Chicagoland Speedway announced the Illinois Treasurer’s I-Cash program as the title sponsor for Sprint Cup qualifying on Friday, September 18. I-Cash Pole Qualifying features a series of three knockout rounds of qualifying with Sprint Cup drivers battling to start on the front row in the first race for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The Illinois Treasurer’s I-Cash program connects state residents with their recovered cash, stocks and other properties. The Illinois Treasurer is currently safeguarding more than 2 billion dollars in cash, which needs to be returned to its rightful owners. Assets are recovered by the Illinois Treasurer’s Office from banks, insurers, utility companies or other institutions across the country after being dormant for at least two years.

“Our goal is to reunite every dollar with its rightful owner through the I-Cash program,” said Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs. ”I hope that every Illinois resident will take a moment to search IllinoisTreasurer.gov. In fact, one in four residents discovers property to claim when they search our online database. The Chicagoland Speedway Sprint Cup qualifying is a much-anticipated event for thousands of Illinois residents,” Frerichs continued, “and we look forward to returning property to all of the race fans who have cash or assets to claim.”

“The I-Cash program is a tremendous resource for the residents of Illinois, and is a tool I would encourage all of our eligible race fans to utilize,” said Scott Paddock, President of Chicagoland Speedway. “We’re looking forward to giving the Illinois Treasurer’s I-Cash program the platform it deserves this September with a thrilling round of qualifying.”

It's easy for Illinois residents to discover if they have assets waiting for them, with a basic three-step process:

1. Visit IllinoisTreasurer.gov
2. Enter your name in the online search field
3. If it's a match, fill out and submit the online claim form

Within weeks, residents are reconnected with their cash or assets, allowing them to enter the next exciting phase of discovery—discovering how to use their findings.

Tickets for Friday, September 18 I-Cash Pole Qualifying and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race, or any other race can be purchased online at ChicagolandSpeedway.com, by calling 888-629-RACE, through the Chicagoland Speedway mobile app, or by visiting the Chicagoland Speedway Administrative office Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
 
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Sept. 18-20, will begin with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race under the lights on Friday night. On Saturday, Sept. 19, the NASCAR XFINITY Series will hit the track as the precursor to Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series showdown, the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. In addition to the racing action, fans can enjoy live musical entertainment, Champions Park, tailgating and more. Tickets start at just $25 with kids tickets (12 and under) $25 OFF, and parking is always free at Chicagoland Speedway.

Motovicity Distribution, an automotive performance aftermarket distributor, is announcing the addition of Bully Dog to its line card.

Bully Dog has over 100 vehicle-specific, first-to-market applications for its tuner products. They have received numerous awards for revolutionary products and continue to innovate digital gauge and tuner software for both diesel and gasoline vehicles. Its products are designed to be flexible, allowing users to tune vehicles for performance or fuel economy, creating some of the most versatile tuning devices on the market.

Senior Wholesale Account Manager for DERIVE Performance, Andy Barbieri said, “We are pleased to announce that the Bully Dog brand of products will now be available and distributed through Motovicity. The addition of Bully Dog to Motovicity’s product offering will complement our sister brand SCT Performance and strengthen Motovicity’s market share in the programmer category.”

Ryan Balicki, Motovicity’s Sales Manager, was also excited to launch the Bully Dog brand. “We are happy to offer Bully Dog to our customers,” he said. “They are a great brand that will help to add to our growing diesel performance lineup, and complement our extensive line of tuning solutions.”

Bully Dog is now available for wholesale purchase through Motovicity Distribution. For product inquiries, call 888.SPEED.16 to speak to a representative.

Titan found its origins in Charles Lucas Engineering (CLE), a race team established in 1965 running Piers Courage in F3. The team progressed to build its own cars and engines to significant success.

In 1971, Diana Thomas was part of a management team who bought the company, re-named it Titan Cars and moved it to the current St. Neots site. “When Charles decided to move on, we didn’t really want the company to stop,” explained Thomas. “We were, and still are, passionate about the business, so we took the step to save and continue it.”

