It’s hard to believe I first bottled Papa Willy’s Traxion Tonic two years ago. We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. What started as an experiment at our local track has blossomed into a thriving undertaking. Honestly, I never intended to sell my product. But as word got out about how it was working I began receiving requests. Before long Iwas searching for bottles, mixing compounds and forming a name.
The name Papa Willy’s is a play on words derived from “pop a wheelie”, which is what maximum traction leads to. It was said that with my tire prep, and the correct conditions, you could pop a wheelie! The name stuck and I began marketing my product as Papa Willy’s Traxion Tonic. I felt it was a catchy name and lent itself well to multiple slogans, such as “If you’re not popping wheelies, it’s not Papa Willy’s”.
My first bottles came from the local Dollar Tree store. They came in a 3 pack for $1.00. I first sold my prep at the track, either Tonic (Gold or Red), for $8 a piece. At the time I was surprised people wanted to buy it and I had no idea how much to charge. But, as the demand went up I knew I’d need to package the product better. I asked lots of people what they wanted in a bottle. The majority said they’d like a bottle with a wool dauber in the lid, so after some searching, I found exactly what I was looking for. The new bottles were three times the price of the Dollar Tree bottles, so an increase in price per unit was necessary. Fortunately for the consumer, the new bottles were also bigger, which meant my customers were able to get more product for a minimal increase in price.
Labeling the product was also an important part of its history. I designed the first logo on my home computer using a 20-year-old version of print shop. I had a few guys asking for my logo for their body wraps, so I followed a lead that took me to Craig Boots at The Graphic Shop in Atlus, Oklahoma. Craig took my design, enhanced it, and printed our first labels. In fact, when I decided to change the design of the labels I went to Craig first, and of course, he delivered an outstanding, very noticeable, well-received product. I told Craig what I was looking for and he sent back three different concepts. It was from these three that I selected our current design and labeling.
Along with this journey I’ve met a lot of incredible people. One such individual is a guy named S.B. Webb. S.B. believed in my product and encouraged me to launch a website, so with S.B.’s help, I’m happy to announce that www.papawillys.net is now up and alive. S.B. built the site and maintains it for me, which allows me to manage shipping and communication a lot easier. While I continue to man the Facebook page, S.B. manages the website and adds content as needed.
Earlier this year I received my first order of shipping boxes purchased specifically for shipping Papa Willy’s Traxion Tonic. Up until recently, I’ve shipped in whatever box I could find at my “real job”. However, I feel like a legitimate product should be shipped in legitimate packaging. Our boxes aren’t anything special, but they fit the product well and I’m proud to have my name on them. It’s just another detail in the story that shows where we’ve been to where we’re going.
I love sponsoring drivers and races. Since I began selling my prep I’ve tried to support drivers that I believed in. Because I’m only a small fish in a big pond I have to make smart, critical decisions with who or where I support my product. Normally, the best way to become a “Team Driver” is to use and believe in my product prior to becoming “part of the team”. On occasions, I’ve supported other drivers based on recommendations from trusted friends inside the industry. One such partnership came with thirteen-year-old Cole Ashworth. Cole is now a Papa Willy’s Team Driver, but I first contacted him about representing the product at this year’s Chili Bowl – which he did amazingly well! Cole took home hardware from two classes, one of which was third place in the Midwest Mod A Main!
Just recently Papa Willy’s Traxion Tonic became the official traction supplier for the RC Dirt Oval Podcast. The RC Dirt Oval Podcast is the only podcast dedicated solely to RC dirt oval racing and is growing every day. I’m excited to partner my product with them!
We’ve come a long way. In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined that a concoction I mixed up to try at my local track would be going all over the country. I honestly can’t take much credit for the success though. It’s everyone that’s purchased my product, contacted me about its uses and reported back because they truly wanted me to know what a difference it made in their race program that contributed to its success. I appreciate everyone one of my customers and hope to earn your business again and again.
Thank you Thank you Thank You – as we move into the future together!
#PapaWillys – Cures Poor Traction