The National Dirt Racing League, the dirt late model tour in the middle of its second season, is ceasing operations effective immediately.

Series founder John Kennedy made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

“My vision for the series was to provide something that was special, unique and fresh – special events that catered to the fans, tracks and race teams,” Kennedy said. “Unfortunately, I lost sight of that vision resulting in NDRL’s 2014 schedule and plan resembling what late model racing has been for the last several years.

“We are extremely grateful for the support from all of the NDRL family and staff and our great sponsors as well.”

Kennedy said he wants to spend more time with family after his non-stop schedule had a significant impact on his wife and three young children.

“My focus needs to be redirected toward family first,” Kennedy said. “There will be plenty of time for racing as a family in the future.”

While NDRL’s 2014 season comes to an end, Kennedy wasn’t absolute about leaving race promotions.

“I may just decide to put together some unique and exciting events based on everything we have learned in the last few seasons,” Kennedy said.

The NDRL sanctioned the NDRL Kings of Dirt, NDRL Northeast Late Model Series, NDRL Modified Series and the NDRL Short Track Super Series, as well as operating McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pennsylvania.

Brett Deyo, the owner and promoter of the Short Track Super Series, has confirmed his series will continue to operate without help from the NDRL. He indicated that the NDRL provided only marketing support for the touring series for modifieds.

“Our agreement with the NDRL was purely an advertising agreement, much like we have with any of our other marketing partners such as Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., VP Racing Fuel, Olum’s, New York Truck Parts, etc.,” Deyo said. “While it is unfortunate that John has been forced to cease operations of the NDRL, we will continue on with business as usual. We appreciate John’s contributions to our first-year series and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Richard Childress Racing announced the promotion of Torrey Galida from Chief Operating Officer to President of its championship motorsports team.

Galida, who has been the COO since 2011, becomes the first person other than team owner Richard Childress to carry the title of president for the corporation. Childress will retain his title of Chief Executive Officer and add that of Chairman to his role.

"Since coming on board with us in July 2011, Torrey Galida has been a great asset to RCR," Childress said. "He has helped guide us through many changes for the better and I feel he is the perfect person to continue doing that for our team.

"This does not mean I am slowing down in any capacity at RCR. This just means I am freeing myself up to be involved in other, more strategic aspects of the company to benefit our overall operation and performance."

Galida is a 20-year veteran of the automotive and motorsports industries. Before joining RCR, he served as General Manager for TRG Motorsports. He also spent time as President of Millsport Motorsports and CMO at Roush Fenway Racing.

Prior to moving to North Carolina in 2004, Torrey spent 12 years with Ford Motor Company. He served in a number of senior-level marketing and strategy positions, including Vice President of Marketing for Ford of Canada, and Global Motorsports Marketing Manager for Ford Racing Technology.

"I have an immense amount of respect for Richard Childress and the incredible racing organization he has built," Galida said. "I am honored to have the opportunity to play a key role in the continued success of RCR."

In his new role, Galida will also become a member of the Board of Directors for RCR, in addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations and assist with key decisions and strategy of the organization.

Galida's new role becomes effective immediately.

Days before the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series return to Daytona International Speedway, the “World Center of Racing” has added new SAFER Barriers.

The new barriers have been installed from the exit of Turn 4 to the tri-oval and from the tri-oval to the entrance of Turn 1.

Altogether, the barriers are now along the outside wall from Turn 3 to the exit of Turn 2 at Daytona, plus the majority of inside retaining walls.

Multiple drivers, including Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, have put pressure on tracks throughout NASCAR to install more of the energy-absorbing barriers.

Last May, Gordon declared that the barriers should be installed “everywhere” after he crashed into an unprotected portion of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s tri-oval wall during the 2013 Coca-Cola 600.

Then this past March, Kevin Harvick made a similar plea days after he crashed in the Daytona 500. Like Gordon’s Charlotte wreck, he hit an unprotected portion of wall – in his case, Daytona’s inside one.

