The X-DRL has formed a partnership with Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School that will add to the Mayhem at the Creek at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Maryland, on July 26-27.

Drag racing legend Roy Hill and his staff will be on hand with the Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School three-seater dragster, which is backed by Coca-Cola, Alsco and FireAde 2000.

This unique ride-along dragster will offer the experience of a lifetime for 10 drag racing fans at Mayhem at the Creek.

“In the weeks leading up to the event, we’ll be giving away rides in the dragster to 10 lucky fans through both the X-DRL and Maryland International Raceway Facebook pages,” said X-DRL President Jeff Mitchell. “After recently attending Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School and experiencing the three-seater dragster, I knew this was something we had to do for our fans at our next race. Stay tuned for more details on how to win.”

The final ride in the dragster will be raffled with proceeds going directly to Cancer Sucks, the X-DRL’s officially designated charity for 2013.

For more information, visit x-drl.com.

Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc., has announced plans to open new state-of-the-art global headquarters on December 1, 2013, in Las Vegas.

The 135,000-square-foot facility will house all operations under one roof; it fronts I-15 and is one block off of Las Vegas Blvd. at 6405 Ensworth Street.
 
As the only auto manufacturer in the state of Nevada, Shelby American builds three continuation model Shelby Cobras, as well as Shelby versions of the Ford Shelby GT500, and Ford Mustang, Raptor and Focus.

The current factory, located on the outskirts of town, is comprised of five buildings, each housing a different phase of the business. The new global headquarters combines the entire production process and Speed Shop with a historic Shelby automotive museum, gift shop and special factory tours.
 
The company says it is experiencing strong demand worldwide, and is moving into the European and emerging Asian markets: “The hunger for American performance vehicles overseas is helping drive sales for Shelby branded parts worldwide,” said Jer Gervasi, vice president of the Shelby Performance Parts division. “As we grow our global vehicle and parts reach, this new facility positions us well for the future.”
 
For more information, visit www.shelbyamerican.com.

There’s an old joke about economists that goes, “If you laid all the economists in the world end to end, they still wouldn't reach a conclusion.” That’s why you find very little in the way of economic forecasting in PRI magazine. We tend to believe that you wake up in the morning and do everything you can to push your business forward. Buy right, market aggressively, sell relentlessly. A business drives its economics. It’s refreshing and encouraging to visit North Carolina, and spend time with racing entrepreneurs. We had a great gathering of almost 200 racing business owners, executives and other motorsports professionals at the PRI Reception at the Red Rocks Cafe in Huntersville the week before the Coca Cola 600. These were a bunch of smart, hardworking folks who looked fairly shell-shocked back in 2009 from the dramatic downturn in the economy, and its affect on racing. This year, it seemed there was a real sense that they’re scrapping and fighting the way entrepreneurs do. No one’s beating their chest, but there was no moaning and groaning. There are challenges, but these challenges are being met with such formidable resources as time, savvy, experience, ambition, skills, honesty, effort, creativity and a good deal of care about how to spend a buck. There was a steadiness in the room. There are racing entrepreneurs punching away, and getting some wins. They’re making their economics happen through force of will. It’s as impressive as any race season that ends in a championship.

Our Favorite Forecast: In discussing the resilient spirit of racing entrepreneurs, I am reminded of the results of the PRI Racing Business Survey that we publish each year in the January issue. It’s pretty amazing to see that every year respondents are optimistic in forecasting the coming year. No matter what they experienced the previous year, the percentage who predict growth in the next year is always far greater than those who predict a decrease in sales...even in some of the toughest years recently. For this year, 55% predicted growth, while only 8% anticipated a decrease in sales. It’s this optimistic spirit that makes economics happen.

Spirit Of Detroit: We enjoyed our recent trip to the Detroit area to visit with the racing and performance executive teams at the three major American automakers—Ford, General Motors and Chrysler—on behalf of PRI. I can report that they remain vigorously interested in being in the business of racing, and in being part of the PRI Trade Show. When I returned to my office, there was a headline on NBCNews.com: “Detroit’s Big Three Rebound, But Big Risks Remain.” I enjoyed the first part of the headline, and all that healthy OEM automakers mean for the sport of auto racing. As for the second part, risk happens. The story described a strong new sprit in the companies, developed in response to the economic downturn. There’s scrapping and fighting going on to meet challenges. And that’s how companies make their own economics happen. Good news.

IndyCar announced this week that it has added a rule relating to engine failure during approved IndyCar on-track testing to the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook.

Rule 15.5.8 (Approved Engine Change Outs): An Engine that fails during a Team Test, Rookie Test, Engine Manufacturer Test or straight line test may be changed with an Engine from the pool without penalty. This Rule will not apply to Engine failures at Open Tests in Pocono, Mid-Ohio or Sonoma.

Engine failures that occur during Open Tests will still be subject to Rule 15.6 (Unapproved Engine Change Outs).

Open Tests in advance of IZOD IndyCar Series races will be held July 4 at Pocono Raceway, July 31 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and August 21 at Sonoma Raceway.

Officials from the American Drag Racing League have announced that the sanctioning body will contest the Precision Turbo and Engine Outlaw 10.5 Shootout at its most prestigious event, Dragstock X at Rockingham Dragway this September 6-8.

“We have been fortunate over the years to partner with several great companies and are thrilled to welcome Precision Turbo to the ADRL family,” said ADRL President Kenny Nowling.

