Owner Profile: Troy and Tammy Renfro
TKS Motorsports
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
by Joanne Cram
Dedication to sprint car racing is what our sport needs to survive and thrive. The sport needs the younger generation taking on the challenge of learning what it takes to be a crew member for a team, then graduating to a crew chief, and even possibly then becoming a team owner.
Troy and Tammy Renfro have achieved the owner status, after a career dedicated to the sport of sprint car racing. Their Knoxville Raceway weekly number 2KS 410, piloted by Austin McCarl, is truly a family owned, operated, and supported car.
Troy and Tammy have had close to a quarter century supporting the sport of sprint car racing together, but both have separate stories that brought them to and kept them in the sport.
Tammy’s parents, Rick & Belinda Lander, went to Knoxville regularly, rarely missing a race. Naturally, when Tammy was born, she followed suit. She attended her first Knoxville Nationals at six weeks old. As an only child, Tammy grew up camping behind the track and didn’t think twice about the now legendary company that she kept back when she was a child during those summers of race weekends. Tammy’s parents sponsored several cars over the years, but primarily sponsored Gil Sonner’s cars. Their company, Des Moines Industrial Products, or DMIP, graced the side of Sonner’s car for many seasons.
In 1994, Tammy agreed to a blind date that would change her life forever.
Her blind date was with a like-minded, sprint car loving, Troy Renfro, who friends that set the two up said would be perfect for Tammy. They’ve been married for twenty years now and have twin daughters, both recently graduating from Southeast Polk High School. They both plan to attend Grand View University in Des Moines, IA this fall: Katelyn to study graphic design, Sydney to study nursing.
Troy grew up in Maryland, and Troy’s dad raced Big Block Modifieds in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, but sprint cars were what really intrigued him. He had been on the World of Outlaw Tour in some capacity since he was seventeen, so in 1994 had decided to head back to Maryland to regroup. Terry McCarl called that year and wanted Troy to work for him, so Troy “threw all his stuff in the truck and came out to Iowa”.
Troy began his career in sprint cars at the age of 17, when he hit the road on the World of Outlaw Tour as a crewman for teams such as Karl Kinser and Frankie Kerr. He spent the early part of his career observing, listening, learning, and taking in all it took to be a successful crew chief. “It was fun to travel when being so young- with people around like Karl Kinser and Kenny Woodruff, you watched and learned how they did things, adopted their style, and could make it your own.” Renfro reflected, “the most fun part of being on the road was everyone helping everyone else out.” He loved being out on the road and traveling.
As his career in sprint cars evolved, so did the business of sprint car racing itself. Renfro recalls that back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, being on the road was a lot more fun. It was a lot less corporate than it is now. You could always ask someone for help and they would give it to you without assuming you were trying to steal their set up secrets. It seems that sprint car racing has gotten a lot more “corporate business-like”, which there is a place for, to some extent. The professionalism of teams is necessary, but at the end of the day, everyone is just out to do the same thing; try to win races and be successful on the road.
Troy also worked on the Two Winners (TW) three car team of Jeff Swindell, Greg Hodnett, and Joe Gaerte. Troy was the crew chief for the Gaerte team. He was the head mechanic and crew chief, but after several seasons, it got to a point where being on the road wasn’t fun anymore. Troy recalls that he tried to quit racing all together in 2003- 2004, but Brooke Tatnell who he had raced with in 1999 and 2000, put together a deal with Tim Hanson (Rush Racing) in 2005. Tatnell “needed” Renfro, and he “got sucked back in”. He was in a good place being back on the road with a team like Rush Racing. “Racing puts a smile on my face”, and he wasn’t sure if he could have really walked away from it all together anyway. The Rush Racing deal was the best racing partnership he had ever had; he was allowed to run the team the way he wanted to. They were on the road for two seasons with the World of Outlaw Tour in 2005 and 2006, and got back to Iowa as often as possible to race some Knoxville races when possible. They set track record at Knoxville in 2006, which is still held today. Troy recalls that he learned a lot about running a team while working on the Rush Racing team. “It has always been a dream to own my own team”. By the end of the 2006 season, Rush Racing had folded up and Troy and Brooke teamed with Larry Woodward for the 2007 season but by the end of that year, the Outlaw tour had gotten too corporate and too “big money” for Renfro. He would attend the required World of Outlaw meetings where corporate would try to streamline everything into a business format. It got to the point where it was too hard to keep up with the big money. The cost of racing started to get out of control. Engines and rebuilds were- and have neared- the impossible to afford; parts replacement costs have reached astronomical prices. Renfro remembers when there were only a few parts distributors; teams always used to make or repair their own parts. “That’s how I learned this business, now you just buy it (replacement parts),” Renfro stated.
