Enerpulse Technologies Inc. (OTCQX:ENPT) announced that racing legend Al Unser Jr. has joined the company as its Pulstar Pulse Plugs Performance Expert. Unser Jr., a two-time winner of the prestigious Indianapolis 500, will be a consumer advocate for Enerpulse; assisting Enerpulse in delivering automotive enthusiasts improved vehicle power and performance.

"When I initially tried the Pulstar plugs in my 2011 Chevy Suburban LTZ I noticed an increase of two miles per gallon (MPG) and dyno testing showed that I had picked up 5 horsepower," explained Unser Jr. "I could really feel the power, all just by changing my spark plugs."

Unlike conventional spark plugs, Pulstar Pulse Plugs use an integrated capacitor that stores and compresses electrical energy to intensify the spark. This process increases fuel economy and engine performance - a revolutionary benefit unattainable by any conventional spark plugs on the market.

Unser Jr. is a two-time IndyCar Series champion and has 34 IndyCar wins. He was the winner of both the Indy 500 and the Series championship in 1994. Unser Jr. was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009.

"I am extremely excited by this partnership," said Unser Jr. "I am not a physicist, but I do know a thing or two about getting the most power from your engine; and the performance improvement I experienced with Pulstar Pulse Plugs is nothing short of amazing."

Unser Jr. participated in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 as a race team coach for KV Racing. He will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from June 6 to 8, where he will race in the "Indy Legends Pro-Am" feature that will be part of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's Brickyard Invitational weekend.

Less than a week after an emotional reaction to not making history, Courtney Force was even more emotional after her landmark-setting win Sunday.

Force beat Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car final to win the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. It was the 100th event win by a woman in NHRA history, extending a tradition of victories by female drivers that began with Shirley Muldowney in 1976.

Force was clocked at 4.148 seconds in her John Force Racing Ford Mustang, while Pedregon was clocked at 4.225 seconds.

"There's just a lot of emotion right now," Force said. "It's been a long weekend. I'm so proud of my guys and I am happy to win this for all of the girls who have won races in NHRA over the years. They know how to win, and this win is for them."

Force is one of 14 women who have won in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. She is one of three women who have won races in the series this season, joining fellow Funny Car racer Alexis DeJoria and Pro Stock points leader Erica Enders-Stevens.

"All day I was just trying not to think about it," said Force, who outran Dale Creasy Jr., Jeff Arend and Tommy Johnson Jr. in earlier rounds. "I was pretty much crushed after last weekend, but we were finally able to do it. I am just so proud to do it for all the girls out there."

Muldowney was the first woman to win a professional drag racing event when she won in Top Fuel on June 13, 1976 in Columbus, Ohio. Seven women are currently competing in the professional levels of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series: Enders-Stevens in Pro Stock, DeJoria and Force in Funny Car, Brittany Force and Leah Pritchett in Top Fuel, and Katie Sullivan and Angie Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"I think it's a terrific thing," Muldowney told NHRA.com before the race. "A lot of ladies played a big part in getting to 100 wins and it's good for the sport. Anything that shows women can be competitive with men and come out on top, it's a good thing."

Muldowney won the Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982 to become the first NHRA driver to win three championships. She won 18 events in her career.

"Nobody could hold me back from what I wanted to do," Muldowney said. "When the NHRA saw that I was capable in the driver's seat they relaxed and were great. They were very accepting. They knew I could sell tickets and that I had the goods."

Force, 25, is the daughter of team owner and 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force. She's in her third season, having won three events previously.

"I am just so proud of her," John Force said. "She battles like me. People say she looks like her mom and she races like me. I saw her jump in there against Cruz and then she got the win. I gave her a big hug at the finish line and I just said I loved her and was so proud.

"I know she was disappointed last week and I just told her to have fun and race hard today. She is a competitor just like her sisters, Ashley and Brittany, and her brother-in-law, Robert Hight. I hope she remembers this feeling because history doesn't happen every day."

During a rain-delayed Funny Car final Monday at Atlanta Dragway, Force lost to teammate Robert Hight, failing to reach the 100-win landmark.

Mark Shambarger, Crew Chief of the No. 98 Integrity Energee Drink car for BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian, was presented with the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.



The award, which is presented annually during the traditional Carb Day festivities by the Clint Brawner Foundation and supported by Firestone Racing, recognizes an Indy 500 chief mechanic who "exemplifies the mechanical and scientific creativity, ingenuity, perseverance, dedication, enthusiasm and expertise" of its legendary namesake.



