| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Founder | John and Rita Gregory |
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | Jarden Corp. |
| Website | www.jtracingusa.com |
JT RACING USA , LLC.
Based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of JARDEN corporation , designs, develops and manufacture mortorcycle and bicycle sports performance equipment including helmets, goggles, gloves, motocross boots, protections, apparel and other accessories. Most items are designed in house at their head office in California.
HISTORY
Amazingly, it all started with socks. Colorful, stretchy motocross socks that John and Rita Gregory – a pharmacist couple living in San Diego – figured might sell well enough to offset John’s growing racing expenses during the late 1960s. The couple sold socks out in the desert and at the track from the trunk of their car, as well as from a glass case in their pharmacy lobby. The socks sold quite a bit better than expected, and by 1970 the Gregorys had shuttered the pharmacy and were pursuing their fledgling motocross business full-time. The new company needed a name when a business license became necessary, and one was conjured hastily while in line at the county office. John offered ‘TJ’, or Tijuana, where the socks originated. But Rita swapped the letters due to TJ’s seedy reputation. At that moment, JT Racing Imports was born. The couple hired Joel Robert to wear and promote JT socks for the princely sum of $100 and all the socks he could use. The exposure helped. They soon added matching jerseys to the line, and signed Hallman Racing – their first distributor – to sell them. They then added a product that would soon revolutionize the entire industry – nylon motocross pants.