AKRON – If a picture really is worth a thousand words, Bruce Hogue doesn’t have to say anything at all. The framed photographs that line the walls of his shop in Akron, where he has built racecar engines for local drivers as well as some of the biggest names in the sport, tell his story. Tony Stewart. Carl Edwards. Ryan Newman. All three have made their way to victory lane in a sprint car with Hogue horsepower. Randy Woodling, a Kosciusko County native and accomplished dirt-track racer, and his son, Dylan Woodling, get their engies from Hogue. On the local asphalt-racing scene, Warsaw native Bryon Kiser has won races and finished second in points in the Pure Stock division the past two seasons at New Paris Speedway with a Hogue engine. Car owner and mechanic Gary Schlabach, of Syracuse, runs a Hogue engine in his street stock at New Paris Speedway. Schlabach’s sons, Jason and Travis, have driven the car to victory lane on several occassions. With his out-going personality, quick-witted humor and attention to detail, Hogue treats each and every driver the same – whether it’s a driver who has made it to the highest level of racing, or one who works Monday through Friday to be able to have fun on the weekend. “I’d say people come to us because of reliability, experience and customer service,” said the 62-year-old Hogue, who worked for Gaerte Engines in Rochester for 22 years before starting his own business in the early 1990s – a business that also employs his 37-year-old son, Steven Hogue. “I’ve always been interested in engines,” he continued. “When I was in 5th or 6th grade, I had a racing magazine in my history book. While everybody else was reading their history lesson I was reading about engines....I got caught.” While he may have been in trouble that day, his passion for horsepower has paid off. The Hogues have customers in Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin. Drivers use their engines for both asphalt and dirt racing, whether it be in a late model, modified, sprint car or street stock. “Experience means a lot in this business,” said Steven Hogue, a 1994 Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate. “Yeah, I get to work with my dad, which is cool, but at the same time I’m working with a guy who has been doing this for a long, long time. His experience and the people he knows is just unbelievable.” Steven Hogue said he remembers being at the Indy 500 as a kid. His dad struck up a conversation with A.J. Foyt, and the legendary driver took his hat off and gave it to the younger Hogue. There was a similar situation at Kokomo Speedway, where Steve Kinser won a World of Outlaws feature and then gave his trophy to a young Steven Hogue. Bruce Hogue said he gets Christmas cards from brothers Dave and Dale Blaney. Years ago, when Sammy Swindell had questions about getting his son, Kevin Swindell, into Go-Kart racing he called Bruce Hogue. Building engines, and racing in general, is a way of life for the Hogues. “There really isn’t anybody dad doesn’t know,” said Steven Hogue. “When I was little, other kids would go on Spring Break, and we’d load up the camper and go to a race somewhere. It’s just what we do. We’d usually end up going to an amusement park on the way back.” When they’re not building engines for their customers’ racecars, the Hogues get behind the steering wheel of their own hot rods. “Building engines has been a hobby and a job all my life,” said Bruce Hogue, who says he’s had dinner at legendary NASCAR mechanic Smokey Yunick’s house. “Driving the car, to me, is relaxing.” The Hogues – Bruce in the No. 25 and Steven in the No. 24 – race their dirt modified cars at Montpelier Speedway and Gas City Speedway. When Steven Hogue won his first modified race, taking the checkered flag at Montpelier Speedway in 2003, Bruce Hogue finished second. This season, they have plans to try Plymouth Speedway, which switched from asphalt to dirt. This year marks Bruce Hogue’s 45th season behind the wheel.