One story that stands out in Renfro’s mind was a Haubstat, Indiana Outlaw show. The team finished 2nd that night, and the next morning while checking the motor, Troy found that the head gaskets were leaking a little bit. He thought- no big deal - as he started pulling the heads to put gaskets on it. Some of the other teams in the parking lot couldn’t understand why he just didn’t box it up and send it back to the motor builder. His answer to them was, “My owner pays me to be a mechanic and that’s what I’m doing”. Troy recalls, “I tried to learn everything I could about sprint cars. I never wanted to be a parts changer. I owe a lot of my motor knowledge to my brother, Todd”.
After the 2007 season, Troy got hired by teams with younger drivers in hopes that he could mentor and teach the rookie drivers how to be successful behind the wheel of a sprint car. On his last road tour, he remembers leaving his girls after Nationals on his way out west for the eight week west coast swing. He looked in the rear view mirror and saw them crying in the driveway as he pulled away. He had promised Tammy when they got married that he would never make her cry. He made the decision to change up his racing career and find a way to stay home, which has paved the way for becoming co-owner with his wife of the TKS number 2KS sprint car.
Troy has admittedly never been a guy who self promotes. “I don’t have a nick name and don’t want one”, he said. He is a hard worker, serious, and all business at the track. He learned his work ethic from his dad, who passed away a few years ago. Troy jokes that people think he’s unapproachable at the track, but compares his attitude to the analogy of a business man at the office. “Would you want me coming into your office, messing with your stuff, cracking jokes, distracting you, while you’re trying to work? No- so I expect that people shouldn’t do that to me. When I’m at the track, I am working- in my office. This is my profession and my passion and I take it extremely seriously”.
Six years ago Renfro was in a place once again where he wasn’t sure where his career was taking him. He wasn’t having fun with racing any more. Along comes Matt Moro asking him to help him, and that was one of the best decisions the Renfros made for their racing career. “Matt made me have fun again”, Troy recalls. “Matt isn’t racing for a living”, so there wasn’t the pressure of a full time Outlaw ride or a corporate team. The Moro-Renfro combo ran Race Saver 305 at the Des Moines Fairgrounds Friday nights, then Saturday nights at Knoxville in the 360.
After those few seasons, Tammy’s dad suggested that maybe it was time to just have their own car and run some races. Troy took a few days to seriously think about all the great and not-so-great owners he’s ever had. He made a list of the best owners he’s worked for- the Shoff, Woodward, Tim Hanson’s of sprint car racing, and then asked himself, “How do I be even better??” Troy discussed the idea first with Tammy, Katelyn and Sydney “and that’s how the ownership deal all started”. It’s been a good fit”. Troy and Tammy have discussed this possibly being where they end their race career, but “you just never know what the future holds”. They’ve worked hard to get to this point and be the owners of a top running team that is professional, but still has the ability to have fun. Their team is still old school. Troy is hands-on, and until this year they only had volunteer help of good friends, Scott Parker and Brad Parker. This is the first year of paid help with the hiring of Jonathan Pruitt-Goetz out of Snohomish, Washington. Their team is family-oriented. Sadly, Troy predicts that in the next five years there will only be a handful of family owned teams with hired drivers because the sport of sprint car racing is getting financially too difficult to fund. If you look at teams now, most are family owned or the driver owns the team.
The Renfro’s reflect that “these four years have been the best and happiest years ever. We have no one telling us how to do things or why to do them”. Troy has always wanted to be an owner and forge his own path in sprint car racing. “But when it stops being fun then we will stop.” Troy has had some regrets over his 30 years in sprint car racing, but he said he’s learned from them, and has come back better and stronger. For Tammy, “I love seeing Troy do what he loves and is passionate about every day. We, as a family, get to share in that”.
The story behind the 2KS lies in the family name: K for Katelyn and S for Sydney. And TKS in TKS Motorsports – Tammy, Katelyn and Sydney. Even their logo was designed by their daughter Katelyn. Troy asked her to come up with three different versions of their team logo, and the TKS Motorsports logo picked by Troy, is what you see today.
The 2KS is proud to be partnered with Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Midwest Basement Systems, Neumann Brothers Construction, AFA Wheels, AL Driveline, All Star Performance, AO Designs, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Billy Bell House Moving, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Fibreworks Composites, Gail Dielman, Hoosier, HRP, Indy Race Parts, Justice Brothers, KSE Racing Products, Liberty Ready Mix, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Parker Performance, PennGrade Motor Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, Slade Shock Technology, Snyder Landscaping & Lawn Care, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Top Flight Wings, Walker Filtration Systems, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, and Winters Performance Products.
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