Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) has announced three key personnel appointments.
 


Race engineer Gerry Hughes, who joined the team in March 2011 as race engineer, has been named Head of Development for the IZOD IndyCar Series program.  

Neil Fife, who was race engineer for the team’s most recent win at Watkins Glen in 2008 by Ryan Hunter-Reay, will become Graham Rahal’s engineer for the remainder of the season.

And Mitch Davis has joined the team as crew chief, responsible for preparation of both Rahal and James Jakes’ entries.
 


Most recently, Fife was race engineer for Sebastien Bourdais at Dragon Racing, and Davis was team manager for Chip Ganassi Racing’s satellite Indy car program.

For more on Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, visit www.rahal.com.



NASCAR and NBC Sports Group have reached a comprehensive agreement that grants NBCUniversal exclusive rights to the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, final 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series events, select NASCAR Regional & Touring Series events and other live content beginning in 2015.

Financial terms of the agreement, which runs through the 2024 season, were not disclosed.
 
With this partnership, NBC’s 20 Sprint Cup race schedule becomes the exclusive home to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s final 10 races of the season, including its season-ending championship event, which will return to network television in 2015 for the first time since 2009.

Of NBC Sports Group’s 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, seven will be carried on NBC annually, with 13 airing on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). Four of NBC Sports Group’s 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races will air on NBC, with 15 airing on NBCSN.
 
In addition to rights to NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series races, NBC has also obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for NBC’s national series events during their portion of the season, as well as rights to broadcast the NASCAR K&N Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series, the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and NASCAR’s season-ending banquets.

Further, NBC has been granted Spanish-language rights, certain video-on-demand rights and exclusive TV Everywhere rights for its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events.
 
Following is a summary of key NBC Sports Group Exclusive Rights—2015-2024:

·         Final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races (7 on NBC, 13 on NBCSN)
·         Final 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races (4 on NBC, 15 on NBCSN)
·         NASCAR K&N Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events
·         NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series events
·         NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and season-ending banquets
·         ‘TV Everywhere’ live-streaming rights for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series
·         Spanish-language broadcast rights on Telemundo and Mun2 for national series events and NASCAR Toyota (Mexico) Series
 
For more information, visit www.nascar.com.

The 26th annual USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway will be run under the same Hoosier-only tire rule that was used for the 2012 event, track and World of Outlaws Late Model Series officials have announced.

One of the country's crown-jewel dirt Late Models events, the USA Nationals includes three huge nights of WoO LMS action. The national tour will sanction a 30-lap, $6000-to-win preliminary program for the first time on Thurs., August 1, before the headline competition commences with time trials and heat races on Fri., August 2, and B-Mains, a Last Chance Race and the 100-lap spectacular offering a $50,000 top prize on Sat., August 3.

All entrants in the three nights of USA Nationals events will be required to use Hoosier LM 40-compound tires, WRS/WRS-2 55-compound tires (block pattern only) or Hoosier 1600-compound tires (excluding white-dot tires). The same tire mandate was in effect for last year's USA Nationals weekend.

Fans can take advantage of discounted prices on two- and three-day USA Nationals ticket packages by purchasing them in advance at www.cedarlakespeedway.com or calling 612/363-0479.

In related WoO LMS news, the tour's events that sandwich the USA Nationals—50-lap, $10,000-to-win shows on Tues., July 30, at Shawano (Wis.) Speedway and Mon., August 5, at Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway—will use a slightly different tire rule.

Tires approved for use in those races are Hoosier LM 20-, 30- and 40-compound tires and WRS and WRS-2 55-compound rubber.

QA1, a leader in high-performance suspension components, recently broke ground on its 17,200-square-foot fabrication expansion project.
 
The addition expands QA1’s Lakeville, Minnesota, manufacturing space to accommodate the company’s growth over the past couple of years.

With this expansion, QA1 will have a total of over 82,000 square feet of distribution, welding and manufacturing space, allowing QA1 to add to its long line of American-made products. QA1 plans to have production up and running in the new building by the end of the year.

“These are exciting times for QA1. This new building shows our commitment to growing our company, as well as our commitment to American-made products,” said Melissa Scoles, President of QA1.

QA1’s production facility includes a complete line of CNC machines, state-of-the-art injection molding machines, hydraulic presses and laser-etching equipment that permits all inclusive shock absorber and suspension component engineering, manufacturing and assembly operations.  

For additional information, visit QA1’s website at www.QA1.net.

Texas Motor Speedway’s “Speeding To Help” program will undertake four volunteer projects, including two involving cities that continue to rebuild from tragedies that struck their communities earlier this year, for four consecutive weeks beginning July 24.

