Carbon Press

What Carbon Press does

Carbon Press, Inc. is a privately held, family-operated publishing company founded in 2001 by legendary mechanic Smokey Yunick to publish his autobiography, 'Best Damn Garage in Town,' with full creative control and without editorial interference. Based in the Daytona Beach / Holly Hill, Florida area and operated by Smokey's daughter Trish Yunick with a staff of seven, the company sells physical books, ePub digital editions, multi-CD audio book collections, and branded souvenir merchandise through its own online stores (shop.carbonpressonline.com and store.smokeyyunick.com), major online retailers including Amazon, and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

The core product is the 1,100-page, three-volume 'Best Damn Garage in Town' Racer's Edition boxed set ($95), supplemented by a 650-page Pocket Edition ($29.95), a signed Collector's Edition, and ePub format. Carbon Press has built a secondary catalog of motorsport history titles on other racing legends — Fireball Roberts, Ray Fox, Bud Moore, Carl Kiekhaefer, and the repaving of Daytona International Speedway — plus a 'Power Secrets' workshop-format book in its 20th printing. Audio collections ('Sex, Lies & Superspeedways' and 'More Sex, Lies & Superspeedways') extend the content into narrated CD sets.

Commercially, the company operates a direct-to-consumer motion complemented by retail distribution. Revenue is generated entirely through one-time sales of physical books, digital editions, audio CDs, and souvenir merchandise, with publicly disclosed pricing and no subscription or licensing model. The customer base is concentrated in two personas: stock car racing enthusiasts and collectors of vintage motorsport memorabilia. Smokey Yunick's posthumous SEMA Hall of Fame induction in 2009 and the 2016 Germain Racing livery activation at Darlington provide brand-level credibility, but the business is fundamentally a single-brand legacy publishing imprint rather than a growth-stage venture.

Name

Carbon Press

Legal name

Carbon Press, Inc.

Website

https://smokeyyunick.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carbon Press is a privately held, family-operated publishing company founded in 2001 by Smokey Yunick, selling motorsport history books, ePub and audio editions, and branded souvenir merchandise to racing enthusiasts and collectors through its own online stores, Amazon, and brick-and-mortar retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Motorsport Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Motorsport book publishing
• Automotive biography publishing
• Racing history books
• Audio book publishing
• Motorsport memorabilia

Headquarters

HQ city

Daytona Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: One-time sales of physical books including the 1,100-page Racer's Edition boxed set ($95), Collector's Edition, and 650-page Pocket Edition ($29.95)
2. Digital Editions: ePub format sales of Smokey's autobiography, launched in 2011 on 10th anniversary of original publication
3. Audio Books: Audio book collections including Sex, Lies & Superspeedways (6 CD, 7-hour collection) and More Sex, Lies & Superspeedways (7 CD, 8-hour collection)
4. Souvenir Items: Sale of souvenir merchandise related to Smokey Yunick's legacy and racing career

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carbon Press is a publishing company that produces, markets, and sells books and souvenir merchandise related to motorsport history, primarily centered on the autobiography 'Best Damn Garage in Town' by founder Smokey Yunick. The company sells its publications through its own online store, major online retailers including Amazon, and brick-and-mortar bookstores, offering the autobiography in multiple formats (Racer's Edition boxed set, Pocket Edition soft cover, ePub digital edition) along with audio book collections and other racing history titles.

Product overview

Carbon Press is a single-brand publishing company founded by legendary mechanic Smokey Yunick. The core product is 'Best Damn Garage in Town,' available in multiple formats: the premium 3-volume boxed set (Racer's Edition), a more affordable soft cover Pocket Edition, and ePub digital edition. The company offers supplementary products including audio book versions ('Sex, Lies & Superspeedways' and 'More Sex, Lies & Superspeedways') on CD, plus a catalog of other automotive racing history books published under the Carbon Press brand (Fireball, Ray Fox, Bud Moore, The Daytona Project, Full Jewelled, and We'd Race Anywhere). The company also sells souvenir merchandise featuring Smokey's iconic black and gold racing livery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Best Damn Garage in Town: Smokey Yunick's famous autobiography, published in multiple editions including Racer's Edition, Collector's Edition, and Pocket Edition (soft cover). The book is also available in ePub format.

