AKRON, Ohio — Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 Tire Review Top Shop Awards presented by Ammco/Coats, which seeks to honor the “best of the best” independent tire dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

Now in its fourth year, the contest is officially open, and entries will be accepted until midnight on June 28.

Entry forms and information are now available online exclusively at the Top Shop Awards Web site at www.tirereviewtopshopaward.com. Complete entries can be made right online.

“Through its first three years, the Top Shop Awards has become the premier honor for North American tire dealers,” explained Jim Smith, editor of Tire Review magazine. “Tire dealers everywhere tell me how much winning this award would mean to them and their businesses, and our past winners and finalists – to a person – have told us how excited and honored they are to participate in this program.”

The key element, Smith said, is that the tire dealers “appreciate the fact that the Top Shop Awards is for dealers of all sizes and types. It’s not about being the biggest or the best known. It’s about stressing all of the elements that make for a successful business.”

The Tire Review Top Shop Award contest spotlights independent tire dealers that epitomize the attributes and values stressed in every issue of Tire Review: exemplary customer service and retention, training and education, merchandising and promotion, professional standards and conduct, appearance, solid business management, community involvement, growth and achievement.

Outstanding examples of those attributes are 2009 Top Shop winner Enger Auto Service & Tire in Cleveland, Ohio, 2008 winner Atlantic Tire & Service in Cary, N.C., and 2007 Top Shop winner Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service, headquartered in Melbourne, Fla. All of the winners and finalists are profiled on the Top Shop Web site.

“We are extremely honored and excited to continue as the presenting sponsor for the 2010 Top Shop Awards,” said Kevin Keefe, vice president of marketing for Ammco/Coats. “The Top Shop Awards brings much deserved recognition to the many successful business people in our industry. The response from tire dealers to this award program has been tremendous, and that speaks volumes about how much dealers was to succeed to delivering for their customers.”

Dealers can nominate their own businesses, or others can nominate tire dealer businesses. The entry process is simple: Those making the nomination need to provide basic information about the dealership being nominated and write a short (300-word maximum) essay explaining why that dealership should be considered.

All entrants will be reviewed and a group of semi-finalists selected. Those semi-finalists will be asked to provide additional information for judging. A panel of judges, including industry professionals and a member of the Tire Review staff, will select the four finalists and, ultimately, the 2010 Top Shop Award winner.

The awards are as outstanding as the dealers selected:

• The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Coats ProGuard Leverless Tire Changer, $1,500 in cash, airfare and hotel for two (two nights/three days) to the 2010 SEMA Show, a feature story in the October 2010 issue of Tire Review, and a Top Shop trophy to display in their dealership.

• Three Finalists will each receive a Coats 1250-3DV tire/wheel balancer (featuring on-board training), $500 in cash, a feature story in the October issue and a specially designed finalist trophy.