Ohio's Iron Pony named 2011 Dealer of the Year

There were 100 top motorsports dealers who knew they were in the running but no one knew until last night that Iron Pony Motorsports Group, of Westerville, OH, would be named Number One. At the 20th Annual Dealernews Top 100 Dealer Awards Ceremony, held in Indianapolis, Iron Pony was named 2011 Dealer of the Year.

Iron Pony sells parts, gear, and accessories out of a former Kmart store and only in the last two years have they started selling motorcycles. The now run Yamaha, Polaris/Victory, and Piaggio franchises. In making their selection, judges cited "merchandising inventiveness, promotional excellence and success with its surrounding community."

First- and second-runner-up awards were presented to Rexburg Motor Sports out of Rexburg, ID, and Bob Weaver Motorsports & Marine, North Tonawanda, NY, respectively. Rexburg also landed the Special Merit award for best dealership exterior, while Weaver won a Special Merit Award for Best Display.

The third runner-up was World of Powersports, of Decatur, IL, and Outdoor MotorSports, of Spearfish, SD, and Signature Harley-Davidson, of Perrysville, OH, took Honorable Mentions. Road Track & Trail, of Big Bend, WI, was named Best Independent Dealer. World of Powersports also took home the Best E-Commerce Operation and Best Promotion awards.

Other awards and winners included:

The Don J. Brown Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to brothers Bob and Jimmy Jones, owners of J&W Cycles in Washington, MO. The brothers also won a Special Merit Award for their use of a Jumbotron to present messages to the crowd at a county fair.

The Progressive International Motorcycle Shows presented the Consumer’s Choice Award to South Texas Suzuki, of Lytle, TX. The winner was selected by online votes from visitors to the shows.

Strokers Dallas won in the Best Media Campaign-Radio/TV category for its new reality TV series, “Ma’s Roadhouse,” on TruTV.

Outpost Harley-Davidson, Pueblo, CO, won in Media Campaign-Print with its “Winter Specials” postcard mailings.

A.D. Farrow Co. Harley-Davidson, of Columbus and Sunbury, OH, won in Media Campaign-Online for its Facebook campaign supporting a breast cancer event.

Bayside Harley-Davidson, of Portsmouth, VA, won for Service Department and for Store Theme.

Outdoor MotorSports, of Spearfish, SD, won for Employee Incentives

Ducati Newport Beach, of Costa Mesa, CA, won for Use of Space.

McGrath Powersports, of Cedar Rapids, IA, won for Dealer Event for its motocross clinic.

Deptford Honda Yamaha, of Deptford, NJ, won for its Web site.

Powersports of Joplin, of Joplin, MO, won for Customer Service for its customer focus groups.

Signature Harley-Davidson, of Perrysville, OH, won for Community Involvement for its Ride to Recovery charity ride.

Following is the full list of those dealers who made the top 100 list.

ALABAMA – Dothan Powersports (Dothan)

ARKANSAS – Heartland Honda (Springdale)

ARIZONA – Northland Motorsports (Flagstaff), Sierra Cycles (Sierra Vista)

CALIFORNIA – Doug Douglas Motorcycles (San Bernadino), Ducati Newport Beach (Costa Mesa), Eagle’s Nest Harley-Davidson (Lathrop), Mission Motorsports (Irvine), Southbay Motorsports (Chula Vista)

COLORADO – Fay Myers Motorcycle World (Greenwood Village), Grand Prix Motorsports (Littleton), Outpost Harley-Davidson (Pueblo)

DELAWARE – Powersports East (Bear)

FLORIDA – Deland Motorsports (Deland), Harley-Davidson of St. Augustine (St. Augustine)

GEORGIA – Cycle World of Athens (Bogart)

IDAHO – Rexburg Motor Sports (Rexburg)

ILLINOIS – Conrad’s Harley-Davidson (Shorewood), Frieze Harley-Davidson (O’Fallon), Gieson Motorsports (Rock Falls), World of Powersports (Decatur)

INDIANA – Hoosier Harley-Davidson (Elkhart)

IOWA – McGrath Powersports (Cedar Rapids), Struthers Bros. (Des Moines)

