TI Automotive, a global supplier of automotive fluid systems technology, announced that it will sponsor two Dodge Viper GT3-R race cars in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTD Class beginning with the annual Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 24 and 25, 2015.

TI Automotive will serve as the primary sponsor on the Riley Motorsports No. 33 and No. 93 in the four long-distance races of the TUDOR series at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta. This grouping of TUDOR endurance races frames the prestigious award of the Patron North American Endurance Cup. For the other remaining races of the TUDOR series, TI Automotive will remain as an associate sponsor of the No. 33 Viper Exchange race car.

“This is a great opportunity for TI Automotive to bring its award-winning street technology to the track and to partner on a team with the award-winning combination of drivers, race car design and development crew of Riley Technologies and Viper Exchange,” said Al Deane, chief technology officer, TI Automotive. “We had a one-time chance to work with this team in July of 2014 at the TUDOR race in Indy, and we met some very talented people that are experts at tuning performance and efficiency from the street to the track. This sponsorship and endurance series gives our company and motorsport enthusiasts an iconic American sports car brand at all iconic American race tracks.”

TI Automotive currently provides the high-performance fuel delivery system for all of the production versions of the Dodge Viper. The Dodge Viper fuel delivery system features the TI Automotive dual-channel impeller pump with single-stage electric motor (DCSS) that was recognized for innovation with an Automotive News PACE award.

At the SEMA high-performance aftermarket show, held in November 2014, TI Automotive announced a technical collaboration with Riley Technologies and Viper Exchange to provide optimized fluid systems for the Dodge Viper GT3-R race cars. TI Automotive has been supporting several test sessions to further tune operating performance and efficiency on both cars for the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

“Endurance racing provides an exciting and tremendous durability test that can result in technology trickle down for future production vehicles. The Dodge Viper has proven to be a championship race car, and it is a very recognizable brand for the fans who appreciate the American hand-built supercar status. The entire motorsports experience will provide a great environment for our engineers to learn and develop relationships that will help us to expand our original equipment and aftermarket high-performance fuel- system product portfolio,” Deane said.

The No. 33 and No. 93 Viper GT3-Rs revealed an all-new look, with a white body, featuring a bold blue stripe outlined in bright green, from nose to tail. The TI Automotive icon and Fluid thinking taglines sit atop the roof and prominently on the side profiles.

For more information, visit www.tiautomotive.com.

The procedure for Formula 1's new virtual safety car (VSC) system has been confirmed by the FIA, after the publication of its 2015 rules.

The virtual safety car came about in the wake of Jules Bianchi's Japanese Grand Prix crash, with the governing body believing that a new way was needed to slow cars down in the event of an incident.

Following successful trials of the concept during practice at the final three races last year, rules were agreed with teams.

These have now been formally added to F1's sporting regulations.

Article 41 of the rule books outlines how the VSC procedure will work - and makes it clear that it will normally be implemented when "double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of track and competitors or officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not such as to warrant use of the safety car itself."

When the VSC is called out, the marshalling light panels around the track will display 'VSC'.

Drivers will not be allowed to enter the pits, unless it is for the purpose of changing tires, and they will have to stay above a minimum time set by the FIA at least once in each marshalling sector.

Any driver that does not respect the speed limit will be sanctioned by stewards.

When race control is happy that it is safe to resume racing, teams will be informed on the official message system that the VSC period is ending and then "at any time between 10 and 15 seconds later, 'VSC' on the FIA light panels will change to green and drivers may continue racing immediately. After 30 seconds the green lights will be extinguished."

Rules relating to standing starts after safety cars and double points have been removed from the 2015 rules, after it was agreed to ditch the concepts at the end of last year.

A 20 lap shootout among some of the best to ever race the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by General Tire, the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions will see its seventh round during Warren Cat Qualifying Night, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13.

On the opening night of the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by General Tire, the VIROC will take place prior to the evening’s B-Features. With 16 drivers making the call for this year’s event, the $2500-to-win dash saw a three year dominance of Swindell come to a close in 2014, when California’s Kyle Larson charged from sixth to win.
Drivers who have made the cut for VIROC VII are as follows:

• 1 – Sammy Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.) – The five time winner of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals has topped the VIROC on three occasions. Announcing his retirement in 2014, Swindell was quick to note that he would still take on the Chili Bowl in 2015 for the 25th time.