With the continued success of the cars and engines, requests to produce engines and components for other teams were soon flooding in. In May 1975, Titan stopped the production of cars to focus on engines and specialist component supply. As co-owner Oz Timms explained: “this was quite a gradual thing, to shift from complete cars to components, but also a carefully considered move. The demand was clearly there, and it’s never good to have all of your eggs in one basket, so this was a very natural way to progress for us.”

In the following years Titan was responsible, for designing and developing the RallyMaster Engine, used in Rallycross at the time, as well as introducing a brand new F3 engine in the 1980’s. But it was not just motorsport that Titan catered for, as Thomas explained: “We managed to land the contract to design and produce the steering racks for the Lotus Elise, which was quite a significant win for us. That was one of our first major automotive contracts and opened up the gates for others.” So much so, that Titan today have various contracts for numerous “under the skin” components of both niche and mass-produced road cars.

Timms highlighted another project that he feels Titan should be proud of. “Over the years, we have done a lot of design, prototyping, production engineering and manufacturing work with Caterham on a whole range of their various models. I think that the relationship that we have managed to build with Caterham, and others like them, is a huge testament to the quality of work that we have consistently delivered over the years.”

Timms noted this as one of the key factors in Titan’s success over the 40 years. “Obviously, a company stands or falls with the quality of the products it delivers. But besides that, your customer service needs to be of the highest level. At Titan we put a lot of time and effort into making sure that our clients are looked after, get the right solutions and that these are delivered on time.”

Both Thomas and Timms agree that it is the people and personalities that Titan employ that set the company apart. “We’d like to think that at Titan, we take care to employ the right people and let them get on with the job. Obviously this needs to happen in coherence with our vision and ethos, to ensure that we maintain our quality standards and deliver to the level that is expected from us by our clients” Thomas said.

Timms concurred: “We continually invest in plant and machinery, but also in our people, to make sure that we can maintain our ethos of service, quality and price. We always ensure that we deliver value for money, and given that we’ve been going strong for 40 years, I think means that we’ve got it about right!”

A new exhibitor service for the PRI Trade Show will become immediately apparent during move-in days this year. Fern Exposition, the designated decorator and service provider for the PRI Trade Show, will be providing exhibitors with Personal Exhibitor Assistants (P.E.A.).

Each exhibitor at PRI 2015 will have a designated P.E.A. to deliver concierge service on the Show floor. And each of Fern's P.E.A.'s will have an iPad to quickly access any information, place an order, look up freight, etc.

The P.E.A.’s will be highly visible and accessible to attend to exhibitors' every need. Their personalized assistance will curtail long walks to the service desk on the part of exhibitors, and provide service with no waiting in line.

"This is a valuable step for PRI in improving customer service for exhibitors," said John Kilroy, producer of the PRI Trade Show. "The P.E.A.'s will introduce themselves to exhibitors as the exhibit setup crew arrives and check in on their initial needs. After that, whenever an exhibitor needs their P.E.A., all they have to do is text them.

"We appreciate this innovation by Fern Exposition, and all it will do to simplify the logistics of setting up for a big trade show," said Kilroy.

These new features of the PRI Trade Show are reflections of PRI’s goal to keep the event one of the most productive and well organized trade shows in the country. More announcements will be forthcoming on the educational offerings and fun gatherings that accompany the three biggest business days in racing.

For more information, visit www.pri2015.com.

International Speedway Corporation is negotiating a potential deal to operate Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.

The Monterey Board of Supervisors late mast month revealed plans to discuss an agreement regarding the track in closed session. The Supervisors' agenda listed International Speedway Corp. as the negotiating party, and stated that price and terms are under negotiation.

International Speedway Corp. owns 12 tracks that host NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including Daytona International Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. ISC tracks also host other events, including the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship.

The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, a non-profit which has operated the track since its inception in November 1957, has been managing the raceway on a monthly basis since March 2014.

Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca is an 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course covering 542 acres along California’s central coast. Its most famous section is turns 8 and 8A, commonly referred to as The Corkscrew, which features a drop of 59 feet in elevation while competitors make a hard left and then a hard right.