KANSAS – City Cycle Sales (Junction City)

KENTUCKY – Andy’s Cycle Sales (Bonnyman), Wildcat Harley-Davidson (London)

LOUISIANA – Cycle World (Houma), Performance Power Sports (Houma), Renegade Harley-Davidson (Alexandria)

MICHIGAN – Grand Rapids Harley-Davidson (Hudsonville), Hot Rod Harley-Davidson (Muskegon), VanDerZee Motorplex (South Haven)

MINNESOTA – Simply Sport Bikes (Eden Prairie)

MISSOURI – Advantage Powersports (Kansas City), Big St. Charles Motorsports (St. Charles), Cruisin’ 66 (Springfield), Freedom Cycles (Grandview), J&W Cycles (Washington), Powersports of Joplin (Joplin)

MONTANA – Beartooth Harley-Davidson/Buell (Billings), Two Wheelz (Butte)

NEBRASKA – Kearney Yamaha (Kearney), Star City Motor Sports (Lincoln)

NEW HAMPSHIRE – Great Bay Motorcycles (North Hampton), Seacoast Harley-Davidson (North Hampton)

NEW JERSEY – Deptford Honda Yamaha (Deptford), Xtreme Machines (Millstone Township)

NEW MEXICO – Champion Motorsports (Roswell), Santa Fe Motor Sports (Santa Fe)

NEW YORK – Bob Weaver Motorsport & Marine (North Tonawanda), Filers Powersports (Macedon), Pioneer Motorsport (Chafee)

NORTH CAROLINA – Indian Motorcycle Charlotte (Lowell), Outer Banks Harley-Davidson (Elizabeth City), Ray Price Inc. (Raleigh), Scooternerds/Vespa Greensboro (Greensboro)

OHIO – A.D. Farrow Harley-Davidson (Columbus/Sunbury), Adventure Harley-Davidson (Dover), American Powersports (Findlay), Apex Powersports (New Philadelphia), Competition Accessories (Springfield), Iron Pony Motorsports Group (Westerville), Rick Roush Motor Sports (Medina), Signature Harley-Davidson (Perrysburg), Toledo Harley-Davidson (Toledo)

OKLAHOMA – Myers Duren Harley-Davidson (Tulsa), Performance Cycle (Oklahoma City)

PENNSYLVANIA – Crossroad Powersports (Upper Darby), Sport Cycle Suzuki (Leesport), Steve Seltzer Honda (Altoona)

SOUTH CAROLINA – Performance PowerSports (Seneca)

SOUTH DAKOTA – J&L Harley-Davidson (Sioux Falls), Outdoor MotorSports (Spearfish)

TENNESSEE – Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville)

TEXAS – Alamo Cycle Plex (San Antonio), Central Texas Powersports (Georgetown), Dallas Honda (Dallas), Family PowerSports (McKinney), Horny Toad Harley-Davidson (Temple), Killeen Power Sports (Killeen), Maxim Honda (Allen), South Texas Suzuki (Lytle), Strokers Dallas (Dallas)

VERMONT – Cyclewise Inc. (New Haven), Green Mountain Harley-Davidson (Essex Junction)

VIRGINIA – Bayside Harley-Davidson (Portsmouth), Black Wolf Harley-Davidson (Abingdon), Hampton Roads Harley-Davidson (Yorktown), Shenandoah Harley-Davidson (Staunton), Waugh Enterprises Harley-Davidson (Orange)

WASHINGTON – Downtown Harley-Davidson Renton (Renton), Experience Powersports (Moses Lake), Renton Motorcycle Co. (Renton)

WEST VIRGINIA – Charlie’s Harley-Davidson (Huntington), Cole Harley-Davidson (Bluefield)

WISCONSIN – House of Harley-Davidson (Milwaukee), Road Track & Trail (Big Bend), Rob’s Performance (Johnson Creek), Vandervest Harley-Davidson (Peshtigo)

The Dealernews Top 100 Awards is a juried competition that recognizes powersports dealerships for their achievements in retail design and merchandising, marketing, e-commerce, customer service, community involvement and general business management. For more information, visit www.dealernews.com/top100.