Among the many highlights of PRI are major announcements by race sanctions, tracks, and teams as they make preparations and reveal new initiatives for the upcoming season.

Judging from all the announcements made at December’s PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis, racers across all facets of motorsports are anxious to put the pandemic in their rear-view mirrors, get back to pre-pandemic normality and accelerate their businesses as much as possible in 2022 to make up for lost time and opportunities.

Here’s a look at some of the key news generated at the Show, and the ramifications these announcements may have within their motorsports segment for the upcoming race season and beyond. 

Circle Track Racing

World Racing Group (WRG): Brian Carter, CEO of WRG in Concord, North Carolina, dropped big news on the last day of the PRI Show when he announced that WRG will expand in 2022 to offer two new series for non-wing sprint cars and midgets. They will be called the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series and the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series.

WRG already owns and runs the winged World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, the Super DIRTcar Series big block modifieds and DIRTcar Racing.

Carter said both new series will have a 10–15 race schedule in 2022, a combined point fund approaching $100,000, and that all of the races will be streamed live on DIRTvision. Some of the two new series’ races will be run in conjunction with other WRG-sanctioned events.

“Working in conjunction with POWRi and USAC to the extent possible and combining World Racing Group’s already established resources will allow us to expand the sport and provide more entertainment for our fans,” Carter said.

The series’ 2022 schedules and more information will be available as it develops on XtremeOutlawSeries.com.

Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA): ARCA team owner Max Siegel used the PRI Trade Show to announce that he’ll run two drivers, Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth, in all 20 ARCA Menards national races in 2022 as part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program with Rev Racing. 

“The second thing Max announced is that his team has a formal relationship with Chevrolet,” said Ron Drager, president of ARCA, Temperance, Michigan. “It’s huge for an ARCA team to be working with a major manufacturer like this.”

Drager said more diversity should produce more fans. “Different ethnic groups of racers open up interest in different fans, because people like to watch drivers they can identify with and relate to. This will help us appeal to more people, and we hope to gain some added fans,” he said.

“We also had five females start an ARCA Menards West race in 2021 for the first time,” Drager continued. “That was at the Bullring at Las Vegas.

“Bridget Burgess is expected to be back in the ARCA Menards West series in 2022, and perhaps JoJo Wilkinson too,” he added.

United States Auto Club (USAC): USAC of Speedway, Indiana, released the 2022 schedules for the AMSOIL National Sprint Series, the NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series, and Silver Crown.

In addition, several USAC driver announcements were made at the PRI Show:

Chase Stockon was named as the new driver of the Pink 69 Racing car for the dirt portion of the 2022 USAC Silver Crown series.

Kody Swanson, the winningest driver in USAC Silver Crown history and its six-time and reigning champion, told a Flo Racing audience he will run the pavement races in that series in 2022 with Doran Racing and the dirt-track races with Dyson Racing.

Jadon Rogers, the 2020 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car rookie of the year, will go full-time with the series in 2022, contesting all 51 races for his father, Kyle Rogers, and Tim Engler.

CJ Leary will contest the full USAC Silver Crown schedule in 2022 in the Klatt Enterprises No. 6. 

WISSOTA Promoters Association: “We’re at PRI to make connections,” said Carson Gramm, executive director of the WISSOTA Promoters Association, Saint Cloud, Minnesota. “We have 50 tracks in the United States and Canada, and we’re anticipating the possibility of adding three new ones in 2022.

“We just signed Thunder Hill Speedway in Thunder Bay, Ontario,” he said, “and two other new ones are possibilities. We’re always looking for more tracks.”

WISSOTA has eight different classes of race cars, with dirt late models being the premier class and Midwest modifieds being the most popular via car count. Its biggest event is the Speedway Motors Wissota 100, which will be held at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on September 13–17.

“We recently rebranded, and PRI marks the official debut of our new logo,” said Callie Sullivan, the series’ office administrator who is also in charge of points keeping and licensing. 

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park: Besides changing its name from Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, IRP’s booth was the place to learn about the new 500 Sprint Car Tour.

“We’re working on a schedule,” said series co-owner Tom Hartsell Jr. of the Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Super Sprint Series, Cassopolis, Michigan.

“Right now, we’re hoping for 11 dates, maybe 12. Of course, the Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson Speedway and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will be on the schedule, and several tracks in Michigan have expressed interest,” he said. “We’re very encouraged. We’re seeing some of the promoters we’ve been talking to here at the Show and trying to firm things up.” 

Speedway Illustrated Kenny Schrader Real Racer of the Year Award: Karl Fredrickson, publisher of Speedway Illustrated magazine, and veteran racer Kenny Schrader presented the Real Racer of the Year award named in Schrader’s honor to Andy Jankowiak, who was this year’s unanimous choice by the panel of voters. 