• 1st – J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Under the banner of 1996 owner champion, Jay McKinnie, Arizona’s J.J. Yeley will take on the VIROC for the fourth time. Yeley’s best finish in the VIROC came in 2013 with a runner-up to Kevin Swindell.

• 5 – Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) – The choice of Wilke-Pak Racing, Jerry Coons, Jr. has competed in the last two VIROC events with a finish of fifth in 2013, and seventh in 2014. His 2015 bid is the second year for the 2005 Chili Bowl owner champions.

• o5 – Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, Mo.) – Winning the VIROC in 2010 gives Brad Loyet his ticket into the 2015 edition of the 20 lap affair. Loyet holds three POWRi Championships to his name, as well as his best finish of third in Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour points in 2014.

• 6k – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (Olive Branch, Miss.) – Transplanting from his Clauson ride for one race to drive under the banner of Ralph Potter, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. looks to redeem his 2012 VIROC performance where he ended up with a DNF.

• 15x – Chad Boat (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Son of a Chili Bowl champion, Arizona’s Chad Boat again looks to match the accomplishment of his father, Billy Boat, in the John Lawson machine. Boat’s best finish in the VIROC is a fourth place run in 2013.

• 21k – Cory Kruseman (Ventura, Calif.) – The VIROC is one race that has eluded Cory Kruseman. Topping the Chili Bowl on two occasions, Cory has only managed a best finish of seventh in 2014.

• 22 – John Heydenreich (Indianapolis, Ind.) – The 1990 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl winner, Heydenreich last saw action in the VIROC in 2011. His best finish in three starts came the previous year with a ninth place showing.

• 24 – Tracy Hines (Wilkinson, Ind.) – The 2005 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Champion finished fifth in the 2014 edition of the VIROC. In all, Hines has finished top-ten in five of the six VIROC events held.

• 39 – Kevin Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.) – Four times a Chili Bowl champion, Kevin Swindell topped the VIROC in 2013. In six Chili Bowl A-Feature starts, Swindell’s four wins comes with five top fives.

• 47x – Tim McCreadie (Watertown, N.Y.) – The Late Model ace grabbed a Golden Driller in 2006. Piloting an Andy Bondio entry, McCreadie looks to rebound from 2014 when the No. 47x saw his VIROC end early.

• 63 – Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Ind.) – The defending champion of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals entered his first VIROC in 2014. Representing owners Rusty Kunz and Joe Dooling, on the No. 63. Clauson came from fifteenth to ninth in his first VIROC attempt.

• 71 – Christopher Bell (Norman, Okla.) – For the second year in a row, Christopher Bell’s bid into the VIROC comes as the National Midget Driver of the Year. Also topping the Downforce Designs Midget Power Rankings, Bell rattled off 16 wins across North America behind the wheel of a Midget.

• 71k – Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) – The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year started his season with a VIROC win. As the reigning champion of the Race of Champions, Kyle Larson automatically qualifies for the 2015 event.

• 71L – Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) – A Chili Bowl Champion in 2008, “The Demon” looks for his first VIROC triumph in a Klatt Enterprises entry in 2015.

• 97 – Rico Abreu (Rutherford, Calif.) – Coming off a banner season, Rico is the driver chosen by Keith Kunz to represent his Chili Bowl dominance. The 2014 USAC National Champion finished fourth in the Downforce Designs Midget Power Rankings and will start his first VIROC in 2015.

The first of the new McLaren Hondas will be unveiled on Thursday, January 29, the team announced on Friday.

McLaren tested an interim chassis, the MP4-29X1/H1, at the postseason Abu Dhabi test with then-reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne. The new car has already passed its crash test.

This will then be the car’s proper launch after the team’s 2015 driver announcement of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, with Kevin Magnussen retained as new reserve driver, hailed the McLaren Honda heritage at the McLaren Technology Center.

McLaren looks to improve on its fifth place finish in the 2014 Constructor’s Championship.

Engine Pro’s celebration of a quarter century in business served as the backdrop for honoring the company’s five top suppliers. The Featured Supplier Awards were made at the group’s recent winter shareholders meeting in Dallas. Companies recognized were B P Rods, Dura-Bond Bearing Co., Hastings Piston Ring Co., Melling Engine Parts and SA Gear Inc.