Among those who have raced at the track include Stirling Moss, who won the inaugural Pacific Grand Prix and was the event’s only two-time winner. The 1962 Pacific Grand Prix had a starting lineup that included Roger Penske, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Jim Hall and Jack Brabham. Others who later raced there included Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Mark Donohue, Parenlli Jones and Mario Andretti, who made the 1994 CART race there his last race.

The NASCAR Grand National West Tour raced there in 1973. Bobby Allison competed in the 1981 NASCAR Winston West race there. The first CART race there was 1983.

The track will host the Pirelli World Challenge in September.

Holley Performance Products announces the opening of pre-registration for the 2015 LS Fest.
 
This year marks the sixth annual Holley LS Fest. The event has grown each year, and Holley is looking for that trend to continue in 2015. In anticipation of more competitors, Holley has incorporated the newly christened National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park into the slate of events with a Track X event. The Track X combines elements from autocross and road course racing to create a safe and fun high-speed driving experience.

This year also brings significant changes to the drag racing portion of LS Fest. The All-Motor race field has been combined with LSX Real Street. Real Street is now naturally aspirated, nitrous-injected, turbocharged, and supercharged entries competing in heads up races that regularly break into the high seven second elapsed time zone. There are also new classes for 2015: Late Model Heads-Up, Street King, and Chevrolet Performance Stock.

Due to the huge popularity of the autocross last year and the addition of the Track X event, Holley is increasing the allowed number of autocross entrants from 125 to 150 for 2015. To drive competition across the entire autocross field, classes based on times will be created.

Holley LS Fest is a celebration of everything and anything powered by the GM LS engine. If an LS based (or current generation LT) engine is powering your ride or if you are considering a swap to LS power, this is your event. LS- powered race cars, street rods, muscle cars, trucks, and late models will be competing in a wide range of events. This includes drag racing, autocross, the 3S challenge, show-n-shine, Track X, drifting, and more. These events will be held at Holley's hometown tracks—the historic and beautiful Beech Bend Raceway Park and the new NCM Motorsports Park. 



Tickets for spectators are just $15 per day, or $30 for a three-day pass. Children aged 16 and under get in for free, as do automotive students with their student ID and proof of automotive classes.



For more information on Holley LS Fest including registration, past results, area lodging, vendors, schedule, and more, visit https://www.holley.com/events/lsfest/?utm_source=Holley+Media+List&utm_campaign=629aad83d9-Holley_LS_Fest_Pre_Registration_6_15_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ae492f1fdc-629aad83d9-264501729.

Frenchman Davy Jeanney won the ALL-INKL.COM World RX of Germany, round five of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy, after a dominant display at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.

He becomes the first Frenchman to win a World RX race.

Timmy Hansen finished third to make it a double podium for Team Peugeot-Hansen. Reigning World RX Champion Petter Solberg clinched the runner-up spot and extended his championship lead over Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson by 35 points.

In the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX), Marklund Motorsport’s Tommy Rustad took the checkered flag. Albatec Racing’s Jerome Grosset-Janin finished runner-up and was joined on the podium by his fellow Frenchman Fabien Pailler, who secured third. Rustad’s win in Germany sees the Norwegian close the gap on Euro RX round one winner Grosset-Janin, who leads Rustad in the overall standings by a slender two points.

“To win today feels incredible, it’s been the perfect weekend for me and it’s really fantastic for the team to have Timmy on the podium too,” said Jeanney, who enters the record books after becoming the first Frenchman to win a round of World RX. Jeanney also won the Monster Energy Super Charge Award for the rapid start off the line, as well as a limited edition Rebellion Timepieces Wraith Drive rallycross watch.

Jeanney, who claimed three heat wins on his path to victory, added, “Both myself and the car have stepped up a level since the start of the year, I made just one small mistake over the weekend and the rest was perfect. I really enjoy the Estering, it’s a track that suits my driving style well and I have good memories after finishing second in Germany two years ago. I’ve not won a rallycross event in five years [France, 2010] and to leave here with maximum points is a fantastic feeling.”

Runner-up Solberg was full of praise for Jeanney.