Harvick particularly needled Daytona for its lack of barriers considering that it’s in the middle of their $400 million Daytona Rising renovation project.

He said at the time: “The tracks, for the most part, don’t listen to really anything unless it’s profitable for their shareholders. So, when you see somebody spending $400 million dollars on their track and they don’t have soft walls around the inside, maybe they could spend $403 million to go ahead and finish the inside of the superspeedway there at Daytona.”

Today, DIS spokesman Lenny Santiago told the News-Journal that the decision to install additional barriers came after a usual post-event sit-down with NASCAR.

“What we decided to do after consulting with NASCAR was install this [additional] SAFER barrier,” said Santiago. “This is Daytona and we want to make advances where we can.”

Additionally, Daytona has converted its former cross-over gates to a ramp-style design in order to have quicker foot traffic to and from the main grandstands.

Former Caterham Formula One team principal Tony Fernandes and his partners have sold their team to a group of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former HRT and Midland team principal Colin Kolles.

Under the terms of the sale, the team will retain its name and will remain based at their current Leafield location.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers, who made 46 Grands Prix starts between 2005 and 2007 and drove under Kolles at Midland in 2006, will take over the day-to-day running of the squad with immediate effect, replacing Cyril Abiteboul.

“We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 championship,” said Albers, who will report directly to the board and will be assisted by Manfredi Ravetto.

“We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of.”

Abiteboul moves on after 18 months at the helm of Caterham, having taken over from Tony Fernandes as team principal at the end of 2012. The Renault-powered team ranks 11th in the constructors’ standings with no points to their credit.

* 500 Reasons To Appreciate Anderson: Here we were, walking across the track at Anderson Speedway an hour before the green flag was due to drop on the 66th running of the Pay Less Little 500. PRI Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Reed Morales and I had made the short trip from downtown Indianapolis to catch the sprint cars before heading back for Sunday’s big show at IMS. But first things first, I had to work out the logistics: five hundred laps; a quarter-mile, high-banked oval; a 33-car field; mandatory pit stops…. Time to buckle up! Indeed, over the past six-and-a-half decades this spectacle has earned its spot in the pantheon of short-track races that, year after year, truly matter. It quickly became clear why. Jim Hanks, the president of sanctioning body Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series and our host for the event, explained: “This is the race everyone in a paved sprint car points to—it’s top of the mountain. Big races have a personality, and this is just a tremendously fun race to be in, and to be a fan of. Plus, some huge names have won this race in the past, so in terms of history, the prestige of winning this is enormous.” And what a night it was—highly competitive throughout, as Jacob Wilson of Crawfordsville, Indiana, ultimately took the win over hard-charging rookie Jerry Coons Jr. to etch his name alongside past conquerors like Marlin “Red” Renner, Tom Cherry and Darl Harrison. Steeped in stature, tradition and triumph, the Little 500 proved once again why it stands firmly among the industry’s premier sprint car showcases. As Hanks suggested during one particularly intense late lap, “It becomes a part of you, doesn’t it?”


* Time With Team Donovan: There’s a pretty strong sense of racing history and culture pulsing through an engine block shop that dates back to the 1960s. And when that shop is the home of Donovan Engineering in Torrance, California, it feels a bit like hallowed ground. Countless photos, old newspaper clippings and other mementos from the past five decades line the walls of this esteemed facility, where Kathy Donovan, wife of the late and legendary Ed Donovan, and her highly skilled crew produce an average of one to two custom blocks daily. And they couldn’t have been more welcoming when we paid a visit one recent afternoon. According to Fred Seay, their bread-and-butter these days consists of engine blocks and gear drives for sprint car and big-block drag racing, all made-to-order. “That’s been our niche,” he said, and then elaborated, “I’ll tell you something else… What Kathy brought to this business years ago was really something incredible. It was the ‘Why not? Why can’t we do it?’ That willingness to take on such individualized work, it was like adding new toppings to a pizza. So what she did is she really forced the hand of companies that didn’t want to custom-build.” As for new business, Seay identified at least one trend responsible for an influx of current projects. “People say the economy is coming back, and I think it is,” he said, “but I also think a lot of race teams did rebuild after rebuild, and now their stuff is rather baggy, so the result is that we’re getting a lot of new orders.”

