The initial response from NHRA fans in the New England region has been so strong that officials at New England Dragway have been forced to designate additional grandstand sections as reserved-seating areas for the upcoming inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals.

The much-anticipated, high-horsepower showcase of the world’s quickest and fastest accelerating machines finally arrives at New England Dragway June 20-23.

The NHRA New England Nationals is the 11th stop in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour that crisscrosses the United States and will feature exciting racing action in its four marquee categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. The race will be televised to a nationwide audience on ESPN2HD.

Track officials are reporting that demand for ticket sales for the event have been very high and that reserved seats are going fast for each day of the weekend. Their advice: If you haven't purchased your tickets and you plan to attend the race, you better get busy.

“There has been such an overwhelmingly positive response from fans in this area who are excited to attend the first NHRA national event at our track, that we had to open up additional grandstand sections as reserved seating,” said Joe Lombardo, general manager of New England Dragway.

“From all indications, this event is going surpass any preliminary expectations we had when we started this journey several years ago," he added. "We are very excited to bring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series to New England, and we are looking forward to the first pair of cars rolling onto the track on Thursday, June 20.”

For ticket information, visit www.NHRATix.com.
 

ASA has announced the addition of a new venue: Grundy County Speedway, the 1/3-mile high-banked paved oval in Morris, Illinois.

Built by the Grundy County Agricultural District fair in 1971, the fair had its start as a horse track in Mazon, Illinois, in 1906. Over the years many sanctioning groups and short track stars raced, and won on the historic semi-banked track.

The track, which first opened in 1926 as a half-mile dirt track, has been under the leadership of Burdette Carter ever since Board President and Promoter Frank Welch passed away in 2009. Carter, Board Secretary, is also the longtime operator of the Grundy County Fair held over the July 4th weekend.

Grundy County Speedway runs Late Models, Mid-American Sportsman, Street Stocks and 4-Cylinders every Friday night.

In addition to its own racing divisions, the facility hosts STARS—Short Track Auto Racing Series—on Saturday nights. They showcase Sportsman and National Midgets along with Legend cars throughout the spring and summer months.

The transition to a paved oval began in 1947 with the debut of the Mazon Speed Bowl, a quarter-mile high-banked oval that was built to expand seating and feature “midget”-style racing and featured a long list of racers including names like Bob Tattersall, Tony Bettenhausen Sr., Bob Watters, Frank Welch, Norman Legner, Dick Thetard, Bud Ferguson, Mel Kenyon, Wild Willie Wildhabner, Duke Nalon, Lloyd Ruby and Bud Koehler among many others.

For 66 years the Grundy County fair was located in Mazon but as crowds became larger the fairgrounds was moved in 1971 to its current location where the present 1/3-mile high-banked paved oval sits and has hosted prominent racing names like Bobby Allison, Tom Musgrave, Ted Musgrave, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, Dick Trickle, Larry Phillips, Darrell Waltrip, Dave Watson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Danny Drinan, Jim Mahoney, Don Carter Jr. and Susan Carter as the list goes on.

Grundy County Speedway runs its season annually from late April to Mid-September.

Connecting with customers moves your brand ahead. Engaging with customers requires a creative, sustained and dedicated effort. Earning customers produces growth. Retaining customers is high priority. A retained customer spreads the word relating to your quality, innovation and proven history.

Customer retention returns customers that have experienced the efforts of your successful group. Superior treatment allows retained customers to return year after year to purchase your products and services. A retained customer becomes an extension of your brand and becomes an evangelist that helps your team to identify and win new customers.

Introducing new customers to your brand takes time, focus and investment. Investing in new customers is a wise choice. Like all expenditures, success is benefited by a marketing aim that hits the center of your audience. While retained customers make up the core of your business, new customers are the springboard toward growth. A diligent effort to acquire new customers is a must, yet at all times the service provided to retain customers should remain in balance. Pouring the company glass half full with opportunity does little good if retained customers spill out. Your competition is more than happy to clean up the puddle of customers left on the table.

