With the season set to start this weekend, the Pennsylva­nia Sprint Series has finalized an agreement to sanction with IMCA.

Beginning Saturday, April 4 at Port Royal Speedway, PASS races will run under the IMCA sanction. The series has been affiliated with RaceSaver since its founding in 1998.

More than 70 different drivers competed in one or more series events last year and PASS features typically averaged car counts of 22-30.

“We’re big but we don’t act big. We’re a group of recreational drivers. We’ve stayed away from points because we don’t want to push our drivers into having to race every night,” explained PASS Director Rod Ort. “We did the research and the big question coming into this was what IMCA could do for us.”

“In talking with (IMCA President) Brett Root, I think we’ll have the best of both worlds,” he contin­ued. “RaceSaver controls the rules and we get the benefit of the IMCA point structure. They are a well-run organization focused on recreational racing.”

Tracks hosting dates on the 2015 schedule include Port Royal Speedway, Susquehanna Speed­way Park, Path Valley Speedway Park, Racing For Heroes Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, Selins­grove Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway.

Port Royal hosts the series’ headline event, the October 10 Keystone RaceSaver Challenge, which has drawn 50-plus entries each of the years it has been held.

The final race is October 31 at Susquehanna.

PASS has worked with IMCA for several months in finalizing the sanction agreement. RaceSaver rules will continue to be set and enforced by French Grimes while local policies such as invitation and handicapping will continue under the control of PASS.

“We are staffed by volunteers and joining IMCA gives PASS volunteers the coverage of a national sanctioning body as well as teams the ability to race for national, state and special series titles while racing in their own back yard,” noted Ort. “Drivers will be asked to join IMCA which will come with insurance benefits as well as participation in points. They will receive a regular newslet­ter and be included in national news as part of the IMCA website.”

PASS will transition from its non-traditional points structure to the IMCA point structure. PASS has never required teams to race and has avoided a traditional point structure as it typically comes with handicapping based on points, he added. IMCA will not dictate handicapping based on points so active teams that race less often will not have to worry about being handicapped.

TORC: The Off-Road Championship Presented by AMSOIL changed the format of its championship event to be a snow race, replacing the typical dirt track surface. The event, named “The Big House Snowdown,” will take place Labor Day weekend at the famed Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.

More than 700 metric tons of snow will be created by 15 kilowatt snow machines to produce the race.

“We’re very excited about this announcement,” said BJ Birtwell, President of the TORC Series . “We have the best fans in motorsports and they deserve the greatest event in short-course, off-road history. Why race in the freezing cold when you can simply have the snow brought to you? It’s going to be an event to remember.”

The racing world will bear witness to 900 horsepower race trucks racing side-by-side on a snow-covered track using TORC’s current format with the infamous land rush start. While the snow will make the legendary Turn 1 trickier, Birtwell is confident the drivers will aptly navigate the new terrain.

The race format will include some new additions as well. At one point during the race, drivers in each TORC class will jump out of their race trucks and climb aboard snowmobiles waiting for them in the hot pit and complete at least one full lap. The remainder of the race will be run as per regular TORC rules.

The Big House Snowdown will also feature the largest-ever human snow angel with more than 20,000 participating fans as well as a frozen rendition of the fan favorite Jurassic Park to be held after dark.

Centric Parts and AP Exhaust Technologies have announced a joint board agreement between the two companies. Under the agreement, AP’s executive chairman, Vange Proimos, will join the Centric Parts Board of Directors, and Centric president and CEO, Dan Lelchuk, will join the Board of AP.  

Proimos and Lelchuk have vast experience in the aftermarket hard parts industry and believe the joint board appointments will bolster the position of both companies in the marketplace and promote opportunities to collaborate to better serve customers.

“Vange brings a wealth of knowledge to the Centric Board,” said Lelchuk. “His vast experience in the automotive aftermarket will benefit our board and company in many ways while promoting joint go-to-market opportunities between our two companies.  This will strengthen both of our businesses and provide benefits to all of our customers.”

“Adding Dan to the AP Board is another step toward improving the organizational capability of the AP Exhaust team given his relationships and knowledge of the industry,” said Proimos. “As we share best practices and experiences from both companies, it will help elevate our capabilities to better service the aftermarket industry as we strive to be the best companies with which to do business.”

TV coverage of the World Endurance Championship will increase significantly in 2015 as US broadcaster FOX will transmit all of this season’s races live, with the WEC receiving more live TV coverage than any other FIA-sanctioned championship in the USA and Canada.

FOX will broadcast all rounds of the WEC live in 2015 on its satellite, cable and online platforms, with the US broadcaster also showing the 52-minute highlights show after each event.

This agreement will place the World Endurance Championship alongside the top US and International sports shown on FOX Sports including Major League Baseball, American Football, USGA Golf, Soccer, including UEFA Champions League, and motorsport such as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship.

