Quickest pass in NHRA history.
Top qualifying position.
Event win.
And all without a sponsor.
That about sums up the accomplishments of the Alan Johnson Racing (AJR) team earlier this month at the 55th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California.




But the full story dates back to the conclusion of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season in November, when AJR was feeling pretty confident after completing another strong year with drivers Shawn Langdon, who finished fourth in Top Fuel, and Khalid alBalooshi, who finished eighth. Driving for the team, Langdon had won the Top Fuel title in 2013.

However, just one month shy of this season’s opening race in Pomona, Alan Johnson gathered his team and informed them that sponsor Qatar Racing Club had just pulled its funding out of all North American racing activities, including support for the team. As a result, the two-car team known for the past six years as Al-Anabi Racing was downsized to one car, with Langdon as the sole driver; 40 percent of its employees were laid off; purchasing of new parts and equipment was placed on hold; and plans to test in Florida the following week with other drag racing teams were squashed.

While the situation may have appeared bleak, this is racing. And racers find ways to persevere where others don’t.

Alan Johnson remained undeterred.

“I think it’s fortunate that budget-wise we were always in a good position,” he told us. “Because we lost our funding, it wasn’t going to create bankruptcy or anything like that. It is just inconvenient, unfortunate. It’s a fact of life, and there is nothing we can do to change it, so we are going to focus on going forward.”

He added that the circumstances had done little to change how his team would approach races, particularly the first race of the 2015 NHRA Top Fuel season. “Our decision was to race the first two events—Pomona and Phoenix. Our mentality is, ‘We are not going to go to the race track unless we think we have a chance of winning.’ That is the reason why we are in this business: to win races. So, when we decided to go ahead to Pomona, we basically continued the same formula that we had started at the end of last year.”

Specifically, the team built a new car, and made some changes to the clutch and the engine.

After departing from the team’s shop in Brownsburg, Indiana, they stopped off at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a few test runs, then on to Pomona.

As a result, Johnson said, “It all worked great. We had expected it to work. The crew did a fantastic job, and so did the driver, and we came out winners.”

Johnson is personally bankrolling the team for the first two races of the season. And while AJR didn’t have a sponsor at Pomona, they found a marketing partner outside of the sport in Guy Fieri.

The celebrity chef known for several restaurants and popular Food Network television shows, including Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, is personal friends with AJR general manager and former Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein.

According to Johnson, Fieri visited the team last year at the NHRA event in Sonoma and quickly took to the sport. Fieri was in Pomona to experience the thrill of Langdon’s most recent win.



As a marketing partner, Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich brand was emblazoned on Langdon’s car, and it will be there again at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park this weekend. Fieri will work with the team to add value to the AJR brand and help attract more mainstream-type sponsors, Johnson said.

After its success in Pomona, one might assume sponsors would be knocking on the team’s door. “If sponsorships were solely based on performance, I think we would have them lined up, ready to go,” said Johnson. “But, unfortunately, that is not the case.”

While Johnson noted that creating those newsworthy moments in Pomona did bring greater media exposure to the team’s brand, “it’s not the sole attraction that a sponsor sees. And the fact that we started searching [for a sponsor] in January, versus April or June for the following year, has really added to the difficulty of finding funding. Our economy isn’t exactly 100 percent right now anyway, and then throw in the fact that we started way late trying to secure funding—it is going to be an uphill battle.”

As the team prepares to fire up its race engine in Chandler, Arizona, this weekend, Johnson reiterated the team’s plans “are like we would approach any race. We are going to go there and we are going to try to win.”

But, he added, if the team cannot secure funding in time for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, next month, “We will have to shut the team down.”

It’s hard to imagine, especially since AJR has won three of the past five NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championships with drivers Shawn Langdon (2013), Del Worsham (2011) and Larry Dixon (2010), as well as three World Titles with Gary Scelzi (1997, 1998 and 2000). Including his five World Championships as Tony Schumacher’s crew chief (2004–2008), Johnson owns 11 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championships. Overall, Johnson has 15 NHRA National Championships to his credit, including Top Fuel and alcohol dragster.

