John Bommarito is known for his abilities as a visionary to see the potential that something has while others only see a burden. Throughout his life, he brought the Bommarito Automotive Group to new, unforeseen heights, was instrumental in bringing world class racing back to the St Louis region, and even started two NASCAR teams.
John grew up in a family that valued a strong and continuous work ethic. As such, he was put to work at the family company—the Bommarito Automotive Group. After school, he would spend his time washing cars for the company.
Eventually, he started to work in the service and parts department at the age of 15. It was there that he learned an important part of the family business while also gaining a good understanding of how cars work, as well as taking care of customers.
Working hard both at the company and at his school, he graduated in the top two percent of his class and received many scholarships to attend college. He decided to go to Eckerd College and, surprisingly, he decided to pursue a degree in the psychology and Pre medical field.
John graduated with honors and was even accepted into Stanford University Medical School. However, he decided to take a year off and work at the family company.
He quickly rose through the ranks and grew a reputation for achieving excellence. He transferred out of the car world for a couple of years to become the General Manager of Bommarito Cellular. A Nationwide Division of the Bommarito Automotive Group.
There, he achieved record-breaking sales every year and established over forty retail stores as well as a Nokia wholesale distributorship.
However, like all car guys, he returned to his roots at the Bommarito Automotive Group and proceeded to grow the the now 50 year old family business to new heights.
His reputation for turning bad situations into good was known throughout the automotive world—so much so that General Motors approached him with a deal. General Motors had an Oldsmobile-Cadillac store that was close to bankruptcy, and they wanted John to purchase it in 1992.
John saw the potential of the store and not only bought it but financed the store with his own savings. He used his negotiation skills to bring the Mazda brand to the store. The store went from selling 25 units a month to over 280 units a month.
His amazing success even earned him the President’s Club award from Mazda. Under John’s leadership, the Bommarito Automotive Group became Missouri’s #1 choice for consumers ns all of their automotive needs.
Standing on a mountain of success, John could still only look upwards to new heights. Always having an interest in racing, he formed a friendship with Curtis Francois who was the Gateway Motorsports Park owner and CEO.
Soon, an agreement was met, and the Bommarito Automotive Group became the title sponsor of the INDYCAR series event. Shortly after, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was announced in 2017.
The event brought competitors from all over the world including Japan, France, Spain, Colombia, Australia, Canada, and more. It also brought all the famous racers from the Indianapolis 500.
Needless to say, the event was a major success. John then went on to partner with race car driver Jordan Anderson to start a NASCAR Grander Outdoor Truck Series team followed by a Bommarito Chevrolet Xfinity team.
Through his well executed “Audience Enhancement Program,” the INDYCAR series race has now become the third largest attended race in the series.
For this seemingly unforeseen major success, John was nominated and appointed as a Director of the St. Louis Sports Commission.
Overall, John Bommarito not only gained a reputation for being the man that can make a bad situation into a great one but also became a major influence in the racing world by bringing back the hype that makes racing all that it is in his own home town. Most recently Nascar
Just added the Cup Series as well to the line up, another huge accomplishment for John and WWT Raceway CEO Curtis Francois.
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