The International Hot Rod Association and IRG Sports + Entertainment have announced that the Mountain Motor Pro Stock division will once again return to the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series in 2015 as one of its core classes.
 
This announcement partners one of IHRA's oldest and most exciting classes with an already thrilling lineup of nitro-powered competition.

Featuring 800+ cubic inch power plants and side-by-side, 220 mph racing on the full quarter-mile, Mountain Motor Pro Stock provides yet another piece of entertainment and world-class competition to the IHRA's Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series.

Debuting with the IHRA in the early 1970s as one of its original classes, Mountain Motor Pro Stock will once again call the IHRA home as the series showcases an eight-car qualified field and traditional eliminations in 2015.

Already this season, the IHRA has seen increasing support from a number of top-level Pro Stock teams, and the IHRA expects those numbers to swell as the series commits to a long-term agreement with the class.

For more information on the return of Mountain Motor Pro Stock racing to the IHRA, visit www.ihra.com.

Virginia Int’l Raceway will host the fourth round of the Maserati Trofeo World Series 2014 on August 24, the series’ only stop in the United States this year.

The race is part of a three-day weekend at VIR, August 22-24, featuring some of the world’s premier racing teams and the powerful Maserati GranTurismo race car, culminating with the fan-favorite TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race.

The Maserati Trofeo World Series race will take place on VIR’s historic full course, which is 3.27 miles with 17 turns and 130 feet of elevation changes. Courtesy of the Maserati Granturismo MC Trofeo 2014, the official race car of the series, drivers will top speeds close to 180 mph. The car’s lightweight, carbon fiber body that is equipped with the specific aero kit, is capable of strong acceleration and high cornering speed and is perfect for navigating the many twists and turns at VIR.

“As one of the most challenging road courses in the world, VIR was a natural fit for our only U.S. stop,” said Roberto Bozzi, sales & marketing motorsport manager for Maserati. “Our drivers can’t wait to get on the track and fans are in for a show. It’s an honor to be part of such an amazing weekend of racing with some of the best names in motorsport today.”

The August race will add another chapter to the 100 years of history of Maserati. Carroll Shelby, who earned worldwide fame by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 and created the iconic Cobra sports cars in the early 1960s, won VIR’s first ever feature race. He claimed victory in a 20-lap, 65-mile event for top sports cars in 1957 driving the number 98 Maserati 450S. After winning, Shelby became an outspoken supporter of VIR’s challenging course and is famously remembered saying, “One lap at VIR is like a hundred at Watkins Glen.”

“The first official race at VIR was won by a Maserati, so it’s only fitting to have the series here during our biggest race weekend of the season,” added Connie Nyholm, owner and CEO of VIR.

Perris, California-based PRW Industries Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance engine components for hot rods and race cars, welcomes Debbie O’Connell to join the PRW team as its new Purchasing Agent.

Prior to working in the automotive aftermarket, she spent the last 8½ years as the Procurement Supervisor for an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) repair station.

With a strong interest in drag racing, she has many fond memories of spending time at Riverhead Raceway on Long Island with her family.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is postponing its lone appearance this season in New York, scheduled for June 19 at Fonda Speedway, to 2015, when it is expected to be part of a larger swing through the Northeast.

"Our goal as a series is to always put on the best show possible for our fans," said World of Outlaws Late Model Series director Tim Christman. "We were unable to secure an event to run in conjunction with Fonda this year, and rather than put on a subpar showing in a region with limited late model competitors to join us, we will focus on building a bigger swing through the Northeast in 2015."

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

After significant testing, both in-house and on-track, Hoosier Racing Tire recently announced that the new WISSOTA 35-W is ready to begin production.
 
A team of representatives from Hoosier, Hoosier Tire North, and WISSOTA attended four racing events late last month and conducted verification tests on the WISSOTA 35-W after the races. Modifieds were used for the majority of the testing but on the final night, Street Stocks and Super Stocks were also included. The new 35-W showed excellent wear and maintained consistency, durability, and performance throughout the entire test, officials said.  

Hoosier Racing Tire will begin immediate production on both 26.5/8.0 and 27.5/8.0 WISSOTA 35-W’s, and these will be the only tires produced from this point forward. In order to assure they have enough inventory to service all customers, the first legal race night for the new 35-W’s will be Tuesday, June 17. Hoosier and Hoosier Tire North will hold all inventories and begin releasing 35-W’s on Monday, June 16, for public sale to try and assure that no new tires are used in competition prior to the release date.