“If we are lucky enough to find funding within the next few weeks, we are going to race a complete season,” he stressed, “and, I would put my money on us to win a championship.”

Indeed, even as the team fights for its survival, don’t count out Alan Johnson Racing and Shawn Langdon as a top contender when the series returns to Pomona at season’s end.

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRG), the parent company of multiple motorsports properties and the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), announces the promotions of Manfred Eissner as Director of Creative & Corporate Marketing, and Shayna Keller as Director of Public Relations & Corporate Communications; effective immediately.

Eissner has been with IRG since December 2013 as Art Director, overseeing the branding and design campaigns for IRG companies. He most recently designed and developed the new Nitro Jam and IRG websites. Eissner has over 10 years of experience in website design and development, marketing, and design production. He and his family reside in Delray Beach, Florida, and in his spare time, Eissner can be found road course racing and go kart racing.

In his new role Eissner will continue to oversee all corporate branding, design and websites. In addition, he will now directly oversee corporate social media, direct marketing and will manage graphic designers, webmaster and the newly created corporate social media manager.

Keller joined the IRG family in March 2014 as Director of Public Relations & Marketing at Memphis International Raceway (MIR). She oversaw all aspects of advertising, event marketing, media relations, digital and social media for three facilities at MIR. Keller has 10+ years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry previously working for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in NASCAR. She will relocate to the Jupiter, Florida, area and work out of the Palm Beach office.

As Director of Public Relations & Corporate Communications for IRG, Keller will now oversee all corporate communications, as well as assist each of the company owned properties with PR, communications, social media and advertising.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to promote talent from within the company," remarked Jason Rittenberry, IRG President & CEO. "Manfred and Shayna both have qualified backgrounds and have been an asset since joining IRG and MIR. They will work together to take IRG and our properties to the next level in sports and entertainment."

Gary and Donna Howe, promoters of Kalamazoo (Michigan) Speedway, were revealed by guest presenter Ken Squier as the 39th Auto Racing Promoters of the Year in ceremonies at the Hilton Daytona Beach.

Readers of Racing Promotion Monthly, a newsletter for auto racing promoters, chose the Howes from among six regional nominees. Honored as Regional Auto Racing Promoters of the Year were Bruce and Teresa Rogers and the Rogers family, Grandview (Pennsylvania) Speedway; Tim and Pat Bryant, Five Flags (Florida) Speedway; the Howes; Wayne Anderson, Don and Linus Mack, Darren & Monica Evavold, River Cities (North Dakota) Speedway; Dan Robinson, Lucas Oil (Missouri) Speedway; and Doug and Traci Hobbs, Evergreen (Washington) Speedway.

The Bad Boy Buggies World of Outlaws World Finals received the Racing Promotion Monthly Award for Outstanding Annual Short Track Event.

Featured speaker Mark Gundrum of the ARCA Racing Series, talked with promoters about marketing racing in his open presentation entitled “The Necessary Evils of Race Track Promotion: Sales, Marketing, Advertising, and PR.” Afterward, 38th Auto racing Promoter of the Year, Roger Hadan described his philosophy of track operation in remarks entitled, “We’re Here To Have Fun.”

Other sessions topics included: “Is Our Business Model Broken,” discussing the emerging trend to abbreviated schedules, open weekends, and biweekly racing; “The State of Crate,” with panelists Mike Vaughn of NeSmith Racing and Doug Hobbs, of Evergreen Speedway, and Bill Martens of Chevrolet Performance, “Changing the Guard,” a session in which promoters Kevin Gundaker, Joe Kosiski, and Mike Bruno recapped their initial experience as promoter. Later in the event, in is session “You Make The Call,” Race Director John Gartner described his mentoring program for young and new race officials, and a panel of “Leading Ladies of Racing” with Min Kennett, Barbara Clark, and Donna Howe, offered their perspective on the current challenges and opportunities of short track operation.

