Racing Limos designed to attract the NASCAR fan

By Kelli Myers
Dover Post - Staff Writer

Its hard to believe that just a few months ago Danny Aguilar of Frederica and Bill Hickox of Dover were just good friends going about their normal, everyday lives.

Now, the two are driving around town in a 26-foot 4-inch long Pontiac Grand Prix limousine, the first of several planned cars for their Racing Limos of Dover business, which has been received very well in town, according to Aguilar.

It happened as Hickox was surfing the net and came across the Racing Limos company, which he presented to Aguilar at a lunch meeting shortly thereafter.

The two have been friends for some eight years after meeting at Aguilar’s previous workplace, DART, the Delaware public transportation system, where Hickox is currently the director of operations.

Since the beginning of their friendship, the two and their wives have always wanted to venture into a business partnership together.

“Our families are very close and our wives always joked about opening up a Dunkin’ Donuts together,” Aguilar said. “But I knew they wouldn’t want to deal with those hours of operation.”

So this franchise was perfect for them, and after some reservations at their initial meeting, Aguilar was on board with the idea.

“At first I was like ‘Oh boy, a limo business,’ thinking they are a dime a dozen out there,” he said. “But then he showed me a picture of the limo and my marketing side jumped out at me and I wanted to do it.”

And after meeting with President of Racing Limos Bryan L. Pease in Orlando, Fla., it was official – Pease announced Hickox and Aguilar as the two stockholders of its newest licensee, Racing Limos of Dover, LLC on July 21, 2004.

After purchasing their car from Willis Chevrolet in Smyrna, Aguilar said it was sent to S & R Coach LLC of Springfield, Mo., and then onto a company in South Carolina for painting and decaling.

Because of the requirement to leave space for advertising on the car, he said it was somewhat of a challenge to design.

“We did several investigations on how other racing teams had designed their limos,” Aguilar said.

He and Hickox decided on colors – which include blue, green “and you have to have racing red,” Aguilar said – that would complement other logos and bring attention to the vehicle at the same time.

The total package of their limo is what makes it so special, he said, since it serves as a limousine company and a moving billboard.

“We like to call our car the WOW factor,” he said, since the attention their vehicle attracts can’t be achieved in the same manner elsewhere.

“I just got a thumb’s up while driving in Harrington the other day from a guy in a van,” Aguilar said. “He rolled down his window and took pictures of it with his cell phone.”

As for the number of their limo, it was a family affair that included their children – Hickox has a 5-year-old son Jared and a 2-year-old daughter Riley, and Aguilar has a 6-year-old son Austin and a 3-year-old daughter named Grace. The number 55 came from a combination of the age of Hickox’s son and Austin’s favorite number, 5.

Racing Limos has a trademark for their name, a trade patent on their product and a design patent for certain graphics they use on their cars, Aguilar said, and since the addition of the Dover franchise and the most recent one in Atlanta, the company claims a total of 17 racing limos.

Aguilar said he and Hickox have protection on their car, so that nobody else in Delaware can make a limousine quite like theirs.

“You can stretch a Volkswagen if you want, but you can’t use our race-car-like striping,” said Aguilar, who considers Dover the perfect place for their business, since it is the home of a NASCAR track.

“The loyalty of NASCAR fans to speed and cars really tie into this vehicle,” he said.

And speaking of fans, Aguilar is one himself.

“I’m a NASCAR fan and Bill’s not,” he said. “[Hickox] saw it from a fan’s perspective and I saw it as a business opportunity.

“We complement each other well,” Aguilar said, noting he has more than 15 years of marketing experience and is the manager of Information and Education at Delaware Solid Waste Authority, for which he manages the public outreach campaign for Delaware.

Hickox is also an adjunct professor of economics at the Wilmington College Dover campus, manages several area rental properties, is a member of the American Public Transportation Association and the current president of the Downtown Dover Rotary Club, all of which add to his strong business sense, according to Aguilar.

Although he and Hickox have enjoyed cruising around Dover in their limo, Aguilar said they plan to hire some drivers to help with the business. Aguilar’s wife, Tammy, will handle the customer service aspect of the business and Hickox’s wife, Jennifer, will be responsible for the accounting duties.

Racing Limos of Dover is serving both Kent and Sussex counties. Check out their Web site at www.racinglimosofdover.com or call the company at 335-0800.

Racing Limos of Dover
44 Shinnecock Rd
Dover, DE 19904
(302) 335-0800