About Us
Written by Camille Wells
Tuesday, 28 June 2011 19:57
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dorton_9-1000pxSince this Concord, North Carolina native was a youngster, Keith Dorton has always worked on engines.  At age 12 Keith built a 1932 Ford Coupe powered by a flat head Ford.  By age 15 he was drag racing at a nearby drag strip.  Keith began his professional engine building apprenticeship right by working at the legendary Holman-Moody racing operations in 1964.

Keith Dorton started Automotive Specialists, Inc. in 1965 with full intentions of building high quality, winning engines that still come from his business today.  During the last 45 years Keith has built a strong foundation for Automotive Specialists and is proud of the many accomplishments his company has made.

Since its inception Automotive Specialists has developed and built many different types of engines for a remarkably diverse range of racing formats.  Starting on local dirt tracks around North Carolina, Keith performed work for racers such as Ralph Earnhardt, Automotive Specialists first paying customer.  With growing success on the local short tracks came opportunities in other areas of racing. 

Over the years Automotive Specialists prepared engines and components have won races at every level.  They have won in virtually all of NASCAR’s touring divisions, plus the USAR ProCup series, ASA and many other series.  Automotive Specialists engines have also won many prestigious races such as the 1990 Daytona 500, the Snow Ball Derby, and the Copper Classic.

Fortunately for racers all over the country, Keith enjoys the challenge of research and development work.  He has built several variable compression ratio (VCR) engines for the Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Labatory, ANL and Envera.  His dedication to doing a good job and keeping up with the latest technology consistently translates to winning engines for his customers, as has been the plan since 1965.
Last Updated on Friday, 02 December 2011 20:00