About the Owner
Ben Smithson grew up just outside of Nashville, Tennessee tinkering and playing with go-karts, lawnmowers, dirt bikes, and just about anything with an engine. As he grew older, this passion quickly turned to cars. At the age of 13, he bought his first truck, a 1967 Chevrolet C10 which became his daily driver throughout high school, and by age 17, he and his father finished a 1931 Ford street rod which made its way into a few feature articles in various print magazines.
At 18, Ben went off to Tennessee Technological University to pursue an engineering degree, and four years later that hard work paid off! But it wasn’t just schoolwork that kept him busy during those four years, Ben also began building his third car, a 1932 Chevrolet coupe. This little bare-bones hot rod was finished in 2014 and has since been featured on the covers of Street Rodder Magazine, Cruisin’ Style Magazine, and the Speedway Motors Catalog, all while racking up many Goodguys, NSRA, and other awards along the way.
Upon graduating from Tennessee Tech University, Ben has held various process engineering, project management, and leadership positions at companies such as Nissan, Toyota, and Destaco, where he developed many of the skills he still uses today. Although Ben enjoyed the manufacturing and engineering industry, his passion has always been custom cars, so in 2018 his dream became a reality when Smithson Speed and Engineering, LLC was opened as a full-time business!