All dealers are encouraged to contact Hoosier Tire North to pre-order and to schedule their specific pickup date and time.
 
At the request of the WISSOTA Board of Directors, Hoosier Racing Tire, along with Hoosier Tire North, will be accepting returns/exchanges on current WISSOTA 35 and 35-R’s. As in the past, in order for a tire to be eligible for 100% return/exchange, the tire must be a new, unused, unsiped, never mounted, and clean WISSOTA 35 or 35-R tires.

All date codes will be verified to assure tires are within reasonable age limits. All tires must be returned by July 21 in order to be eligible for return/exchange. No WISSOTA 35 or 35-R tires will be accepted for return after this date.

As of June 17, the WISSOTA 35-W will be legal on all wheel positions, in all classes. In order to help ease concerns about racer’s existing inventory, both the 35 and 35-R will remain legal for the remainder of the 2014 season in the classes and wheel positions currently listed in the 2014 WISSOTA rulebook. The 35-W to be the only legal tire for the 2015 season.

Gresham Motorsports Park has announced the format and schedule for the World Crown 300 Super Late Model Stock Car Race.

The 31st-Annual World Crown 300 will be contested on Saturday, August 9, on the Jefferson, GA half-mile oval. The Super Late Model Stock Car Racing classic will be a 300-lap affair with caution flags counting during the first 290 laps. There will be no competition cautions or half-way breaks, and the race will feature live pit stops.

"It's going to be 300 laps of 'git after it,'" said GMP general manager John Close. "We polled some of our drivers and fans and they all pretty much said the same thing - they wanted a 300-lap race with no breaks. And, they wanted and pit stops - just like the original 1983 World Crown classic won by the legendary Dick Trickle. Frankly, that sounded pretty good to us."

Thursday, August 7 will see the first on-track action of the 31st-Annual World Crown 300 with an optional test for all Super Late Models, GMP Outlaw Late Models and GMP Pro Trucks from 5-8:30 p.m.

There will be a second optional test—again from 5-8:30 p.m.—for all 'Crown' entries on Friday, August 8.

Both the Thursday and Friday test sessions are open for free fan viewing from the Gresham Motorsports Park Trackside Parking area.

On Friday, fans will also be admitted free to the 2014 World Crown 300 Pole Qualifying Draw Party from 8:30-10:30 p.m. in the GMP Main Grandstand Concession Area.

The highlight of the party will be the drawing for positions in Saturday's World Crown qualifying session. This lottery-style selection process should provide plenty of excitement, as it will also determine the order in which teams will select their tires for Saturday's 300-lap race.

The green flag will fall on the Saturday, August 9 World Crown 300 with the opening of the GMP track gates at 8 a.m. Pit gates will open at 9:15 a.m. with World Crown 300 Super Late Model practice hitting the track from 12:15-2:45 p.m. to be followed by practice and qualifying in the Outlaw Late Model and Truck divisions.

Meanwhile, Trackside Parking will open at 1 p.m. while the GMP Main Grandstand will open at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Pole position qualifying for the World Crown 300 will roll off at 5:30 p.m. Fans can meet all the pole winners during an all-division, on-track autograph session before Opening Ceremonies—and the first race of this year's World Crown 300—rolls off at 7 p.m.

TRG-AMR (Aston Martin Racing) has announced that it will launch the first-ever North American Aston Martin Festival over Labor Day weekend, August 30-31, 2014, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The 2014 Aston Martin Motorsports Festival will be open to all owners, racers, and enthusiasts alike, offering the opportunity to see road and race cars in close action while also enjoying live entertainment and a special gala dinner as part of the festivities.

The festival concept has been designed to attract a wide and international audience including current and historic Aston Martin owners, Aston Martin dealer partners, owner and enthusiast clubs, as well as sponsors and corporate partners. TRG-AMR will showcase the current lineup of race and track day models with Aston Martin displaying examples from the current range of exciting road cars.

