The initial eight 2015 inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame have been announced and four more, selected by popular vote from a list of 16 eligibles distributed through social mediums, will be announced April 15.

The fourth annual USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held July 25 at the Lincoln Tech Indianapolis Speedrome in Indianapolis, Ind., in conjunction with the inaugural “Tony Stewart Classic” Midget race.

The eight-member class of inductees announced today includes five drivers, two car owners and a chief mechanic. They are (alphabetically) Clint Brawner, Butch Hartman, Lindsey Hopkins, Jim Hurtubise, Fred Lorenzen, Roger Penske, Shorty Templeman and Sleepy Tripp.

Online voting for the final four 2015 inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame is now available on the USAC website at www.usacracing.com.

Brawner, of Phoenix, Ariz., was one of the most accomplished of all car builders and crew chiefs and won National driving titles as a car owner with drivers Jimmy Bryan (1954, 1956 and 1957) and Mario Andretti (1965, 1966 and 1969). He finally entered victory lane as the winning crew chief with driver Andretti in 1969, who piloted his Brawner Hawk to victory.

In all, he amassed 51 championship wins and his impressive driver list includes the likes of Bryan, Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Bob Sweikert, Roger McCluskey, Troy Ruttman, Rodger Ward and Eddie Sachs. Brawner’s cars won the first four Hoosier Hundreds with drivers Sweikert and Bryan and, in 1957, he won the 500-mile “Race of Two Worlds” at Monza, Italy with Bryan. Each May, a driver at Indianapolis receives the prestigious Clint Brawner Mechanical Achievement Award in his memory.

Hartman, of Zanesville, Ohio, won five USAC Stock car championships in the 1970s and, in 1968, became the first rookie driver ever to lead the Daytona 500. The 1966 USAC Stock car Rookie of the Year and 1967 Most Improved Driver, then won the first 500-mile stock car race held at Pocono, Pa Raceway in 1971. A frequent NASCAR competitor as well with some success, he was inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2004. His total of USAC Stock Car victories was 29.

Hopkins, from Miami, Fla., fielded competitive National Championship cars for three decades, entering up to four cars on occasion at the Indianapolis 500. Never an Indy 500 winner, he appeared headed for that achievement in 1955 until his driver, two-time “500″ winner Bill Vukovich, perished in an accident while leading in an effort to score his third consecutive victory. In 1957 and 1959, Hopkins scored a second-place finish at Indy with driver Jim Rathmann.

In 1972, Roger McCluskey won the 1972 Ontario 500 in a Hopkins entry, and then earned the 1973 USAC National Championship in another Hopkins car. Championship wins also came for Hopkins at Phoenix, Ariz., Atlanta, Ga., Milwaukee, Wisc., Langhorne, Pa., Springfield, Ill. and Brooklyn, Mich. with drivers McCluskey, George Amick, Tony Bettenhausen, Bobby Marshman and Jim Rathmann. In 1959, Rathmann won a “special” Championship race for Hopkins at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Hurtubise, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., stood the racing world on its ears in 1960 when he flirted with the 150-mph. barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was that year’s “500″ Rookie of the Year. National Championship wins came at Sacramento, Calif., Langhorne, Pa. and Springfield, Ill. (twice), before suffering serious burns in an accident at Milwaukee, Wisc. in 1964. He was the last driver to wheel a front-engined car in the Indy 500 in 1968.

A spectacular sprint car racer, he won 14 USAC features, including five in a row at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Also an accomplished stock car veteran, he won the 1966 Atlanta 500 NASCAR race. In 1993 he was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Lorenzen, of Elmhurst, Ill., was a 2015 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The 1958 and 1959 USAC Stock Car Champion, he won 12 USAC features during his career. The 1965 Daytona 500 winner, he also won the 1963 and 1965 World 600 in Charlotte, N.C. Named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers, “Fearless Freddie” was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001. He was also a multiple race winner at NASCAR ovals at Richmond and Martinsville, Va. In nine Daytona 500 starts, he finished out of the top-10 only once.