The Le Mans 24 Hours will be covered live in its entirety across a combination of FOX Sport 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sport GO, the channel’s digital platform.

The result is over 70 hours of live WEC race coverage across FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2, in addition to every single race being available live on FOX Sports GO.

“This is a significant agreement for the brand awareness of the World Endurance Championship in North America, which is very important market for our partners and manufacturers,” said the WEC’s CEO Gérard Neveu. “American and Canadian fans can now watch the entire 2015 season live on FOX Sports and this will bring Le Mans style endurance racing to a much wider audience. This will also increase the visibility and interest for spectators at our US round, the Lone Star Le Mans weekend, in September, where the event will be one of the sporting highlights at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

“With more American drivers like Patrick Dempsey, Scott Sharp, Ed Brown and Patrick Long and American team Tequila Patrón Extreme Speed Motorsportschoosing to compete in the WEC, we are sure that American sports fans will enjoy the increased TV coverage on FOX in 2015.”

VP Racing Fuels, Inc. and Road Atlanta have announced a multi-year partnership that will see a strong VP presence as the new Official Fuel of the historic road racing circuit in Braselton, Georgia.
 
As the Official Fuel of Road Atlanta, the track’s fuel station and gas pumps located in the north paddock will be outfitted with all-new VP Racing Fuels branding and will dispense VP’s C9, VP110 and C12 race fuel blends. These fuels will be accessible year-long to the many competitors and car clubs that visit Road Atlanta. The sign at the end of pit lane on driver’s left of the circuit will also prominently display the VP brand.
 
VP Racing Fuels has shown strong support for the sports car racing world through their affiliation as the Official Fuel Supplier of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda. VP also exclusively provides the racing fuels for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Pirelli World Challenge and Indy Lights.
 
"Road Atlanta is one of the world’s best road courses, so we welcomed the opportunity to partner with them as the track’s Official Fuel,” said Alan Cerwick, President of VP Racing Fuels. “With a multi-purpose motor sports facility, Road Atlanta provides a perfect platform for VP to promote its race fuel products along with our growing roster of consumer products and the retail VP-branded gas stations that are sprouting up along the I-75 corridor and elsewhere.  We look forward to working with Geoff Lee and his team to provide the professional trackside service and industry-leading fuels they expect and for which VP is known."
 
“VP Racing Fuels has been a leader in motorsports and we welcome them as the new Official Fuel of Road Atlanta,” said Road Atlanta President and General Manager Geoff Lee. “This will be a rewarding partnership that will give VP another racing platform to promote their product, and is one that we hope to build on. Road Atlanta fans and competitors have proven to be tremendously brand loyal and we are happy to now provide them with an excellent line of performance racing fuels to grow with.”

Must See Racing Sprint Series officials announced the appointment of North Carolina’s Brent Seelman as the series competition director.

Seelman has been a part of the Must See Racing event management team for several years, handling a variety of responsibilities including push trucks, safety and as acting competition director at the end of the 2014 season.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that Brent has accepted the position of competition director,” said Must See Racing founder Jim Hanks. “Brent has many years of experience in virtually every facet of sprint car racing. His vast experience and commitment to running an event is a valuable asset to our series, race teams and the fans.”

Seelman joins Flagman J.D. Wilbur, Pit Stewards Mark Brochu and Chuck Ricklefs and Tech Director Dick Kercher on the Must See Racing management team.

The Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series opens the 2015 season this Saturday at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway during the Easter Bunny 150. The PASS South super late models will also be competing Saturday at Hickory.

Porsche will support three talented young race drivers as Porsche Juniors in the 2015 racing season: Californian Connor de Phillippi, Sven Müller and Matteo Cairoli will tackle the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland for their respective teams.

American-born de Phillippi contests the Supercup for the VERVA Lechner Racing squad. In the Carrera Cup he drives for Land Motorsport. Sven Müller from Germany’s Rhineland region fights for championship points in both series for the Walter Lechner Racing team. The third junior, Italy’s Matteo Cairoli, has chosen the Project 1/Fast Track Racing Center outfit for his campaign in the two championships.

The three young race drivers in the junior program enjoy Porsche’s backing for the entire season. In addition to each receiving financial support of $216,000 for their Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign, the trio attends workshops in the fields of fitness, media relations and psychological training. The former Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen is on hand at each race to coach the talented juniors.

For de Phillippi, 2015 marks his third season as a Porsche Junior. He made an impressive start in 2013, clinching the rookie champion-ship in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. In 2014, he scored two podium spots and a victory in the Carrera Cup.

“This season, I will be teaming up with Verva Lechner Racing, which I’m extremely excited about,” said de Phillippi. “They won the team championship last season, so they definitely have a wealth of knowledge for me to pick from and apply to my racing this year. Since I’m driving for different teams in Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany, I believe this will also be a positive because each team is 100 percent solely focused on a single championship.”