“Speeding To Help” will have a focus on two rebuilding communities—Granbury from an EF4 tornado in May and West from a fertilizer plant explosion in April—that are not receiving federal funding and remain in need of volunteer help to assist in their efforts.

Various numbers of the Texas Motor Speedway staff will serve as volunteers on the respective special projects that the group will undertake each week beginning Wednesday and concluding Aug. 16.

In addition to the visits to Granbury and West, the speedway staff will volunteer their services to assist Mission Arlington and the Humane Society of Fort Worth as the program embarks on its sixth year.

Here’s a glimpse at the upcoming “Speeding To Help” events (media alerts with full details will be sent as each event nears):

Wednesday, July 24 (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) – Mission Arlington, 210 W. South St., Arlington. Texas Motor Speedway will send a group of volunteers to assist with the administration of food, clothes, school supplies, household items and furniture to those less fortunate. The team will help in accepting the various donations as well as the distribution of items to the less fortunate during their visit. Since being formed in 1986, Mission Arlington has been known in the community as a center where less fortunate people can receive help through a variety of their services. The Christian social agency provides services ranging from emergency assistance with food, furniture and other household items to dental and medical clinics at no charge to people in the community who can’t afford to do so at their own expense.

Wednesday, July 31 (8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) – The United Methodist Committee on Relief rebuilding project, 3701 Sundown Trail, Granbury. Texas Motor Speedway will provide a dozen employees, including several from their Operations Department, and equipment to assist with carpentry work involving installing window and door frames on a new modular home for a family in the Ranchos Brazos community that was struck by a deadly EF4 tornado on May 15. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering around the globe and their work reaches people in more than 80 countries. The UMCOR quickly responded to the needs of the Rancho Brazos community as the organization sent emergency funds the day after the tornado hit. Since that time, the organization has continued to help rebuild the community and sent 26 early-response team members that assisted with repairs and clean up. UMCOR’s goal for the Rancho Brazos community is to fully restore the area and ensure that it is back to what it was before the tornado.

Tuesday, Aug. 6 (all day) – West Long-Term Recovery Project, various areas, West. Texas Motor Speedway will send a large group of volunteers to assist in the West Long-Term Recovery project. The group will be assigned a variety of projects within the community to assist residents who still are recovering from the fertilizer plant explosion that occurred on April 17. The explosion, caused by ammonium nitrate, killed 15, injured more than 200 and damaged more than 150 nearby homes and buildings in the small town 18 miles north of Waco.

Friday, Aug., 16 (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) – Humane Society of North Texas, 1840 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. Approximately a dozen Texas Motor Speedway employees will visit the facility to assist the staff with the bathing, grooming, exercising and socializing of dogs and cats that are housed at the Fort Worth facility. The group also will help beautify the grounds by planting flowers in the flower boxes outside the entrance of the facility. The Humane Society of North Texas provides for the well-being of animals that are abandoned, injured, mistreated or otherwise in need. The HSNT also acts as an advocate on behalf of all animals and ensures their legal, moral and ethical consideration and protection.

In the past five years, Texas Motor Speedway’s “Speeding To Help” program has provided assistance to 20 organizations throughout the various counties in the Metroplex.

Those organizations are the United Service Organization (USO) of Dallas/Fort Worth; Children’s Medical Center in Dallas; Habitat for Humanity; Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth; Homes For Our Troops; United Community Centers, Inc. of Fort Worth; North Texas Food Bank; Dallas Arboretum; Christian Community Action; Fort Worth Parks and Recreation; Rosemont 6th Grade School of Fort Worth; 6 Stones Mission Network; Community Powered Revitalization; Dallas Life Homeless Shelter; Clara Love Elementary School; Tarrant Area Food Bank; Feed The Children; Dallas Zoo; Butler Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth; and the Northwest Independent School District.
 

World Karting Association officials are proud to announce Daytona International Speedway is welcoming back kart racers and teams from around the world to the 2013 WKA Daytona KartWeek December 27-30 at the World Center of Racing.

The 2013 version of WKA’s most prestigious event will mirror that of 2012 with full programs for National Road Racing, Speedway Dirt and Manufacturers Cup sprint.

Last year’s version of KartWeek was one of the best in recent memory with over 800 entrants at the Dirt World Championships, over 500 at the Margay Sprint Championships and over 450 at the Road Racing Championships.

Further announcements regarding Daytona KartWeek will come soon. Teams and families can start planning their vacations from work and ready to prepare for the 2013 edition of this great national karting event.

Daytona KartWeek questions can be directed to the WKA office at 704/455-1606.

International Speedway Corporation has been honored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") for the outstanding recycling efforts at its International Motorsports Center, the world headquarters for ISC, NASCAR, GRAND-AM and Daytona International Speedway.

