The PRW Warehouse Distribution Center and Corporate Headquarters in now located in Perris, California.

This newly acquired facility was designed from the ground up to maximize storage space and optimize the picking and shipping process. In addition, the facility has an abundance of office space that houses the Sales, Management and Support Teams, an employee break room, conference rooms, and a larger Engineering and Product Development Department.

To support this new facility, PRW designed and implemented a new computerized inventory management system designed to take full advantage of the faster and redundant virtualized server environment.
 
The new contact information is as follows:

PRW INDUSTRIES INC.
1722 Illinois Avenue
Perris, CA 92571
Phone: 951/436-7900
Fax: 951/928-8555
Email: info@PRWnetwork.com

Pocono Raceway has announced the completion of their extensive road course renovation project. This includes the resurfacing of all infield road courses, the addition of multi-directional curbing and upgraded participant amenities.

Each of the 17 track layouts can be run in either clockwise or counter clockwise directions, allowing for a total of 34 configurations. The courses range in distances from a technical half-mile layout to a 2.53-mile national circuit. FIM multi-directional curbing was added to all the corners and the run-offs were smoothed and leveled.

All available configurations can be found by visiting www.poconoraceway.com/roadcourses.

Two new structures were added that include meeting rooms, classrooms, the Garage Grill Cafe and modern restrooms and showers for both competitors and guests conveniences.

Additionally, 100 Infield RV spots have been opened for use. Complete with power, water and sewer hookups, these spots are available for both competitors and guests to enjoy while utilizing the road courses.

DTM is going to contest its races on Hankook tires up to and including 2016 at least.

DTM rights holder and promoter ITR e.V. and the South Korean company extended their exclusive deal regarding the supply of tires for the most popular international touring-car series by another three years—up to the end of 2016—as early as prior to the beginning of the 2013 season.

In addition, they agreed upon an option for another extension of the agreement.

Since 2011, the DTM cars have been racing on Hankook’s ’Ventus Race’ tires. Furthermore, the forthcoming season will bring an innovation, as it will be the first time since the series’ revival in 2000 that two tire compounds will be used in the races.

In addition to the standard tire in the dimensions 300/680 R 18 for the front axle and 320/710 R 18 for the rear wheels, the new ’Ventus Race Plus’ slick in the same dimensions—that can be identified easily due to an individual sidewall design—allows for clearly faster lap times for a defined period of time.

“The first two years of our partnership with Hankook absolutely convinced us of the competitiveness of this company,” says ITR e. V. Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht. “Therefore, it was absolutely clear for us that we want to continue this successful partnership beyond 2013. The early extension of the deal is the logical consequence. We all are keen on finding out how the new option tire will prove of value, this year.”

The new option tires will make their first outing in anger in the season opener, held this Sunday at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. According to the regulations, every driver has to use the option tires once in a race, with making one of the compulsory pit stops during the first and final three laps of the race being prohibited.

As part of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Mazda Motorsports, the Ad Council and the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) announced the six high school and college winners of their second annual Project Yellow Light scholarship contest.

“One Text or Call Could Wreck It All,” was the theme of this year’s contest.

Entrants were asked to develop and produce a short video that would depict for their peers the dangers of risky mobile behavior on our nation’s roadways. The high school grand prize was awarded to Brittany Devasure, a senior from North Carolina, for her video.

For the first time, the contest was open to college students. Rachel Hall, who studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, was recognized as the grand prize winner for her video.
 
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011, eleven percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of driv­ers who were distracted.

"Distracted driving is a national epidemic, and our youngest drivers are particularly at risk," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We know that young drivers listen to their friends, which makes the Project Yellow Light ads so powerful. Today’s scholarship winners have helped raise awareness of the dangers of texting while driving, and are potentially saving the lives of other teen drivers as well.”

Second place prizes were awarded to high school senior Sophie Koorhan of Pennsylvania and Katherine Duffy, a student at the University of Southern California. Third place prizes were given to high school senior Joanne Ly of California and Rahul Sharma, a college student at New York University.

All of the winners will receive college scholarships and One-Day Teen Survival Skills Classes at the Skip Barber Racing School, provided by Mazda Motorsports.

Additionally, the first place winners’ videos will be digitally distributed to air as PSAs by the Ad Council to their network of more than 1,500 TV stations nationwide.
 
“As racers we know about driver safety and take the subject very seriously,” said John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations.