Understanding your customers is the component that breeds interaction. Engaging customers is vital. Retained and new customers that are engaged with your brand sustain growth. If your customers are successful then your company is more likely to be successful. Successful companies attract the right customers, and mutual benefits expand to transform new customers into retained customers. Success is contagious.

For many companies, marketing takes on a narrow focus. Products are made and ads are placed. Too often companies believe that customers sit around thinking only about your brand. The reality is that customers are faced with myriad choices. Dreaming nightly about the products and services of only one company most likely occurs when a customer feels slighted. Your customers have much on their plates, and the goal of standing out must consider all of the distractions customers face daily. Budget, family responsibilities, and competition from all of the companies in your niche market vie for customer attention. How can your company possibly be remembered 24/7?

Customer Engagement is the answer. A cycle that engages your customers in a repeated fashion creates excitement. Accepting that you must reach out to your customers on a continuous basis is paramount to growth. Once you truly accept that customers have much to think about, you can create engagement by understanding the challenge. The nuances of your obstacles may vary, but the goal is simply to accept that if you want your products to be remembered, then a continuous stream of reminders should be delivered to the doorstep of your base. Customers come to you due to need. Solid marketing draws them in through brand visibility. Giving them a reason to come back is obvious—creating specific retention strategies is the golden ticket.

Engagement depends on how well your team aims at the target presented by your customers. The truth is that customers are really unable to stand around all day thinking of your company. Often, companies make a critical error in judgment by thinking that giant groups place your brand in the center of their world.

Reality dictates that your customers are extremely busy. It takes all of their energy to maintain “their” company. Your products and services are nearly an afterthought as compared to the demands faced by people you covet the most. While we all would like our brand to be at the center of the competitive circle, the moments that a broad base of customers are really staring at your brand occur more often when your group plans an event or promotion.

Creating a promotional ticker tape parade every day is difficult and costly. Even if you can pull off historic events daily, then the brand exposure created becomes the expected norm from your customers. In other words, customers simply are unable to place your brand on a pedestal on a daily basis—they are busy. For your customers to be successful they are required to participate in a well-rounded life. Your customers need family and friends. They need a variety of products to establish the customer support that allows them to flourish.

While there are an unlimited number of ways to place your brand in the Center Circle of marketing, planning tilts the odds in your favor. Trade Shows allow you to place your brand in front of large groups by targeting customers you want most. When customers make the effort to travel to your booth, a “full attention” opportunity commences.

Your potential new customer, or your retained customer, is facing in at your trade show booth. Astute companies arm their booth with new products, tools and services. Companies that succeed realize that relationship building is a high priority. Successful companies are prepped for the arrival of trade show customers. The full arsenal is presented fully in your booth by your people that can cement relationships in a face to face meeting. Companies that truly grasp how rare it is to have customers singularly focused on your brand prevail. Seize the moment, as your competition is probably one aisle away.

Special events bring “face in” customers to you. If you know the needs of your customers, then planning a monthly or yearly event creates real engagement. Special events put on by your organization are energized by your customers. Open houses or educational seminars designed to share knowledge and build relationships are proven. Timing your event to coincide with another local target market event will help increase the number of customers that attend.

Accessing customers at their place of business ensures engagement. While travel comes with expense, the cost may convert a potential new customer into a retained customer.

Sharing specific knowledge with your customers is a Center Circle activity. Creating original content and placing it on your company website gives your customers a reason to visit your site often on a regular basis. A steady stream of original ideas identifies your company as a trusted advisor. Knowledge sharing promotes “Centered” sales while providing a meaningful service. Content with real impact whets the appetite, prompting your customers to come back for the full meal deal of education. Customers are starved for real information that provides deep understanding.