Shareholders select the Featured Suppliers from more than 90 companies providing engine parts to the group. The suppliers are selected based on each company's ability to offer extraordinary value, exceptional programs and policies, and maintain excellent working relationships. Companies chosen for the honor also must be the primary source in its product category to at least 80% of Engine Pro’s members.

Engine Pro is the largest engine parts distribution network in the U.S. The group is made up of nine independent specialty engine parts distributors who warehouse a full line of internal engine components for domestic and import passenger car, light truck, heavy duty, industrial, marine, agricultural and performance applications. Engine Pro operates 35 distribution centers throughout the U.S. and Australia.

After much discussion and deliberation, officials with the Professional Drag Racing Association (PDRA) have decided to no longer sanction a Pro Stock class in 2015.

The expected team participation in the Pro Stock class for the 2015 season fell short of the numbers to make the Pro Stock teams a viable class in the series.

While PDRA has not excluded adding the class back to the roster in the future, there are no present plans for renegotiation with the teams.

“The Pro Stock class made a great showing in our inaugural season in 2014. However, team commitments to other series has split the division. For the good of the racing community the PDRA will not contribute to the further division of this class. We wish them well in their racing schedule, and would be happy to consider their addition to the PDRA class line-up in the future,” said Series Director Bob Harris.

Speculation continues to swirl as to which major auto manufacturer 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force will switch to in 2015.

Force ended a nearly 20-year association with Ford following the 2014 season after the manufacturer announced it was reallocating its resources to other parts of its overall motorsports program.

Defending Funny Car champ Matt Hagan, who did considerable testing in the Charger R/T late last season and into the off-season, is expected to show up at Pomona with a new Charger R/T.

Will Force, who lost the title to Hagan by 42 points in November, be far behind?

Numerous rumors have floated around for nearly three months as to which manufacturer Force will align himself with. With Ford gone, that leaves three potential new suitors: Toyota, Chevrolet and Dodge.

The latest we’ve heard is Force may finally make that big and long-expected announcement of a new manufacturer some time in the next week or two.

Force has already announced that PEAK Antifreeze will be the primary sponsor on his Funny Car in 2015, after a 30-year association with Castrol Oil also came to an end after the 2014 season.

At the same time, Dodge is looking to really promote its awesome brand new Charger R/T Hellcat and its sister, the Challenger Hellcat R/T—both having 707-horsepower motors, making them the fastest street cars in production in the U.S. today.

As a result, one has to wonder if Force may move to the Dodge/Mopar camp in 2015 as well for not only his own race car, but also the Funny Cars of teammates Courtney Force (John’s daughter) and John Force Racing president Robert Hight.

It would appear to be a match made in drag racing heaven: the fastest cars on the streets in the U.S. joined by the all-time winningest champion and race winner in NHRA history.

Tim Wilkerson, owner/tuner/driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car, has added Richard Hartman to the organization. Hartman is a highly respected veteran of the sport who has enjoyed a lengthy career that spans nearly all aspects of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing, from crew chief to driver, while he also mastered nearly every other position along the way.

"I'm thrilled to have Richard join our program, and I'm really excited about what he can bring to our race car," Tim Wilkerson said. "There's basically not a thing on a fuel car that Richard hasn't worked on, built, or analyzed from every direction, and he's one of those talented guys who has done just about anything you can do in drag racing, inside the cockpit and out.

"This sport is one where nothing stays the same for very long, and that includes the people you have on your team, so when a couple of our guys moved on to different opportunities, and Richard was available, I got him on the phone as fast as I could dial his number. He'll be a great addition as another set of eyes, both in terms of helping with the tune-up and with the assembly of the car, and he'll bring a lot of other positive traits with him on top of all that. He's going to be an important part of the LRS program as we move forward."

Born into a drag racing family, Hartman's career started at the age of eight, when he began helping his father Virgil Hartman on the family's dragsters. His sister Rhonda Hartman-Smith and her husband John "Bodie" Smith have both driven professionally as well.

