An incident involving drivers Darren Moses and Tanner Mullens, as well as crew member Buddy Mullens, during the National Championship Racing Association's “Modified Spring Scramble” on April 6 at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas, has drawn lengthy penalties for those involved.

Tanner Mullens was suspended two years by both the NCRA and Speedway's Inc. for wrecking Moses after the races and for fighting; Buddy Mullens was suspended one year with the NCRA and Speedway’s Inc. for hitting an official during the incident.

And for Darren Moses, no timeline was given for his suspension by both the NCRA and Speedway's Inc., as he was involved in an earlier incident at Enid Speedway at the end of last year.

The incident took place during an NCRA of Park City, Kansas, Presented by Precise Racing Products modified event.

"The NCRA and Speedway's Inc. will not tolerate such behavior at any of our events," said series president C Ray Hall. "We understand that tempers will flare, yet we have to have some common sense because things can get out of hand and somebody seriously hurt. Hopefully this will detour any other drivers or crew member doing anything like that in the future."

Questions regarding this incident can be directed to the series and Speedway's Inc. office at 316/755-1781.  

The 2013 lineup for the ASCS 305 National points race continues to grow with the addition of the Route 66 Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 4, in Amarillo, Texas.

Slated to be a $1000 to win event for the ASCS 305 division, the May 4 date will be the first ASCS 305 National point’s event for the Amarillo oval. For a complete look at all dates for the ASCS 305 National points chase, logon to http://305.ascsracing.com/schedule.

The 2013 season marks the second year of the competition for the ASCS 305 division with other dates for the 305 National point schedule being discussed in the Southwest. Dates and tracks will be revealed as soon as they are finalized.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

Yesterday, PRI attended the 7th Annual Mazda Motorsports Media Update at Mazda Research and Development in Irvine, California. We discovered what’s new for Mazda in 2013, were introduced to MazdaSpeed7, learned about the SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine and finished up with a tasty lunch from TK Burgers.

Mazda Director of Motorsports John Doonan made a key point that Mazda is very proud of: “More Mazdas are road raced on any given weekend than any other manufacturer.”

Mazda’s 2013 programs consist of SCCA and NASA club racing, including B-Spec racing, Skip Barber MX-5 and Formula car schools and series, SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, Mazda Road to Indy (USF2000, Pro Mazda, Firestone Indy Lights), IMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites, Grand-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Grand-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series, which will be racing this coming weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

After discussing Mazda’s racing initiatives for 2013, Doonan invited Eric Prill, VP Marketing & Communications at SCCA, to the stage to announce that SCCA and Mazda North American Operations have partnered up, naming Mazda the Official Car of SCCA through 2015.

Doonan also mentioned Mazda’s continued partnership with the famed Central California race track, which will remain Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca until 2016.

The 2013 MazdaSpeed 7 team consists of Matthew Brabham (2012 USF2000 Champion), Yago Cesário (2012 Skip Barber Karting Shootout Champion), Patrick Gallagher (2012 Mazda Club Racer Shootout Champion), Jack Hawksworth (2012 Star Mazda Champion), Bryan Hixon (2012 Skip Barber MazdaSpeed Challenge winner) Stevan McAleer (2012 Playboy MX-5 Cup Champion) and Peter Portante (2012 Skip Barber Series Shootout Champion).

The second part of the presentation was given by Sylvain Tremblay, president at SpeedSource, and Zach LaGrone, engineer at SpeedSource, and they introduced the SKYACTIV-D program in great detail, which debuted the engine at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

This was the first OE based diesel motorsports engine and it’s also the first fully CAD designed racing engine by SpeedSource and Mazda. After the SKYACTIV-D production engines arrived at SpeedSource, the engineers got to work.

The base of the Mazda engine was retained and proved to be strong enough for motorsports use. Rules didn’t allow for porting of the cylinder head, so motorsport engine development was focused on the engine internals, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons and wrist pins. The dry sump oil pan was machined entirely in-house from aircraft grade aluminum billets. SpeedSource worked with Wilson Manifolds to develop a mototsports intake manifold.

The top end of the SKYACTIV-D engine is run nearly as delivered from Mazda, with the timing systems being 100 percent Mazda components. Valvetrain components from Mazda include intake camshaft, camshaft gears, rockers, valve guides, valve spring seats, valve spring retainers, camshaft caps, valve cover cap, hydraulic lash adjuster, intake valves and exhaust valves. Changes to the top end were limited to stiffer valve springs and a modified camshaft timing wheel.

After the in-depth overview of the new diesel engine, IndyCar driver and Mazda alum JR Hildebrand made an appearance, talking a bit about his experience with the Mazda program and how it propelled him to where he’s at now.

After the presentation wrapped up, the media members in attendance were treated to a nice lunch with the opportunity to ask questions, make new contacts or just mingle and enjoy a burger!

Aston Martin is set to race a pioneering hybrid hydrogen car at the 41st ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring next month.

The record-breaking Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S—based on Aston Martin’s new four-door, four-seat sports car—will become the first hydrogen-powered car to compete in an international event as well as the first zero CO2 emissions sports car to complete a race pace lap at the Nürburgring 24-hour race.



Working in partnership with hydrogen experts Alset Global, Aston Martin’s engineers have developed a prototype twin turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 engine that will power the Nürburgring car.



Capable of running on pure gasoline, pure gaseous hydrogen, or a blend of both, the Hybrid Hydrogen race car showcases Aston Martin’s commitment to engineering innovation. In pure hydrogen mode, Aston Martin and Alset Global aim to show that a zero CO2 emissions lap of the Nordschleife is possible while emitting virtually only water from the exhaust.