More details, including payout and qualifying structure for the Precision Turbo and Engine Outlaw 10.5 Shootout, will be announced soon, according to the sanctioning body.

"Overall, the future of the Outlaw 10.5 class is bright," said Harry Hruska, President of Precision Turbo & Engine, "and PTE is excited to be on board, giving some of the quickest and fastest a place to show their stuff."

To learn more about Precision Turbo and Engine visit their website, www.precisionturbo.net.

The MAHLE Group recently relocated the MAHLE Clevite Ann Arbor office to Farmington Hills, Michigan, where it now joins the corporate MAHLE family.

The move consolidates MAHLE North American headquarters central functions, placing marketing, sales, test systems, engineering and all corporate activities onto one campus.

“The decision to consolidate operations onto the Farmington Hills campus creates a synergy among all active functions within the MAHLE family,” says Dan Moody, president of MAHLE Clevite.

The address of the Farmington Hills location is: 23030 MAHLE Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48335, USA. The main contact telephone number is 248/305-8200.



For more information about MAHLE Clevite Inc. and its North American Aftermarket activities, visit www.mahle-aftermarket.com.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Wild West Tour' will be run under a Hoosier tire rule for the first time this season, series officials have announced.

A summer staple of the national full-fender circuit, the Wild West Tour will visit six tracks in five states and one Canadian province from July 5-12. Drivers will compete for $56,000 in first-place cash from total purses totaling over a quarter-million dollars during the eight-day western trip.

All entrants in Wild West Tour events will be required to use Hoosier LM 20-, 30- and 40-compound tires or WRS/WRS-2 55-compound tires. The Hoosier LM rubber is mandated in all DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned Late Model races while the Hoosier WRS/WRS-2 55-compound tires are popular in dirt Late Model events throughout the region in which the Wild West Tour takes place.

The Wild West Tour will kick off on Friday, July 5, at Amsoil Speedway in Superior, Wisconsin, a three-eighths-mile oval that returns to the WoO LMS schedule after a two-year absence.

After the Amsoil Speedway event, the WoO LMS Wild West Tour will march on to Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Sat., July 6 (NAPA Auto Parts 'Gopher 50' Charity Late Model Race); Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D., on Mon., July 8; Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway on Tues., July 9; Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Thurs., July 11; and River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., on Fri., July 12.

Regionallybased drivers who have indicated plans to challenge the WoO LMS stars in all the Wild West Tour events include Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., and 2011 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., who has been racing closer to home since dropping off the national tour earlier this season. In addition, John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., said he plans to join the swing at Deer Creek.

The non-WoO LMS driver who accumulates the most points while competing in all the Wild West Tour events will win the $500 DirtonDirt.com Outlaw Invader Bonus, a new-for-2013 award sponsored by the popular website that provides news coverage, results and features on all types of dirt Late Model racing.

For more, visit www.woolms.com.

This year’s National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) “Members Only” reception, to be held on the museum’s second floor on Thursday, August 8, at 11:30 a.m., will feature the defending Knoxville Nationals “Rookie of the Year” and 2012 Iowa Speed Week “Mr. Sprint Car” titlist Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, California. 

Award-winning motorsports journalist Dave Argabright will interview the current NASCAR star about his career to date, including last year’s surprising victory on the preliminary night of his first Knoxville Nationals.

Supporting members of the non-profit museum foundation, with one guest each, will be admitted to the free reception starting at 11 a.m. by showing their current museum membership card. 

The forum will take place on the air-conditioned second floor of the Donald Lamberti National Sprint Car Museum. Those seeking further information on the VIP “Members Only” reception and the museum’s $25 annual supporting membership program are urged to call the museum at 800/874-4488.

For additional information, visit the museum’s website at www.sprintcarhof.com.

Registration is now open for the 2013 edition of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships at Lincoln Airpark, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Only one hour into registration, there were over 100 completed entries. Anyone planning to attend this marquee event is encouraged to get their name in the hat early.

This year’s event is shaping up the one of the largest motorsports competitions in the world, boasting more than 1200 drivers on two courses, over four days of competition, September 3-6.

Early-bird registration for the event is set at $158 until August 8 at 11:59 p.m. (CDT). After that, entry will be $308. Register for a spot by clicking here.

Paddock space will be managed through PaddockNow. Once registered through Motorsport Reg, wait 15 to 30 minutes, and then go to paddocknow.solomatters.com to sign up for a space.

For competitors with larger rigs, or regional coordinators organizing large groups, contact the Paddock Chief, Randall Prince, directly at randallprince@gmail.com.

Online registration will close August 23. Entries submitted anytime after that date must be sent to drowland@scca.com.

IMCA drivers in all divisions who haven’t done so already have a deadline of Thursday, August 1, to submit contingency sign-up forms, rookie of the year applications and photos of their car proving required decal placement.

Those who don’t will not be eligible for post-season cash and product awards.

“Aug. 1 is going to sneak up on us. Before it gets to be too late, drivers need to get forms and pictures sent in,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder said. “They can be emailed, faxed or mailed to me at the home office. It all works the same.”

Drivers who need another set of decals can contact Yoder at 319/472-2201 or kyoder@imca.com.

“I prefer that photos show the entire car, not just the decals on the door panel,” he added.

The rookie of the year application is published in the point section of the IMCA newsletter.

Sign-up forms and ROY applications can also be downloaded from the www.imca.com website or by contacting Yoder.