Inside the Garage: Hall of Fame Racing's P. Lopez

Columbian native Juan Montoya may be the international star in the garage today, but Philippe Lopez was the first.

Competition director for Hall of Fame Racing, Lopez's mother is French and his father, Mexican-American.

"I'm the only Frenchican in the garage," smiled Lopez. "I meet more than one affirmative action quota for NASCAR."

Lopez moved to the states when he was four years old, learned to speak English and graduated from Texas A&M University. His foray into racing began with late-model stock cars at San Antonio Speedway.

He then worked his way up the industry ladder as a crew chief with several famous names in NASCAR starting with Ward Burton in 1994.

Lopez says he's the only "Frenchican" in the garage, but more than that, he's likely the only team member with his own band -- P-Lo and the Lug Nuts!

Q: So Hall of Fame Racing has a band?

Lopez: Yeah we have a whole room at the shop with amps and instruments; practice is just about every day before lunch. We've got two on bass, five on guitar and three on the drums. There's something very relaxing about making music.

Q: You have one helluva guitar collection by the famous Paul Reed Smith. Elaborate.

Lopez: I ran across them selling for a lot of money on eBay one day, some $75,000. I've always liked guitars and thought it would be a cool investment, as opposed to my 401K, a piece of paper tucked away.

Right now I have 25 Paul Reed guitars but 35 in all. [The boutique guitar manufacturer produces only 30 a day.] I got to meet Paul Reed Smith and tour the factory. They have built the trophy for the Richmond race and are big NASCAR fans, so I've set up tours for other teams.

My collection is hanging on my wall in a room the girls [his 8-year-old twins Ashley and Sidney] call the guitar room.

I tell myself the collection is a good investment, but it's only a good investment if I can sell them.

Q: Can you play?

Lopez: I'm not very good and my wife Angela, she's terrible. The kids are the only ones that show any real promise. We've got a drum set too. (Continued)