Shambarger started his racing career with Gaerte Engines in Rochester, Indiana in 1984 with sprint cars on dirt tracks. He later moved to Indianapolis where he achieved great success with teams such as Hemelgarn, Patrick, Newman Haas and his current team, Bryan Herta Autosport. Shambarger's career highlights include the 1996 Indianapolis 500 win as chief mechanic for Buddy Lazier and the 2011 Indianapolis 500 win as a crew member for the late Dan Wheldon.



When asked how he felt about winning the Clint Brawner Award, Shambarger said he was confident that the BHA team could overcome Jack Hawksworth's pre-qualifying crash.



"We are a small team that has proven to be relentless in the past and I knew we could do it," said Shambarger. "With speeds approaching 230 miles per hour just days afterward, I knew we had done our job and I was very proud of everyone on the team."



Shambarger also mentioned his mentor Jim McGee, and how highly he always spoke of working with Clint Brawner. To be honored with the Clint Brawner Award (his mentor's mentor) is something he will never forget. McGee was one of the first congratulatory calls Shambarger received.



As a Clint Brawner Award recipient, Shambarger joined an illustrious group of his peers when he was presented with a $5000 check and a plaque in honor of one of the most innovative, resourceful and successful chief mechanics ever to grace the Speedway.



Team co-owner Bryan Herta commented, "We're all so proud and happy for Mark Shambarger to win the Clint Brawner Award. It's such a tremendous recognition of his work, directly from his peers.



"In my career, I've been associated with three Clint Brawner Award winners - Craig Baranouski from AJ Foyt Enterprises when I was a rookie at IMS, then our own Don Lambert won it at our first year at the Speedway in 2010. Now to have Mark join the roll call of really legendary crew chiefs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I couldn't be happier for him and it's incredibly well deserved."

In 2000, Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt sustained a severe spinal cord injury in a testing crash at Walt Disney World Speedway and became a quadriplegic.

But he has soldiered on as both a winning INDYCAR team owner and as a champion for paralysis research and treatment through the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.

By his count, the foundation has raised somewhere between $12-13 million since its inception.

However, Schmidt grew, in his words, “impatient” over the long-term timeline for a cure for paralysis, and he and his foundation – which has changed its name to Conquer Paralysis Now – searched for a way to generate faster progress.

The result is a project known as the SCI Challenge, which is set for a full introduction later this year. The Challenge will provide incentive for research scientists and the business community to team up by providing major cash awards for meeting specific milestones toward the final goal of a cure.

“I’m involved in my everyday life with running races and trying to compete for a prize and trying to be the first one to cross the finish line,” Schmidt told MotorSportsTalk in his motorhome at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“And I think that’s the way we should go forward with challenging people on a global basis to find solutions in a quicker fashion.

“I think it will encourage collaboration between private industry and public entities and research facilities. The feedback we’ve gotten is very positive and I think that it’s the way to go.”

CPN medical advisor Dr. John McDonald, a neurologist, research scientist and director of the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, said in a statement that the Challenge was “a tremendous step forward and will change the course of paralysis.”

As for the idea of using prizes to fuel potential breakthroughs, CPN president Ida Cahill was charged with investigating that in the early stages of the project. She noted today that such prizes have been used at many points in history.

“Great Britain offered a prize in the 1700s because they lost an entire naval fleet because they couldn’t measure longitude,” she said. “So they decided to offer a prize and thought Sir Issac Newton would win it. But it turned out [the winner was] a clock maker [John Harrison]…

“What those prizes said to us is [that] we’re looking for a clockmaker. We’re looking for someone approaching this in an entirely different fashion.”

Cahill said the Challenge will involve three stages, with each of them building upon the success of the previous one. The first stage centers on higher-level research – “audacious, novel ideas” as she put it – while the second stage involves animal and human research models getting to clinical trials.

The final stage is what she calls “functional recovery,” which can mean different things for paraplegics and quadriplegics.

“If you asked people who are paraplegics, they will say ‘I’m OK being in a wheelchair – I don’t like it – but I’ve gotten used it, I can get around, and I can live like this. But what I want back to me that is most important is my privacy.’ So they’re looking for bowel, bladder, sexual function,” she explained.

“When you get to somebody who is a quadriplegic, they will say, ‘It’s awful being in a wheelchair, but the one thing I really want is that I want to move my arms. I would love to move my fingers. I would love to be able to hug my children or my loved one, brush my teeth, comb my own hair.’

