NASCAR announced the 2014 schedule for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the 33rd season of racing for the second-most popular motorsports series in the United States. Next year’s schedule once again features a variety of tracks that will challenge drivers, many of whom are quickly transforming into up-and-coming national series stars.
 
“As it continues to provide great racing for our fans, the NASCAR Nationwide Series is also a launching pad for our rising talent,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “It’s exciting to watch the growth of current and former series drivers Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. among others in their progression to challenge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars like Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick. Those former NASCAR Nationwide Series champions also make up a majority of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.”
 
For the third consecutive season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule will consist of 33 races on intermediate venues, road courses and short tracks. Three road course races will again be showcased, including Road America (June 21), Watkins Glen International (Aug. 9) and Mid-Ohio (Aug. 16), which is located less than 60 miles from Nationwide Insurance’s Columbus, Ohio headquarters. ESPN networks will continue to provide live broadcasts of the entire schedule in 2014.
 
Changes to next season’s schedule include three date shifts from the 2013 edition: Darlington Raceway will hold its race a month earlier (April 11), while the first Iowa Speedway event is now slated for May 18 (it had previously been held in June). Texas Motor Speedway’s date moved one week earlier in the calendar to April 4; the Texas and Darlington date changes coincide with the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule released earlier this week. Chicagoland Speedway’s standalone event on July 19 will return to a night race for the first time since hometown driver Justin Allgaier won there in 2011.
 
Daytona International Speedway hosts the season opener on Feb. 22 while the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway is set for Nov. 15. Six “standalone” dates are also included on the 2014 schedule. These races have been a major part of the series’ identity throughout its history, putting the spotlight squarely on series regulars vying for the championship. Iowa Speedway will host two standalones (May 18 and Aug. 2), along with Chicagoland, Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 20), Road America and Mid-Ohio.
 
And for the sixth straight year, NASCAR and Nationwide Insurance will partner to bring back the popular “Dash 4 Cash” bonus program for drivers and fans alike. The unique program rewards and recognizes NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship contenders and adds elements of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during the designated “Dash 4 Cash” races. An announcement on the complete 2014 program details will be released at a later date.   
 
2014 NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE
 
Date, Site
2/22, Daytona International Speedway                                                          
3/1, Phoenix International Raceway                                                             
3/8, Las Vegas Motor Speedway                                                                
3/15, Bristol Motor Speedway                                                                                  
3/22, Auto Club Speedway                                                                           
4/4, Texas Motor Speedway
4/11, Darlington Raceway                                                                             
4/25, Richmond International Raceway                                                          
5/3, Talladega Superspeedway                                                                   
5/18, Iowa Speedway                                                                       
5/24, Charlotte Motor Speedway                                                                   
5/31, Dover International Speedway                                                              
6/14, Michigan International Speedway                                                          
6/21, Road America                                                                                     
6/27, Kentucky Speedway                                                                            
7/4, Daytona International Speedway                                                          
7/12, New Hampshire Motor Speedway                                                         
7/19, Chicagoland Speedway                                                                       
7/26, Indianapolis Motor Speedway                                                              
8/2, Iowa Speedway                                                                                   
8/9, Watkins Glen International                                                                    
8/16, Mid-Ohio                                                         
8/22, Bristol Motor Speedway                                                                                  
8/30, Atlanta Motor Speedway                                                                      
9/5, Richmond International Raceway                                                          
9/13, Chicagoland Speedway                                                                       
9/20, Kentucky Speedway                                                                            
9/27, Dover International Speedway                                                              
10/4, Kansas Speedway                                                                               
10/10, Charlotte Motor Speedway                                                                   
11/1, Texas Motor Speedway                                                                       
11/8, Phoenix International Raceway                                                             
11/15, Homestead-Miami Speedway   

A multi-year deal has been reached between TORC (The Off-Road Championship) and Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, giving the series the exclusive rights to race short-course off-road events at the legendary venue.

Crandon is regarded as off-road’s most admired track and has been for more than 40 years. It has been deemed the “birth place of short-course off-road” by revered racers and historians.

“Being able to call Crandon home of the TORC Series is a true honor,” TORC President BJ Birtwell said. “It’s rooted in a rich history that’s unmatched by any other short-course track in the country. Renewing a multi-year relationship is a testament to our commitment to Crandon and theirs to TORC.”

Nestled in Crandon, Wisconsin, the track is a cultural phenomenon, drawing more than 50,000 fans from around the country to the historic Labor Day weekend event. Over that time frame, the rural community and its beloved Raceway are turned into the epicenter of off-road racing.
Next year happens to mark a historic milestone for the venue.

