Panic Motorsports celebrates 10 years of business in racing

Panic Motorsports, LLC of West Columbia will celebrate a milestone 10 years of cars and racing this month.Steve and Becca Bertok, owners of Panic Motorsports, launched their business in September 2006 in a garage in their backyard.

"Steve wanted to own his own automotive business, and he did a lot of research to figure out where to start, but it finally came down to taking that leap," Becca said. "He left his job on a Friday and was selling parts on his own within the week."

Steve's 20+ years of experience in automotive parts and salvage meant the business' initial focus was on parts sales to individuals and race prep shops across the Southeast. After months of market research, Steve planned to focus almost exclusively on parts for the Mazda Miata / MX-5. The demand was huge, and the SCCA Spec Miata racing class was a large part of that demand.

In 2002, Steve had built his first Spec Miata, and after earning his competition license, he was hooked.