Penske, born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, has set the gold standard for car owners, winning a record 15 Indianapolis 500s. An astute businessman, he was USAC’s 1962 Road Racing Champion but his extensive motorsports involvement has earned the respect of everyone, earning numerous championships and race victories in multiple disciplines. A member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and numerous other Halls of Fame, the “Captain” actually competed in the 1961 and 1962 United States Grand Prix Formula One races.

His list of top-caliber drivers has included Indianapolis 500 winners Mark Donohue, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Sr. and Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Helio Castroneves, Gil DeFerran and Sam Hornish, Jr., plus Daytona 500 winners Ryan Newman and Joey Logano.

Templeman, who listed Washington as his home during his racing career, was USAC’s National Midget Champion in its first three seasons, 1956, 1957 and 1958. He scored 22 USAC Midget wins prior to his untimely death in a crash at Marion, Ohio in 1962. A multiple Midget racing champion in the northwest, he scored a “sweep” of the three features comprising the 1956 “Night Before the 500″ program in Indianapolis, Ind. Inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 1984, he competed in five Indianapolis 500s, earning a fourth-place finish in 1961. His best National Championship finishes came at DuQuoin, Ill. and Syracuse, N.Y. in 1961 where he was second.

Tripp, of Costa Mesa, Calif., scored more USAC Midget victories (total National and Regional) than anyone in history. His total of 161 lists him third on the all-time USAC list behind Rich Vogler (171) and A.J. Foyt (162). The 1986 inductee into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame won a pair of USAC National Midget titles (1975 and 1976) and seven championships in the Western Midget Series.

He also earned notoriety with his exploits to New Zealand, which resulted in numerous major race victories and championships, including an amazing nine wins in the prestigious 50-Lap Classic at Auckland. In 1985 and 1987, he also won the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas. In addition to his United States and New Zealand successes, his career also included victories in Australia and Canada.

Perris Auto Speedway, now in its 20th season, has another reason beside its anniversary to celebrate.

Promoter Don Kazarian signed a 15-year contract extension to keep racing at the track.

“Racing is a great sport and I want to see it continue at Perris Auto Speedway,” Kazarian said. “We have had good times and we have had some tough times over the years. We have a group of people who have been working together here for a long time to make the track a success.

“This will give us a goal of keeping great racing going for all of the fans for a long time to come. I am very excited to see what the future brings to Perris Auto Speedway. Special thank you to all of the drivers, teams, officials, sponsors and especially our wonderful fans. Without all of them, there is no way this lease extension would have ever been possible.”

The last slim hope for this year's German Grand Prix now appears to be gone.

With the embattled Nurburgring unable to fulfill its agreement to host the race in July, Bernie Ecclestone had been in talks with Hockenheim about filling the place.

But circuit boss Georg Seiler told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper on Tuesday: "We do not expect a grand prix to take place at Hockenheim in 2015.

"The timing for a commitment passed long ago, so a serious organization of the Grand Prix is no longer possible," he added.

F1 supremo Ecclestone has already said that if Germany does not host a 2015 race, the July 19 date on the currently 20-race calendar will not be replaced.

SID news agency said Germany's removal, and the reduction of the calendar to 19 races, is likely to be formalized by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council on Friday.

The last time Germany did not host a formula one race was 1960.

The second annual SPEED SPORT Challenge, which will be expanded to two days, will be run May 19-20 at Millbridge Speedway.

Open-class winged sprint karts will again headline the SPEED SPORT Challenge. The inaugural event drew more than 50 karts and was televised on MAVTV.

“We are excited about bringing back the SPEED SPORT Challenge for the second year after the huge success of the first one. We are expecting a huge crowd and an outstanding list of drivers for this event,” said Jeremy Burnett, who co-owns Millbridge Speedway with his wife, Ashley.

