How the right cabinets, work benches, chairs, and other equipment can improve productivity in the race shop.

Tool carts, cabinets, creepers, work benches, lifts, and other organizational infrastructure play a vital role in a better motorsports operation.
“Organization, in both the literal and storage sense, is a key aspect of efficiency and productivity,” said Justin Hawkins of Tekton, Grand Rapids, Michigan. “A well-made cabinet and tool organizer can reduce clutter, giving professionals more time to work on the task at hand and save time when the job is done and the tools need to be stored.”
Organization goes ever further in today’s market, said Nate Birkenmeier of CTech Manufacturing, Weston, Wisconsin. “Nowadays, [organization] is integral to the business of motorsports as teams search to bring more branding opportunities to sponsors,” he said. “Time and effort spent sorting through plastic bins filled with spare parts or crawling around in the trailer looking for a specific tool is a complete waste.”
From efficiency to comfort to organization, this look at outfitting your race shop offers the latest ideas to help put your team on the winning path.

CUSTOM EFFICIENCY

The methodical approach of today’s professional race teams demands that crew members work in the shop similarly to how they work while under pressure at the race track, said Birkenmeier.
CTech promotes this approach in its relationship with NHRA Pro Stock team Elite Motorsports. When Elite recently overhauled its racing headquarters, it used custom cabinets and carts to help create a more consistent environment.
“Similar to the track setup, each engine and or race car has its own storage solutions dedicated to the job at hand,” Birkenmeier said, noting the example of a transmission cart with gear sets, forks, and appropriate tools.

“Part of what makes us so successful is that we practice each day like we are at the track,” Elite Motorsports driver Erica Enders said about the familiar at-track and shop setups.
CTech also played a role in setting up the new shop for the NASCAR team 23XI Racing. “I appreciate CTech’s ability to help design and manufacture professional storage solutions for our use in Airspeed while meeting quality standards and delivery dates that we set,” said the team’s Mike Wheeler.
Birkenmeier noted a new feature for some CTech cabinets: the HalfAss Caster wheel—a smaller version of its BadAss Caster—which rolls like a pneumatic tire but is compact and maneuverable like a caster.
Overall, he said it can be an “incredibly overwhelming task” to outfit a race shop, but there are options. “Sometimes teams present us with a space and ask us what we think they should do with it,” he said. “Other times, they send us a spreadsheet of all the tools and equipment they want to store, and our in-house team of experts and engineers figure out what to build around those items.”
Many of the all-aluminum shop benches and cabinets manufactured by TechnoCraft Cabinets in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, are custom made, said Brian Hope. “Everything that we make we build to order, so we have an advantage when a customer has a need like an odd-length wall,” he said.
Its benches and cabinets are sturdy, durable, and not susceptible to moisture or chemicals, Hope said. They come in various lengths, and TechnoCraft’s tool boxes, also manufactured at its Tennessee facility, can be added to almost any cabinet. “We build a lot of tool boxes to fit a lot of different needs.”
TechnoCraft can also personalize its work benches with durable printed wrap worktops.
Moduline Cabinets in Brockton, Massachusetts, also manufactures modular, custom aluminum cabinet systems. Its Pro Series cabinets are its most popular among racers and car enthusiasts, said Paul Gill.
Moduline also offers rolling tool boxes equipped with heavy-duty, shock-absorbing casters for ease of movement, whether across the shop or into the pits.
Minseok Kim discussed two of the many race shop tool and cabinet combinations from TONE Americas in Frankfort, Kentucky, a company that will make its first appearance at the PRI Show this year.
Kim said the TCXT9110, released in late 2023, a tool set using TONE’s largest cabinet, the WSE2017R, was created through discussions with race team mechanics who wanted frequently used products in easily accessible locations.

It exemplifies TONE’s expansion from serving vehicle manufacturing, which it has done for some 87 years, to a concentration on the racing industry, which Kim said is growing in Japan.
The TCXT9110 includes 381 items and has carbon-style trays that list product names or sizes, which reduces time spent searching for tools, he said.
Also popular in motorsports shops is the TCX990, which includes the WSH2012R cabinet. A wooden board is sold separately to transform the top into a work space. “The TCX990 is a heavy-duty roller cabinet set equipped with tools from TONE’s highest model storage tool series,” Kim said. The TCX990 also has labeled carbon-fiber trays and 381 items.
A unique product from Tekton is the L-BOXX Stacking Organization System, with modular stacking tool drawers that can ride on a dolly. “[It’s] meant to give tool users a mobile, highly customizable storage option,” said Hawkins.
Among the more popular combinations is a 248-piece tool set in six drawers that includes all of the basic hand tools a mechanic would need, he said.
Tekton cabinets and tool drawers come with optimized foam layouts made from a closed-cell polyethylene foam that doesn’t absorb liquids and helps retain shape, Hawkins said. All tool sizes are laser-marked in the foam, which has permanently bonded top (red) and bottom (black) layers, a contrast that quickly exposes a missing tool.
Tekton offers a variety of tool cabinets, with its 60-inch wide, 30-inch deep and 41.5-inch-high version the most popular, including the 11-drawer, 40/60 Split Bank cabinet. Each drawer in a Tekton cabinet has a carrying capacity rated up to 400 pounds, and the drawers can be opened at any point along the handle, Hawkins said.