* Our Late Spring Classic: PRI’s annual Industry Reception at Red Rocks Café in Huntersville, North Carolina, was another huge success this year, and I wanted to take this space to personally thank everyone who helped make it such an enjoyable event. In addition to dozens of familiar faces and longtime friends of Performance Racing Industry, it was great to welcome a number of first-timers and out-of-town folks to what is fast becoming a Southern spring tradition. In case you missed it, here's a photo gallery from the event. We’re already looking forward to next year!
     
     
          

NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards—the annual culmination of Champion’s Week—will be held on Friday, Dec. 5, at Wynn Las Vegas. This is the sixth year that NASCAR has celebrated Champion’s Week in the city of Las Vegas, a tradition that has featured a bevy of A-list entertainers and fan-friendly activities involving the sport’s biggest stars.
 
Last year’s show, which honored six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, featured many memorable moments from host Jay Mohr and entertainers John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley and Sara Bareilles.
 
“Two of the world’s most recognizable brands, NASCAR and Las Vegas, have developed a strong and successful partnership that delivers unrivaled excitement to the sport’s loyal fans,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We’re proud to celebrate this milestone as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards and its Champion’s Week return for the sixth year, proving that no destination matches the passion and energy of NASCAR like Las Vegas.”
 
NASCAR also announced that the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards will hold a joint celebration on Monday, Nov. 17, at Trump National Doral Miami. The event will honor the series driver and owner champions, as well as the top-five drivers in each series.
 
This is the first year the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards will have been held at Trump National Doral Miami. The property was recently purchased by the Trump Organization with plans for a $250 million resort-wide restoration.
 
“We are honored to host our first-ever joint celebration of these superb events at Trump National Doral Miami,” said Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of Development and Acquisitions at The Trump Organization. “Our vision for the expansive transformation has been to create an unparalleled event experience and welcome these awards to our newly restored resort.”
 
“NASCAR’s postseason celebrations continue to be highly anticipated, can’t-miss events on the season’s calendar,” said NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Brent Dewar. “Las Vegas was built on world-class entertainment, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards and Champion’s Week fit perfectly. In addition, we’re thrilled to shift the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards to Trump National Doral Miami. It’s a first-class property that will certainly provide an elevated experience for our industry and our championship teams.”
 
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards will air on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 9 p.m. ET. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the awards show live.
 
The NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards will be broadcast via tape delay on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

The Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series is in its fifth year as a winged pavement sprint car series, the sanctioning body of the iconic Pay Less Little 500 and a provider of racing entertainment on Must See television.
 
MSRXSS officials have released the 2014 event television schedule including event, track, and airing date information.
 
“Each year we listen and assess the feedback from our race fans, the market place and television viewers to best determine which racing formats they most enjoy, which events provide them quality racing entertainment and where to most effectively distribute the events on our television programming.”
 
“MAV TV presents significant and wide ranging motorsports programming, far reaching popularity with race fans and continuous growth in viewership. The popular JACK SLASH DIRTY THIRTY weekly program, with its racing diversity, is a perfect fit for Must See to both entertain our existing fans with a fast paced high energy show, but also attract new fans who are more familiar with other types of open wheel racing,” stated  Jim Hanks founder and president of the MSRXSS.

“Comcast Michigan and Indiana have been great supporters of the MUST SEE RACING show with four or more air dates each week. We are based in Michigan, most of our events are in the Comcast market area and both states have very avid race fans” concluded Hanks.
 
This latest television programming lineup helps insure that Must See Racing remains one of the most accessible of all major short track entities. In addition to traditional broadcast outlets, MSR programming is available in an ever-growing technology realm that includes live event updates, video-on-demand, and on a wide array of fixed and hand-held devices.
 
