In the heart of St. Charles, Mo., a remarkable success story has unfolded at Sparks Tire & Auto, where Jessica Carrino has developed her family business to become the 2024 NAPA Auto Care Center of the Year.

The irony is that, as a child, Jessica never imagined working at Sparks, much less owning it.

Her father, Ron Tinner, acquired the business in 2000, and a year later, her mother, Sonja, joined the team. By 2018, Sparks had become one of the first NAPA Gold Certified shops. After growing up among the service bays, Jessica handled customer service on weekends as a teenager until she left for Western Kentucky University. She earned her B.S. degree in geography and architecture, but the 2008 housing market crash derailed her plans for a career in home development. She returned to Sparks as an interim gig – and never left.

Facing the Great Recession, Jessica applied her college marketing studies to breathe new life into Sparks. Initiatives like inclusion in Welcome Wagon packages, a revamped car club loyalty program, and a successful "Tires at Cost" campaign demonstrated her strategic know-how. Her innovative plastic postcards and an enhanced online presence sparked a surge in customer engagement and loyalty that continues today. Her creative approaches drove car count and kept Sparks open – and profitable.

Beyond being market-savvy, Jessica is data-savvy. Tracking marketing expenditures and customer responses enabled her to refine strategies, target specific demographics, and maximize returns. She gradually took on more roles until she finally took over Sparks in 2021, shifting from being known as "Ron's daughter" to proudly carving her own niche as "Sparks' owner."

Jessica has never worked on vehicles, but she is ASE-certified as a service consultant, and she excels at transforming technical concepts into layman’s terms for customers.

It’s all done in a PROimage shop that bleeds blue and gold. Jessica avidly embraces NAPA programs, from Gold Certification, Repair Shop of Tomorrow, NAPA TRACS, and the NAPA Apprentice Program, to sales driver promotions, NAPA Credit Card financing, Identifix diagnostic and repair software, UpSwell direct marketing, and ODM social media. And as a beta testing shop, Sparks tests new program releases to help NAPA Auto Care Centers across the country have access to the best support.

Investing in state-of-the-art equipment and fostering a culture of continuous learning, Jessica maintains an ASE Blue Seal shop, hiring only ASE-certified technicians and requiring them to complete a rigorous 80 hours of training every year. The Sparks training room, equipped with a big-screen TV and comfortable amenities, reflects her commitment to keeping the team at the forefront of Autotech training hours.

“Jessica is a fantastic business partner and definitely a brand ambassador,” says Ryan Sager, District Manager. “She always has a smile and is a beacon for positive thoughts and actions. The shop is one of the cleanest, and the waiting area is inviting. She keeps everyone organized with a great game plan.”

Jessica is also taking a leadership role throughout the automotive repair industry. In addition to being active in Women in Auto Care, she is a reliable source and mentor for shops throughout the NAPA network. 

Elected president of the Gateway Business Development Group in 2019, Jessica navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the group extended her term a year to ensure continuity. While traditional activities were limited, she adapted by transitioning the traditional in-person NAPA Autotech training classes to nearly four times as many virtual offerings.

Jessica is passionate about giving back to help others in the St. Charles and greater St. Louis area.

Motivated by her daughter Lana's experience in the St. Louis Children's Hospital burn unit, Jessica hosts seasonal toy drives for hospitalized children. She sponsors and coaches Lana’s soccer team.

Jessica's community involvement extends to supporting organizations such as Community Living, where she served on the board, and collaborating with NAPA Auto Parts to provide a refurbished car to a mother in need. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sparks offered free oil changes to first responders and healthcare workers. Since 2021, the shop has raised approximately $5,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the Repair Shop of Tomorrow's Brakes for Kids initiative. The business donated a portion of a month’s sales to the family of a local serviceman killed in Kabul.

Jessica’s short-term fill-in job has turned into her long-term fulfilling career. She encourages others to explore their own businesses, emphasizing the rewarding nature of fixing cars and making customers happy. For Jessica, Sparks is not just a business – it’s a place where she belongs, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Roy and Jacqueline Foster of Roy Foster’s Automotive are proud and grateful to have been named the 2023 NAPA Auto Care Center of the Year!

Roy shares a name with his thriving Auto Care Center, but he firmly maintains that he works on – and sometimes in – his father’s business. The Reno mainstay known as Roy Foster’s Automotive was founded by and named for Roy’s father 75 years ago, and Roy has expertly kept that powerful legacy of family and fairness alive for decades – and counting.

When he took over the auto repair business, one of Roy’s first major decisions, in 1994, was to join the NAPA Auto Care program. Almost 20 years later, Roy delivered a trailblazing PROimage-style makeover at his new facility, a rundown former Midas muffler shop, before the PROimage program existed. The warm, inviting space welcomes customers to relax in comfort with the confidence that they are working with true professionals.