Daily, your customers are pulled in many directions. The wallet share you gain is directly proportional to how well you engage customers by blasting impressions from multiple directions. Customers wander away from your brand in their effort to keep up with the demands of their day. Our goal is to provide direction that turns them toward us.

Companies increase brand visibility with a continuous stream of promotion and new products. Effort Marketing is ongoing, and initiative takes brands out of headquarters and makes them a visible sign on the road of discovery.

Taking advantage of social media interaction by providing sustained original content helps your customers to place your brand on the front burner, helping them to focus through the sea of competitive distraction.

Support from print ads, product catalogs and a dynamic website expands the horizon, allowing your team to reach in to address customer needs. Products are enhanced when the distribution of information is heard by the customers you rely upon. Branding that is coupled with relationship building catapults your company to the middle of the circle.

Understanding that your customers actually think about things other than your company is an opportunity. Groups that clear the path of customer distractions become partners and trusted advisors. Inverting the Marketing Circle focuses your company in a “Face Out” direction, attracting new and retained customers to your Center Circle. Ongoing effort will complete your circle with the combined energy of customers that power your brand.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

Everything that exhibitors will need to plan for the upcoming Performance Racing Industry Trade Show is now available online with the 2013 Exhibitor Service Manual.

This invaluable resource has been updated and is as user-friendly as ever. Click here to begin making your exhibit and Trade Show arrangements.

With information on booth guidelines, booth rentals, move in/move out procedures, insurance, utility services, catering and much more, this service manual will help ensure a smooth Trade Show experience for exhibiting companies.

Request complimentary printed promotional materials. Apply for exhibitor and guest credentials. Secure access to reserved trailer and rig parking—it's all included in this easy-to-navigate online tool.

Start planning for a successful 2013 PRI Trade Show today by clicking here.

The 2013 PRI Trade Show takes place December 12-14, 2013, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. More than 1100 racing companies in over 3300 booths have already been plotted on the 2013 PRI Show floor plan.

Click here to register as an exhibitor for the 2013 PRI Trade Show. And for more information, visit www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow.

Marty Hunt joins the Formula One Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial as director of race operations and the newest member of its senior executive team.

Hunt has worked in raceway operational management for more than 25 years, bringing vast experience and knowledge to the event. He joins an established team that recently welcomed motorsports leader Christopher Pook.

Other executive team members include YES Network founding chairman and CEO Leo Hindery, Jr., sports and entertainment veteran Dennis Robinson, and sports marketing and corporate development executive Dick Goldschmidt.
 
Most recently, Hunt served as the director of facilities at Circuit of the Americas. He previously served as operations manager for the Richard Petty Driving Experience and senior director of facility and operations at Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. 

He also spent nearly 10 years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, first as manager of track racing operations and later as director of operations.
 
The inaugural Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial is planned for June 2014. It will run on a 3.2-mile course using existing streets in Weehawken and West New York, N.J., along the Hudson River and across the top of the Palisades, with the New York City skyline as the backdrop.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend over the course of three days, including practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the Formula One race on Sunday. Most attendees will access the site through public transportation.

The race, which will receive no subsidies from either local or state government, is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual economic benefits for New Jersey and New York. The GP America headquarters are shared between Port Imperial, N.J., and Manhattan, N.Y.

For more, visit www.gpamerica.com.
 

JRi Shocks is moving to its new facility at 136 Knob Hill Road, located in Lakeside Park, Mooresville, N.C., effective June 24, 2013.

With nearly five acres of land and 69,000+ square feet of buildings, this former home of Red Bull Racing’s NASCAR Cup Team will provide the added space to accommodate the company's rapid expansion and future growth.
 
The new facility will provide the needed physical foundation for JRi's continued leadership in the production and tuning of fine racing and OEM shock absorbers and struts.

Additionally, with the new facility, JRi will be able to expand its fast growing full line suspension service for the motorcycle market (with on-site, full service of shocks and forks) and the street performance market (with chassis dyno and scale set).