In the Workshops Annual Case Law Summary, attorneys Cary Agajanian and Paul Tetreault updated promoters on court decisions affecting motorsports. Agajanian and Tetreault then joined business and municipal law expert attorney Ron Bennett for the Workshops Risk Management Forum, a Q&A session for promoters.

Monday, Diamond Ticketing Systems was introduced as the sponsor of the RPM@Daytona Promoters’ Karting Challenge, a bragging-rights event won by the team of pavement promoters at the Daytona Lagoon.

NASCAR and Hoosier Racing Tire, the exclusive tire supplier for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours, announced a new awards program for teams in both tours.

The Hoosier Lap Leader Award, Hoosier Fastest Lap Award, and Hoosier Most Improved Award will be presented at each event for both Modified tours throughout the season, with additional mid-year and year-end awards increasing the prize pool for eligible teams.

“There is no more passionate racing community than the teams, drivers, and fans associated with our Modified tours,” said Brad Moran, NASCAR’s managing director, touring series. “Our partners share that same passion, and these new awards further cement the position of the Whelen Modified and Southern Modified Tours as the premier short-track, open-wheeled racing league in North America.”

NASCAR and Hoosier Racing Tire recently reached an agreement for Hoosier to continue as the exclusive tire supplier for NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour through 2019.

All three awards will be for each event in both tours. In the Whelen Modified Tour, the mid-year bonus for each award will be presented after the July 18 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

In the Whelen Southern Modified Tour, mid-year awards will be presented after the July 4 race at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina.


· The Hoosier Lap Leader Award goes to the eligible car owner whose driver leads the most laps in each event. The mid-year and season end awards will be presented to the eligible car owner whose driver has led the most laps at those points in the season.

· The Hoosier Fastest Lap Award will be presented to the eligible car owner whose driver scores the fastest lap time in each event, with the mid-year bonus going to the owner whose driver has won the most per event awards. The season end award goes to the eligible owner whose driver wins the most per event awards during the course of the season.

· Eligible owners can win the Hoosier Most Improved Award if their driver improves the most positions during the course of each race. The mid-year award will go to the owner whose drivers secures the most per event awards, with the season end award presented to the owner whose driver wins the most per event awards for the season.

The Whelen Modified Tour kicks off the 2015 season with the Icebreaker 150 on April 12 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, Conn. The race will air on NBCSN on April 17. The Whelen Southern Modified Tour opens the season on March 14 at Caraway Speedway.

Frank Rose and his family take charge this season at Grayson County Speedway. Both IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds and Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMods are on Saturday programs beginning March 28.

“The 41-year history of this track is one of the things that interested me in promoting Grayson County,” said Rose. “We want to give some new life to this track and add to that history.”

Rose raced for 18 seasons in the street stock and then modified divisions. His daughter Merisa was the mini-stock champion at Bells in 2013.

Grayson County became the first track in Texas to sanction its Modified division with IMCA in 1985. Southern SportMods have run at Bells since 2005.

“The IMCA cars are easy to work on. As an owner and driver, I liked being able to do that,” Rose said. “As a promoter, I like the uniqueness and how competitive these divisions are. I like to see a lot of cars racing for the checkers.

“The rules are another beautiful thing,” he added. “We don’t have to worry about writing them and drivers who are IMCA legal at another track can come here and race, too.”

The Rose family completed the purchase of Grayson County in mid-December. Cleanup, work on catch fences and bleachers top the to-do list before opening night.

A former restaurant owner, Rose also plans to incorporate more fair-type foods such as walking tacos and fried Snickers into the concession stand menu.

Grayson County is part of IMCA’s Razor Chassis South Central Region for Modifieds. Season championship night at Bells is September 26.

