PARIS  — As area race teams work to prepare their cars for the coming season, one western Maine company is working overtime servicing the needs of drivers in a wide variety of classes.  

Crazy Horse Racing has evolved into a company about which you hear nothing but words of praise immediately upon its mention, signifying how well-respected the company has become in the local racing community in such a short time.

Owners Mitch and Judy Green founded the company after Mitch retired from teaching Automotive Technology.  The Greens purchased an established chassis-building company in 2008 and merged into it their parts and engines service to create a one-stop resource for racers.

In January 2011, the Greens moved the business from rural Andover to South Paris with two goals in mind — enhancing the retail end and making it easier for customers in general.

“It’s been a lot better for our customers and a whole lot nicer for us to be in this location,” Judy said whuile standing in her showroom alongside Route 26, just north of the village. “We’re more user-friendly down here. Folks can pick up their parts with less travel and work on their cars that night. Moving here really helped the retail side, but it has definitely made life better for Mitch and the race teams we serve, as well.”

In November, Crazy Horse Racing added 3,000 square feet of additional shop space, making Mitch’s daily routine a lot less stressful.   

“Having all this shop space allows us to serve more customers at once in a more efficient manner,” Mitch said as he pointed to a handful of cars laid out in the shop. “Now we’re able to dedicate specific areas of the shop to certain types of work, like metal fabrication or body assembly.

“We’ve developed a system to get cars in here, get them fixed and back out to the customer without disrupting the other projects at all,” he added.  “We can have five or six cars in here at once in various stages of completion, as we do today. This makes servicing our customers, no matter what division they run, who built their car or what it needs, a whole lot easier.”

Just as it does with race teams, success in this side of racing takes many hours and a relentless effort. The Greens have a lifelong passion for racing and pour their hearts and soul into serving racers on a year-round basis.

And the reward?

“That’s an easy one,” Mitch said with a broad smile. “It’s the relationships formed with people in the sport. Not just with our customers, but racers in general. We’re blessed to have young Austin Theriault stay with us sometimes during the season. His family comes to work on the car, and we all have a blast. And when one of customers drives by with a trophy and gives me a thumbs-up, that makes my day.”

Judy works all week behind the counter at the store and spends her Saturdays in the parts trailer selling items to racers at Oxford Plains Speedway. Racing consumes her life, but the schedule yields no complaints.

“The people in this sport are our extended family,” she said. “We spend all of our time together sharing our love for racing, but trying to keep it fun if possible. This is hard work, and there isn’t much free time. It’s the happy customers, staying busy and a love of racing that keeps me smiling every day.”