The event will also offer existing Aston Martin owners the opportunity to drive the famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit, as well as offering enthusiasts the once-in-a-lifetime chance to ride with professional drivers in an Aston Martin GT race car at one of motorsports’ most storied locations.

The festival concept has been designed to attract a wide audience. Activities for the weekend will include an Aston Martin car corral with the opportunity for Aston Martin owners to drive the track including its famous “Corkscrew,” tour along 17-Mile Drive, and experience a lap with a professional Aston Martin race team driver. A themed VIP gala will round out what is anticipated to be a spectacular weekend of entertainment, race and enthusiast activity, which includes the fourth round of the new Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of North America.

The Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of North America is a seven-event, 14-race, multi-round series that competes on some of the finest road courses in North America with entrants set to race the Vantage GT4 race car – derived from Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage road car.

General admission and paddock tickets are $20 per day; and general admission, paddock entry and British Field parking is $25 per day. There are also VIP hospitality options that begin at $275 for two-day admission into the Premier Pit Row Suites. For tickets, click here.

The 2010 Kings Royal-winning, Tony Stewart Racing-owned winged machine that was driven by the ‘King of the Outlaws,’ was rolled into the National Sprint Car Museum in Knoxville this week as final preparations for the “Salute to Champion Steve Kinser” special exhibition are being completed. 

The display, which debuts this Friday (June 13) and consists of seven sprint cars that the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee drove, features at least one winning car from each decade of his illustrious career. The exhibition follows similar ones honoring Tony Stewart (2011), Jeff Gordon (2012) and Mario Andretti (2013).

Said museum executive director Bob Baker, “We are so pleased to debut another first-time-ever display this weekend, with both the World of Outlaws and the American Motorcyclist Association teams and fans here. Honoring arguably the greatest sprint car driver ever with a five-month special exhibition is a real pleasure for all of us at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Steve and Dana Kinser; Jimmy Carr, Misha Geisert and Tony Stewart of Tony Stewart Racing; the Robert Karnell family; Alan Kreitzer and Lynn Paxton of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing; Chuck Merrill of Maxim Chassis; and Mike Brown. Words cannot truly express our sincere gratitude to all of these very generous people.”


The “Salute to Champion Steve Kinser” special exhibition coincides with the King’s final full season with the World of Outlaws (WoO) STP Sprint Car Series in 2014.

Said Bob Baker, “The display, featuring the seven historically-significant non-winged and winged sprint cars and other Steve Kinser-related art and artifacts, will only be able to be seen at one place this year and that is at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. This will be a must-see attraction for the legion of fans of the 20-time World of Outlaws champion and 12-time Knoxville Nationals winner.” 



Those seeking additional information can visit the museum’s website at www.sprintcarhof.com.

At the $100,000 Summer Showdown presented by Coors Light on June 27 & 28 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, a new record could be set.

In the 60-year history of this fabled race track, never before have more than two women started a Super Late Model race. That will possibly be broken with the potential of four women starting the 200-lap Summer Showdown.

With over 50 cars from all over the US and Canada expected, just making the Summer Showdown will be tough enough for male or female. The four women drivers are very capable of handling this tough assignment.

Molly Helmuth (Seattle, WA): A regular Super Late Model driver at Evergreen Speedway has the most track experience at her home track. In her third season of racing the big cars the petite young 19 year old has proven to be able to handle the car and the pressure of racing with the big boys. After racing karts in her early life she graduated to running in the Mini-Stock Division at Evergreen where she became a fan favorite at only 14 years old when she became Rookie of the Year. During her two year stint in the Mini-Stock she also traveled the Northwest in a Pro 4 Truck. Moving up to the Super Late Model Stock Cars in 2012 where she became the NASCAR State of Washington and Evergreen Speedway Rookie of the Year and was named one of NASCAR’s top 500 Late Model Drivers. Last season she finished 6th in the points out of 41 drivers in the Evergreen Speedway NASCAR Whelen All American Series Super Late Model Division. She started in the last two Summer Showdowns. More information about Molly at www.mollyhelmuth.com.