Products and services

• Best Damn Garage in Town Smokey Yunick's autobiography available in multiple formats: the Racer's Edition 1,100-page, 3-volume boxed set priced at $95 (which includes a free digital edition), the 650-page Pocket Edition soft cover priced at $29.95, a signed, numbered, hardbound Collector's Edition (currently not available), and an ePub digital edition. The book contains raw, unedited stories from Smokey's career spanning stock car racing history and his life.
• Sex, Lies & Superspeedways 6 CD, 7-hour audio collection of stories drawn from 'Best Damn Garage in Town', narrated by John DeLorean, for motorsport history enthusiasts.
• More Sex, Lies & Superspeedways 7 CD, 8-hour audio collection of stories drawn from 'Best Damn Garage in Town', featuring various automotive luminaries reading personal stories about Smokey, for motorsport history enthusiasts.
• Power Secrets Workshop-format book covering power secrets in its 20th printing, published by Carbon Press for automotive and racing enthusiasts.
• Fireball: Legends Don't Fall from the Sky Second printing of the unique story of NASCAR racing star Fireball Roberts, written by Godwin Kelly and published by Carbon Press in soft cover and ePub formats.
• Ray Fox: Sly in the NASCAR Forest Story of Daytona mechanic and car owner Ray Fox, written by Godwin Kelly, published by Carbon Press in soft cover format.
• Bud Moore: Man & Machine Story of Bud Moore, NASCAR Hall of Fame 2011 inductee, written by Dr. John Craft, published by Carbon Press in hardcover and digital formats.
• The Daytona Project Privately published story of the repaving of Daytona International Speedway, available from Carbon Press in leather-bound, soft cover, and digital editions.
• Full Jewelled - The Story of Carl Kiekhaefer's Chryslers Story of Carl Kiekhaefer's Chryslers exploring what he was willing to do to win, written by Russ Hamilton and published by Carbon Press.
• We'd Race Anywhere Digital edition collection of stories about speedway experiences told by men who drove in competition six decades ago, published by Carbon Press.
• Souvenir Items Souvenir merchandise including apparel and memorabilia featuring Smokey Yunick's iconic black and gold racing livery, sold through the Smokey Yunick Store.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Germain RacingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGermain Racing contacted Carbon Press about running Smokey's famous black and gold livery on their car for the 2016 Darlington Throwback Weekend, honoring Smokey's legacy through motorsport participation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brock W. Yates / Automobile Quarterly: Long-running specialty publisher of automotive history and motorsports titles. Directly comparable to Carbon Press as a niche motorsports-history imprint serving collector/enthusiast readers.
• CarTech Books: Publisher of automotive how-to, restoration, and performance titles, also part of Quarto Group. Comparable to Carbon Press as a specialty automotive publisher selling enthusiast titles through retail and direct channels.
• Octane Press: Independent publisher focused on automotive and motorsports enthusiast books. Closely matches Carbon Press's niche positioning, multi-format strategy, and direct-to-consumer distribution approach.
• Motorbooks (Motorbooks / MBI): Specialty publisher of automotive, motorsports, and racing books under the Motorbooks and Quarto Group umbrella. Directly comparable to Carbon Press as a niche book publisher targeting the same enthusiast buyer with multi-format titles.
• Wolfgang Publications: Specialty publisher of custom car, hot rod, and motorsports titles. Comparable to Carbon Press as a small, niche-oriented automotive book publisher serving enthusiast collectors.

Others

• Quarto Group: Parent company of Motorbooks and CarTech Books. Comparable as the corporate owner of Carbon Press's closest direct peers and as a potential acquirer/platform for niche automotive imprints.

Broad incumbents

• Simon & Schuster: Large trade publisher with a sports and biography catalog. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for motorsports-history reader attention and bookstore shelf placement.
• HarperCollins Publishers: Major trade publisher with sports, biography, and motorsports-adjacent titles. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose sports biography catalog competes for the same NASCAR/racing enthusiast readers.
• Penguin Random House: One of the world's largest trade book publishers, with an automotive and sports history catalog that competes for shelf space and reader attention. Comparable as a broader incumbent whose portfolio overlaps Carbon Press's category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon-press

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carbon Press