"With our extensive team of teenage race drivers, and our longstanding partnership with the Skip Barber Racing School, active support of Project Yellow Light was a natural fit for Mazda Motorsports," he added. "It was great to have Ben Albano, Kenton Koch, and Elliott Skeer, three of our young racers, participate in the judging process. Everyone at Mazda was impressed with both the quality and quantity of entries this year, and we were happy that our support allowed the Project Yellow Light team to add a category for college students."
 
Established in 2007, Project Yellow Light is a video contest and scholarship program established by Julie Garner, of The Martin Agency, in memory of her teenage son Hunter Garner who was killed in a car crash that year. Project Yellow Light was developed to encourage teens to be safe when first taking on the road. 
 
This year’s contest ran from November 2012 through March 2013 and received nearly 500 submissions.
 
To view all the winning videos, click here.

Tony Cotman won’t be surprised if the track record falls on the streets of Sao Paulo during qualifications for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle.

A modification to Turns 1 and 2 of the 2.536-mile street circuit has been made with the goal of maximizing passing opportunities for the drivers. It will also give them a chance to post faster lap times.

“The biggest change is that we’ve moved the curbing in Turn 1 and 2, particularly in Turn 2, where they have been moved quite a bit to the driver’s right,” said circuit designer Cotman, whose NZR Consulting is responsible for the track build.

“(Turn 2 is) about 10 feet wider now and the curbs that are there have been lowered, so the corner will be quicker, without question. The goal was to help improve things for double-file restarts and particularly in the rain. We’ve seen how difficult it can be over the years.”

The widening of the corner will allow cars to race side-by-side as they come off the concrete portion of the Sambadrome and into complex known as the “S” of Samba.

“The corner will still be painted, and there still will tires behind the apexes,” Cotman said. “The difficulty for the drivers is they can’t see the curbs or the corner, especially when you are right behind another car. We’ll give them a reference point by painting the tires a contrasting color. Hopefully we’ve improved it.”

Cotman also said there has been some smoothening of bumps, particularly in Turn 10, as well as some drainage issues.

“We’ve addressed the key bumps, but just because a bump has been addressed in a certain corner, doesn’t mean more bumps won’t be found,” Cotman said. “It’s a street circuit, so there always will be bumps, but our goal is to improve them.”

Diana Brennan, who has worked in the Sonoma Raceway Media Relations department since 1999, has been named Senior Director of Media & Community Relations, raceway officials announced.

In her new role, Brennan will take over management of the raceway’s department, overseeing all media communications, as well as the facility's community initiatives, including the local chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.

“It has been inspirational to watch Diana’s development over the years from college intern to one of the industry’s most respected professionals,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president & general manager. “She is more than ready to assume this leadership position and we are fortunate to have her on board.”

Brennan, 33, has worked full-time in the media relations department at Sonoma Raceway since 2001, most recently as Director of Media and Community Relations. Brennan was first hired as an intern in 1999.

With the original proposed series of Minnesota Mafia Point Fund races unable to take place because of a disagreement on the tire rule between the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) and the Jackson Speedway Touring Series (JSTS), the UMSS has announced that a portion of their 2013 schedule will still see some increased money going to the drivers through a best six out of seven series of races.

The mini-series will be termed the UMSS "Six Pack Series" and will involve taking a driver's best six point races out of a proposed seven race series using the regular UMSS feature race point system in place.

The events are already part of the 2013 UMSS schedule, so no additional races have been added to the schedule at this time.

The UMSS "Six Pack Series" will consist of the following races:

May 24: St. Croix Valley Raceway - Davey Tabor Memorial
June 7: Princeton Speedway - Billy Anderson Memorial
June 29: St. Croix Valley Raceway - Open Wheel Nationals Night 2
August 16: Princeton Speedway - Kouba Memorial Night 1
August 17: St. Croix Valley Raceway - Kouba Memorial Night 2
September 7: Cedar Lake Speedway - Jerry Richert Sr Memorial
October 5: Elko Speedway - Fall Dirt Nationals Night 2

If one or more shows fall victim to the weather, the first alternate will be the July 26 race at St. Croix Valley Raceway. If a second alternate is necessary due to weather woes, the Sunday night Mighty Axe Nationals at North Central Speedway on September 1 will be used.

Should the need arise for a third alternate based on weather cancellations at previous events, the Friday night October 4 show at the Fall Dirt Nationals at Elko Speedway would be utilized in the "Six Pack Series" in order to allow every opportunity to get in the full number of shows.