CREEPERS OF COMFORT

Vyper Industrial’s chairs, creepers, and carts are a staple in race shops, said Dayne Rusch from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, manufacturer. He highlighted the use of 4-inch casters on Vyper chairs and creepers and 6-inch casters on carts to help them “glide” over any surface and prevent tipping. “Many products in the industry today use small casters that can’t roll over cracks, zip ties, or even loose debris on the floor.”
Vyper chairs are powdercoated and have supportive backrests; thick, comfortable seats; and laser-cut steel supports, Rusch said. Available in various models, the chairs have a modern, industrial look, and each chair can have different colors on the seats and legs. They help increase productivity by improving posture and comfort during long sitting durations, which Rusch said overall improves employee morale.

Creepers, also powdercoated, feature an adjustable headrest, caster covers that prevent hair and clothing from getting caught, and suitcase-style handles for easy carrying. Users lie on a canopy-style, puncture proof, oil- and chemical-resistant fabric.
Vyper carts feature modular racking—users can attach accessories on the side—and a 1,250-pound weight capacity.
Rusch said customers who rebuild engines sometimes have a cart at every station. “This way, they can roll the engine from station to station.”
Weight is not an issue, Rusch noted. “The Vyper cart actually rolls better while there is weight on it.”

LIFT IN PRODUCTION

A new “height” of organization can be achieved in a race shop with a vehicle lift. Advantage Lifts in Hanover, Pennsylvania, offers its AL-SC10, the most common model purchased by race shops that want a two-post lift for maintenance and repair. “A lift provides a boost in productivity due to the ease of doing simple maintenance and the ability to do larger-scale jobs with much less stress than if they are being done while lying on your back,” said Aaron Harpine. “Your shop will be better organized with a lift, as it allows you to go as far as stacking two cars over one another in a single bay.”
Advantage Lifts has two-post lifts, which use two cylinders, with 10,000- and 12,000-pound ratings, and four-post lifts, using just one cylinder, holding 9,000 and 11,000 pounds.
“We can often fit a lift in almost any garage due to the various options we offer,” Harpine said. “Our four-post lift is offered in a double-wide configuration that allows you to put two cars up and two cars underneath in a two-car garage.”
He said Advantage Lifts plans to release a double-wide, three-high stacker that puts six cars in a two-car spot, provided the facility has ceilings nearly 20 feet high.
Rather than lifting an entire car, you may need only to move a cylinder head—or three—across the shop. That’s where the Shop Crane by Gorbel, an overhead bridge crane system, comes in.
“One of our customers, Motion Dynamics, noted in their case study that they gained 25–30% in production as their operators can now pick up three cylinder heads at a time with the Shop Crane, which was a huge time saver,” said Todd Wagner.
Shop Crane turns heavy lifting into a one-person job and frees floor space compared to using an engine hoist, he said.
The Victor, New York, company’s biggest seller is its 1,000-pound capacity crane with a 12-by-15-foot bay size at either 10-foot or 12-foot system height. (Shop Crane bay widths and heights each range from 8 to 20 feet.)
Common applications include lifting dressed engines into and out of vehicles, moving engine blocks to various machining centers, or lifting and lowering car bodies onto chassis, Wagner said.
The Shop Crane also improves safety, including the reduction of repetitive lifting injuries that can affect the bottom line with lost time and worker’s compensation claims, he said.
Wagner recommends pairing the Shop Crane with the Gorbel GS Electric Chain Hoist. It has suspension plates that provide a precise fit for work station cranes, and the two together create a complete, reliable, and safe lifting solution.

THE VALUE OF TIME

Those in the market for cabinets, work benches, and other equipment to outfit their race shops should assess their own organizational needs, and then consider mobility, modularity, customization, employee comfort, safety, and morale.
Hope from TechnoCraft not only manufactures equipment to help race teams stay organized and productive, but he also encourages such organization among his employees. “And, yes, that makes more money for me. Absolutely. But it also reduces their fatigue,” he said. “On a day like today when it’s 94 degrees outside, if you can cut down your movement, and you can cut down your steps not having to wander the shop looking for a part or a tool…that difference is huge at the end of the day.”
Any time you’re organized, it puts you ahead of anyone else. And when that comes to preparing for a race, Hope said, “it puts me ahead of my competition.”
Or, as Birkenmeier from CTech put it, “In business, time is money. In racing, time is the difference between winning and losing.”

SOURCES

Advantage Lifts
advantagelifts.com
CTech Manufacturing
ctechmanufacturing.com
Moduline Aluminum Cabinets
modulinecabinets.com
Shop Crane
gorbel.com/shop-crane
TechnoCraft Cabinets
trailercabinets.com
Tekton
tekton.com
TONE Americas
tonetool.co.jp
Vyper Industrial
vyperindustrial.com
Wehrli Custom Fabrication
wcfab.com