“They have different wants and needs than the paraplegics. But this Challenge we’ve put together addresses both of those issues.”

Another key element of the Challenge will be a website that shall serve as a platform for scientists around the world to share both their successes and, just as important, their failures.
By putting the failures out in the open, other researchers will know which paths not to take and that in turn will hopefully lead to the faster progress that Schmidt and CPN want.

He believes that some in the medical community may be a bit reluctant to share their failures, but feels that it’s essential to the project.

“That’s never been done before and I think it’ll take a while for some people to get used to,” Schmidt said. “But I think it’s absolutely critical in making something happen quickly, that we encourage, and/or finance, and/or force people to publish their failures so others can learn from that and not do the same thing.”

Schmidt is also hopeful that a new sense of collaboration on the researchers’ side of the fence will take hold as the Challenge commences.

“Everybody just wants to write a paper, everybody wants to get funded through applications, and all of this very secretive, so why would you ask for help?,” he explained.

“With the prize format, I think it opens up an opportunity for researchers to go to companies and say, ‘Hey, I’ve done all this basic science, I’ve got all this information, this particular prize in front of me is absolutely suited for what I’ve been doing the last 10 years – help me win this prize and we’ll both share in the results.’”

The distinctive and innovative Dallara IL-15 chassis, which will form the backbone of the rejuvenated Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, was unveiled Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

During the reveal of the new Dallara IL-15 chassis, it was announced that the 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion will be guaranteed a three-race program in the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, including an entry in the 100th Indianapolis 500.

“Indy Lights is a pivotal step in the Road to Indy ladder system and today’s unveiling of the new Dallara chassis is a key advancement in the evolution of the series,” said Hulman & Company CEO Mark Miles. “IndyCar has a long history with Dallara and the partnership is instrumental in our long-term goals of continued developments in safety, innovation and a thrilling on-track product.”

Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions which oversees all aspects of the highly acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy, was joined for the special ceremony in front of the distinctive IMS Pagoda by Miles, Dallara Automobili President Gian Paolo Dallara, Dallara CEO and General Manager Andrea Pontremoli and NZR Consulting President/Founder and former Vice President of Competition at IndyCar Tony Cotman, who has been responsible for the entire bid and design process of the technologically advanced car which will now undergo a rigorous test and development program in preparation for the 2015 season.

“This is an important day in the tremendous history of Indy Lights,” said Andersen, whose lengthy involvement in the sport has included spells as a team owner as well as being one of the founders of USF2000 in 1990. “Choosing Dallara as our chassis partner for the new Indy Lights car has turned out to be a great decision. They have crafted a state-of-the-art race car with the latest technology and safety enhancements which will provide the necessary training as we develop the next crop of Verizon IndyCar Series drivers.

“It is clear to me that they can build both beauty and quality into their cars while keeping costs in line. Add in Cooper Tires, AER, PFC, Cosworth, Tilton and our other partners, and it has been a great experience seeing this car come together. We’ve ended up with a very high end ‘spec’ car which we believe will be enjoyable for our competitors to drive and very fast.”

The Dallara IL-15 has been conceived as a collaborative effort between Dallara’s headquarters in Varano de’ Melegari, near Parma, Italy, and Dallara LLC, situated just a few minutes’ walk from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Ind., where all cars will be assembled.

It boasts a state-of-the-art carbon composite chassis, constructed to the very latest FIA and IndyCar safety standards, and will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged AER engine producing 450 HP capable of reaching speeds of 200 mph. Additional features include a six-speed, paddle-shift transmission, a 50HP “push-to-pass” feature, “drive-by-wire” throttle control and advanced engine management electronics.

“Dallara is very proud to be selected by Dan Andersen’s organization as the official manufacturer of the new Indy Lights car,” noted Pontremoli. “The Dallara IL-15 is the result of excellent teamwork with Andersen Promotions, its technical partners and Tony Cotman. It was a great challenge to put all of Dallara’s expertise and experience into this project.

“The new Indy Lights car has all the latest safety and performance features that Dallara has acquired in various projects of race cars competing all over the world. As a whole team we are confident that we have ended up with an attractive, safe, fast and reliable piece of engineering. We want to thank Dan and his organization for the great effort he is doing to promote the series, and the opportunity for Dallara to be part of it.”

