Two students from Western Technical College in El Paso, Texas, will live 300-mph dreams that thousands of other vocational students would trade part of their summer vacation for.

Nine-year US Army veteran Kody Throop, 27, and Joshua Lerma, 23, will work as interns for 11-time NHRA world champion Don Schumacher Racing when the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competes at Denver, near San Francisco and Seattle between July 19 and August 4.



Throop will assist on the US Army Top Fuel dragster driven by seven-time NHRA world champion Tony Schumacher, while Lerma will work with the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster driven by reigning champion Antron Brown.

Brown and DSR were introduced to Western Technical College by their longtime primary sponsor Matco Tools, which has a long relationship of supporting WTC. Matco Tools is the official mobile tool distributor of DSR.

Throop, a native of Soldotna, Alaska, is an Automotive major at the El Paso, Texas-based Western Technical College and is scheduled to graduate in October.

Lerma, from San Bernadino, California, will graduate from Western Tech’s Performance Tuning division on July 17.

The Western Swing begins July 19, 2013, with the 34th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.

For more on DSR, visit www.shoeracing.com.
 

HKS has announced the North American release of the HKS GT Supercharger kits for the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ platforms.

As a limited-time offer to celebrate the release, HKS is offering first-time buyers a $300 gift card that can be used toward their tuning—or any other purchases.

With an MSRP of $4,750, the system is recommended for drivers looking for a highly reliable and cost-effective performance enhancement over their stock FR-S/BRZ engines. The kit is engineered to be installed in under five hours and integrates seamlessly into the OEM engine bay.

The vehicle-specific kit is based on the HKS-designed low-friction centrifugal supercharger, and comes with all the necessary sub components, including cast aluminum intake fittings and intercooler; compressor pulley, tensioner and belt; traction oil, reservoir and cooler.

The kit also includes all of the necessary installation brackets, hardware and plumbing for mounting on the front of the Scion 4U-GSE/Subaru FA20 engines.

Motovicity Brand Manager Scott Cole, who drove HKS GT Supercharger prototype vehicles in Japan, describes the boost as instantaneous, and delivering a dramatic range of performance increases and drivability improvements throughout the power band.

HKS GT Supercharger kits are now in stock at Motovicity.

For more information or to locate an HKS dealer, call Motovicity at 888-SPEED-16, or visit the HKS-Motovicity website at www.motovicity.com/hks.

QA1, an industry leader in performance shocks, rod ends and suspension components for motorsports, has promoted Melissa Scoles to the post of President.

CEO and Founder Jim Jordan announced the news, stating “QA1 is fortunate to have someone with Melissa's broad skillsets to assume this position within the company.”


Melissa has been associated with QA1 since she was a teenager, as Jordan is her father. She started at the company folding boxes and worked the company’s trade shows during college. She then worked through every department at the company, taking a break to get outside experience and attain her MBA from Carlson School of Management.  

She studied in both Europe and Asia while earning her degrees. When she returned in January 2011, she joined the QA1 team again as Vice President of Marketing, to be quickly promoted to Executive Vice President and now President.

In the past couple of years, Melissa has helped lead the company to several milestones. She oversaw the acquisition of CAP Auto Products and Edelbrock’s Suspension Division, adding over 350 American-made suspension products to QA1’s product offering.

She has also been integral in organizing QA1’s new Composite Component Group, which will be introducing a variety of carbon fiber filament wound products to the market for late 2013 and 2014. Currently, she is leading a project to expand QA1’s manufacturing space to accommodate the company’s growth over the past couple of years.

Officials with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series have announced that the series will kick off the 2014 season at Golden Isles Speedway on February 6, 7 and 8 in Brunswick, Georgia, for the "Super Bowl of Racing."

After three action packed nights of racing in Georgia, the series will then head south to the famed "Clay by the Bay" for the running of the 38th Annual East Bay Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.

The series will have the usual practice session on Sunday night, February 9, before the racing action begins on Monday night, February 10 with six straight nights of racing concluding on Saturday night, February 15. 2014 will mark the 10th straight year the series has sanctioned the Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, which has always provided some of the most thrilling racing action on the 1/3 mile oval.
 
