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Where It All Started—JPC Racing

Posted By: Evan J. Smith
Where It All Started

JPC Racing

Written by Ainsley Jacobs
Photography courtesy of JPC Racing
 
Thanks to his involvement in drag racing and with the NMRA, Justin Burcham translated his success as a driver into becoming the owner of the most successful Mustang-focused shops in the country, JPC Racing.
 
Burcham traded his high school ride — a Plymouth K-car — for a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am on nitrous. All of his friends drove Ford Mustangs though, so when his aunt gifted him a six-cylinder 1967 Mustang coupe, he hurried to modify it and make it quicker before hitting the track with his buddies. “I worked for an engine builder in my teens, did a stint at a parts store, and later got hired on for a marine performance business,” noted Burcham.
 
In the early 2000s, Burcham competed successfully in NMRA Factory Stock competition with his naturally aspirated, blue Fox Mustang. “I had a lot of people wanting me to work on their cars, and I got busy doing that on the side,” he said of the budding opportunity to go out on his own and fulfill his dream of owning a speed shop. “I had companies offering me discounts because of my racing, so I decided to start selling parts, too.”


 
Operating under the Justin’s Performance Center (a.k.a. JPC Racing) name for several years before officially christening the business in 2001, Burcham’s first location in Glen Burnie, Maryland, was a small two-car space in a strip mall. With low ceilings, the luxury of having a lift was nonexistent, but Burcham made it work and even incorporated some office space and a showroom.
 
Burcham’s goal was to provide Mustang owners with exceptional, personalized customer service coupled with the knowledge gained through years of racing and high-performance aftermarket modifications for both street cars and race cars. Eric Holliday, JPC’s Chief Operations Officer, came onboard near the beginning of the JPC adventure and remains integral in helping build Burcham’s business with everything from sales and manufacturing to tuning and trackside support.
 
“Eventually, we took on two other units and were bursting at the seams with cars everywhere and delivery trucks in and out all the time…” reminisced the owner, now 48 years old, who spent 10 years at the shop before moving to Millersville. JPC spent another decade there, too, before relocating toward the end of 2019 to its current 16,000-square-foot location in Denton with a team of nearly a dozen. “That was right before COVID, and it was a terrible challenge to go through at the time, but we persevered and weathered that storm.”
 
Today, Justin’s Performance Center and JPC Racing offer tons of performance products plus transmission kits and more, sold in-house, over the phone, or through the company website, all with financing through Affirm. Many Mustang-specific items are custom manufactured by JPC and tested to meet or exceed their clients’ needs and goals. Decades of combined experience working with supercharged, turbocharged, nitrous and naturally aspirated platforms means JPC can handle any build from classic to current. Additionally, an in-house chassis dyno and 6,000-horsepower hub dyno along with tuning services and trackside support is also available. 
 
Over the years, the JPC Racing team highlighted the capabilities of Burcham, Holliday, and the crew. Drivers like Michael Washington, Tony Hobson, Keith Ciborowski, and others have put their Mustangs into the winner’s circle time and time again. 
 
“I love the NMRA because I wouldn’t be where I am without having raced there,” shared Burcham of how Justin’s Performance Center got its start. “The contacts, sponsorship, and exposure I got through the NMRA helped me to develop this business.”









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