For the second consecutive season, SPEED SPORT Productions will tape the event for airing on MAVTV. The SPEED SPORT Challenge will also be available for viewing by a live online pay-per-view audience via SPEEDSPORT.TV.

“We are very proud of our association with Millbridge Speedway and the SPEED SPORT Challenge,” said SPEED SPORT Magazine Publisher Ralph Sheheen, who will call the action on MAVTV. “We were honored to introduce this exciting open-wheel class to a national television audience last year and we can’t wait for this year’s round two.”

Practice and qualifying for the open winged sprint karts will headline the May 19 program that will also include practice, qualifying and feature races for the box stocks and intermediate classes.

Heats, consolation races and features for the open class will make up the May 20 program. Last year’s event saw celebrity drivers the likes of World of Outlaws veterans Joey Saldana and Paul McMahan, midget aces Tanner Thorson, Kevin Swindell and Rico Abreu and veteran NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley compete.

“We had a great list of celebrity drivers in 2014 and after talking with several more we are expecting the 2015 event to be even better. Christopher Bell already has a ride for the event as well as several others who ran last year,” Burnett said.

The SPEED SPORT Challenge is expected to draw more than 60 open winged sprint karts to the sixth-mile dirt track during the week of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Additional details regarding the second annual SPEED SPORT Challenge, including pay-per-view coverage, will be released in the coming days and weeks.

Sponsorship packages for the event are available by contacting Millbridge Speedway or SPEED SPORT.

A less restrictive rule set for both drivers and cars and a unique scoring method to balance the field highlight the SCCA’s Bracket Enduro program, set to run on a limited basis in 2015 and grow dramatically in 2016.

The events will feature four classes. The first will be an all out pace event, whoever goes the farthest the fastest wins. However, the other three will use a format that balances cars and teams through time allowances, similar to drag racing. Teams will have a variety of options, including tire choice and set up, to run within their target times. The SCCA Bracket Enduro will debut at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, June 6-7.

“We really wanted to build a program that made endurance racing truly affordable, but at the same time without limiting what people could spend,” Heyward Wagner, SCCA Director of Experiential Programs, said. “As we looked across the motorsports landscape, we found what we were looking for in a variation of the bracket racing model commonly used in drag racing.”

The format is designed to also appeal to former racers who may have found that their race car no longer fits well in traditional SCCA sprint racing. While to be eligible, performance potential must not exceed GT-3/Touring 3/E-Production, ITR, one of the founding principles of the program is that there are no illegal cars. If it passes safety inspection, and is deemed eligible, it is legal regardless of configuration or modification.

“We want to encourage creativity, in preparation and strategy,” Wagner said. “This should be viewed as really fun challenge. And with the team element, it becomes something that families and friends can do together without breaking the bank. I think that is a win-win.”

The Structure

The SCCA Bracket Enduro is designed to create a fun, fair and affordable way for racers to experience team endurance racing, allowing a wide range of preparation, investment and performance to compete on a level playing field.

Each event will have four classes, with the first an “open” race class. The additional three classes will be set by a delta lap time. If a car runs quicker than its target lap, the time is multiplied by 1.5 and put into a bank. Bank time is paid back in pit lane.

Class Two and Class Three will be based on SCCA ITR and ITB lap times. Class Four will be set three to five seconds slower than ITC. The variation in classes will allow for fast cars and drivers to still go as fast as they can, while also allowing less prepared cars or those on street tires to have a place to play.

Races are expected to typically run at least seven hours, with a 24-hour race on the horizon.

Car Eligibility

The SCCA Bracket Enduro will use an essentially open rule set, with the exception of safety equipment and performance limitations to an SCCA Club Racing GT-3/IT-R/Touring 3/E Production level set by the existing Club Racing Experience rule set. Tires can be racing slicks or street legal.

“We would love for this program to appeal to competitors in other budget minded endurance racing programs, but we also want to reach out to current and past Club Racers,” Wagner said. “There are a lot of parked race cars out there. Some may have become uncompetitive, others may have become too expensive to campaign. This program fixes both of those problems.