“With Crandon Int’l Off-Road Raceway’s 45th anniversary coming in 2014, we are pleased to say we will continue working and growing with TORC for many years to come,” said Cliff Flannery, track President.

Part of the multi-year agreement includes making the Labor Day weekend race at Crandon home to the TORC Championship, the series’ season finale. Birtwell believes there is no venue in the sport more deserving.

“There isn’t a more fitting way to end the TORC season than in Crandon,” he said. “Given the rich history of this track and the love the racers and fans have for it, I can’t see crowning our champions anywhere else but the Big House.”

Birtwell also stated the extension with Crandon is expected to be the first of many announcements regarding plans for 2014.

“We are taking a calculated approach to 2014 while balancing that with new opportunities and changes that will make TORC best in class,” he said.

At a special event on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Transamerican Auto Parts unveiled its new flagship store to industry leaders and their guests. The ten-year-old store, located at 3382 Tyler Street in Riverside, California, received a total makeover—from ceiling to floor—that includes innovative new product displays and a totally new store layout for an exciting new automotive shopping experience.

On hand for the unveiling were Transamerican’s President and CEO, Greg Adler, Transamerican’s CFO, Mark Lane, as well as representatives from Warn Winch, Airaid Air Filters, Tenneco Automotive, Daystar Products and many more.

“The Riverside prototype sets a new standard for automotive retail locations and future 4 Wheel Parts retail stores,” said Dave Rittenhouse, Director of Sales for Transamerican. “It truly is not your average retail shopping experience. This store represents the next level of retailing for our industry.”

Located in the heart of the Inland Empire and close to hundreds of Southern California’s off-road trails, this 15,000 square foot 4 Wheel Parts store carries product from leading manufacturers in the aftermarket industry. One of 63 stores in the US and Canada, this location, along with every 4 Wheel Parts store, is staffed by knowledgeable sales people who deliver superior customer service. Tires, wheels, suspension kits and the latest accessories for all popular trucks and Jeeps are in stock and ready to be installed on-site, if needed, by skilled 4 Wheel Parts ASE certified mechanics.

The public is invited to attend the official grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 9, 2013. Free to all attendees, this event will include free food, hourly prize drawings and a huge display of off-road race and show trucks.

Power Automedia recently came to terms with Xceleration Media on the sale and acquisition of OneDirt.com, an enthusiast online magazine bringing the latest news, results and innovations on dirt circle track racing to a growing readership. Under Power Automedia’s direction and nurturing, OneDirt.com has welcomed more than 915,000 visitors in 2013 and connects with 70,600 followers on Facebook, a number that increases daily.

Power Automedia CEO, James Lawrence explains the company's decision to sell the magazine it founded: “With the growth of Power Automedia’s online magazines, we arrived at a difficult decision to sell OneDirt.com. The site has grown tremendously since its inception in 2008. Our decision to find a new home for OneDirt.com is driven in part by our company’s growth into new markets, including the launch of Off Road Xtreme and Diesel Army. Our desire is to focus on growing our presence in truck and other markets over the next three years. In addition, we feel we are geographically challenged to continue to provide the on-site coverage in the heart of dirt circle track racing in the Midwest and Southeast. Xceleration Media has a strong understanding and footprint in the circle track market, and we strongly believe they will continue to grow OneDirt.com.”

Under Xceleration Media ownership, OneDirt will be a sister publication to their Power & Performance News and they intend to expand OneDirt distribution with a supportive special interest print publication. Xceleration Media will effectively take over the day-to-day management of OneDirt.com on November 1, 2013.

Leading the OneDirt.com effort for Xceleration Media will be the former editor of Circle Track Magazine, Jeff Huneycutt. Specializing in racing and engine tech for the last 14 years, Huneycutt’s accomplishments include authoring two ‘how-to’ books, one of which received the International Society for Vehicle Preservation Gold Medal. In addition to Circle Track Magazine, Huneycutt has also had racing and engine tech articles published in over two dozen magazines. Personally, Huneycutt’s automotive passion takes form in owning and racing a 4 cylinder Mini Stock and a 24 Hours of LeMons car. With the latter, Huneycutt won the first Chump Car race held at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

“It is impossible to say just how excited I am to be working with the folks at Xceleration Media on OneDirt.com and Power and Performance News,” stated Huneycutt. “Power Automedia has done a great job building the OneDirt.com website from scratch, and it is a trusted resource for racers and racing fans across the country. I just hope we can build on that for years to come.”

