Photo Credit: Sunday Management Group | MSR
There are very few successful people in this world that don’t have some story of past struggles.
From the age of 7, Mike Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing, has been around cars. He’s raced them, built them and worked on them. Now, he owns them. The ownership came after a handful of years behind the wheel of race cars, and in 1997, he stepped out of the car and into the office.
Success came early as an owner for Shank with Sam Hornish Jr. in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic Championship in 1999. But, even with quick success, there are always detractors.
“I’ve had those since the beginning (naysayers),” Shank told The Podium Finish. “I’ve fought for respect my whole life, and that’s because I didn’t come from a lot.”
There are many people in leadership roles that come from money and had the investment from the beginning. They had families that could put the money behind those that are also doing the hard work. For Mike Shank, that wasn’t the case.
“I mean, not poor, but not enough to race,” Shank said.
He added that he’s fought himself on respect as well, and that is something many struggle with when trying to develop a successful business. Did I do this right, did I hire the right people and what do I need to do? They are questions everyone asks, and those questions floated in Shanks’s mind for many years.
As a successful team owner with a championship in IMSA, an Indy 500 win and a new 50,000-square-foot shop that houses all of his teams, Mike still talks about himself as a small business owner.
“I’m lucky because my business is also my passion,” Shank said. “I get to do what I love since I was a kid and turned into something bigger than just a 9-5 job.”
Even though the Shank family didn’t have big pocketbooks as he grew up, he had family support. He attributes the most support from his wife, Mary Beth.
“Her and I have debated a lot on is this the right decision, how do we build our future, a retirement account because we didn’t know how that was going to go,” Shank said.
When Shank looks at all his support, one thing he looks back on with his family is the fact they never said no, and that isn’t something that’s always easy for a family with limited financial standing. Shank said his parents would always help whenever they could.
“They would tell me that they help the most that they could, but when they can’t do any further, it’s up to you to figure out the rest,” Shank said. “That is what has probably served me best.”
By the time Shank was 18, he owned around 20 cars.
“I had to work for all of those,” Shank said. “My dad and I would buy them, fix them up and sell them and continue that trend as they would keep getting nicer pieces as they moved up. That is certainly something he taught me when I was young. You just have to keep working for the things you want.”
Shank was never afraid to work, and he did what was available. He made money any way he could as a teenager and looked back on his first paycheck.
“I remember my first paying job was a bus boy at Swenson’s ice cream at Eastland Mall on the east side of Columbus,” Shank said. “I was making ice cream for them, and that’s when I developed the mentality that if I want to get through this, I need to work hard or outworking other people.”
The work-hard mentality and the love for cars are what fueled his desire and passion to be where he is now.
Some would say that you need schooling for success in life. For Mike Shank, it’s hands-on education that got him to where he is.
“I don’t have the college mentality, so I knew I had to just keep working,” he said.
That work-hard mentality is something his drivers are very appreciative of and one of the things that brought them to Meyer Shank Racing. Helio Castroneves said that Mike would do absolutely anything for his drivers.
“If I have something I need taken care of, I just have to tell Mike and I know he will work harder than anyone to get it done,” Castroneves said.
Photo: Steve Conley | The Podium Finish
The newest driver to MSR, Simon Pagenaud, said he had a lot of technical ideas that he wanted to use as a driver, but didn’t know how.
“When I met with Mike (Shank) and Jim (Meyer), I saw how they wanted to run the team, what they wanted to do and I knew that I was going to be able to use that specific skill set here,” Pagenaud said. “That wasn’t something I saw anywhere else, and it was going to give me a boost to my career.”
For anyone that is wanting to get into racing, or any business for that matter, watching Mike Shank will lead you down the right road to success. In fact, for students at local area high schools and technical colleges, Mike Shank has no problem showing up and talking with students. For Shank, taking on new employees consists of one thing — work ethic.
“If I see someone come in here and see a small piece of paper on the floor and walk out of their way to pick up to keep things clean, I know they respect and willingness to work,” Shank said. Those are the type of people I want here, and we have several right now right out COTC (Central Ohio Technical College).
Mike Shank has all the pieces to not only be successful as a race team owner, but to make the people around him successful. That’s something he takes as much pride in as anything around.