“I must say, I am very impressed with Davy—he was unbelievably quick this weekend, he deserves this win,” admitted the reigning World Champion.

“Usually I always want to win,” continued Solberg, “but I’m very happy to take second. It’s good for the Championship and I tried really hard to fight for the top spot but it’s been very tough racing. For the next event in Holjes, I’ll come back pushing even harder.”

Hansen’s weekend didn’t get off to the best start when the Peugeot-Hansen driver encountered some technical problems during the heats. The Peugeot-Hansen team worked hard on the car overnight and Hansen returned on flying form to secure the third step of the podium.

Following another impressive drive in the Volkswagen Sweden Polo RX Supercar, Kristoffersson finished fourth in Germany. Fifth place was awarded to Marklund Motorsport’s Tord Linnerud after Ford Olsbergs MSE driver Andreas Bakkerud was excluded from today’s final following contact with Linnerud at turn one.

Elsewhere, it was a tough weekend for EKS team owner Mattias Ekstrom who failed to make the semi-finals after a broken throttle cable and a sensor problem hindered his progress. Teammate Anton Marklund progressed to the semis but a tussle with Ford Olsbergs MSE Reinis Nitiss on turn one saw both drivers retire.

Fredrik Salsten won the TouringCar category after the Swede took a narrow victory over 16-year-old Magda Andersson. Salsten’s win now sees him lead the overall standings. Third place was awarded to Kjetil Larsen.

In S1600, Denmark’s Ulrik Linnemann took the win and is third in the standings with Janis Baumanis at the top of the table. Russia’s Timur Shigabutidnov and Hungary’s Krisztian Szabo were second and third respectively.

Microsoft's involvement in NASCAR, which has grown steadily in recent years, has taken a giant step forward with the announcement that the Fortune 500 company is now an Official Technology Partner of NASCAR as well as a major technology partner of Hendrick Motorsports.

According to officials with both the sanctioning body and the Redmond, Washington-based tech company, NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports will adopt the Windows 10 and Microsoft Azure cloud computing platforms "to deliver technology solutions to help improve performance on and off the track."
 
To support the launch of the Windows 10 operating system, the HMS No. 88 Chevrolet of driver Dale Earnhardt will carry a special Microsoft Windows 10 paint scheme for this weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350, as well as the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway scheduled for August 2.
 
Windows 10 is scheduled for launch July 29.
 
"You've heard Brian (France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO) talk about this rush to innovation," Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer for NASCAR, said. "A lot of that innovation is through technology.
 
"This is another opportunity to showcase that NASCAR is a great place for business for sure, but also for technology companies to come in and prove that their technologies are helping our sport."
 
Ultimately, Phelps said, such collaborations will help "get the fans closer to the sport and engage them more" in addition to providing the necessary tools and technology "to help on the competition side ... whatever those things might be that ultimate bring better racing to the fans.
 
"What exactly that looks like at this point is still in development; we're still having discussions," Phelps said. "It's in our best interest to try to get there, and they certainly want that. They want to use NASCAR as a marketing platform to try and reach new customers and obviously this Windows 10 opportunity and using NASCAR as a platform is a really important start for us."
 
NASCAR officials began using a Windows mobile inspection application last year to improve and streamline the inspection process.
 
"We started our relationship with NASCAR some time ago and now were a moving that into a relationship with Hendrick Motorsports," said Jeremy Korst, GM, Windows Product Marketing, said.
 
"It is important to us because it allows us to show other business customers in a sport as challenging and as technologically driven as NASCAR, that what the teams are doing trackside and throughout their processes demonstrate how Microsoft can bring that type of solution to such a challenging situation. Telling other customers about that is important to us. Demonstrating that 'hey if this works for Hendrick and NASCAR, it's going to work for a lot of other organizations outside of the sport as well.'
 
"We see it as a tremendous opportunity to leverage Microsoft and Windows technology as part of the sport going forward. There is a lot more work to do, but we're excited about what we're going to be doing in the near term."
 
Microsoft began its NASCAR involvement in 2008, as a team sponsor affiliated with BAM Racing. The alliance with Hendrick, and specifically Earnhardt Jr., marks its return from a team perspective.
 