Jessica Dana (Olympia, WA): The 19-year old has the second most experience on the BIG track the 5/8-mile oval at Evergreen Speedway. She is also a two time entrant of the Summer Showdown. She started in Karting and quickly moved to Super Late Model Stock Cars at her home track South Sound Speedway. Jessica has beaten the best during her brief Karting career including NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, Kenny Wallace, Travis Pastrana plus other top Karting drivers. With strong determination on and off the track Jessica has set lofty goals that she just may obtain. A strong run in the 2014 Summer Showdown will go a long ways towards obtaining them. More information about Jessica at www.jessicadanaracing.com.

Mariah McGriff (Tucson, AZ): The 18-year-old granddaughter of NASCAR Legend Hershel McGriff was born in Portland, OR. Mariah will be making her first trip to Evergreen Speedway as a Super Late Model driver. Her home track is NASCAR’s newest Home Track Tucson Speedway, the former Tucson Raceway Park. This being her first season in the big cars she is the Speedway’s Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in the standings. An honor roll student throughout her time in school, she is now attending college along with racing. She has helped maintain her grandpa’s K&N Pro Series West Car along with her own Super Late Model.

Her life has been around racing in all different aspects starting with her Uncle Tex Powell founder/owner of Tex Racing Enterprises in North Carolina which maintains and builds transmissions for most NASCAR teams. Her aunt Debbie is married to Chuck Bown, the 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Champion and drove a NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Cup Series Car for many years. Another uncle, Doug McGriff was a racer in Oregon winning the Oregon Auto Racing Association Late Model Division Championship. Her dad, Hershel McGriff Junior, has won multiple races in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California, and was the 1990 NASCAR Northwest Tour Rookie of the Year. Hershel Jr. opened a fabricating shop in 1982 named JR Industries, where Mariah spent much of growing up years.

Her grandfather Hershel McGriff holds many records in his long NASCAR career and is in the NASCAR history books. Including the most wins (14) of any driver at the old Riverside Speedway in California. He was the 1986 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion (Now the K&N Pro Series West) and raced competitively until the age of 83. Hershel was also one of NASCAR’s 50 best named to the top 50 Legends of NASCAR along with many other titles and racing history. The whole family will be coming to Evergreen Speedway for Mariah’s debut where her Grandfather Hershel will be the honorary Grand Marshal of the 2014 Summer Showdown. More information about Mariah at mariahmcgriff.com.

Nicole Behar (Otis Orchards, WA): The youngest of the four at just 16-years old. Nicole started going fast at 2 years old on a snow mobile, and is now an 11th grader at East Valley High in Spokane Valley. Her home track is Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho. She started in the Baby Grand Division quickly moving up to Fever Fours and on to 2900 lb. Super Late Models. On her way to the top she won 6 karting championships including an IKF Region 6 Gold Cup Series. She broke the Stateline track record 5 times in the Fever Four Class. Moving to the Super Late Model in 2012 was no problem for the young lady winning her first race in her rookie year and became Rookie of the Year and finished runner-up in the points. Not satisfied with just running big races in the Northwest Nicole has also run some Modified events with great success. In 2013 Nicole was one of the 20 drivers selected to attend NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.

Nicole in very short time has become a threat no matter what track she has raced at, even those that she has never been to before. Nicole will be making her first trip to the BIG track at Evergreen Speedway in this year’s Summer Showdown. More information about Nicole at www.nicolebehar.com.

There is the potential of more women joining these four as entries are still coming in for the 2014 $100,000.00 Summer Showdown presented by Coors Light on June 27 & 28. The 200-lap race for Super Late Models has drawn nationwide attention with drivers from throughout the US and Canada entered for the $20,000-to-win event.

Over the next six weeks, fans of the International Hot Rod Association and its various series will have plenty of opportunities to see their favorite cars, drivers and teams with live broadcasts provided by Motor Mania TV.

Four events with the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series and more than half a dozen events on the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL will be broadcast live on www.ihra.com with coverage from start to finish at each event. Fans will enjoy broadcasts will multiple camera angles, live audio, replays and more.

IHRA national events to be broadcast live include the IHRA Nitro Jam President’s Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway June 13-14, IHRA Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals at Grand Bend Motorplex June 20-22, IHRA Mopar Nitro Jam Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports and Parts Canada at Castrol Raceway July 4-6 and IHRA Nitro Jam Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway Park July 18-20.

Each of those events will also feature two full days of sportsman action on the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour.

Check www.ihra.com for a complete listing of events to be featured on Motor Mania TV and IHRA.com.