want results. Maybe I’m too competitive, but that’s racing. After all these years we are still that way. When we go to the track, we want to win.”

And win they have. The number of track championships over the decades has climbed up to the point where it’s almost tough to keep track. Ingram isn’t interested in a one and done win. He likes consistent winners which is why track championships are so gratifying. It means consistent top finishes all year long.

“The last two years (2020-2021) have probably been our most successful years to date,” Ingram said. “We won the FASTRAK National Championship, the RUSH Late Model Series championship and we had the top three finishers at the Bill Emig Memorial which was a $10,000-to-win race. That right there was pretty special. It’s one thing to win or get into the top three, but to own all top three positions? That’s a pretty solid night.”

One of the secrets of Ingram Engines which is actually no secret at all is their relationship with Jones Racing Products.

“We ship all of our products with Jones [Racing Products] on them,” Ingram said. “They’re the best in the business with a really excellent product.”

The solid working relationship that Ingram has with Jones has grown beyond just business, as is often the case in the dirt track racing industry.

“CJ and Melanie are just good people,”

Ingram said. “We probably talk every week, and sometimes it’s not even about racing!”

An Ingram Engine is often found in the trade show booth of Jones Racing Products at the shows they attend throughout the country.

Ingram Engines itself is a small shop with Mike and his son Brandon handling the bulk of the work throughout the year to push out more than two-hundredtwenty engines annually.

“Realistically, Brandon carries a lot of the load around here,” Ingram said. “He handles most of the machine work and the assembly. Without him I’d be able to only do about a quarter of what we’re doing now. He started when he was around 12 years old and has a really great work ethic. He gets after it.”

Ingram’s other son, Brent helps out once in awhile as well, when things get really hectic. They also utilize another part-time assistant to handle the workload, but there is room to expand.

“We’d love to get a kid in here that is hungry to learn and has some hustle. Most of the guys that can do this work are getting older or are already gone, so getting some young blood in will be important [for the industry],” Ingram said.

For the most part, Ingram Engines handles quite a bit of work for the teams of the RUSH series. They produce mostly 604s and 602s. They also produce engines for CrateUSA, FASTRAK and DIRTcar as well.

“Every week during the season I still come in and check all the results,” Ingram said, with a laugh. “If I don’t see one of our drivers in victory lane, I’m grumpy all week man. Maybe I go a little overboard.”

Overboard? We disagree. That’s how you build championship engines. Period.

Ingram Engines

Owner: Mike Ingram

448 Troy Hill Rd

Kittanning, PA 16201

Phone: +1 724/5452663

E-mail: ingramengines@yahoo.com

Website: ingramengines.com