These new features will allow customers to send or bring their suspension components or vehicle in for service upgrades and JRi Shocks' latest products.
 
“In a very positive way, the growth of our business has forced us to find a new location," said Dan Kungl, managing director. "As we have expanded our market segments such as Drag, Powersports, Short Track, Street Performance, Off-Road, Sportscar, and NASCAR-ARCA, we have run out of room at our current location. The new facility at 136 Knob Hill Road will provide our engineers and technicians the space they need to continue to provide the highest quality products and services, as well as, provide the extra room we need for the development of the next phase of suspension products, including electronic integration."

Beginning at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, July 19-21, all nitro Funny Cars competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be required to be equipped with a new NHRA-approved dual front latching and tethering system.

The new system—which includes a much improved dual front latching system as well as a tethering system that will connect the front latching system to the firewall or driver’s compartment—is the outgrowth of a cooperative effort by the NHRA and several of the sport’s top teams and industry leaders.

The new latch is thought to be a significant improvement over the latches that were used before.

The problem of Funny Car bodies leaving the chassis by a supercharger explosion or other mechanical failure has been around as long as the class itself. A variety of measures have been implemented over the years, including supercharger and body burst panels, to relieve the pressure of a supercharger backfire in a more controlled manner. These panel designs will remain in effect and supplement the new system.

After an incident in Charlotte in April, NHRA convened a panel of experts from a number of the top Funny Car teams and other members of the industry to work together toward a better solution.

Led by NHRA Vice President-Technical Operations Glen Gray and Director of Engineering Timothy White, members of the Don Schumacher Racing, John Force Racing, Kalitta Motorsports, and Head Racing teams, along with industry experts including chassis builder Murf McKinney and renowned composite manufacturer Aerodine, worked together to design a latching and retention system to work under the demanding conditions.

The group met numerous times in person, including visits to the various teams’ fabrication departments, and participated in numerous teleconferences.

“The force behind these explosions is incredible, and what we discovered through extensive historic video reviews is that the majority of situations where the body is separating from the chassis result from the forces generated by an engine failure unlatching the front of the body from the chassis,” explained White. “The body is then caught by the onrushing wind, often at 300 or more mph. The whole idea is to prevent the body from lifting and catching that 300-mph wind. A lot of people don’t understand the forces we’re dealing with.

“The group determined that the best way to keep the body on the car begins with keeping the body’s nose latched to the chassis," White continued. "Over the years, the front latches on these Funny Cars had become a dual-purpose mechanism, serving both as latch to attach the body to the chassis as well as a fuel-tank vent, and the new system improves what was used before.”

The result of these discussions was the creation of a better dual latching system that requires both a 45-degree turn as well as an outward pull to disengage the latch, as well as a system that tethers the remainder of the body via the firewall to the front latch in case the body breaks behind the nose.

The bodies will not be tethered to the chassis, per se, but rather to the body latch, with the goal of keeping the body whole.

For more, logon to www.nhra.com.

IndyCar has announced penalties following the June 1-2 races at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

The No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry driven by James Jakes was fined a total of $10,000 for violating a pair of rules related to the rear wing. Both violations were found during post-qualifying inspection for Race 1. The team was fined $5,000 for each violation.

Drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power have been placed on probation for the remainder of the 2013 IndyCar season. Power was penalized for improper actions toward a fellow competitor after contact during Race 2, and Bourdais was penalized for comments made toward Officials on pit road after Race 2.

In addition, driver Sebastian Saavedra was fined $30,000 after making an improper gesture toward a fellow competitor after contact during Race 1.

Because of the public display of these actions, Saavedra will be able to work off the fine by making a series of public appearances on behalf of IndyCar throughout the remainder of the season.

Members may contest the imposition of the penalty pursuant to the procedures and timelines detailed in the protest and appeal procedures of the IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook.

Toyota Racing Development has named Senior Vice President David Wilson as acting president & general manager of TRD.