The Xtreme Sprint Series winged sprint cars are recognized as the “World’s Fastest Short Track Cars,” and can be found throughout the Midwest at some of the sport’s most popular and historic racing venues. Visit mustseeracing.com for information and updates on the series, race teams, event schedule or television.

With the help of Matt Murphy, the 13-year-old racing sensation, the Motorsports Management Program at Winston-Salem State University will introduce young people to the many sides of racing at two Diversity in Motion Initiative camps in July.

The camps, which are free and open to local students from kindergarten through high school, will be held from 1–3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at the Sprague Street Community Center, 1350 East Sprague Street, and from 1–3 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, at the W. R. Anderson Jr. Community Center, 2450 Reynolds Park Road.

“The Diversity in Motion Initiative” camps are designed especially to expose minority youth to career opportunities that exist in motorsports beyond what they may see on television,” said Dr. Clay Harshaw, assistant professor at WSSU and coordinator for the university’s motorsports management program. “Our program provides students with the education and training they need to work in the management, marketing and communications aspects of this global business. These camps help us get young people to look at opportunities in field besides being a driver, an engineer or a mechanic. Plus, we make the events a lot of fun.”

Murphy, who is from Charlotte, began racing at the age of six under the direction of his grandfather, Winston-Salem resident Clarence Millner who is a former winner in the modified 470 stock car division. In addition to posting outstanding finishes on this track, Murphy is also an A/B student, has created Project SHARE to serve homeless youth, and is gaining a reputation as a motivational speaker. This year, he is racing in the Pro All-Stars Series Pro Late Model class.

In addition to having Murphy on hand to talk with the young people, the camp will feature the UPS show car and a variety of games and activities centered around auto racing.

Joe Gibbs Racing has announced a contract extension for driver Matt Kenseth and Dollar General's expanded sponsorship of his No. 20 Toyota Camry.

The discount store chain will sponsor the car for 30 races in 2015 including the season-opening Daytona 500. That's up from 27 events this year and 17 in 2013.

Dollar General's increased involvement comes at a time when sponsors are cutting down and doing more 12-16-race deals. Company chairman Rick Dreiling said that Kenseth's success with JGR and his appeal made it easy to expand the company's involvement.

"Bottom line, expanding this partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing and Matt Kenseth is great for our business," Dreiling said, "and more importantly, it's great for our brand."

JGR president J.D. Gibbs didn't specify the length of Kenseth's extension, only that it was for a "number of years."

Both announcements pleased the 2003 champion, who said his relationships with the team and sponsor "has been a great fit for me."

Kenseth will start 14th in Saturday night's 400-mile race at Kentucky Speedway, where he earned one his career-high seven wins last season en route to a runner-up points finish to Jimmie Johnson. He's winless this season but fourth in points.

A valuable tool for planning your trip this year to the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show is the online interactive floor plan, and it is now available for viewing. Just go to www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow and click on the button for “View Floor Plan.”

The 2014 PRI Trade Show will feature the latest advances in racing technology by over 1100 racing companies. The online floor plan allows viewers to explore the locations of exhibits on the Show floor, and search for specific exhibitors.

In addition, attending buyers can create their own private Trade Show itinerary through PRI’s My Show Planner tool. It allows you to create your shopping list of exhibitors, including meeting schedule. If you approve it in advance, exhibitors in which you show an interest will be able to contact you in advance to describe what racing products they’re bringing to display and possibly set up meetings in advance of the Show. Special events and seminars can also be instantly added to your itinerary with the click of a button.

“There will be an incredible array of racing products on display at this year’s Show, and the online floor plan and the My Show Planner tool can be a big help in getting maximum productivity out of the three Show days,” said John Kilroy, producer of the PRI Trade Show. “Thousands of buyers use My Show Planner every year. And all the information is accessible via your smartphone, so you can have it with you when you’re on the Show floor.”

The 27th Annual PRI Trade Show will be held December 11-13, 2014, in Indianapolis.