An initial shakedown test of the new car will be conducted at Varano, Italy, on July 15, after which development will continue at a variety of tracks in the United States. Indianapolis native, Indy Lights race winner and current GP2 driver Conor Daly will be responsible for the first test on U.S. soil on Aug. 5, immediately following the Indy Lights race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Frenchman Tristan Vautier, who won the Indy Lights championship in 2012, also will be involved in finalizing the car’s specification, along with a couple of current Verizon IndyCar Series regulars.

“Today marks a pivotal direction change in the resurgence of the Indy Lights series,” said Cotman. “Andersen Promotions has assembled a team of partners who have a winning record in motorsports and together can re-establish Indy Lights as the premier driver development category worldwide.”

In a sport dominated by men, the women of the NHRA have and continue to leave their mark on the sport. McLeod Racing would like to honor the NHRA Mello Yello female driver that wins the 100th event with a $10,000 cash reward.

In 1976 Shirley Muldowney was the first female to win a Professional NHRA event. Since then the NHRA has seen a host of world class female NHRA winning drivers like Erica Enders-Stevens, Alexis Dejoria, Ashley and Courtney Force, Angelle Sampey, Melanie Troxel, and Shelly Payne, to name just a few.

If the driver of the 100th NHRA female event winner is displaying the provided McLeod Racing logo on their race car, then McLeod Racing will present that driver a $10,000 reward. Drivers must contact McLeod Racing for eligibility details.

"I’m proud that our company has chosen to honor the women of our sport,” says Paul Lee, NHRA Funny Car Driver and McLeod Racing owner. “Their contribution to our sport has helped fuel its growth and brought many more fans to the NHRA. I can’t wait to see who wins our $10,000 cash!”

Nissan will unleash the GT-R and go head-to-head with Audi, Porsche and Toyota at Le Mans in 2015 in an effort to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Japanese manufacturer will also contest the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship with a full factory effort of two LM P1 cars. Nissan’s LM P1 car will be called the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, carrying on a sporting bloodline that stretches back 30 years and recognizes the company’s flagship road car, the Nissan GT-R.

Nissan’s LM P1 program was launched in the heart of Europe’s fastest-growing area of digital innovation in East London, close to Nissan’s new global digital hub. ACO President, Pierre Fillon joined Nissan’s Chief Planning Office & Executive Vice President Andy Palmer; NISMO President Shoichi Miyatani and NISMO Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales Darren Cox for the announcement at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, London.

“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do,” said Palmer. “There is no better place to demonstrate innovation than here in Europe’s new hot-bed of digital marketing and, from next year, on track at Le Mans. We have chosen this venue – and made it a celebration, rather than yet another press conference – to reflect the fact that when we go racing, we do so differently.

“We applaud the ACO and FIA for the work they have done to get the rules right,” continued Palmer. “LM P1 is not just an arms race – all our rivals in the class have taken different technical approaches and we will be doing the same. We want to win in a very different way to that of our rivals. We won’t be turning up in a vehicle which is a basically another hybrid that looks like another Porsche, Audi or Toyota – they all look the same to me – our intention is to do something that is a little bit different.”

Nissan has steadily increased its participation in motorsport in recent times through innovative programs, such as Nissan PlayStation GT Academy and the ACO’s Garage 56 initiative.

“Nissan is connecting in motorsport in many ways through its performance arm, NISMO,” said Cox. “In recent years we have taken a new approach to motorsport – not racing for racing’s sake – but carefully considering our reasons to engage with our global competition.”

The Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 now races all over the world, not least in Europe where it is driven by the NISMO Athletes, the winners of GT Academy. Nissan’s LM P2 engine is the standout P2 power plant in recent years and the company’s commitment to the ACO’s Garage 56 initiative demonstrates its love of a technical challenge. What Nissan learns on the track is fed through to its road cars to deliver technical innovation across the product range.

“Marketing innovation is important to us and Le Mans is an incredible marketing platform,” continued Cox. “We are a big, passionate, innovative brand that wants a presence on the world stage. NISMO isn’t just a big building in Yokohama full of top-level motorsport talent. NISMO stands for everything we love about racing. This year we have four gamers racing at Le Mans and, now that Sir Chris Hoy is racing with us in British GT and learning the ropes, we will be taking an Olympian to Le Mans in the future.”

The new Nissan GT-R LM NISMO gives Nissan the opportunity to return to Le Mans where the company has some unfinished business.