HMS has won 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles and currently fields entries for Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne, in addition to Earnhardt Jr.
 
"For us, the first phase is adopting the new Windows 10 operating system across Hendrick Motorsports," said Doug Duchardt, General Manager for HMS. "The next phase (will involve) how we can apply Microsoft technology to our business side and also to our competition side. We have a small amount of time to make important decisions at the track so anything we can do to work on how to make those decisions quicker and more accurately we look at.
 
"Microsoft has the technology and the capability to get there. ... They are one of the top technology companies in the world and we're very honored that they chose Hendrick Motorsports to partner with."
 
Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices.

Design Engineering, Inc., (DEI) announces the addition of Tim Musiek as the company’s new account manager. Musiek previously worked as a market researcher for Tuff Stuff Performance in Cleveland, Ohio. As market researcher he had a broad range of responsibilities, including new product development, website updates, social media, as well as sales and marketing support including managing events and resourcing ways of improving the company’s bottom line.

Additionally, Musiek served in a variety of positions for Prestolite/Mr. Gasket Performance including serving first as the company’s product manager identifying the potential for products based on industry trends and developing the support required to promote new product launches. Later he served as the company’s racing account manager prior to his final position as trade show and event planner. He was responsible for coordinating all trade shows including SEMA and PRI, as well as consumer events such as Goodguys shows, NRSA Nationals and many NHRA, NMRA/NMCA and ARCA race series events.  

In his position as Account Manager, Musiek will be responsible for direct customer communications, marketing and the promotion of all DEI branded products, reporting direct to the VP Sales and Marketing, Tom Miller.

Miller, said, “We have observed that Tim is not only knowledgeable and committed, a hard worker with excellent rapport with people in and out of our industry, but that he has great instincts and proven abilities with new product development which is key to DEI’s growth. His diverse experience with the street performance and motorsports markets combined with excellent technical product knowledge and superb communication skills made him an ideal fit for our account management team.”

Richard Petty, the most decorated driver in the history of NASCAR, will start the August race weekend in Watkins Glen International by receiving the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports, sponsored by the International Motor Racing Research Center.

Petty, who won a record 200 races and seven NASCAR Cup championships during his 30-year driving career, will be recognized on August 6 at the IMRRC Award Dinner presented by NASCAR, International Speedway Corporation and Watkins Glen International.

The dinner will be at the Corning (NY) Museum of Glass on the Thursday prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Watkins Glen International, the famed upstate New York road race course.

The award memorializes Cameron R. Argetsinger, founder and organizer of the first races at Watkins Glen. Team owner and former driver Chip Ganassi was the first recipient of the Argetsinger Award in 2014.

“It always makes you feel good to be honored or recognized for your contributions, especially for something you have dedicated so much of your life towards,” Petty said. “You can tell that Cameron also had a passion for road racing and dedicated his time and efforts to making it better for everyone.”

The inaugural race through the streets of Watkins Glen was in 1948. In 1961, Argetsinger organized the first U.S. Grand Prix, and Formula One racing began its successful 20-year run at The Glen. NASCAR competed at The Glen in 1957, 1964 and 1965 and annually since 1986.

“You have to figure that racing wasn’t as popular back when I started,” said Petty, who piloted his first race car in July 1958 at the age of 21. “It didn’t matter if it was on an oval, road course or a street course, it was still coming along in America. Today, it’s all popular, and it took a lot of folks working together to make that happen. I appreciate this award and what it means to our sport.”

Petty competed in eight NASCAR races at Watkins Glen, including July 19, 1964, when both he and his father, the legendary Lee Petty, were on the track. It was Lee Petty’s final career race.

“The Cameron Argetsinger Award recognizes Richard Petty not only for his accomplishments as a driver, but also as a team owner and committed philanthropist,” IMRRC President J.C. Argetsinger said. “More than 10 years after his retirement, ‘The King’ is a force that still reigns. We are very pleased that he is accepting this honor from the Racing Research Center.”

The IMRRC Award Dinner is open to the public, but tickets are limited. The ticket price is $250 per person.