After recently contacting several UMSS car owners, it was unanimous that the 2013 Driver Participation Fund money be put toward the "Six Pack Series" along with additional funds that were scheduled to be raised through a planned fundraiser during the 2013 season.

Plans call for paying the top ten positions in the "Six Pack Series" point standings. Additional sponsors who would like to come on board and benefit from the exposure are encouraged to contact UMSS President Ron Bernhagen at 612/363-5302.

For more information, visit winged.umsprints.com.

Curtis Francois has finalized the local purchase of Gateway Motorsports Park. 

“This is a great day for local sports fans and for the St. Louis region,” said Francois, a real estate developer, retired race car driver and owner of Gateway Motorsports Park. “Our region needs significant sporting, entertainment and cultural venues to remain relevant, and Gateway MSP is among the finest in the country.”
 
The St. Louis region has taken significant blows over the years, and the consequences of letting this world-class facility shutter were staggering. That’s why the State of Illinois, St. Clair County and the City of Madison were so motivated to revitalize this property, which will employ hundreds and entertain millions for decades to come. 

“Without a buyer willing to take on the risk of ownership, the assets on the property would have been sold as scrap,” said City of Madison Mayor John Hamm. “Gateway MSP is a first-class asset to our region, and it would have been devastating to our community to lose something as valuable simply due to corporate restructuring and a poor economy.”
 
The multimillion-dollar property sat vacant for over a year once the previous owners, Dover Motorsports, Inc., relinquished the property due to a corporate refocus to concentrate their efforts on gaming.

As a result, Gateway and sister facilities in Memphis and Nashville were shuttered. To complicate matters, the property on which Gateway Motorsports Park resided was owned by a half-dozen property owners and leased by Dover. 

Francois’ experience in putting together complex real estate deals over the years proved invaluable to the success of the revitalization of the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the region.

“Getting these local property owners to agree on a common approach and sale was certainly challenging, but these are great folks who were committed to seeing this track survive and thrive.”

Gateway MSP has historically been a very popular facility for major motorsports sanctioning bodies due to its proximity to Indianapolis, which is where many major motorsports companies and top drivers are headquartered. 

The facility is on track to generate nearly 45 full-time jobs and hundreds of part-time jobs, in addition to tax revenue and revenue for surrounding businesses such as hotels, restaurants, etc. that were on the verge of going bust when the track closed in 2010.  
 
Francois has put in place a five-year, multi-million dollar capital improvement campaign that will put Gateway Motorsports Park in a position to succeed in the long-term. The drag strip has been completely rebuilt and is now among the top drag strips in the country. 

Plans are under way for development of a nationally sanctioned karting track scheduled for a summer 2013 opening.

The Gateway Challenge program, which is launching this year, allows just about anyone to experience the thrill of racing on an awesome track.

The oval track will host the premier Silver Crown event in June for the first time since 2001 at Gateway.

For more information, visit www.gatewaymsp.com.
 

To honor the memory and share stories about 1992 NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki, UNC Charlotte’s Motorsports Alumni Chapter will bring together the charismatic racer’s former pit crew for “Tire Talk,” a racing forum that will take place on May 19 at 3 p.m. on the UNC Charlotte campus, just minutes away from the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The emcee for the evening will be John Roberts, who hosts NASCAR Raceday and NASCAR Victory Lane on the Speed Channel.

This event will demonstrate the close connection between the University's William States Lee College of Engineering, as well as bring awareness to the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://alumni.uncc.edu/tiretalk for a cost of $7. The price increase for this event has been extended from May 1-May 6.

Any proceeds from this event will specifically benefit the above scholarship fund.

Following the “Tire Talk” event, a cocktail reception and dinner will take place. The featured speaker at dinner will be Humpy Wheeler, a true icon in the racing industry. Tickets can be purchased for $77 online at http://alumni.uncc.edu/tiretalk.

According to the International Hot Rod Association, Dallas Raceway in Crandall, Texas, will be closing its doors and ceasing operation by May 7, the track announced.

With the closure of Dallas Raceway, IHRA Division 4 Director Frank Kohutek is currently seeking a new date and venue for the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL event that was originally scheduled for May 17-19 at the track.

The Summit Team Finals event will also be affected by the news, and that event will also be moved to a new location.

Visit www.ihra.com for more details and upcoming announcements regarding the closure of Dallas Raceway and the rescheduling of the Summit Pro-Am and Summit Team Finals events at that track.