About
A company born of our family’s passion for the racetrack - and the people who make the track a great place to be.
This is Bison. Family owned and operated.
Several years ago, as I was beginning to accumulate sponsors over my club racing career, I found myself facing a $2000+ expense for a new suit after alterations and patches. Being a family man and racer on a budget, this was an enormous pill for me to swallow and I knew there were many others in my position. I shopped all of the custom offerings out there but it seemed each one had a trade-off I was not willing to compromise.
It was at that time that my wife Tosha and I identified a need for a high-quality, bespoke line of race gear at a great price point. With the help of our Racer Ambassadors, I developed the “Thor.1” race suit and gloves: a kit that could be fully customized and included a slew of standard safety features, yet came in at a price significantly lower than the competition. Could we make this completely bespoke suit for under $1000 with zero compromise? Using our years of executive-level management experience, Tosha and I came up with a business model that we calculated to be sustainable while meeting our goals of top protection and excellent value. The key was keeping our overhead low, and focusing on slow and steady growth.
Thanks to the information garnered from our friends and Racer Ambassadors, the Thor.1 line received a number of tweaks and upgrades over the past couple of years. Improvements included materials changes, addition of ergonomic improvements, and standardizing some features that are only options even on higher-priced competitors’ suits and gloves. We essentially overhauled our already very nice products to create the pro-level gear we have today - and it continues to evolve.
Now, looks and ergonomics are great and all but the most important question in regards to any safety item is always “How do they hold up in a crash?” Speaking from experience: “Amazing”. In addition to my own crashes in Bison gear (of which there have been several), I’ve watched fellow racers wearing our gear crash numerous times. Watching a friend crash hard in front of you is always harrowing but when they’re wearing you companies’ gear… well, that is going to bring about one of two possible feelings: increased anxiety, or reassurance. I’m happy to say that in each event my first thought has always been “I’m so glad they’re wearing Bison gear”. The bottom line is this: I would never put my friends, my family, or myself into a product I didn’t believe in 100%.
Late in 2019, Tosha and I were still working our full-time jobs but Bison was growing - fast! It was clear that we needed to take hold of this growth before we became overwhelmed. At that time I made the decision to leave my management level job (and 25-year career in the auto industry) to begin working full-time on growing the Bison brand. Shortly after, my wife Tosha quit her executive-level job to do the same. We put our house on the market and bought a large RV, and we hit the road with our two youngest children, Edith and Carter with the goal of visiting as many racetracks and venues as possible and meeting as many of you in person as we possibly can. To say we jumped in with both feet would be a huge understatement!
As you can see, this isn’t a part-time or fly-by-night gig for us. Our family is fully committed to giving you personalized, unparalleled customer service and product quality - and we plan to do so for years to come. We spent the entire 2020-2023 seasons at race tracks across the country and are already planning another full season of events for the 2024 season. We hope that you follow along with us as we add new products to our lineup, welcome new members to The Herd and - most importantly - have a hell of a lot of fun! Look for Rumble, our big RV/trackside storefront. If you haven’t already, come say “Hi” and #jointheherd!
- Robert Lackey, Co-Founder Bison Track LLC
Meet Our Team