Chevrolet introduced its new road course/short oval aero kit design at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Verizon IndyCar Series media day.

The aero kit is distinguished from the previous race car with new front wing elements, sculpted side pods and a new rear wing.

A speedway configuration for the aero kit, designed for high-speed ovals, will be introduced ahead of its competitive debut at Indianapolis in May.

“This is an important milestone in Chevrolet’s involvement in IndyCar racing,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We focused on developing an aerodynamic package that delivers an balanced combination of downforce and drag, along with integrated engine performance. It’s a total performance package.”

The new Chevrolet road course aero configuration delivers greater aerodynamic performance than the previous design.

“This new aero kit provides Chevrolet drivers the capability to enter and exit corners faster, while maintaining high speeds on the straights,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet IndyCar program manager.

Development of Chevrolet’s new IndyCar aero kit consisted of nine key phases:

- Conducted baseline analysis of the “DW12” racecar aerodynamics

- Established clear design goals for the new aero kit, which included making the most of downforce, drag and engine performance

- Developed design concepts using computer-aided design (CAD)

- Analyzed structural properties, using finite element analysis (FEA)

- Simulated aerodynamic properties using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

- Produced test parts using rapid prototyping processes, such as 3D printing

- Conducted testing of a 50-percent scale model in a rolling–road wind tunnel

- Conducted testing of a full-scale racecar in a rolling-road wind tunnel

- Conducted track testing of prototype aero kit on select race tracks, including Homestead-Miami Speedway, Circuit of The Americas (Austin, Texas), Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

“We took a clean-sheet approach to the aero kit, delivering an optimized and efficient design that should really give our Chevrolet teams an edge,” said Berube.

The road course configuration’s changes over the 2014 DW12 aero package are easily identified by major components, including:

- Front wing that features new pedestal-mounted “front uppers” toward the outer edges

- New sculpted “wheel wedges” in front of the rear tires

- An engine cover and side pods that have more compact shapes, achieved through a revised turbocharger and exhaust system layout
- New larger rear bumper pods

- A multi-element upper rear wing, along with louvered end plates.

The new Chevrolet aero kit will make its competitive debut on March 29 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida.

IRG Sports + Entertainment and the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) announced veteran television and radio personality Bill Stephens has been hired as lead announcer for IHRA Nitro Jam events.
 
“We are pleased to welcome Bill Stephens, a respected broadcaster, into our IHRA Nitro Jam family,” said IHRA President Scott Gardner. “His talent, broadcast style, wealth of experience and intense knowledge of motorsports will add much to the quality of our IHRA Nitro Jam events, both at the track and on our live Internet feeds.”
 
Over his colorful 42-year career, Stephens—who also has authored three books—has been seen on CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN,ESPN2, ESPN Classic, Fox, Fox Sports Net, SPEED, The Discovery Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Velocity, The Outdoor Channel, The Family Channel, and HDNet. He has covered virtually every major automobile racing series, including drag racing, stock cars, Indianapolis cars, Sprint Cars and sports cars. He also has hosted specialty automotive and motorsports events such as collector car auctions, tractor pulling, drag boat racing, lawn mower racing, mud bog racing, custom car shows, automotive expos and motorsports awards ceremonies.
 
“This is a truly outstanding opportunity for me in large part because of the tremendous game plan the IHRA has developed,” says Stephens.  “It’s completely devoted to giving their fans a racing experience unlike any other in the motorsports world. President Scott Gardner and his team including Skooter Peaco, Jason Rittenberry and Steve Cole have truly stepped up the energy and excitement at the IHRA and it’s a thrill to be coming onboard.”
 
Stephens will join the IHRA team at the April 17-18 IHRA Nitro Jam Southern Nationals at Bradenton (Florida) Motorsports Park. Follow Stephens on Twitter at @UltgarageBill and online at www.ult-garage.com.
 
