The Reynolds and Reynolds Company has named the five finalists for its 2026 Automotive Amplifiers Contest. The finalists will present their dealership best practices during the Amplify conference, scheduled for August 10–11 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California.

“Every best practice submitted has the potential to make a difference across the industry in a meaningful way,” stated Chris Walsh, President and Acting CEO for Reynolds. “From reimagining where the finance office lives to rethinking how service departments run, each of these individuals challenged a long-held assumption and delivered measurable results.”

The 2026 finalists cover key operational areas within modern retail dealerships:

• Remote F&I Management (Chris Lasko, BMW of Pittsburgh): Transitioned to a fully remote finance department, reducing fixed staffing overhead, addressing coverage gaps, and shortening customer wait times.

• Express Service Upselling (Ken McCord, Art Moehn Auto Group): Streamlined same-visit execution of add-on repair work identified during express inspections, driving a 247 percent increase in fluid and maintenance sales.

• Technician Efficiency Incentives (Daniel Wentz, Safford Mazda): Established a monthly contest rewarding the technician with the highest relative efficiency gain, boosting shop production and CSI scores.

• BDC Workflow Accountability (Denisse Abreu, Infiniti of Lynbrook): Built a standardized lead-handling framework featuring CRM data-integrity audits and strict response-time protocols.

• Commercial Triage & Dispatch (David Glennie, Ted Britt Ford Pro Elite Commercial Service Center): Implemented a diagnostic triage process delivering vehicle assessments within 24 hours to maximize shop throughput and RO counts.

The judging panel includes industry leaders Michael Cirillo (CEO at FlexDealer and Founder of The Dealer Playbook), Chris Ponte (Parts Director at Scranton Chevrolet and 2025 Impact Award winner), and Ulisse “Uli” de Martino (Lead Producer at Car Dealership Guy). The winner will receive the 2026 trophy and a $5,000 charitable donation.