And NAPA Auto Care programs? You name them, Roy’s almost surely using them – everything from that pre-PROimage makeover and staff training to the NAPA EasyPay credit card and digital menu board to digital vehicle inspections and more.

In 2018, he became one of the country’s first Gold-certified shops. He’s both a client and a coach through Repair Shop of Tomorrow, NAPA’s in-house coaching and marketing company. Repair Shop of Tomorrow has helped Roy bring together all the NAPA Auto Care-approved vendor programs and optimize them for success. Roy served on the NAPA Auto Care Advisory Council from 2018 to 2019, and both Roy and Jacqueline are now honorary members of the 2023 Council.

He’s also an avid advocate for the NAPA apprentice program, which he views as an industry-wide solution to the nationwide shortage of qualified technicians. In 2022, his first three apprentices – including his sons Zach and Logan, and SkillsUSA Winner Randy Cowles – are completing the rigorous program and working in the shop as “homegrown” technicians. Roy appreciates that the program has set him – and the third generation of his business – up to continue to thrive, as he teaches Zach and Logan to fulfill their dreams of taking over when he retires.

In the Reno-Sparks Nevada NAPA Auto Care Business Development Group (BDG), where he is a past President, Roy has led the group’s support of scholarships and training opportunities for the automotive program at Truckee Meadows Community College, where he serves on the board. At The Discovery children’s museum, the BDG has sponsored the fun, educational, and immensely popular first-ever Super Service Center for kids. In addition, the BDG has donated resources to local high school automotive programs and fixes up and donates vehicles for deserving community members. 

Roy also judges SkillsUSA competitions, speaks on Autovitals Digital Shop Talk Radio and Carm Capriotto’s podcast network, is an advocate for NAPA TRACS Enterprise and serves on the NAPA TRACS Advisory Council, and takes an active role in state legislation relevant to the independent aftermarket. 

And wherever you go in Reno, you’re sure to see some service Roy has provided, and some person he has helped.

Through the Repair Shop for Tomorrow Brakes for Kids program, Roy has helped raise roughly $100,000 in two years for St. Jude Children’s Hospital – with nearly $10,000 of that coming from Roy Foster’s Automotive.

In addition to coaching youth baseball teams, Roy sponsors the Reno American Little League, Procter Hug High School baseball, and Robert McQueen high school baseball – where every run, hit, and error is displayed on the scoreboard featuring the NAPA Auto Care logo. Roy and Jacqueline’s ongoing efforts to donate shoe boxes with toys, school supplies, gloves, and even jackets to local students in need has inspired the BDG to get involved with the program as well – serving more children, and even funding their field trips.

At the Awaken women’s shelter, Roy has teamed up with his local NAPA AUTO PARTS store to donate the parts, and Roy provides the labor to keep residents’ cars running. For the past 27 years, he has held leadership roles in his church including being a young men’s leader, Scout master, and emergency preparedness facilitator.

As he continues to build on his father’s legacy, Roy has also built an indisputable legacy of his own as a thoroughly respected, thoroughly beloved member of his Nevada community, the NAPA Auto Care family, and the entire automotive aftermarket.

Troy Auto Care, with three locations in Troy, Michigan, has been named the NAPA Auto Care Center of the Year. Owner Donnie, Kristi and Frank Hudson have been a proponent of the Auto Care program for over 22 years. Troy Auto Care joined the NAPA Auto Care program in 1999. Donnie and his brother Frank were partners in a full-service Shell gas station that was in the family from the time their father started the business in 1958. In addition to gasoline, the Shell station offered repair and towing service. When Shell got out of the repair side, the brothers decided to concentrate their efforts exclusively on Troy Auto Care. They opened their first standalone NAPA Auto Care center in April 1998 and their second NAPA Auto Care location, a 14-bay facility, in January 2019 that Donnie’s wife Kristi Hudson operates and runs. A third shop, an 18-bay NAPA Truck Service Center, was added last summer. The Hudson’s have been TRACS users from the beginning and at the forefront of NAPA Auto Care Gold Certification.

In addition to being a Gold Certified NAPA Auto Care Center, Troy Auto Care is also a AAA- Approved Auto Repair Center. Troy Auto Care’s dedication to this program was recognized by their AAA Club as they have been chosen as the AAA Service Provider of Excellence Gold Award for their road service operation in 2014 and again in 2018. They have also received the AAA Approved Auto Repair Center of the Year Award in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Troy Auto Care takes advantage of most everything the NAPA Auto Care toolbox has to offer. In addition to NAPA TRACS and Gold certification, Donnie’s a firm believer in PROimage. The two Troy Auto Care locations, as well as the Truck Service Center, are PROimaged inside and out. Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) has also been a game changer at Troy Auto Care. DVI has helped increase both sales and the number of customers coming back for recommended services by 26%. The Hudson’s also take advantage of other NAPA programs including AutoNet TV, Optimize Social Media, and NAPA Autotech Training including online classes as well as technician training.