“The design and build of the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is a global project with its DNA firmly rooted in Japan,” explained Miyatani. “The team comprises engineers and technical crew from Japan, the US and Europe. We know that LM P1 competition is very tough, with serious manufacturer competition, but we are absolutely determined to make our cars competitive and to operate strongly against those competitors.

“We have chosen to take the GT-R name to Le Mans as the GT-R symbolizes the ultimate in Nissan’s performance. It is a true aspirational brand; a car our fans, our customers love to drive, and love to own. We have been using GT-R in motorsport for many years now, in Super GT and GT3. For us LM P1 is the ultimate test. We have unfinished business at Le Mans and now we have our chance to target victory with the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO.”

The race is now on to get Nissan’s LM P1 car on the grid in 2015. Announcements will be made in due course concerning the drivers of the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, who will come from both inside and outside of the Nissan family. The date the new car will first take to the track and the full technical specifications will also be revealed in due course but the intentions of Nissan are clear.

“You don’t go to Le Mans to just turn up,” said Palmer. “The brief to the team is to go with something different, go with something that brings new technology which is transferable to the road car technology and an approach that is innovative and exciting and of course, go to win.

“Believe me, I think this is the car that will go down in the annals of time and be one of those cars which will be long remembered, not only for the fact that it will have won Le Mans but also that it reset the real meaning of NISMO as a link between success on the track and success on the road.”

NASCAR announced the inductees who will comprise the 2015 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The five-person group—the sixth in NASCAR Hall of Fame history—consists of Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White. In addition, NASCAR announced that Anne B. France won the inaugural Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

Next year's Induction Day is scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2015, broadcast on NBC Sports Network from Charlotte, North Carolina

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in a closed session in Charlotte, North Carolina, to vote on both the induction class of 2015, as well as the Landmark Award. NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France made the announcement this afternoon in the NASCAR Hall of Fame's "Great Hall."

Next year's class was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, which for the first time included the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion—in this case, Jimmie Johnson.

The panel also included representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders and a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com—which counted for the 54th and final vote. In all, 54 votes were cast, with two additional Voting Panel members recused from voting as potential nominees for induction (Jerry Cook and Robert Yates). The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

Voting for next year's class was as follows: Bill Elliott (87%), Wendell Scott (58%), Joe Weatherly (53%), Rex White (43%) and Fred Lorenzen (30%).

The next top vote getters were Jerry Cook, Robert Yates and Benny Parsons.

Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote, in order of votes received, were Wendell Scott, Bill Elliott, Benny Parsons, Rex White and Terry Labonte.

The five inductees came from a group of 20 nominees that included, in addition to the five inductees chosen:

Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Jerry Cook, Bill Elliott, Ray Fox, Rick Hendrick, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, Fred Lorenzen, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Larry Phillips, Wendell Scott, O. Bruton Smith, Mike Stefanik, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Rex White and Robert Yates.

As was announced last December during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion's Week, potential Landmark Award recipients could include competitors or those working in the sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor, media partner or being a general ambassador for the sport through a professional or non-professional role.

The five nominees for the inaugural Landmark Award were H. Clay Earles, Anne Bledsoe France, Raymond Parks, Ralph Seagraves and Ken Squier.

Class of 2015 Inductees:

Bill Elliott
In a 37-year driving career, Bill Elliott compiled a list of accolades that put him near the top of a number of NASCAR's all-time lists. His 44 wins rank 16th all time and his 55 poles rank eighth. But his most prestigious accomplishment came in 1988 when he won the NASCAR premier series championship with six wins, 15 top fives and 22 top 10s in 29 races. In addition, he won a record 16 Most Popular Driver Awards, in part because of his excellence on the big stage; he won the Daytona 500 twice and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway three times.

Fred Lorenzen
Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR's first true superstars even though he was a "part-time" driver, never running more than 29 of the season's 50-plus races. Lorenzen got his start in NASCAR as a mechanic with the famed Holman-Moody team in 1960, but was elevated to lead driver by the end of the year. Lorenzen won three races in only 15 starts the following season. Lorenzen's best overall season came in 1963 as he finished with six wins, 21 top fives and 23 top 10s in 29 starts. Despite missing 26 races that season, he finished third in the standings. In 1965, he won two of NASCAR's major events -- the Daytona 500 and the World 600.

