#Speedvisionworldchallenge

[forgeline]

The car that started it all (sort of). It was Dave Schardt's experience racing in the Speedvision Cup and World Challenge series that revealed the need for a new made-in-USA custom forged racing wheel manufacturer and inspired the Schardt family to first start the Forgeline brand, way back in 1994. And the most famous of Dave's racecars from the Speedvision era is this 1997 Hikari Racing Toyota Supra. This car was sold in 2001, but Dave found it for sale in 2016 (still wearing its original 1990s livery!), and he bought it back again, restored it, and still races it in SVRA vintage racing events. In 2024, it won the Race Car class at the Dayton Concours d'Elegance. It's powered by a 650HP turbocharged 2JZ straight-six and rides on Motion Control Suspension double-adjustable shocks, Titan sway bars, Brembo brakes, Pirelli P-Zero racing slicks, and 18x10/18x11.5 Forgeline forged three piece GW3R wheels finished with Satin Black centers & Polished outers! See more at: https://www.forgeline.com/customer-gallery-david-schardt/cgk2782

[forgeline]

Did we get into racing because of the wheel business, or did we get into the wheel business because of racing? Well...it's complicated. The Schardt brothers were born into racing, because family patriarch Jim Schardt was already a dedicated club racer, by the time they were born. That led to his purchase of Dayton Wire Wheel in 1970, which also means that the Schardt brothers literally grew up in the wheel business. It was this merging of the wheel manufacturing and automotive racing worlds that allowed the Schardt family to recognize the opportunity to provide custom American-made forged wheels to the motorsports community, beginning in the early 1990s. As Steve, Mark, and Todd were getting Forgeline off the ground, Dave's racing career had advanced to the Speedvision World Challenge series, where he raced the iconic no.94 Hikari Racing Toyota Supra on the original Forgeline forged two-piece RS wheels. And the rest, as they say, is history!

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Photos by James Razor