As president of the Northern Detroit Business Development Group (BDG) for nine years, Donnie helped grow the group from nine to 15 members. The BDG is very active in the community and for years has supported the Play-Place Autism and Special Needs Center, the Jenna Kast Believe in Miracles Foundation and National Kidney Foundation. This fall, the BDG group sponsored the Frightful 5K and 1K Pumpkin Family Fun Run, Safety Bash, the City of Troy Christmas Tree Lighting, and Toys for Tots toy drive. The BDG has raised over $106,000 for local charities since the group was organized.

Troy Auto Care also sponsors the city of Troy’s annual Winter Wonderland holiday event, Troy Police Golf outing for Honor Guard, and the Bob Evans Harvest program in support of local food banks.

Donnie not only serves the community through his efforts at Troy Auto Care and the BDG, but he’s also been a member of the Troy Fire Department since 1994 and was named the 2016 Fireman of the Year and the 2017 Fire Instructor of the Year. He joined the fire department as a probationary firefighter in 1994, became Station Lieutenant in 2001, Captain in 2010, and was recently promoted to Assistant fire Chief in 2021. Whether it’s firefighting, volunteering, or running Troy Auto Care, Donnie is passionate about everything he does.

59 Auto Repair in Plainfield, Illinois, has been named the 2021 NAPA Auto Care Center of the Year. Owners Rich and Linda Brauer have been loyal NAPA customers since 2007 and their shop was one of the first in the Chicago area to receive Auto Care Gold certification. Rich and his wife Linda purchased 59 Auto Repair in 2006 and have been working hard ever since to make the business the best it can possibly be. They believe in creating a work environment that makes people want to come to work. Many of their employees have worked at 59 Auto Repair for over a decade! Their family and team are dedicated to treating their customers like family by providing the highest quality to them.

59 Auto Repair utilizes many of the Auto Care programs to give that family insider experience. Rich and Linda believe in the importance of ASE Certifications and staying up to date on training. All the technicians at 59 Auto Repair are ASE Certified, making them ASE Blue Seal Certified, with a combined 38 certifications! Rich and Linda also utilize the NAPA Auto Care Apprentice Program and currently have 2 Apprentices training. Rich leads by example with training, he was awarded the Hands-On Pico Scope Power User certificate in 2019 when he attended 32 hours of ASA PICO Scope Training Classes!

59 Auto Repair is heavily involved in the automotive industry. They are associated with Lincoln Technical Institute where Rich was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2018. 59 Auto Repair is also an American Express Card Member Favorite as an approved small business, a AAA Approved Repair Facility, a member of National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) where they donate to help advocate for small businesses everywhere, helping lobby to make laws favorable for small businesses. In 2018 and 2019, 59 Auto Repair was voted a Nextdoor Neighbor Neighborhood Favorite, an award given out to only 1% of businesses. They were also recognized as a Top 50 Shop in the Chicagoland area and were voted Patch Readers' Choice for repair shops in Plainfield, IL. What may be the biggest award was being recognized as the first automotive shop in the United States to earn a GreenLink Certification for environmentally friendly business practices.

59 Auto Repair and their team are also active in their community. Rich and Linda donate car repairs to families at their church in need, collect food items for their local food pantry and are active members in the Plainfield Rotary Club. Linda acts as the President of the Rotary Club where she was awarded the Service Above Self Award. Being a family run shop comes back in community service, several of the members of 59 Auto Repair are also hands on in their community.

McNeil’s Auto Care operates two shops in Utah, the original location in Sandy, UT and the new location which opened in 2019 in Riverton, Utah. Pete and his team provide the highest quality service to their customers and McNeil’s utilizes many Auto Care programs to drive bay traffic and increase AROs.

Since 1982, McNeil’s Auto Care has built a reputation of providing superior quality work in the automotive industry. This is exemplified by their many achievements and accreditation’s including being ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by AAA. In 2018 McNeil’s expanded their Sandy location to 16 bays to accommodate their partnership with local schools for continued growth of their Apprenticeship program, which served as the foundation for the National Apprentice program launched by NAPA Auto Care in 2019.

McNeil’s Auto Care is heavily involved in the automotive industry. Pete and his team dedicate time to the industry including judging Skills USA Competitions and dedicating bays in the business to training. McNeil’s also won the 2018 Apex Award for Business Partner of the Year from the Canyons Board of Education and Administration for their partnership with local schools to educate and train aspiring technicians. Pete is dedicated to having a well-trained staff, with over 64 ASE Certifications, as well as 4 pending work experience. Pete’s lead technician, Jake Sorenson, was also the 2019 NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year winner.

In addition to heavy involvement in the automotive industry, Pete and his team find time to give back to the local community through Church activities, car wash and Golf fundraisers, multiple charity events and a Van donation to a local deserving couple. They also donate their time and money to community cleanup days and Scholarship Funds. As you can see, McNeil’s Auto Care is not just an asset to the NAPA family, but the aftermarket industry as a whole.