Iowa Corn will return as a sponsor for the 2014 and 2015 IZOD IndyCar Series races at Iowa Speedway, with major enhancements also announced for the events at the seven-eighths-mile track.

In 2014, 50 laps will be added so the race will be the ‘Iowa Corn Indy 300’ and the race will be held on Saturday night, July 12, under the lights. Fans will enjoy ethanol-powered racing with the Iowa Corn Indy 300 and American Ethanol 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series all in the same weekend.

“By bringing together IndyCar and NASCAR, fans will enjoy the ultimate race weekend at the Iowa Speedway. Iowa Corn wants fans to enjoy 50 more laps, and the IndyCars racing under the lights can’t be beat,” said Craig Floss, CEO of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. “We are excited to bring together two of our major promotions to engage fans in the biggest racing weekend that Iowa has experienced so far at the Iowa Speedway. We are honored and excited to be a part of the action.”

Iowa Corn is entering its’ eighth year of partnering with the Iowa Speedway as a venue to showcase the power and performance of corn-ethanol in the heartland. The 2014 ethanol-powered race weekend will highlight 85 percent ethanol with the Iowa Corn Indy 300 and 15 percent ethanol during the American Ethanol 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Iowa Corn is also a partner with Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Ass’n and other great partners on the American Ethanol program with NASCAR.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Iowa Corn to bring the incredible speed and excitement of IndyCar racing back to Iowa Speedway for the next two years,” said Stan Clement, Iowa Speedway President. “And we want to thank everyone at Iowa Corn, IndyCar, NASCAR and American Ethanol for making this sensational new event weekend possible.”

Eighteen races over 15 event weekends highlight the 2014 IndyCar Series schedule announced today.

The schedule includes a new event, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, on a 2.343-mile, 14-turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 10, in addition to the return of doubleheaders at Detroit, Houston and Toronto.

Missing from the schedule in 2014 are the events in Baltimore and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The schedule is also tighter next year than in years past, with the season ending nearly two months earlier next year than in 2013.

The most diverse schedule in motorsports includes events on technically challenging road and street courses, short ovals and superspeedways that is sure to deliver another exciting year of competition. Race distances, times and network television schedules will be announced at a later date.

“The World’s Fastest Spring Break Party,” on the 1.8-mile St. Petersburg (Fla.) street circuit kicks off the season for the fourth year in a row on Sunday, March 30. Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., will host the season finale Saturday, Aug. 30, for the third consecutive year.

“The 2014 schedule reflects a more condensed North American calendar to increase the consistency with our race weekends,” said Mark Miles, CEO, Hulman & Co., the parent company of IndyCar. “We’ll be building momentum throughout the season toward crowning our champion on Labor Day weekend.”

Miles added that the street course race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has been contested the past four years, may return in 2014 but is not part of the schedule now.

Jump-starting the Month of May activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 10, on a reconfigured road course currently undergoing $5 million in improvements that will utilize portions of the famous 2.5-mile oval. The Speedway will be open Sunday, May 11, for Indianapolis 500 practice.

The 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 25. Qualifying weekend is scheduled for Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18.

“We’re excited about the new month of May at IMS and our first Grand Prix of Indianapolis,” Miles said. “Many people want to see more of our racing, and we’re putting some of it on our most iconic stage and building toward the 500. We want to use the strength of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 to leverage value for the IndyCar Series and vice versa.”

Full-points doubleheader races on the Belle Isle, Houston and Toronto street courses return for a second year after producing scintillating action and championship-defining results. The event on the 1.634-mile, 10-turn temporary circuit at Reliant Park in Houston moves from early October to late June, which bundles the doubleheaders into a two-month span.

The annual night race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 7, separates the Detroit and Houston dates. The second IndyCar Series race at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 6, followed by a night race at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 12, bisect Houston and the doubleheader on the Exhibition Place circuit in Toronto. The span represents racing on four consecutive weekends.

Additionally, the Milwaukee race has been moved from mid-June to Sunday, Aug. 17, while the fifth annual race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., has taken a date two weeks later to Saturday, April 26.

Four road and street course races will start the season, while the drive to the championship in August includes road course races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Sonoma Raceway, the race on the one-mile Milwaukee oval and the closing race on the two-mile Auto Club Speedway oval.

“With the most diverse calendar in all of motorsports, we want the build-up to the championship to reflect our versatility by featuring a short oval, a road course and superspeedway in the final three consecutive weekends of our schedule to highlight the talent of our drivers,” said Miles.

2014 IndyCar Series Schedule

Date – Track – Location

March 30 – Streets of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, Fla.

