Jeff Stec is an
entrepreneur and
NASCAR team owner.
He was a member of the Mu Tau chapter of the
Kappa Sigma fraternity, and graduated from
Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...
in 1993 with degrees in exercise science and business management. He soon worked his way up through the ranks and formed
Peak Fitness
Joseph Michael Mercola (; born July 8, 1954) is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues ad ...
in the
Charlotte area in 1999 and began expanding it into a national
fitness club franchising
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...
company early in 2005.
In 2005 Stec also purchased SCORE Motorsports to field the #66
Ford sponsored by Peak Fitness, with
Hermie Sadler
Herman Marion Sadler III (born April 24, 1969) is a candidate for the newly redrawn Virginia State Senate District 17 and was a former American professional stock car racing driver, announcer, professional wrestling promoter, and autism advocate ...
and
Mike Garvey
Michael Garvey (born September 13, 1962) is an American professional stock car racing driver who currently works as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for DGM Racing's No. 90 Chevrolet Camaro. As a driver, he competed in NASCAR and the Ame ...
running the car.
In the 2006 season, the Peak Fitness Racing team changed numbers from #66 to #61 to allow
Haas CNC Racing to use the #66 for their
Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
Sponsorship. The team also tabbed
Kevin Lepage for the 2006 season driving duties. In the first quarter of 2006 Stec sold the #61 team to
Front Row Motorsports.
Lawsuits and Bankruptcy
In April 2008, Jeffrey R. Stec was listed as a defendant in a lawsuit against Peak Fitness by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. Stating that Stec and Peak Fitness engaged in a pattern of deceptive conduct, deceptive advertising, instructing sales personnel to misrepresent contract terms and club closings.
In April 2009, Jeff Stec confirmed that locations in Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina will be closed by the end of June 2009. A subsidiary of Stec's Peak Fitness filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing between $500,000 and $1 million in debt.
In June 2011, Stec was formally charged with Loan fraud for intentionally filing for and attempting to use close to 1 Million dollars for a luxury home. In addition, he applied for almost 4 Million Dollars from Wells Fargo to build health clubs stating he was the owner of the parent group of Peak Fitness when he was not. Documents claim Stec alone cost Wells Fargo over $250,000 while also causing Wachovia to lose 2.7 Million Dollars.
External links
Peak Fitness*
References
Austin Peay State University alumni
Living people
NASCAR team owners
Year of birth missing (living people)
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