“An older prod, GT or IT car can run street tires, with a modern, reliable stock motor and good brakes. Not only will it be legal, it can win.”

Driver Eligibility

Drivers participating in the SCCA Bracket Enduro will not be required to hold SCCA competition licenses.

Scoring

The scoring for the SCCA Bracket Enduro has two distinct methods.

The first class is open—simply, like traditional rules, the car going the furthest prior to the checkered flag is the winner.

The additional three classes are based on a delta time for each lap. Each lap that falls under the target time (times 1.5 as a penalty) will go into a bank that must be served in addition to the minimum pit stop length. Teams may continue to work on the car during the banked time payback.

Banked time will be kept electronically and automatically through the race app, available to all competitors and spectators.

For example, if the delta time is one minute, and a driver runs a lap of 59 seconds 10 times, the team would need to pay back 15 seconds of time (10 total seconds, times 1.5) before the end of the race.

Each team will choose the class to compete in when they register, but may change their classification after the test and tune session.

Ford Performance and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates unveiled a new Ford EcoBoost livery on Tuesday that the flagship No. 01 prototype will compete in for the remainder of the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season.

The No. 01 Ford EcoBoost prototype, driven fulltime by Scott Pruett and Joey Hand, will compete for the TUDOR prototype championship title using the Ford twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, race-prepped by Roush Yates Engines.

The race engine shares more than 70 percent of its parts with its production counterparts, like the Taurus SHO. In less than a year, Ford EcoBoost technology has won four events, including both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“What fans will see now on the outside of the No. 01 prototype is a true reflection of what is powering the car on the inside,” said Dave Pericak, director, Ford Performance. “The heart of every race car is the engine, and we’re thrilled our EcoBoost technology is such an important part of this program, inside and out.”

Scott Dixon will join Pruett and Hand at Sebring, where he will attempt a sweep of this year’s longest and most prestigious endurance races. Dixon won the 2015 Rolex 24 for CGRFS and Ford Performance, with teammates Kyle Larson, Tony Kanaan and Jamie McMurray.

“Not only is Ford talking the talk, they’re walking the walk,” Pruett said. “Ford is going racing with production technology, and winning. It’s exciting being involved with Ford, specifically EcoBoost, on a number of levels. No. 1, it’s brand new technology we haven’t seen. No. 2, the majority of it is production. I’m happy to be a spokesperson for this program, the Ford name and specifically EcoBoost. It’s great technology.”

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) has confirmed that the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am race will return to the second running of their Brickyard Invitational Vintage Racing weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway June 11-14.

The Pro-Am will take place on Saturday, June 13, with an even larger field than last year when 24 drivers took the green flag and Al Unser Jr. drove to victory. This year cars have been arranged for as many as 33 former drivers of the Indianapolis 500 to compete on the Speedway’s 2.43-mile Grand Prix road course.

Like last year, the first three drivers to throw their hats into the ring are Lyn St. James, Willy T. Ribbs and Mark Dismore. St. James was 1992 rookie of the year while Ribbs became the first African-American to qualify for the race and Dismore came back from a devastating accident in 1991 to nearly win 10 years later before gearbox failure dashed his chances in the 2001 Indianapolis 500.

The cars for the Pro-Am will be 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs with an engine displacement limit of 355 cubic inches. The Indianapolis 500 veterans will be paired with amateur drivers in a 45-minute timed race. The drivers will determine how they split their time at the wheel.

The ever-quotable Ribbs, who scored a podium finish last year, gave a warning of sorts to his competitors and fans alike.

“I’m happy to be back for the second annual Indy Legends Pro Am. Last year was a get to know you round, but this year bring your Geritol, Depends and Viagra,” said Ribbs.

For Dismore, the 2014 race was one of his year’s high points and he, too, is out to win.