The 2014 edition of the "Super Bowl of Racing," sanctioned by the LOLMDS, will consist of three full nights of racing at GIS. Thursday night, February 6, the series will run a $5000 to win and $500 to start non-points feature event. Then on Friday night, February 7, the LOLMDS will run a $10,000 to win and $800 to start feature event followed by another $10,000 to win, $800 to start feature event on Saturday February 8.

Both Friday night and Saturday night's events will be the first points events of the 2014 season.
 
In addition to three full nights of racing action at Golden Isles Speedway, Lucas Oil Production Studios and TV their cameras will be on hand to tape both Friday night and Saturday night's events for broadcast on the MAVTV American Real Network.

The only previous visit by the LOLMDS to the racy South Georgia facility came in 2008, when Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Florida, made a last lap pass in dramatic fashion to win the event in front of the Lucas Oil TV cameras.
 
The 38th Annual Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa will consist of two $5000 to win shows on Monday and Tuesday nights, followed by two $7000 to win shows on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

The series points nights begin on Friday and Saturday, with a pair of $10,000 to win feature events. In addition, the Friday night event at East Bay Raceway Park will air live on the MAVTV American Real Network. This will mark the first time in the history of the LOLMDS that a series event will air live.

Saturday night's event at East Bay Raceway Park will be taped to air on MAVTV at a later date in 2014.
 
For the latest breaking news about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the 2013 tour schedule, TV schedule, drivers, sponsors and more, visit www.lucasdirt.com.

NASCAR has launched a wide-ranging initiative to transform its Competition model in the following areas: Governance, Rules, Deterrence / Penalties and Officiating / Inspection.
 
At the direction of Brian France, NASCAR began a careful evaluation of Competition in 2012, working with consulting firm McKinsey & Co., which has been retained at times by almost every major sport in America and globally, and longtime automotive executive Brent Dewar.
 
A steering committee led by Mike Helton, Steve O’Donnell, Gene Stefanyshyn, Robin Pemberton and Steve Phelps guided four internal ‘working teams’ to create a blueprint for transforming Competition in the areas of Rules, Governance, Deterrence/Penalties and Officiating/Inspection.
 
There have been two primary goals from the outset—continue to modernize Competition by injecting science and technology into all operations—as Brian France has repeatedly declared—and position NASCAR as a leader in the sports and entertainment marketplace of the future.
 
NASCAR is now actively engaged in dialogue with industry stakeholders on the proposals and ideas this project has yielded, and that communication will continue over the next several months.
 
The working teams have developed blueprints for 11 initiatives within the four key areas. They are:
 
Governance
·         Move rule-making from Officiating to R&D / Innovation
·         Enhance effectiveness of appeals process by redefining process and appeals board member criteria
 
Rules
·         Simplify rulebook and increase objectivity by replacing written rules with CAD designs
·         Enhance parts approval by formalizing submission and approval process
·         Increase consistency of rule interpretation across National Series
 
Penalty/Deterrence
·         Strengthen deterrence model to reduce inspection required to ensure competitive racing
 
Officiating/Inspection
·         Increase use of technology on pit road
·         Maintain rigor of inspection while creating greater efficiency in the entire process
·         Improve efficiency of process by creating race team inspection scheduling system
·         Enhance effectiveness of inspection through data collection and trend analysis
·         Create unified inspecting and officiating model across National Series
 
A number of ideas will be implemented in time for the 2014 season, and many will require more time.

It is NASCAR's goal to have the full scope of what has been outlined in place for the start of the 2015 season.

For more information, visit www.nascar.com.
 

A multi-year agreement between IndyCar and Andersen Promotions to license and operate Firestone Indy Lights beginning in 2014 is expected to provide strategic and operational synergies within the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system.

Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions, and IndyCar president of competition and operations Derrick Walker made the joint announcement at a news conference.

Andersen Promotions, based in Florida, owns and operates the first two rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy—the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

“This is a positive move for our sport,” Walker said. “A strong and relevant training system is important to develop the next generation of IndyCar drivers.