John Schneider, best known for his role of Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard” TV show, was this year’s special guest at the awards ceremony. The actor/singer started racing dirt-track modifieds last year. 

Jankowiak drives pavement modifieds and three-quarter midgets, where he is a regular winner. He also invested every penny he had to compete in seven events in the ARCA Menards national series in 2021, recording four top-10 finishes. 

Drag Racing

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA): The NHRA of Glendora, California, announced that it has made a major adjustment to its Pro Modified rules in an effort to attract competitors from other series to also compete in NHRA events as their schedules permit.

“Screw superchargers were introduced into Pro Mod, and some safety requirements were amended in an effort to entice competitors from other series to give the NHRA a try,” explained Lonnie Grim, who became the NHRA’s national tech director last May.

“We also introduced a new category in the NHRA called Factory X,” he said. “These cars have a stock dimensional body with an OEM supercharged engine and a five-speed manual transmission. They weigh 2,650 pounds.”

The official name is NHRA Factory X presented by Holley, and it bridges the gap between Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Stock. It’s for 2019 and newer cars like the Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, and Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.

Grim said the Factory X class will be an exhibition-only class at four events in 2022. Actual competition will begin in 2023 at eight to 10 events. 

Ron Capps Motorsports: Two-time and reigning NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car world champion Ron Capps used a PRI Show press conference to announce the launch of Ron Capps Motorsports. He will be the team owner and also the driver of the NAPA Auto Parts entry in 2022. 

“Team ownership has been a lifelong dream of mine,” he said. 

In addition to primary sponsor NAPA, Capps’ crew will remain intact. Dean Antonelli and John Medlen will continue to tune the car for the new team, which will be based at Don Schumacher Racing’s headquarters in Brownsburg, Indiana.

2022 Pro Mod Summit: Various sanctioning bodies for the Pro Mod class, track promoters, teams and drivers got together in a meeting room at the PRI Show to address common concerns and opportunities, and to try to galvanize the class’s participants to work together.

The summit, the follow-up to a similar one held here four years ago, was moderated by Wes Buck of Drag Illustrated magazine. 

It was noted that common rules generate bigger car counts. If teams don’t have to make numerous changes in order to compete, they’re more likely to travel. 

The need to attract the younger generation was noted, as was the value of business-to-business networking.

Social media gives people the means to tell their stories and become well known rather easily. Conversely, social media is no substitute for business and personal relationships.

The group was reminded that it pays to keep abreast of the requirements of contingency award programs. 

It’s critical for the different groups that sanction Pro Mod drag racing to get to know each other, and to not think of the different groups as competitors but as comrades. “It’s simple, but not easy, to keep talking,” Buck said. “Let’s start the conversation and create an atmosphere of cooperation.”

Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) 2022 Season Preview: The PDRA, based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a press conference at the Trade Show to preview its 2022 season. 

Tyler Crossnoe, series director, recognized the series’ young racers who were selected for the “30 Under 30” awards by Drag Illustrated. He also thanked the series’ marketing partners and announced that Laris Motorsports Insurance will be the organization’s insurance provider in a deal that was signed at the PRI Show just hours before the press conference.

He also announced that a new small-tire category, which will be called the Super Street class, will debut at four events in 2022. 

Tech director John Sears also spoke, and Tommy and Judy Franklin, who own both the PDRA and Virginia Motorsports Park, were recognized.

Southern Drag Boat Association (SDBA): “Our big news is we’re bringing top fuel boat racing back!” said David Carroll, owner of the SDBA, Edmond, Oklahoma.

“When Lucas Oil pulled out, there wasn’t a platform for them to race,” he explained. “We kept them in the water with exhibitions only for the last three years, but they’ll be racing in at least four of our nine events in 2022, and we’re working on securing more.

“Everybody wants to see top fuel boats,” he continued. “It means more exposure for us and helps us keep our momentum going as a sanctioning body. We expect four or five top fuel boats at our events to begin with.” 

National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA): “Our big news is we’re going to introduce a new class, the 8.60 street race category, at four events in 2022,” said Rollie Miller, general manager of NMCA and NMRA, Santa Ana, California. “We anticipate strong participation.

“Also new is that the 14th annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, which used to be at Atlanta Dragway, is now going to be at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina,” he said. 

DIESEL Motorsports: “In 2022 we’re going back to Texas and Florida,” said Ron Knoch, president of Kansas City, Missouri’s DIESEL Motorsports, which offers diesel drag racing events with five different classes around the country. 

“We haven’t been in Texas in seven years, and we just started racing in Florida last year. In 2022 we’ll have one event each in Texas and Florida,” he said. 

