Jake Lancaster Wins Zeigler Auto Group’s 15th Annual Product Knowledge Competition

Zeigler Auto Group's 15th Annual Product Knowledge Competition took place last Thursday, October 15, 2026 at Zeigler Motorsports with Jake Lancaster of Zeigler Chrysler Grandville taking home the top spot.

Kalamazoo, Michigan (October 19, 2026) - Zeigler Auto Group's 15th Annual Product Knowledge Competition has a new champion: Jake Lancaster of Zeigler Chrysler Grandville. The competition finale was held at Zeigler Motorsports and was live streamed by Zeigler's Driving Vision Podcast hosted by Sam D'Arc last Thursday, October 15, 2026.

This year over 500 sales professionals competed against each other at their individual stores to earn the opportunity to compete at the semi-finals, with only five winners making it to last night's finale. The format from the store-level and semi-finals remained the same with each contestant doing a 10-min walk around of a vehicle. However, the finale only gave each participant a total of five minutes to perform. 

This year's top five included Devon Rainwater of Plainwell Ford; Kenneth Penaherrara Quiroz of Racine Honda; Jake Lancaster of Grandville CDJR; Mason Wade of Lowell Ford, Andy Bitar of Zeigler Subaru of Kenosha. In order to choose these top five, Ariah Daniels, Zeigler Professional Development; and Mike Van Ryn, VP of Talent Acquisition, saw 26 semi-final presentations from four states over three days on October 2nd, 7th, and 8th.

Ultimately Aaron Zeigler, Zeigler's president, crowned Lancaster as this year's winner, presenting him with a luxury stay at any Ritz-Carlton in the country for him and a guest. The winner will also receive a personalized trophy and of course, bragging rights for the rest of the year.

 

When Lancaster was asked about his winning strategy he said, "Practice, practice, practice… a lot of guys at the store asked me how many times I did it. I counted. If you count the two on the way here in the car, it was 63 times total that I did this presentation." Before he was announced the winner he also shared that he focused on picking the right vehicle that not only the customer could relate to but also himself. As someone with a four year old and another one on the way, he made sure he knew the vehicle and its features inside and out. He also stressed the importance of working in person with his customers for the Ultimate Automotive Experience, "You can never fall in love with something until you actually get to touch it."

Mason Wade of Zeigler Ford of Lowe won this year's People's Choice Award. This award was based on online voting during the presentation where the audience picked its favorite. There was a tie for second place for the People's Choice Award between Kenneth Quiroz and this year's overall winner Jake Lancaster.

 

Judges scored walk-arounds based on the professional's tech and product knowledge, as well as their passion and enthusiasm-all while being able to highlight the car's appearance/styling, advantages, safety features, performance details, value and utility. Also judged was how well the customer engaged with the presentation as well as uniqueness in a real-world scenario. 

About Zeigler Auto Group

Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 88 franchises across 41 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.

Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.

The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.

Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,500 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2025.

The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Chicago, and Michigan. Besides these prestigious accolades, Zeigler is also one of Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. for 2023, and among Glassdoor's top 10 U.S. companies for work-life balance.