When Burlington opened his shop, he said he used to do a lot more stock engines, but with new cars running so long, stock engine work has declined dramatically.

"I don't think a machine shop could survive today just off stock engines," he said. "One of the biggest changes in the industry is the lack of rebuilding stock motors. So I had to switch even more to the performance stuff, which is where my heart was anyway. It was always my dream to have a performance shop."

Burlington added, however, that it is more profitable to work on stock engines, largely because the average time to build a performance motor is around 40 hours, and a stock motor can be finished in 15 hours, and the profits do not necessarily align with the time involved.

Another change that Burlington said he has seen in the performance industry is an increase in race drivers without a background in the automotive industry.

"It used to be that most racers were mechanics, and they would do a lot of their own work and have us do the machine work," he said. "Now the trend is that people have the money to do it but don't have the knowhow to do it themselves."

That can lead to implications, Burlington said, because race drivers without a background in the field often times do not understand the engines they are having built and how sensitive they can be.

"In the old days, when we were doing work for mechanics, they knew it was going to blow up eventually," he said. "Today, we have problems with people over-advancing their timing and leaning carburetors out. They tend to think they are smarter than they really are and the newer engines that we build today will make a lot more horse power than the older engines. In turn, they are a lot touchier on tune-ups, so if you don't know what you are doing, you can hurt the motor very easily."

Regardless, Burlington said he tries to be fair with his customers. Although he does not have a written warranty, he understands that if a racer takes his car to the drag strip, and on the first pass, the engine blows up, that driver is not going to be happy and neither is he.

"I always work on problems together with my customers," he said. "If I made a mistake, I will fix it, and if I didn't, I still work with them."

In the performance industry, Burlington said that taking care of your customers is a must; otherwise, your name will be tarnished and spread quickly to other racers.

"In the performance world, you're a hero when things are going good, and you are a zero when they are not. There is no in between. Sometimes, it is not a very glorious business to be in."

 
Sometimes customers have to be reminded that even NASCAR drivers, who use engines that are better than the best, sometimes blow them up on the first lap, he said.

Burlington said he orders parts through Sterling Bearing and directly from manufacturers such as Diamond Pistons, Eagle, Callies, and Comp Cams.

"I just make sure the parts are installed properly," he said. "Any performance engine can fail, and will fail sooner or later, and if you don't check stuff thoroughly, it is bound to fail."