Published in TB Business Magazine
Written by: Alexis Harborth / Photos by: Dustin Ashcraft
Mark Kemp has been a financial advisor for more than 32 years. Over the past nearly 12 years, he has been a Financial Advisor and Registered Representative licensed through McNally Financial Services, where he specializes in financial and business planning, retirement plan strategies, asset protection strategies, investment management and life insurance planning.
Kemp is someone who appreciates numbers, and some of his favorites fall between 1960-1969.
“My favorite automobile is the Porsche 911. It is the quintessential sports car! I have restored, collected, instructed high performance driving and raced in multiple years and models since my college years. I also absolutely love American muscle cars, mostly from the 1960s,” said Kemp, who collects and restores classic cars. He currently owns 10 vehicles, including a 1966 Mustang Fastback and 1966 convertible, a 1969 Camaro Z28 Rally Sport and 1970 Camaro Z28, and a 1964 Pontiac GTO, which is widely considered the first “muscle car.”
He also raced for 18 years, between 1998 and 2016. “I started out with the Porsche Club of America in Corpus Christi in 1997,” Kemp said. “I obtained my first racing license, which allows you to do wheel-to-wheel amateur racing with the Sports Car Club of America and Porsche Club of America.” He became more competitive and went on to win national titles, such as 2nd place in the PCA Club Racing 2015 National Championship Cup Car (911) Series, subclass GTC3.
While the vehicles are beloved, Kemp explained that it’s the people who make it a community. “The car collecting culture is such a diverse group of people; all friendly and good natured, happy to help each other. There’s camaraderie,” said Kemp.
Kemp has restored and raced alongside many of his dearest friends, and some of his fondest memories with friends and family come from the world of classic cars. “In 2012, I helped my best friend, Mike Humbach, restore a 1959 Ford Galaxie 500 Fairlane that has been in his family since his great grandfather bought it new,” Kemp recalls. “One of my twin daughters, Kelsey, liked his car so much that she asked me if we could restore a classic car for her. We purchased a 1957 Chevy Bel Air and restored it in a beautiful, tropical turquoise and white traditional paint scheme with modern comfort and safety upgrades. Kelsey drove the car her junior year at Texas A&M University in College Station.”