April 13 – Streets of Long Beach – Long Beach, Calif.

April 26 – Barber Motorsports Park – Leeds, Ala.

May 10 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course) – Speedway, Ind.

May 25 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500) – Speedway, Ind.

May 31-June 1 – Belle Isle Park – Detroit, Mich.

June 7 – Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas

June 28-29 – Reliant Park – Houston, Texas

July 6 – Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.

July 12 – Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa

July 19-20 – Exhibition Place – Toronto, Ontario

Aug. 3 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, Ohio

Aug. 24 – Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.

Aug. 30 – Auto Club Speedway – Fontana, Calif.

Motovicity Distribution announced the winners of its 2013 Ticket to Ride promotion. Performance and Styling LLC, of Manchester, Connecticut, won the 2013 Mustang GT, and SpeedForSale LLC, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, won the 2013 Scion FR-S.

Both will receive the cars along with an assortment of parts that they will install in a performance build that will be featured on MotoIQ, an online performance industry magazine.

Once the builds are complete, the winners and their project cars will travel to Irwindale Speedway in California, for a side-by-side performance shoot-out, featuring professional drivers on a course designed by MotoIQ.

“I think this is great for the (performance) companies to see these parts on the car, to see them installed and how they perform,” said John Malapetsas, owner of Performance and Styling. “It’s great for the industry and to have the opportunity for exposure for my business is probably more important than winning the car itself.”

The contest was part of Motovicity’s Ticket to Ride promotion, which began last February, and featured exclusive product promotions to registered participants. Motovicity also gave participants tickets to win the cars and other prizes based on their purchases.

“This is wild. I’ve never won anything like this,” said Jeremy Blackwell, owner of SpeedForSale LLC. “We’ve been in the Supra/GT-R market for some time, so to see what we can do with some of the brands that we sell and install—HKS, StopTech, Eibach, among them—is a good thing.”

Motovicity will announce the details and pro drivers of the performance shoot-out at Irwindale Speedway later this year.  

“Congratulations to the winners, we couldn’t be happier for these guys,” said Motovicity Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brian Lounsberry. “Jeremy and John are typical of the types of customers Motovicity supports on a daily basis, so it’s great to see them win and to be a part of their continued success.”

Some of the top brands in the performance aftermarket industry sponsored Ticket to Ride and will have their products featured in the final builds. They are: AEM, BBK, Eibach, Energy Suspension, Exedy, Gates RPM, HKS, KW, Royal Purple, Sparco, Stack, StopTech, Vibrant and Whiteline.

For the 29th year, Charlotte Motor Speedway will honor the best in motorsports journalism. The speedway is accepting applications for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Russ Catlin Awards for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism to recognize outstanding 2013 coverage.

Established in 1985, the awards were founded to recognize outstanding coverage of motorsports and to honor Russ Catlin, one a auto racing's best known writers, historians and a pioneer of motorsports public relations. Annually, the awards are presented to individuals who demonstrate captivating, thought-provoking and inspiring journalism surrounding motorsports.

Keeping with the tradition of the award, the Indiana University School of Journalism will review all nominations and determine the winners. Awards of Excellence winners receive a special plaque to commemorate their achievements and a $1000 scholarship to be donated to the school of their choice. Each award winner's name will also be added to the perpetual Russ Catlin Award trophy, which is displayed at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Download an entry form at: http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/catlinaward/

The categories for the 2013 Charlotte Motor Speedway Russ Catlin Awards for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism are:

• Writing entries for daily newspapers
• Writing entries for other forms of written media (internet, weekly, etc.)
• Broadcast entries for local radio and television
• Broadcast entries for national radio and television
• Photojournalism entries

Any type of motorsports coverage from the 2013 season is eligible. Entries dated from any other year or season will not be accepted. Judges will review each submission closely and base their decision on the quality of work and its representation of excellence in motorsports journalism.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway Russ Catlin Awards for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism accepts and encourages all types of motorsports racing media coverage. It is NOT limited specifically to NASCAR.

Entries must be postmarked by December 6, 2013.

For questions regarding the awards, please contact Brookes Versaggi of Breaking Limits at (704) 766-9062 or at bversaggi@breakinglimits.net.

The 2014 IndyCar schedule is a "transitional" calendar that could open the series to extensive international events in 2015 and beyond, IndyCar's top executive said.

Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., which oversees the Izod IndyCar Series, said the compact, 18-race, March-to-September schedule will eliminate lengthy periods of downtime during the season.