In addition to his Porsche Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany rides, de Phillippi will contest four VLN races on the famed Nürburgring track driving a Frikadelli Racing-prepped Porsche 911 GT America with Frank Kraeling. The pairing will also race in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. In 2015, de Phillippi has already raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 911 GT America entered by Muehlner Motorsports America.

Müller, who already received support last season as a Porsche Junior, can look back on a commendable season. His impressive 2014 tally includes a total of seven podium positions in both series, as well as fourth overall and the rookie title of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. 2015 is Cairoli’s maiden season as a Porsche Junior. He emerged as the winner of the worldwide selection shootout from Porsche’s brand trophy series. In 2014, he secured championship honors in the Italian Porsche Carrera Cup.

In addition to the one-make series, the three young pilots will also race a Porsche at selected rounds of the VLN Endurance Championship on the Nürburgring. Like de Phillippi, Cairoli and Müller also get the chance to demonstrate their prowess at the Nürburgring 24-hour race.

International Speedway Corporation announced that Watkins Glen International President Michael Printup will assume additional responsibilities within the company, including managerial oversight of Americrown, effective immediately.



While continuing in his current role with the historic New York road course, Printup will lead the Americrown team in strategy for profitability, a successful execution of Daytona Rising food and beverage, and enhancing overall value and operations. Printup will also continue with his oversight of Michigan International Speedway.

“I am very excited to take on this additional responsibility within ISC,” Printup said. “I look forward to working closely with all of those involved with Americrown, while moving forward with my role at Watkins Glen International.”



Americrown, formed in 1989, offers motorsports catering, concessions and merchandise sales and service. Operating at 12 NASCAR-sanctioned tracks nationwide, Americrown serves millions of race fans annually.

Global cooling solutions company PWR Group, based in Queensland, Australia, has purchased North American manufacturer C&R Racing Inc.

PWR is a supplier of motorsports cooling systems for premier race series around the world, including Formula 1, WEC, WRC, DTM, NASCAR and IndyCar. PWR is an OE manufacturer for Porsche and Aston Martin, as well as a top tier global supplier for the high performance automotive aftermarket.

C&R Racing was founded by Chris Paulsen, former IndyCar Series chief mechanic, in December 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. C&R manufactures cooling systems, specialized chassis components, and drivetrain packages, and the company's brand has been a presence in NASCAR, among other sanctions, for the past 24 years.

“We have supplied C&R with PWR product for a number of years,” said PWR co-owner Kees Weel. “We see this acquisition as bringing together two like-minded, dominant businesses to create a much larger footprint in the USA. The opportunities available to the combined PWR/C&R group in the USA are significant.”

“We have watched PWR rapidly grow into the premier performance cooling system manufacturing company in the world,” said C&R owner Chris Paulsen. “Their world class engineering and incredible flexibility is unlike any company we’ve ever done business with. Joining our two companies will create the most powerful, high performance cooling system company in the world.”

PWR will utilize the C&R brand for its US operations while retaining the PWR brand throughout the rest of the world. Paulsen will become president of the rebranded C&R Racing, Inc.
 
PWR co-owner Paul Weel noted, “C&R run a first class business and bring another dimension to PWR through their fabrication and machining capabilities, plus their access to USA automotive markets. It really is a case of one plus one equals three.”

The International Hot Rod Association will debut a new class—No Throttle Stop 11.50—at the April 17-18 Nitro Jam Southern Nationals in Bradenton, Florida. The class will allow “no-box” racers to compete in a heads-up index format at select Nitro Jam event weekends.
 
The NTS 11.50 class was slated to debut in March at San Antonio, Texas, but was postponed due to a schedule change. In addition to the April 17-18 Bradenton event, NTS 11.50 also will be contested at Nitro Jam events at Maryland International Raceway (June 19-20) and US 131 Motorsports Park (August 7-8).

“This class is a way to introduce heads-up racing to a large number of No Box competitors who want to try old-school index racing without major changes to their vehicles,” said Skooter Peaco, IHRA’s Vice President of Race Operations. “We will be testing the viability of the class in these distinct regions on the IHRA’s Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. We look forward to seeing how this class develops throughout the year.”

NTS 11.50 prohibits delay boxes and throttle stops, while mechanical fixed or “restrictor plate” style methods of slowing the car will be allowed. To help grow the class, IHRA memberships will not be required for the first year.

Winners in the NTS 11.50 class will be awarded a coveted IHRA Ironman trophy and $1000. The runner-up will receive $500. During this trial run, the NTS 11.50 class will not award points and racers who enter this class will not be allowed to compete in other Summit Racing Pro-Am Tour classes.