Who Is VP Racing Fuels?

VP Racing is the brainchild of Texas native Steve Burns. A self-taught chemist and physicist, Steve Burns was convinced that the race fuel market of his day had fallen short of hitting the mark for optimum power gains.

In the early 1970s Burns began experimenting with exotic blends of fuel in his parent’s garage. He had acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience as a young racer in San Antonio. That coupled with his aptitude for science granted him a good base for understanding the processes required for proper research and development, or R&D as it is often referred to in the automotive performance industry.

Burns began advertising his newfound performance fuel around the local tracks in Texas. Some racers felt that there were substantial power gains and liked what Burns was producing. Through hard work, grass roots marketing, and a bit of fun experimentation Steve Burns eventually founded VP Racing Fuels in 1974. His first fuel ever created was dubbed “C12.”

Raising The Stakes–Calendar Shoot/Music Video

VP Racing, being rooted in the racing industry, is a company with tendencies that reflect the lifestyle – fast, loud, and full of merriment. In lieu of expanding their market to the street level and campaigning to get the word out, VP Racing Fuels has been working double time to muster up a spotlight from all regions of the country. 

President of VP Racing Fuels, Alan Cerwick recently said, “In the context of our retail brand program, VP stands apart from the major brands and oil refiners, given our historical roots in racing and reputation among performance enthusiasts…VP is known for leading-edge fuel technology, ‘MAKIN POWER’, and having fun.”

In the spirit of having fun and raising the stakes a bit, VP Racing Fuels is taking a marketing stance based on an edgy and provocative image that is sure to grab the attention of a younger and performance driven market. Cerwick continues, “These videos serve as a great illustration of that last component [having fun] and a reminder that VP is the only retail brand that could pull it off. Some other major brands could never get this though their corporate bureaucracies or past their conservative executives and shareholders.”

In any industry, pushing the boundaries is a risk that all companies sit long and hard in meditation over. Where some have reached a point of stasis and can merely sit back while stocks grow it’s always refreshing to see a company on the grind to get to the top.

Stay up to date with VP Racing Fuels’ calendar shoot and music video here.

What’s In VP’s Future?

VP Racing Fuels is currently on a campaign to expand itself within the retail market as a major gasoline brand. It is currently launching VP branded gas stations and convenience stores across the United States.

From one location with two employees in San Antonia, Texas to over 100 members interspersed at four owned and operated racing fuel distribution points in Texas, Indiana, Georgia, and Delaware – VP Racing Fuels has come a long way. 

VP also has distribution centers in Sydney, Australia and Puerto Rico both of which represent the company’s first expansions outside the North American continent. You can check out the full details of how this company has evolved throughout the decades on their website here.