The Recycling Recognition Program award, which was presented this week in a ceremony at the International Motorsports Center, recognizes ISC's broad, significant and visionary approach to insuring environmental sustainability by reducing the amount of waste that is deposited in local landfills.

The International Motorsports Center, which has been recognized by the US Green Building Council with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") gold certification and the EPA's Energy Star certification, has a recycling rate of approximately 60 percent.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Recycling Recognition Program was developed to encourage private businesses, institutions, schools, public organizations and citizens to increase recycling in order to reach Florida's recycling goal of 75 percent by 2020.

ISC working together with NASCAR, which has the largest recycling and environmental sustainability programs among all US sports, has partnered with multiple organizations to successfully assist in its environmental sustainability programs.

As examples, ISC in partnership with Coca-Cola are working hand-in-hand to provide opportunities for race fans to actively participate in recycling programs. Safety-Kleen assists ISC with the recycling of event waste materials. And ISC participates in the largest tree planting program in sports in partnership with UPS.

For more information, visit ISC's website at www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com.

Roush Yates is releasing some of the hottest engine technology in the racing industry.

Their powerful engines have proven successful in the Dirt Late Model, Dirt Modified, Off Road Truck, and Sprint Car markets since 2010, with over 300 wins and 15 championships to date.

Roush Yates will now make their same winning combinations available to engine builders with the release of performance packages exclusively designed and tested by Roush Yates engineers.

“We are excited to announce that our winning formula will now be made accessible to engine builders,” said Jeff Clark, VP of Sales for Roush Yates.

Over the past three years, Roush Yates has developed, tested and built some of the most powerful and reliable engines in the market. Roush Yates will now serve as a supply chain for the proprietary components used in these engines, including cylinder heads, camshafts, connecting rods, oil pans, and more.

“The engine builder is the core of every successful team,” said Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates. “These new performance packages will allow for more racers and engine builders to utilize Roush Yates’ winning technology while aligning with our vision to become a world-class product development company.”

Roush Yates will introduce a new engine platform that will bring cutting-edge NASCAR technology to the grassroots market during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, December 12-14, 2013, in Booth 1835.

For more information on Roush Yates’ grassroots performance packages, call 877/798-RYPP or email info@roushyates.com.

To register for the 2013 PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis, visit www.pri2013.com.

Class specifications continue to crystallize in preparation for next year’s inaugural United SportsCar Racing season, as officials strive for balanced performance and a close competitive environment that follows the “best of both worlds” mantra that is driving the merger of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patrón, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
 
When the first United SportsCar Racing season opens in January with the 52nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, fans will be greeted by some high-speed familiarities at Daytona International Speedway, perhaps most noticeably in the production-based GT categories.
 
As an example, the new GT Le Mans (GTLM) class will retain all of the ALMS’ current GT class specs. An important new safety feature will be found in the cockpit of every GTLM car, as side nets around the driver’s seat will be utilized as an added measure of keeping drivers in place in the event of an incident.
 
The GT Daytona (GTD) class, the new home for what is now GRAND-AM’s Rolex Series GT teams, will run with adjusted performance levels to assist in cost reduction and an overall meshing with other classes. A method of restricting engine air intake will be mandatory, as will single-lug, single piece wheels. Every GTD car will carry a series-specified rear wing.
 
GTD may also include FIA GT3 cars with minimal modifications, providing they meet class performance targets. Overall, however, the regulations will be based on the current Rolex Series GT rules. In addition, the Rolex Series’ current GX class will be transitioned into GTD.
 
On to the headlining Prototype (P) class, where series officials are working overtime to balance performance between the ALMS’ P2 cars, DeltaWing and Rolex Series’ Daytona Prototypes. That work continues but there are these definite mandates:
 
·         Cars considered P2 in origin will follow current technical specs of the ACO
·         Paddle shifters and 6-speed transmissions /gearboxes allowed for all cars
·         Sonic air intake restrictors for all approved engines for P2 and DP cars
 
And lastly, the popular and highly competitive Prototype Challenge (PC) class now competing in the ALMS will return with all current technical aspects intact.
 
Cars in every class except for PC will also carry series-mandated data loggers, which will be downloaded on every pit stop. Teams will be responsible for the proper operation of the data loggers.
 
To help delineate the classes, each car will use standardized number panels with colored backgrounds identifying each class, similar to what is being used currently in the ALMS. The panels will be backlit for night races.
 
Another feature is the return of a new and improved Leader Lights system, which will be required on all cars. The colored lights, which will be similar in color to the number panels, will enable fans to determine each car’s running position within its class at all times during United SportsCar Racing events.

Visit www.unitedsportscar.com for more information.