They say to be successful you must identify a need and fill it. Back in 1968 racing enthusiast Gary Holzapfel saw that many of his friends' engines were broken due to fastener failure. At the time, there were no commercially available bolts and studs up to the challenge. So Holzapfel called upon his many years of experience making for a leading aerospace subcontractor and founded ARP (Automotive Racing Products). In the ensuing years, the company has grown from what was a mere back yard garage shop into a highly diversified manufacturer with five operational entities in Southern California with an area in excess of 200,000 square feet combined. These include forging, machining, finishing and packaging/warehousing facilities in Santa Paula and Ventura, California. There is even a unique racing-themed restaurant at the main Santa Paula facility – called the "Hozy Grill" – that is open to the public. Today, ARP's product line contains thousands of part numbers, and has expanded to include virtually every fastener found on an engine and driveline. These high-performance parts range from OEM quality replacement parts to exotic hardware to specialty hardware for Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing and Marine applications.