QA1 opened its facility to the public for the seventh year in a row on the morning of Friday, July 20. The open house is a two-hour event that brings enthusiasts together for a more intimate gathering before they cruise up to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the Street Machine Nationals in St. Paul. This year’s event brought approximately 200 people through the QA1 facilities, braving the gray and misty weather, to help celebrate QA1’s 25th year of business. 

During the tours, participants gained an inside look at QA1’s daily operations and continuous growth through new machinery and products. “I was impressed with the new CNC machinery,” said one attendee. “All through the tour, I saw company growth, and that is something to be proud of.” They saw manufacturing in action, from carbon fiber winding for driveshafts to welding tubular components to CNC machining and shock assembly. 

To commemorate QA1’s 25 years, the open house also included games for attendees with the opportunity to win a variety of QA1 prizes, from aluminum signs and pint glasses to $2500 in QA1 cash gift certificates. Other prizes included a variety of items from Summit Racing Equipment, Intercomp, Mothers, JEGS, and local area restaurants. 

Once again QA1 selected a Ride of the Year winner, who this year was Marshall Holt of Lakeville, MN. He brought his 1930 Willys Whippet Coupe, which was built from an old circle track chassis and has a custom-made body. “With the large variety of vehicles that come to our open house, it’s tough to pick just one Ride of the Year, but when Marshall pulled in, everyone took notice,” says QA1’s Steve Smith. “It’s a really cool mix of parts that make up the car, and it really exemplifies the #goDRIVEit spirit.”

When the tours were over and the prizes and awards were all handed out, approximately 100 cars continued the party and cruised to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, where participants gained VIP preferred entrance to the Street Machine Nationals. QA1 is proud to sponsor the autocross at this event, where a range of muscle cars and trucks collectively ran nearly 1,000 passes throughout the weekend.