BUSINESS

Gastonia auto care business changes hands, gets new name

Gavin Stewart
gstewart@gastongazette.com
Leonard Gaiten works to repair a tire with a slow leak at Momentum Tire & Car Care on Union Road Friday morning. [Mike Hensdill/The Gaston Gazette]

A 40-year-old tire services center on Union Road has a new look after Tire Country owner Steve Fortner sold his shop to Momentum Tire & Car Care late last year.

Momentum owner and lifelong automotive enthusiast Tim Lail hails from Newton. He began his automotive career in 1989, working his way up the chain at Clark Tire & Auto. Clark Tire sold to Mr. Tire in 2016, which meant Lail would vacate his vice president position.

But in May of 2017, Lail opened the first Momentum location at 1040 Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard in Hickory.

“Business has been really good,” Lail said. “We have excellent experienced staff in both locations.”

Fortner’s father, Wayne Fortner, formed Tire Country in 1979 after leaving his job at Tire City.

“When dad started that business, there was a hometown tire store about every other block,” he said. “That breed is gone.”

Fortner took over in 2008 and ran a successful business until 2019.

“I really enjoyed what I was doing,” Fortner said. “What was nice was seeing the multiple generations coming through the business.”

In April 2017, Fortner suffered several heart attacks and endured open-heart surgery the next month.

And several strokes in July 2019, which he noted happened on the hottest day of the year, impaired his mental capacity and hindered his ability to work.

Plus, when Fortner took over his father’s business, the tire shop flourished with a large support staff. Those days had passed by 2019.

“I was used to multitasking. Now that I can’t do that anymore, that meant someone (employee) was going to suffer,” Fortner said.

So Fortner, 50, agreed to sell his shop to Lail. Tire Country shut down for big renovations during November and reopened as Momentum on Dec. 1, 2019.

“I strongly recommend Tire Country customers continue to support Momentum because they are a locally-owned business,” Fortner said.

Lail noted he enjoys Gastonia, as he worked as a service manager in Gastonia during the early 1990s, and was happy to take care of Fortner’s employees and customers.

Momentum’s ASE-certified staff are trained in tire care, brakes, oil changes, alignment, diagnostics and factory maintenance.

Plus, Momentum offers a shuttle service for those who need to travel while their car receives service.

“We’ll take you back and forth to work,” Lail said. “People are busy and people’s time is most important.”

Lail’s vision is to open a store each year, expanding into western North Carolina, and as Lail’s children finish high school, he hopes he can continue to grow Momentum into a generational family business.

Fornter said he looks forward to traveling across the country.

“I plan to do a perimeter tour at least twice,” Fortner said.

You can reach Gavin Stewart at 704-869-1819 or on Twitter @GavinGazette.