As a driver, Hartman claimed spots in the NHRA Funny Car Top 10 during consecutive seasons (1990-1991) and he was the sixth Funny Car driver to earn a berth in the prestigious Castrol 4-Second Club, in 1996. Hartman began tuning in 1998, and has spent the last four seasons as crew chief for Top Fuel driver Terry McMillen.

Hartman brings a vast wealth of race-car knowledge to Team Wilkerson, and he's equally as fired up to get the 2015 Mello Yello season underway.

"I am so excited to join Tim and the LRS team, I can hardly even put it into words," Hartman said. "Tim has been one of my go-to guys for many years and any time the race car would have me stumped in some way, he'd always take the time to talk with me and help me get it sorted out. On top of that, he's one of the all-around best people in this sport, and I'll be there to help in any way Tim wants.

"It's been a long time since I was this pumped up about starting a new season, and because we're going to have some new faces on the team, mine included, I'm really happy that Tim has committed to testing in Phoenix, two weeks before Pomona. We'll all have a chance to mesh a little as a team and get to know each other, and we'll see how much good we can do on the track. I know Tim hasn't tested much the last few years, because he saves his budget for the season, so hopefully we can get a little edge and a head-start before we kick off the real racing in February. I can't wait."

Although consistency has been a prized asset at Team Wilkerson over the years, it's not uncommon for any team in the professional ranks to add new crew members before any given season, and that's the case with Team Wilk for 2015.

"We're kind of like that low-budget franchise that does a pretty good job developing talent, but when they become free agents we have a hard time competing to keep them all here," Wilkerson said. "So, we lost a couple of guys and are shifting a few guys into new roles, but it's nothing we haven't gone through before and we have a good core in place. Having Richard on-board will be a big asset for us, as we try to gel a little and the guys get the chance to figure it out. I'm hopeful that having Richard with us might just get us over the hump a little bit, in terms of winning rounds and winning races. We're fired up."

Team Wilk will be testing in Phoenix, at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, during the weekend of January 24-25. The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season will begin two weeks later, February 6-8 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

WELD, manufacturers of WELD Wheels, will sponsor the WELD Racing Cool Move of the Race during the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl presented by General Tire scheduled for January 13-17 at the Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Raceway.

During the first four nights of qualifying races, a winner of the WELD Racing Cool Move of the Race will be picked by the Chili Bowl management staff. The winner each night will be awarded a $250 cash prize.

At the conclusion of the Chili Bowl competition on Jan. 17, more than 13 feature races will be held and an outstanding cool move from that day will be selected. The Saturday winner will receive a $500 cash prize.

Chris Bovis, WELD’s vice president of marketing, says a cool move is defined as “an outstanding pass, a fantastic recovery, or a move during the race that has people saying, ‘Did you just see that?’. The Chili Bowl has been held since 1987 and we are excited to be a part of this annual event that kicks off a new year of racing.”

Bovis points out that fans who are not in Tulsa will still be able to participate in the WELD Racing Cool Move of the Race competition.

“Each morning, after a cool move has been awarded, Weld will post a video clip on our Facebook page, Twitter feed and website,” said Bovis. “Fans will be asked to vote on their favorite move of the entire event.”

VIRginia International Raceway, one of America’s premier road courses, is proud to announce Bosch Motorsport as an official track sponsor. Part of the Bosch Group, Bosch Motorsport is a business unit of the Bosch Engineering Group, a global development partner in the automotive industry. Bosch is a returning sponsor with a long history supporting VIR and motorsports as a whole.

The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 360 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 50 countries. In the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket solutions, industrial drives and control technology, power tools, security and communication systems, packaging technology, thermotechnology, household appliances, healthcare telemedicine and software solutions.

"We have a long-time relationship with Bosch and are thrilled to welcome them back as a sponsor of the track," said Connie Nyholm, CEO and owner of VIR. "We look forward to growing our partnership together for what is sure to be one of the best years of racing at VIR."

As part of the sponsorship, Bosch will have experiential assets onsite to convey its engineering and technology expertise as well as signage throughout VIR.

"VIR is one of the most thrilling road courses in the world, and we are honored to continue our support of this fantastic track," said Jim Emerson, engineering director at Bosch Motorsport. "We’re excited to return and ready for an action-packed 2015 season."