Her best exposure comes from covering things up.

• Position: People - Sandra Downey of Pit-Gear Custom Covers Inc. in Mooresville, North Carolina - Company Profile

A torrential downpour shut down last year's Primestar 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but it provided a perfect test for Sandra Downey's customized waterproof race-car covers. "It was the proof in the pudding that they were going to work," says the president and co-owner of Mooresville-based PitGear Custom Covers Inc.

Longtime racing fan Downey, 45, started Pit-Gear in 1998 after a year of research. The problem with traditional covers is the dozens of sponsor logos sewn on them. Each stitch is a potential leak, and if water gets into an engine it can cripple a car. When it rains, race teams usually put plastic tarps underneath the covers. (Concealing the logos is, of course, a no-no). Downey's solution: Airbrush the logos onto Pit-Gear's waterproof fabric.

The company - consisting of Downey and two employees - has started selling custom covers for tool boxes, pit boxes, crash carts, generators, engines and windshields. "Nobody else is focusing on this," Downey says, though other companies make similar covers as a sideline.

It helps that many of Downey's clients, which include Roush Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and the Sabco team, are also based in Mooresville. Pit-Gear has made covers for about 15 Winston Cup cars and a dozen Busch...