At JRi Shocks, our sole goal is to be the best at what we do — and that's building premium shock upgrades for vehicles ranging from race cars to 4x4s and even motorcycles. Southern Country Customs (SCC) shares a similar goal with its customers in creating custom Harley-Davidson bikes. That's why we're honored to be the shock of choice for our neighbors here in Mooresville, North Carolina.

We wanted to take a moment to talk about SCC and highlight their commitment to excellence. Like us here at JRi Shocks, Stephen and Rusty are competitors at heart who have made it their mission to deliver the very best every time out.

Southern Country Customs: Built on a History of Greatness

If anyone knows anything about coming in first, it's Rusty Wallace. Wallace is the co-founder of SCC, which he runs alongside his son, Stephen, but you probably know him better as one of the greatest race car drivers of all time. The NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer, along with his son, started SCC in 2019 with the singular mission of building "the world's baddest custom motorcycles."Based in a 15,000 square foot facility in the beating heart of NASCAR country — and right down the road from us — SCC provides a complete range of customization services for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The Wallaces offer everything from suspension and engine upgrades to full custom builds, and they even have an in-house fabrication facility. As the company's website says, "If it's Harley-based and you can dream it, we can make it happen."

"People come to us for all sorts of different reasons," says Stephen Wallace. "Some folks are just looking to get a little more performance or comfort out of their Harleys, some want to add some personal flair to their rides, and others are looking for a one-of-a-kind custom bike that would fit in a museum. We love doing it all."

Insisting on the Best

The decision to base their operations in the greater Charlotte area is a strategic one, as Mecklenburg County, the cultural capital of the racing world, is a hub of automotive talent and technology. SCC's location, combined with Wallace's status as a NASCAR legend, enables the company to hire the best talent and source the finest components for their builds. That is a core component of SCC's mission to build the absolute best custom Harleys for their customers.

That's why we are so honored to be the shock provider of choice for SCC. When they want the best shock solution for their customers, they come to JRi Shocks. You won't find a more prestigious endorsement in our field.

Of course, it helps that Rusty Wallace was already familiar with shocks from Jeff Ryan and JRi. While we now build top-tier shocks for motorcycles and off-road vehicles, we got our start in the racing world, just like Rusty. 

Racing shocks from JRi have been a go-to choice for stock car racers for over 40 years. We watched Wallace get named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1984 and win the Winston Cup in 1989. When Wallace became the all-time lap leader at Bristol Motor Speedway and then again at Richmond International Raceway — two records that still stand, by the way — we were there.

Our mutual familiarity and shared history may have been the reason Wallace knew about JRi in the first place, but he says it's the product that makes us his first choice of shocks for bikes built at Southern Country Customs.

"At the end of the day, all that matters to us is giving our customers the best possible bike," says Rusty Wallace. "We looked at a number of options when we started SCC, and it quickly became clear that JRi Shocks was the way to go. The combination of build quality, precision engineering, and range of applications is in a class of its own."

SCC chooses the shocks it installs based on each individual customer's preferences and riding style. With options like dual-adjustable shocks, ride-height-adjustable shocks, and fork cartridges, the technicians at SCC can deliver custom Harleys tailored to the precise needs and profile of the rider. That level of choice helps the company make their custom bikes even more customized for their customers.

Wallace says that our location just a shout away from SCC was also a factor — and not just one of convenience.

"We're delighted to be able to shop locally," he says. "That comes with the huge advantage of being able to talk to our shock supplier in person. Like us, they do all their work in-house, so we get to see where the shocks we put on our customers' bikes are made. That's pretty rare in this business these days."

Southern Country Customs and JRi Shocks: A Winning Combination

You don't earn 55 wins and 349 top-ten finishes at the highest level of stock car racing without a competitive drive to be the best. That's why it was no surprise to us to see the quality that the Wallaces and their crew at SCC deliver to their customers in the form of custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It's also why we're incredibly proud that they use JRi shocks on those motorcycles.

It's true that Southern Country Customs is our neighbor and that they're our business partner. However, it's also true that we're huge fans of the thought and attention to detail they put into every bike they work on. We're consistently wowed by what we see coming out of that shop down the road.

That wow factor is a point of emphasis for SCC, says Stephen Wallace. 

"Our goal is to see our customers ride off with a huge grin on their faces," he says. "I like to think of us as being in the business of not just building custom Harleys, but of building dreams."

With JRi shocks on board, SCC and their customers can rest assured that the bike of their dreams will ride like one, too.