Texas Motorplex: Andy Carter, general manager of the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, noted that the drag racing facility will be especially busy in October. Its premier event, the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals Stampede of Speed on October 7–16, is 10 days long, when most NHRA events are three days long.

“In addition to all the racing, we’ll have bull riding, concerts, a lantern festival, a beer expo, and other special attractions throughout the week,” Carter said. 

He also pointed out that the Street Outlaws No Prep Kings Finals will be held at the Texas Motorplex on October 28–29. 

He said the track has a new sponsor in Ticket Smarter, a ticket reseller, and that in 2022 the track will work on integrating some new technology into its timing systems in conjunction with Portatree and My Race Pass.

Road Racing

Parella Motorsports Holdings (SVRA, Trans-Am): Schedules were released by Parella Motorsports at the PRI Show for the Southlake, Texas-based Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA); both the national and West Coast divisions of Trans-Am powered by Pirelli; the F4 United States Championship powered by Honda, and the Formula Regional Americas Championship powered by Honda. 

“Our big news for the SVRA is we’re back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2022,” said Pamela Shatraw, editor of SpeedTour Quarterly, the SVRA’s official magazine. “We lost that event to COVID in 2020, and the track schedule didn’t permit it to be held in 2021. But in 2022 we’ll be at IMS on Father’s Day weekend, June 16–19.

“The Shelby American Automobile Club will hold its 60th anniversary convention in conjunction with the SVRA IMS event,” she added. “We’re expecting a couple hundred Shelby race cars and show cars to be on the grounds that weekend.” 

National Auto Sport Association (NASA): “Our big news here at PRI concerns our relationship with Toyota,” said Jay Andrew, regional director of NASA’s Great Lakes region. “Everybody who buys a new Toyota Supra or a Toyota GR86 in the United States will get a new NASA membership along with their car,” he said. “It used to be just with Supra, but now we’ve added the GR86, which is a new model.

“It’s a big deal to have a relationship with a car manufacturer that big,” he added. “The buyers of both cars will get a free track day, too, and we’re affiliated with almost every road course in America.”

Andrew said the partnership works for both entities. “For Toyota, it’s a selling point for their cars,” he explained. “And for NASA, it’s potential new members going forward if they enjoy it and renew.

“We think this new promotion will really take off because the new GR86 is about half the price of a Supra, so it will appeal to the younger set, which is good for us because that’s our primary market,” he said.

GRIDLIFE: GRIDLIFE is a motorsports event company based in Chicago, Illinois, that produces track days and festivals around the United States geared toward a young audience. The track days are for beginners to advanced drivers. The company’s festivals combine live musical acts on Fridays and Saturdays with racing throughout the weekend.

At the PRI Show the company released its 2022 schedule and announced plans for a new festival called “Circuit Legends” that will be held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, on August 19–20.

“Circuit Legends” is a new festival concept for the company. It will celebrate automotive culture of the mid-1980s through mid-2000s by featuring vehicles that represent what it calls “the golden age of touring car racing.” Legendary drivers will participate on track and at speed.

By staging an event at Lime Rock Park, GRIDLIFE enters a new region, the Northeast. Lime Rock Park is approximately 93 miles from Manhattan. 

“Seven of our 10 events are livestreamed,” noted Charlie Ensslin, operations manager for GRIDLIFE.

Team Canada Scholarship: After losing two years to COVID-19, the Team Canada scholarship will be back in 2022 with a new “shootout” format at a yet-to-be-determined road course in Ontario, said Brian Graham, who founded the scholarship in 2011. 

The scholarship was developed to give young Canadian formula car drivers the opportunity to showcase their talents at a world-class event, the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy race at Brands Hatch, England, in October. The Team Canada scholarship is very similar to the United States’ Team USA scholarship. 

Young Canadian drivers from various junior formula car series in both Canada and the United States may apply. Six drivers will be selected for the Team Canada shootout, which will be a two-day event in August or September. Judges such as Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, who along with 2016 scholarship recipient Parker Thompson were in attendance at the press conference at the PRI Show, will weigh in with their impressions of the young drivers’ skills. They’ll be judged both on and off the race track at the shootout. 

More info will be on teamcanadascholarship.com.

M1 Concourse: Representatives of first-year PRI exhibitor M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, were busy promoting their two signature events: the Woodward Dream Show on Friday, August 19, and the American Speed Festival, September 29–October 2. 

“It’ll be the second year for both events,” noted Chris Pokorski, the facility’s director of marketing and communications. “The Woodward Dream Show will celebrate 90 years of the 1932 Ford ‘Deuce,’ and the American Speed Festival will celebrate 60 years of Shelby cars and honor Peter Brock.”