One of the latest entrants into the racing oil game is JR1, a brand that was conceived two years ago by good friends and NHRA Super Stock racers Mike Roth and Brent Jones — the former an esteemed chassis builder and the latter an oil production magnate in central Indiana. Together, they combined their knowledge and efforts to create JR1, with a focus on high-end racing oil, creating a lineup that’s been expanding into new offerings year over year.
“Brent’s in the oil business and we were sitting around one night and I said ‘why don’t we make our own racing oil?’ The stuff that we were buying, a well-known name-brand oil, wasn’t working like we wanted it to, so we were asking ourselves what we were going to do — what’s the fastest oil out there? So we said ‘why don’t we just make it?’ ”
Roth says the goal with their product was to produce something that’s not only fast, but also durable at the same time. One of their oils on display, a 5W-20, is a lightweight race oil that Roth says can be left in the engine and will last through “a lot” of passes down the 1/4-mile without breaking down. The 5W-20 is the very oil that sportsman star Kevin Helms has utilized for an entire season of racing on his way to a world championship, owing to its reliability.
“The oil is consistent, it’s fast, and it doesn’t break down. It may not be the fastest oil in the world, but it’s not going to hurt the motor, either,” Roth says.
JR1’s oils currently expand from 5W up to 65W full and semi synthetic lubricants, along with transmission oil, gear oil, and mineral racing oils.