Call them race car guys.
Logan Martin, a co-owner of family-owned Missouri MSO Mr. Dent Collision, grew up at the track. Not with a horse of course but a few hundred of them. As did one of his general managers, Kyle Bellm.
Martin and Bellm raced cars—different kinds and on separate circuits—with some success, each beginning before they were 10. Martin and Bellm told Autobody News they’ve both pulled back a bit. Bellm is in his 30s and Martin just about; they have young families and of course a burgeoning body shop business. But in the early days of Mr. Dent, time at the track paid off in positive business results too.
“Mr. Dent was always a sponsor on the race car,” Martin said, and events “helped strengthen the brand. But the networking is what it really allows: you meet people in the industry, form relationships … people you recruit.”
Kyle runs the Mr. Dent in Ozark the Martins bought from his parents, David and Carrie Bellm, in 2021.
Kyle Bellm and daughters Evelyn and Eleanor.
“My dad opened Christian County Collision Repair in the early 2000s,” Kyle said. Before that, David worked for PPG. Kyle followed the “sweeping the floors” route to shop operations. “I loved cars as much as he did … loved the body shop life, and my dad taught hands-on,” then Kyle learned business at Missouri State.
The Family That Speeds Together, Sells Together
Logan began racing at age 9; his father Brent drag-raced before that. “My dad quit to help me pursue it, and we raced really hard, all around the Midwest for 20 years: Wisconsin to Texas, Florida to Pennsylvania.” About anywhere within seven hours of southern Missouri.
Kyle started at age 8. “My dad was a motorcycle guy growing up … our family was always gearheads.”
“Brent always sprayed PPG, so the dads knew each other,” Bellm said. Both raced outlaw carts at a track in Brighton. They weren’t pit neighbors he said, “but we all knew each other.”
After go-carts, Martin went to mini-sprints, then a combination of modified and dirt late-models. Bellm raced sprint car and open-wheel. Martin topped the leader board in regional championships with some national wins in lower ranks.
“It acts as an outlet. You get a break from the shop environment,” Martin said.
Logan and Larissa Martin with their son, Riggs.
Bellm “won a handful of races, and tried to do it for a living” for a couple years—racing full-time, 40 to 50 a year, winning “a fair share, but it costs so much to keep on the road.” Breaking even week-to-week was a good result, he said. “Dunno if you ever get your initial investment back.”
Always there were relationships. David Bellm expanded shop space at his home and restores cars. “Guys who used to build our engines on the sprint cars, he restored their Nova,” Kyle said.
When the Bellms began to consider selling their shop, a foundation between the families was already there.
Building the Business One Turn at a Time
“We didn’t race the same division or track,” Martin said, “but there was trust and credibility from the racing.”
Martin said he just meets people and marked out several times when a shared interest brought business benefit.
“One OEM vendor was coming in to do one of our audits,” he said, “and he was a racer. We had a [different] level of communication. You might not know each other directly, but we both know people from this track or that series.”
Pictured, left to right, is Ethan Sloniker, a technician at Mr. Dent, Logan Martin, co-owner; and Kyle Bellm, general manager.
At races you meet people in the industry: other owners, for instance—and technicians.
Citing the tech shortage Martin said, “These are guys who work on cars, and you meet people who’d be great in the shop; we’ve found several. They’ve helped on race teams and are full-blown techs or training to be one.”
One Mr. Dent tech, Ethan Sloniker, raced motocross. Bellm said Christian County Collision Repair hired a painter through racing, and got some branding out of it.
“Fans see the logo on your fire suit,” for instance, Martin said. “They identify with it; there’s some loyalty.”
It’s also “forward marketing. You’re racing in an area you haven’t got to yet, but you’re moving there in two or three years.”
The Race Never Ends
Bellm said, “We all fix cars but there are different models—core values.” He stayed on after the acquisition.
“You hear of shops that are numbers-driven, what kind of money can we make, and my deal is, doing a quality repair, having excellent customer service, hiring the right people, and let the numbers take care of themselves. I like people and I want to take care of them.”
Racing relationships, Martin echoed, can be part of that. It’s another form of branding, marketing, advertising and networking.
Both have since sold their cars, but both still race for other owners: Martin about 10 times a year, down from 50 to 60 annually. Mr. Dent still sponsors a car and a racing series in its market.
Bellm runs maybe two dozen, he said, and also used to do far more.
“The maintenance it takes within the week … I’ve got two kiddos … sports and activities; we prioritize that,” Bellm said. “I don’t have time to do it like it needs to be done.”
