Over 45 Years
of Performance
In
the early 1960’s J.D. Eatherly saw the need for a REAL speed
shop in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. He added room in the
back of his already established service center and Rayco Racing
Division was born. Business was good so he added on-the-road
salesmen and the wholesale distribution department was officially
started. Rayco Racing Division ultimately changed its name to
Tennessee Speed Sport and moved across the street into a huge
17,000 sq. ft. building. At the time, it was not known if the
business would be capable of keeping that much space filled
with parts.
With Mr. Eatherly’s determination and support,
the company flourished. He was able to hire good people who
shared his vision of becoming the largest automotive wholesale
distribution center in the south. Many of the ‘movers and shakers’
in the industry today first got their start in the early years
of Tennessee Speed Sport.
The
business continued to grow in the 70’s. An addition to the warehouse
space was made to house all of the new product lines that were
being sold. By 1985, the company had outgrown the original location
and moved to a new 88,000 sq. ft. facility.
With this move, the wholesale division of the
company became P&E Distributors, Inc., and in 1995 Mr. Eatherly
turned the entire operation over to his sons, Steve and Donnie.
Currently, the third generation is hard at work with Steve and
Donnie’s sons learning their way through the business. Like
father, like son.
Over
the years, two things have defined P&E - tenacity and family.
That never-give-up attitude has been Mr. Eatherly’s from the
beginning and it has carried through the blood lines. He constantly
strived to instill this trait in his sons and his employees.
Built on this very strong foundation, P&E Distributors will
continue to grow.
