JACKSON, Mich. — One Jackson native turned his manufacturing business into a hub for NASCAR.
Ronnie Johncox was always around cars. Johncox was born and raised in Jackson and graduated from Northwest High School.
“As a kid, I was always just interested in auto racing because I started going to Michigan International Speedway at age 4,” Johncox said. “A distant cousin of mine, Gordon Johncock, won the Indy 500 two times, so as a kid I was always a fun of his, and as a real result, always just loved racing and love cars.”
Johncox became an Indy Racing League driver and competed for 15 years. He said he did a lot of work on his own cars through his manufacturing business, Technique, Inc., located in the northwest part of Jackson County.
“For me to start the business in Jackson just made a lot of sense,” he said.
In 2007, they started supplying the NASCAR race teams with their components.
“When the opportunity came around for the Next Gen chassis, we were asked to bid on the project because of our reputation in the sport, and we competed against 18 other companies to build the car and won, and it was just kind of a dream come true for me,” he said.
They make the actual chassis, which is the physical frame structure, for NASCAR’s Next Gen car right in Jackson. The chassis is then shipped to his North Carolina location for welding and assembly.
“The reason that you need to be in North Carolina is that is the hub of NASCAR racing,” Johncox said. “North Carolina is where all of the teams are located. That’s where the NASCAR R&D Center is located. It’s relatively central to a lot of the race tracks. So, your talent, your resources are all down there.”
They have about 235 employees between Michigan and North Carolina and also have a small operation in California.
It is a long, in-depth process, but afterwards, they take a step back and celebrate their intricate work.
“It’s very rewarding,” Johncox said. “We had 100 of our employees out at the race this last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, and the sense of pride that goes along with what they produce here is immeasurable. It was very fun to watch everybody really appreciate their work, enjoy the day and see the result of the hard work because this is a very demanding job. It’s very technical. It’s very intense. It’s not for everybody, but for those that are in it and appreciate it and love it for what it is, there isn’t anything better.”
Johncox says they are recruiting and hiring for their company and want to encourage youth to get involved in the manufacturing field.
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