Showcasing the technology at the Nürburgring—acknowledged as one of the toughest and most demanding circuits in the world—Aston Martin will underline the reliability and safety of today’s hydrogen technology.



The Hybrid Hydrogen system comprises a hydrogen fuel rail, storage tanks and proprietary engine management system. This enables flexibility in the control of the combustion process according to each particular driving situation: either pure hydrogen, gasoline or a arbitrary blend of both can be selected to ensure optimum power, acceleration and CO2 reduction.

This control results in a powerful and dynamic propulsion system that provides sports car performance but with a carbon footprint more akin to that of a supermini.

Safety-wise, the system also includes four ultra-high strength carbon fiber tanks holding a total of 3.5kg of hydrogen stored at a pressure of 350bar—two tanks housed next to the driver and two in the boot of the car.

Meanwhile, the entire hydrogen system developed by Alset Global and its partners is approved by German motorsport’s governing body, the DMSB.



The Hybrid Hydrogen race car is based on the new Rapide S four-door sports car.



Aston Martin returns to compete in the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours on May 19-20 for the eighth successive year. More than 150 cars will start the 24-hour race, which runs on the 25 km circuit that combines the legendary Nordschleife with the modern Grand Prix track.

Bilstein, a leading manufacturer of monotube gas pressure shock absorbers, has announced an exciting new contest.

Starting April 15, enthusiasts can enter to win one of three customized vehicles and a trip to the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas where they’ll pick up their new ride. Once they vote, participants will also have the chance to select the parts to be installed on the vehicle, which will come from the leading aftermarket brands in the industry.

In this one-of-a-kind sweepstakes, enthusiasts will be able to vote for the ride of their choice from now until August 1 and enter to win until October 7.

Bilstein will tally the votes and build the fan favorite for the sweepstakes winner. The choices include the classic Ford Mustang GT, an off-road worthy Ford F-150 truck or a sporty BMW 335i.

One lucky winner will be announced on or before October 11 so they can start planning their trip to the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on November 5-8.

For more information about the Bilstein “Just Add…” Sweepstakes, visit justaddbilstein.com.

(via Dayton Daily News Staff Writer Greg Billing)

From the historic Dayton 500, points champion Lee Raymond, the legendary Bowsher family and more, the Dayton area is high-banked in ARCA racing history.

To that end, the Dayton Auto Race Fan club (DARF) will host an ARCA Night Reunion at its next membership meeting on April 23. The event will be held at Celebrations Banquet Center on Stop Eight Road to accommodate ARCA show cars and allow fans to mingle with ARCA representatives.

The guest list is still in progress, but ARCA president Ron Drager and communications manager Don Radebaugh are scheduled to attend, as is Springfield's Bobby Bowsher, the 1992 and 1994 ARCA points champion.

Representatives from Kentucky Speedway, Winchester Speedway, Kil-Kare Speedway and Salem Speedway, all which host ARCA events this season, are also coming.

Event organizers have also reached out to series champion Frank Kimmel and the owner of the No. 98 Ford Torino that Benny Parsons drove to victory in the Dayton 500.

The event starts at 4 p.m. in the parking lot. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Concessions and a cash bar will be available.

For more information or to inquire about bringing an ARCA car for show, contact DARF president Rick Monroe at 937/541-9006.

When the Lonesome Pine Raceway family celebrated the track’s 41st season-opener last Saturday night, the thoughts and prayers of everyone who is a part of the track’s community were on a Pure-4 racer in an Atlanta, Georgia-area hospital.

Dewayne Mullins remains in Atlanta undergoing treatment from a traffic accident that he and his wife, Kathy, were involved in four weeks ago.

Kathy Mullins, who also sustained injuries, has been staying by her husband’s side while continually dealing with her own doctor’s appointments back in their native Virginia.

Before the Pure-4 race Saturday night, drivers from all divisions went into the grandstands and collected money for the Mullins family. Helmets in hands, the drivers collected nearly $2000 from fans, crew members and officials. Donations by the Stiltner family, owners of Lonesome Pine Raceway, took the final number to more than $4000.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for their contributions to the Mullins family,” said Harold Crook of Lonesome Pine Raceway in Coeburn, Virginia. “I hope and pray that it helps them. And, I hope Dewayne gets better soon, so he can come back and race with us.”

While they may not have been at the track Saturday, Dewayne and Kathy Mullins were certainly being thought of.

Sports Car Club of America and Mazda North American Operations have announced a multi-year partnership that names Mazda the Official Car of SCCA through 2015.

Mazda Director of Motorsports John Doonan and SCCA Vice President, Marketing and Communications Eric Prill made the announcement on April 16 during the Mazda Motorsports pre-season media day at the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California.

PRI Managing Editor Meredith Kaplan Burns, Associate Editor Christen D’Alessandro and Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Reed Morales were on hand for the announcement.

Mazda will be utilized as the official pace car at key SCCA events, including the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, through the 2015 season. The annual SCCA Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Banquet will now be “presented by Mazda.”

“In the minds of many, Mazda and the SCCA were already partners,” Doonan said. “At the SCCA Runoffs, the Mazda contingent has been the largest of any car company. We love that our small organization is more popular on the race track than the combined efforts of many of our much larger competitors. We look forward to working with the SCCA to grow the sport for the next generation.”

The day's activities at Mazda’s Irvine facility also included a behind-the-scenes look inside the SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel racing engine, meetings with Mazda drivers, and more.