In this role, Wilson will be responsible for all of TRD’s day-to-day operations and activities. These include engineering, manufacturing, engine build and supply chain management.

Wilson also will continue in his role as SVP for TRD’s administration, finance and facilities department.

The news follows former President Lee White's announcement this week that he would retire at the end of the 2013 race season.

Due to family health care needs, White stepped down from his daily duties and has since vacated the position of president and general manager of TRD.

White had been with TRD for more than 15 years and held responsibility for all TRD activities in North America. He will continue as a Special Advisor to TRD and Toyota Motorsports until his planned retirement at the end of the season.

The 11th annual NHRA Motorsports Museum Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance promises to provide its annual offering of vintage show cars and high-horsepower side-by-side nostalgia racing at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, June 13-15.

Some of the finest classic cars and custom hot rods from across the country along with thrilling nostalgia drag racing will highlight this unique family-friendly and tradition-rich event.

The National Hot Rod Reunion kicks off Thursday, June 13, with Show 'n' Shine participants filling the historic facility with their immaculate showroom-conditioned machines. Judges will have the painstaking task of awarding the winners an exclusive SoffSeal award and a chance to display at the NHRA US Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis during Labor Day weekend.

The nostalgia racing action takes to the track Thursday as well with Hot Heads Eliminator qualifying and exhibition runs taking place during the day. The day concludes at the Holiday Inn University Plaza Hotel and Sloan Convention Center parking lot for the Heacock Classic Insurance Cruise In and Kick-off party.
 
Friday features legends of drag racing with grand marshal Preston Davis and all the 2013 honorees at the Dynamat Legends tent for meet and greets.

Davis has long been considered one of the Southeast’s best fuel racers from the 1960s and 1970s. When Raymond Godman switched to Top Fuel racing, he hired Davis to drive his Tennessee Bo Weevil. When Funny Cars took over match race bookings, they built a Bo Weevil Funny Car as well. He won two division Top Fuel championships and a division Funny Car championship and is a member of the Division 2 Hall of Fame.

lso honored during the event will be Alan Bockla, Lynwood Dupuy, Melvin Heath, Jon Lundberg, and Tom Prock.

Bockla, the original king of the Rockies, won back-to-back West Central Division Top Fuel titles and was the first of the so-called mile-high drivers to run 170, 180, 190, and 200 mph.

Dupuy is one of those rare officials beloved by drag racers coast to coast. Before computer technology evolved, Dupuy’s attention to detail found him keeping official records and figuring handicaps by hand.

Heath built his fuel dragster in a shed on his Oklahoma watermelon farm, and in 1956, he was the first to win two NHRA Regional Championships in a single season.

At 16, Lundberg stood on an oil drum and announced his first drag race using a megaphone. By 1962, he was announcing at three Michigan tracks. He expanded to national events in 1963, including the legendary March Meet in Bakersfield. Nicknamed the “Voice of Drag Racing” and “Thunderlungs,” he appeared at more than 120 dragstrips between 1964 and 1978.

Prock has been involved in drag racing since the early 1960s. He began with gassers and in the early 1970s switched to Funny Cars before retiring from the wheel in 1979 to became crew chief for Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen. After six years, he left the road to work for Venolia Pistons.

The weekend concludes Saturday with a full day of action, including Hot Heads Nostalgia Drag Racing final eliminations, awards, honoree presentation, and SoffSeal and Street Rodder parade of champions. The grand finale will feature the crowning of the 2013 Reunion of Champions, jet car exhibition runs, and an NHRA-exclusive Cacklefest featuring nitro-fueled vintage dragsters.

• SCHEDULE: The event begins at 8 a.m. each day. Racing will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 13, and 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 14; the pre-finals ceremony will start at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, June 15.

• TICKETS: Single-day tickets are only $25, a three-day credential is $65, and children 15 and younger will be admitted free when accompanied by a paid adult. For tickets, call NHRA, 800/884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.