“Firestone Indy Lights will be more closely aligned with its developmental series already operated by Andersen Promotions and will be positioned for growth to continue to meet the goal of preparing up-and-coming race drivers for the rigors of the IZOD IndyCar Series. Today’s announcement will create more consistency as drivers and teams advance up from USF2000 to Pro Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights, all under the leadership of Andersen Promotions."

Andersen Promotions will direct on-track activity utilizing IndyCar personnel at shared venues as well as the race director at all events. Andersen Promotions will be the primary contact for all business, marketing and promotional operations with continued IndyCar support.

Firestone Indy Lights will run up to 12 race events per year, with the goal of 10 in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar Series. IndyCar will work with its television partners to ensure broadcast continuity, and will continue to support the scholarship for the Firestone Indy Lights champion to compete full time in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Andersen said there will be updates to the car for the 2014 season and a new car for '15. He briefed IZOD IndyCar Series team owners July 11 about the move and benefits of engaging in the Mazda Road to Indy.

"Mechanics, engineers, we train all types of people to move up," he said. "Sponsors and teams also can jump into a junior program and grow with the sport. It's much more than a training program for drivers."

In preparation for the 2014 season, Andersen Promotions has launched a new stand-alone website for Firestone Indy Lights at www.indylights.com, which will run alongside continued coverage for the series at www.IndyCar.com.

Advanced Clean Air Technologies Global (ACAT Global), manufacturer of lightweight and efficient catalytic converter substrates, is joining a partnership of regional educators, manufacturers and representatives of state veterans and apprenticeship groups to train a new generation of workers for careers in advanced manufacturing technology.

The partners—Charlevoix Public Schools, Baker College of Cadillac, Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District (Char-Em ISD) and ACAT Global—plan to launch a computer numerical control (CNC) program this fall.

The “CNC Center for Excellence” located in the Charlevoix High School machine laboratory would include certificate and associate degree options, with some students possibly funded through the US Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill.

The new CNC program addresses a critical issue for Michigan’s workforce by providing education for workers in the advanced manufacturing technology field, supplying skilled labor for the numerous manufacturing companies located in the state, with specific plans to target veterans.

“Veterans are a tremendous resource for employers, and I feel we can address the shortage of skilled CNC machinists by creating a program that brings together veterans retraining programs, educators and industry,” said Joseph A. Moch, president and CEO of ACAT Global and Oliver Racing Parts, another company supporting the new CNC program. “We need to create a new image of 21st century manufacturing and encourage more people to consider advanced manufacturing, CNC and CAD/CAM engineering as a career.”

Baker College of Cadillac, Michigan, currently offers a one-year CNC operator certificate program and is adding a two-year associate degree in advanced manufacturing technology this fall. Baker College is looking to bring this curriculum to Charlevoix High School, renting its lab and providing an instructor.

Baker College and Char-Em ISD are already collaborating extensively through an Early College Program that dual enrolls high school students in Baker College courses. ACAT Global, Aria Group, Inc., Oliver Racing Parts and other companies will connect students to the manufacturing community.

In addition to Baker's Cadillac campus, Baker College of Flint also offers CNC operator and advanced manufacturing technology programs. To offer these programs in Charlevoix, Baker is currently seeking approvals from the Higher Learning Commission and the U.S. Department of Education.

ACAT Global is also involved with educational programs at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, the University of California at Davis, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, providing real-world experience for students in engineering and metallurgy.

For more information, visit www.acatglobal.com.

Bentley has debuted its new Continental GT3 race car at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, unveiling a racing machine set to explore the extreme potential of Bentley’s iconic Grand Tourer, the Continental GT.

“The Continental GT3 exploits the incredible performance beneath the skin of every Continental GT," said Rolf Frech, member of the Board for Engineering. "We’ve removed over 1000 kilograms of weight, reconfigured our 4.0-litre V8 to produce 600 bhp in race specification, and developed a comprehensive aerodynamic package to ensure that we perform competitively. We are now looking forward to getting the car on the track and proving its potential.”