The next IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series event will be held March 13-14 at State Capitol Raceway in Port Allen, Louisiana. The IHRA Nitro Jam Mardi Gras Nationals will feature AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car presented by Aeromotive, U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock, Nitro Harley-Davidson and Jet Dragster competition.

Officials of the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA), have released an 18-race schedule for the Badger 600 Micro Series season.

Last the week the group announced an eleven race schedule for the Mid-State Equipment/Zimbrick Chevrolet of Sun Prairie Badger Midget Series.

Half of the events will be held in conjunction with the Badger Midgets, including all nine events at Angell Park Speedway. The season will open and close at Beaver Dam (Wisconsin) Raceway on May 9 and September 19.

Three Saturday events on June 6, July 11, and August 15, are scheduled at Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway. Sycamore Speedway in Maple Creek, Illinois, will again host four events with the track’s regular Saturday night racing divisions on May 16, June 20, July 25, August 22.

2015 Badger 600 Micro Series Schedule

Date – Venue – Location

May 9 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.

May 16 – Sycamore Speedway – Maple Creek, Ill.

May 23-24 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

May 31 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

June 6 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.

June 20 – Sycamore Speedway – Maple Creek, Ill.

June 21 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

July 5 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

July 11 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.

July 19 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

July 25 – Sycamore Speedway – Maple Creek, Ill.

Aug. 9 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

Aug. 15 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.

Aug. 22 – Sycamore Speedway – Maple Creek, Ill.

Aug. 23 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

Aug. 30 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.

Sep. 19 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.

The South Georgia Motorsports Park will hold racing this year.

Ozzy Moya, owner of the Orlando Speedworld and the Lakeland Dragstrip in Florida, has purchased the combination quarter-mile drag strip and half-mile paved oval, ensuring that the track will hold racing in the 2015 season.

The first event scheduled under Moya’s ownership is the Lights Out 6 event, scheduled for February 19-22 on the drag strip.

Moya said that he is looking at reviving racing on the half-mile oval, and possibly could either replace the track’s paved surface with dirt, or add an additional dirt oval to the grounds, noting the popularity of dirt racing in the area.

In August, the racing facility was seized by the Georgia Department of Revenue after the facility’s previous owners, Kim and Rowland Wood, owed $90,000 to the Department of Revenue.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), which has a sanctioning agreement with SGMP, has relocated a regional event to the Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, to allow a better transition for Moya’s new management team.

The event, a round of the NHRA’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series’s Southeast Division, will likely return to SGMP in 2016.

“Our goal is to always provide NHRA racers with the best possible timeframe for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and there is a very short timeframe for (SGMP) to transition into a new management team,” said Rich Schaefer on the NHRA’s southeast division website.

The facility has previously hosted races sanctioned by NASCAR, with a regional touring series, the NASCAR Southeast Series, running one race there in 2005, and the USAR, whose Hooters Pro Cup ran at the track seven times from 2005 to 2009, including one notable race in March 2006 won by future NASCAR superstar Joey Logano.

NASCAR announced today that the season-opening 75-lap Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 14, will be split into two segments. A competition caution at Lap 25 will separate the segments in the non-points event, scheduled for an 8:15 p.m. ET start (live on FOX, Motor Racing Network Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

New this year, select fans will be paired with each crew chief for a random drawing to determine starting and pit road positions. The drawings will take place today at the FDOT Main Stage inside the Sprint FANZONE beginning at 3:30 p.m.

"Anticipation for the start of the NASCAR season is at an all-time high among fans and drivers," said NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell. "Fans have a unique opportunity to participate in key elements of the event, making this year’s Sprint Unlimited even more exciting."

The field of 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will include 2014 Coors Light Pole Award winners, former Sprint Unlimited race winners and Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time in 2014, and all 16 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers from 2014. If an eligible driver does not enter the race, the open position will be filled based on 2014 Championship driver points. The first five provisional drivers, respectively, are Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose, Casey Mears, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Tickets for the Sprint Unlimited are available online at DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.