“To be honest, the 2014 event was a real joy to be a part of and I thank Tony Parella, the CEO of SVRA for having me. Let me be clear though, I’m serious about racing in this thing. I want to win,” said Dismore.

St. James, who races occasionally in additional SVRA events and pulled double duty at the Brickyard in 2014 is impressed with the growth of the series.

“Tony Parella is really taking vintage racing to the next level. The professionalism in their paddock is outstanding and I believe in his vision of establishing vintage racing as a recognized motorsports alternative for fans and drivers,” said St. James.

The Indy Legends Pro-Am is the crowning event of the Brickyard Invitational but there is literally a festival of other activities. Like last year, the storied 2.5-mile oval will be utilized with exhibition runs by a wide variety of cars including several of the crowd-favorite 1950’s Indianapolis 500 “roadsters.”

This time around the weekend not only promises a huge gathering of race cars but also some of the finest collector cars. Motostalgia, with offices in Austin, Mexico City and Monaco will stage an auction showcasing select premier classic and rare automobiles from around the world on June 12. The Brickyard Invitational will also expand out onto the world-famous infield IMS golf course with car corrals for various organizations and clubs united by special marques and vintages.

The SVRA has 11 groups of race cars spanning 100 years of vintage machines and all will be in action at IMS. The exciting array of entries include exquisite examples of select pre-war machines, classic sports cars, Formula One and Le Mans prototypes as current as 2009. Race fans can enjoy every minute of the action by taking advantage of overnight camping inside the Speedway.

The Pro-Am cars and drivers will also participate in a Fan Walk through the starting grid prior to the opening ceremonies allowing fans to see the cars up close, take photos and chat with the drivers. All entry fees will be donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum Foundation.

The initial pre-season test for all 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series participants brought new excitement with the introduction of the Chevrolet and Honda bodywork aero kits.

Twenty-three drivers eagerly tested Monday on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park road course.

“It’s really a new era,” Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud said before the first session.

The two-day test is designed to prepare teams and drivers for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 29, which will mark the competition debut of the road/street course and short oval aero components.

While development is still underway for each driver in the high-downforce platforms, performance gains are already noticeable as teams have begun tailoring the cars to specific preferences in conjunction with optimal track performance.

Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet, topped the morning lap time chart at 1 minute, 7.7456 seconds. His time was six-tenths of a second quicker than the 2014 Verizon P1 Award-winning time of new teammate Will Power. Scott Dixon, who has finished second or third in the five races at Barber Motorsports Park, lowered the lap time in the waning minutes of the low-80-degree afternoon at 1:07.4805. Pagenaud was second quick in the afternoon at 1:07.5329.

Dixon holds the track record of 1:06.7750 set in Round 1 of qualifying on April 6, 2013.

“I think both cars (Chevrolet and Honda) are very different, which for the fans and series will be exciting. Honestly, I don’t care what it looks like as long as it’s fast,” said Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. “It’s been a significant change in drivability or how to attack the car with all the downforce. We’re working with balance issues, weight distributions and just trying to feel out some of the changes with the aero kit and the loads changing significantly with the corner speeds. All in all, a decent day. We still have plenty to test tomorrow and try to find some extra things for when we come back for the race in April.”

Power, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion in the No. 1 Team Penske Chevrolet, was third overall (1:07.5495). Teammates Juan Pablo Montoya (1:07.6266) and Helio Castroneves (1:07.7703) were fourth and fifth on the end-of-day results. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who handled the bulk of the on-track development work in the six manufacturer test sessions between October and January, was the quickest Honda driver (1:07.8494).

“It’s almost like you’re starting with a new car,” said Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2012 series champion. “To make the DW12 kit work in its format, you had to make it turn and do things a certain way. Now the aero kit puts load on the car in a certain way and its own way.

“It’s a work in progress, which is what testing and development is about. We have another day here at Barber and testing next week at Sebring, but you feel when you’re in the car that every lap is critical because you’re one step closer to the season beginning. Once the season starts, there’s no more testing. We have a lot of bits to work out.”