Wendell Scott
One of NASCAR's true trailblazers, Wendell Scott was the first African-American to race fulltime in NASCAR's premier series, as well as the first to win a NASCAR premier series race. Scott posted a remarkable 147 top 10s and 495 starts during his 13-year premier series career. He won more than 100 races at local tracks before making his premier series debut, including 22 races at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Virginia, in 1959 en route to capturing both the Sportsman Division and NASCAR Virginia Sportsman championships. Part of Scott's NASCAR legacy extends to present day with NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program, the leading youth development initiative for multicultural and female drivers across the motorsport industry since 2004.
 
Joe Weatherly
Joe Weatherly won two championships (1962-63) and 25 races in NASCAR's premier series. But that’s only part of his story, which is long on versatility A decade earlier in 1952-53, he won 101 races in the NASCAR Modified division, capturing that championship in 1953. He even tried his hand in NASCAR's short-lived Convertible Division from 1956-59 winning 12 times. When he won his first NASCAR premier series championship, in 1962, he drove for legendary owner Bud Moore. When he repeated as champion a year later, he drove for nine different teams. Those were the only two years Weatherly competed in the premier series full-time.

Rex White
Consistency was the hallmark of Rex White's NASCAR career. He finished among the top five in nearly a half of his 233 races and outside the top 10 only 30 percent of the time. White was a short track specialist in an era in which those tracks dominated the schedule. Of his 28 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series, only two came on tracks longer than a mile in length. Driving his own equipment, White won six times during his 1960 championship season, posting 35 top 10s in 40 starts. He finished in the top 10 six of his nine years in the series including a runner-up finish in 1961.

Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR:

Anne Bledsoe France
Anne Bledsoe France, paired with her husband, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., would create what today is one of the largest and most popular sports in the world. Anne played a huge role in the family business. Bill organized and promoted races and she took care of the financial end of the business. She first served as secretary and treasurer of NASCAR, and when Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, she served in the same roles for International Speedway Corporation. She also managed the speedway's ticket office. France remained active in family and business life until her passing in 1992.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Honda Performance Development announced a technical partnership on Wednesday that will see HPD implement ZF’s high-performance clutch and shock absorber technology in a variety of North American racing series.

The two companies, both with long records of success in motorsports, will work together to investigate other potential performance-enhancing technology, utilizing their respective engineering and R&D strengths.

“We are very proud to welcome ZF to HPD as a technical partner,” said Art St. Cyr, the president of HPD. “ZF’s reputation as a technology supplier in the motorsport world and beyond is second to none, so we are delighted to be working with them.

“Together, we will continue to work on innovative products, to better help our teams and drivers stand on the top step of the podium in all of our racing series.”

The two sides believe the partnership to be very beneficial.

“We are really looking forward to the new technical partnership with Honda Performance Development,” added Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “We already have a very successful and growing business relation with Honda, supplying products and technology for Honda production vehicles in the U.S. With the partnership in racing we are able to point out our prominent competencies as a development partner and technology leader in motorsports. The racing series where HPD participates are an ideal platform for this. We are looking forward to many future victories together.”

Andretti Autosport has reunited with digital engineering specialists Wirth Research as it prepares to compete in the world’s first international all-electric race car series.

Andretti Autosport and Wirth Research, two great names in international motorsports, have worked successfully together before, most notably in two of Andretti Autosport’s four IndyCar Series title-winning seasons (2004 with Tony Kanaan and in 2005 with Dan Wheldon) and with victory in the 2005 Indy 500 with Wheldon (all wins achieved with an Andretti Dallara-Honda).

Wirth Research will provide Andretti Formula E with vital engineering services for its assault on the new FIA Formula E Championship, which begins in Beijing in September.

Based in Indianapolis and led by racing legend Michael Andretti, Andretti Formula E is one of only 10 teams accepted by the FIA for the inaugural Formula E Championship, with car build and all pre-season testing taking place during May and June at the Donington Park Racing Circuit in England.

With its previously successful association, Oxfordshire-based Wirth Research—in the heart of motorsport valley and only a short drive from Donington—is perfectly placed to assist Andretti Autosport in this exciting new technology-racing venture. Wirth’s virtual engineering technology includes flow simulation and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) services and an advanced driver-in-the-loop simulator.

Testing and full race simulations for Formula E take place on track in July and August, prior to the cars being transported from the U.K. to China for the eagerly anticipated opening round.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming FIA Formula E season and partnering with Wirth Research for all of our Formula E engineering services,” Andretti Formula E owner Michael Andretti said.

“We are building a strong team of management and drivers that will complement Wirth’s expertise, and look forward to a success inaugural season.”