"The strategic move here is to condense the schedule," Miles said. "The point is to make the season more compact, which opens it up to international events before and after the North American part of the schedule. Frankly, we want to avoid a situation like we had this year, where we waited a month between races near the end of the season."

Miles' larger goal is to secure a handful of races in the southern hemisphere before the start of the North American portion of the schedule, then develop a Pacific Rim series after the North American season. Thus, a Labor Day weekend season finale next year at Fontana, California. That will come about a month and a half earlier than the 2013 finale.

"We want continuity and consistency," Miles said. "I don't think it's possible to race every week without a week off in between because of the demand it places on teams, but we want to be as close to that as possible."

The biggest surprise on the calendar, which will be officially released Thursday night during a live show on NBC Sports Network, is the absence of a street race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that has been part of the IndyCar schedule since 2010. Miles indicated another Brazil race might emerge, perhaps as early as 2015.

"The crux of the issue as described to us by our promoter in Brazil was that the traditional venue was not going to be available to them this year," Miles said. "But we have reason to believe there's a lot of demand for IndyCar racing in Brazil."

The series will keep three doubleheader street races—in Detroit, Houston and Toronto—and Miles said he had to turn down demand from others—namely from promoters of the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida—for more doubleheaders.

"Doubleheaders were a huge success from a promoter's perspective," said Miles, who was hired in November. "That's important to us, and the teams understand that. It's been a challenge for the teams, but we believe it was well worth it. We thought about demand for more of them, but we feel like this calendar is a transition to 2015, so we limited them to three."

Last month, IndyCar announced it would not return to a Baltimore street race. This month, it disclosed plans for a race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course two weeks before the Indianapolis 500.

Aside from the loss of Brazil and Baltimore and the addition of the Indy road race, the venues remain the same as 2013. However, many tracks had their dates moved around to accommodate the shorter time frame.

The Grand Prix of Houston will move from early October to June 28-29 next year. The Milwaukee Mile moves from June to August and will serve as the first of three races in consecutive weekends to decide the championship.

Frank McGonagle, owner and board chairman of Brenton Productions, announced that Jim Cozzie and Ron Winter have joined the company as managing partners. Cozzie is a former chairman of SEMA and Winter is a veteran automotive industry marketing professional.

“Jim and Ron have come to Brenton as the result of a search to gradually replace myself in the active management of the company,” stated McGonagle. “Both of them are well respected in the automotive aftermarket and I’m confident they will continue to position Brenton as the leading producer of automotive how-to television."

McGonagle launched Brenton Television Productions 21 years ago with Shadetree Mechanic, the first how-to automotive series, on TNN (now Spike TV.) Prior to founding Brenton Productions in 1992, McGonagle spent 28 years as vice president of marketing at Honeywell’s automotive division responsible for Fram filters, Autolite spark plugs and Bendix brakes. He launched the famous Fram filter commercial tag line: "You Can Pay Me Now or You Can Pay Me Later."

Cozzie most recently served as executive vice president for RTM Productions in Franklin, Tennessee, and has over 30 years of management experience in the automotive specialty-equipment and television production industries. He has held senior-level positions with leading aftermarket companies including: Hurst Performance Inc., Super Press Inc., and B&M Racing Performance Products. He was also president of Berkshire Hathaway owned Zoom Performance Products.

Winter brings to Brenton over 30 years of marketing management experience with leading consumer goods marketers such as Bristol-Myers, Schlitz, Anheuser-Busch and Pennzoil. While at Anheuser-Busch, he managed sports marketing programs in 27 individual sports franchises. His motorsports sponsorships for Anheuser-Busch included a virtual “who’s who” of famous race teams and drivers. While at Pennzoil he managed programs such as “Pennzoil at the Half” during the NCAA basketball tournament and Eddie Hill’s NHRA Championship.

McGonagle also announced that industry veteran, John Passante, who has served as CEO of Brenton, will also phase out of active management with the company as part of Brenton’s long-range succession process. Passante plans to pursue personal and professional interests as an industry consultant, executive coach and speaker. He recently published a book on leadership entitled, “The Human Side: High Touch Leadership in a High-Tech World.”

Brenton Productions operates from its corporate headquarters in Swansea, Massachusetts, and at broadcast-quality television production studios in Tampa, Florida, which include four garage/sets, and editing facilities.

Brenton is currently producing four how-to series: All Girls Garage and Car Fix for Discovery/Velocity, along with Two Guys Garage and TruckU for the Great American Country network of Scripps Networks Interactive.

For more information on Brenton Productions, phone 800-572-7798 or visit www.brentontv.com.