The Continental GT3 is powered by a race-prepared and dry-sump version of Bentley’s powerful but efficient 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, with many components carried over from the road-going engine.

Developing up to 600 bhp in unrestricted race configuration via a motorsport engine management system, the V8 provides the GT3 with highly competitive power in a compact and lightweight package that’s perfect for racing.

Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a carbon fibre propshaft to an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox with a limited slip differential, mounted as a transaxle for optimised weight distribution. Gear actuations are completed via a pneumatic shift system, controlled by paddles mounted to the steering wheel.

A double wishbone suspension configuration front and rear, fitted with four-way adjustable racing dampers, replaces the standard road-car air springs. The steering system features hydraulic power-assistance, while braking is via ventilated iron discs combined with six-piston calipers on the front and four-piston calipers on the rear.

The exterior of the car features a comprehensive aerodynamic package, to maximize downforce with optimized drag. A top-mounted carbon fibre rear wing provides rear downforce and stability, while a carbon fibre splitter balances the aerodynamic forces at the front of the car. Revisions have been made to the bonnet, bumpers, fenders and sills in order to optimize the car’s drag coefficient and to assist with engine cooling.

With the removal of the leather and wood interior trim, the production electrical systems and advanced refinement materials of the Continental GT Grand Tourer, the Continental GT3 weighs in under its target of 1300 kg. Despite the race-specification, the GT3 remains a hand-crafted Bentley, with the steering wheel, door pulls and seat all hand-trimmed and stitched by Bentley craftspeople at Crewe.

The design has been completed by a specialist team of engineers from Bentley Motors supported by the Continental GT3 Technical Partner, M-Sport Ltd. Managed from a dedicated motorsports facility base at Bentley’s Crewe factory, an additional design office was created at M-Sport for the detail design stages and build of the first car.

The Continental GT3 now starts its program of developmental track work, focussing on optimizing the car’s performance based on simulations and refining the car’s abilities. Once homologation with the FIA has been completed, the GT3 will enter its first development races before starting full competition in the FIA Blancpain Series in 2014.

The Continental GT3 makes its official running debut on the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb from Friday 12th July until Sunday 14th, piloted twice a day by Bentley Boy and 2003 Le Mans champion, Guy Smith. The car will also be on display in the F1 paddock, while the original Continental GT3 Concept Racer, unveiled at the Paris Auto Salon last September, can be seen inside the Bentley stand in the main paddock.

Rocky Mountain Raceways will be celebrating 17 years of racing on July 13 by offering free spectator admission for guests who bring five cans of food for Utah Food Bank.
 
In partnership with AARP Utah, Rocky Mountain Raceways collected 2228 lbs. of food in 2012. They are hoping to beat that number this year.
 
The celebration will include bounce houses, crafts and treats. ASA Weekly Racing will include Hornets, Focus Midgets, Winged Sprint Cars and Maverik Modifieds. Gates open at 4 p.m. for spectators, with racing at 6:15 p.m.
 
"When children are out of school, they don't receive the food-filled backpacks they are given during the academic year," said AARP Utah State Director Alan Ormsby. "This is a wonderful opportunity for people to donate food and have a great time at the Raceways, and we appreciate the chance to partner with Rocky Mountain Raceways and celebrate their birthday."
 
For more information about Rocky Mountain Raceways’ schedule of events, including short-track oval racing, drag racing, and motocross racing, visit www.rmrracing.com.
 

During a recent drivers’ meeting at Seymour (Wisc.) Speedway, officials announced that starting July 14 and continuing for the rest of the season, the weekly drivers’ payout will be increasing for all divisions.

With the recent changes to the weekly lineup, officials discussed a couple of options on how to enhance the program and voted to adopt the overall payout change.

Club President Tom Schmidt indicated the club has been working hard this year to get Seymour Speedway back to a premier facility. Drivers will be given copies of the change at sign-in this week.

The club features Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, Coors Light IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Mods, Street Stocks and 4 Cylinders racing on the speedway’s banked 1/3-mile clay oval, with racing every Sunday starting at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.seymoursuperspeedway.com.