Aero kit testing will remain at Barber Motorsports Park through March 17, beginning at 11 a.m. ET and concluding at 7 p.m. ET. Teams will continue development of the package next week in private testing at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway and NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La.

That fact is obvious in the thousands of American parking lots that are transformed with cones for Cult of Three Pedals devotees. With this in mind, Centerforce is pleased to be the Official Clutch of the 2015 Hotchkis Autocross Series.

Thanks to increased television presence, Internet coverage, and a number of great racing series, grassroots motorsports are surging in popularity as the American public craves affordable high-performance competitions. Autocross is an ideal gateway into motorsports: low risk, minimal wear and tear on vehicles, and a club-like environment.

The 2015 Hotchkis Autocross Series offers exciting, challenging, and entertaining events that will scorch parking lots all over the United States. Enthusiasts can test the limits of their daily-driven cars or performance-modified street machines. In addition to class trophies for quickest time and sponsor awards, the driver with the quickest average time will win the special “Hotchkis Cup”—rewarding clean, consistent runs and superior car control. At each of the Hotchkis Autocross Presented by Nitto Tire at the NMCA West events, drivers will have a chance to compete in a points chase, where the scores from their best three events will be combined to determine the season winner.

“The autocross and Pro Touring scenes still have real cars—ones with three pedals,” said Centerforce Marketing/R&D Director Will Baty. “Centerforce Clutches has supported these events for many years and has close product-validation relationships with the top national competitors. Being the Official Clutch of the Hotchkis Autocross Series is an ideal way for us to extend that support and reach grassroots enthusiasts who actually drive their cars properly, with clutches. The series also allows us to host dealers and media so we can demonstrate the Centerforce differences. A prime example is our Dyad DS dual-disc line, which is perfect for high-performance autocross applications. It offers over 1,300 lb-ft of holding power, plus has a light enough pedal to be streetable. Many of the top national autocross-challenge drivers run our Dyad DS with the 8¾-inch disc. We're also excited about flogging our 850-hp company Camaro at select Hotchkis Autocross autocrosses.”

These events include Street Machine and Muscle Car Nationals in Pomona, California, the NMCA West events in Pomona, California, the Chevrolet Performance Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, the Street Machine Nationals in DuQuoin, Illinois, the Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Street Machine Summer Nationals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Fall Street Machine Nationals in Springfield, Missouri. Centerforce is pleased to join fellow sponsors Nitto Tire, MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust, Meguiar’s, and Red Line Oil in supporting this grassroots motorsports series.

At each Hotchkis Autocross, participants can expect a fun, yet technical, course that is designed to challenge their driving skills and car’s handling capabilities. These events are open to any vehicle that passes a simple safety inspection; the only required piece of safety equipment is a helmet. (A limited number of loaners will be available at each event for drivers who don’t have their own.)

For more information on the Hotchkis Autocross, visit www.hotchkis.net. For more information about the Centerforce line of clutches, contact Centerforce Clutches, 928.771.8422, www.centerforce.com.

Event Dates:

Street Machine and Muscle Car Nationals, Pomona, CA, March 14-15

NMCA West, Fontana, CA, March 27-29

Chevrolet Performance Nationals, Atlanta, GA, May 29-31

NMCA West, Fontana, CA, June 5-7

Ford Nationals, Carlisle, PA, June 5-7

Du Quoin Street Machine Nationals, Du Quoin, IL, June 26-28

Chrysler Nationals, Carlisle, PA, July 10-12

Chrysler Nationals, Carlisle, PA, July 10-12

Street Machine Summer Nationals, Minneapolis, MN, July 17-19

NMCA West, Fontana, CA, September 18-20

Fall Street Machine Nationals Springfield, IL, September 26-27

NMCA West, Fontana, CA, October 16-18

SEMA Show, Las Vegas, NV, November 3-6