RaceCraft 1, a top racer development and training program headquartered in Indianapolis, has announced that the company, already a training facility for IndyCar drivers such as Josef Newgarden, has become an official dealer for the SimXperience line of racing simulators and Ultraforce Simulations G-seats.

"Becoming an official dealer for SimXperience and Ultraforce is the first step in our plan for transforming RaceCraft 1 into a completely unique center of technical innovation in racer and race engineer training," said Kelly Jones, principal of RaceCraft 1 and a former F-16 pilot, mission commander, and instructor with ten years of experience and more than 2200 flight hours.

The first customer for the top-of-the-line package of the SimXperience Stage 5 Pro Racing Simulator equipped with an Ultraforce GS-4 G-seat – which was delivered to the all-new RaceCraft 1 facility on March 25 – is a rising young karting star, Davin Foster. Later this year Davin will make the transition from karts to open-wheel cars.

The SimXperience Stage 5 Pro features three 47-inch HDTVs, a 22-inch touchscreen, and is pre-reconfigured with both iRacing and rFactor2. The unit features motorized pedals and monitor adjustment, advanced Force Feedback Steering with quick-release GT and Formula wheels, sequential and H-pattern gearshift, Tilton pedals with Wilwood hydraulics, and a full Sim Vibe complement.

The other major component that makes the whole experience as accurate as possible is the Ultraforce GS-4 G-seat provides realistic motion feedback to the driver. Unlike other motion systems such as motion platforms, the GS-4 can produce strong sustained motion feedback through use of movable panels that apply pressure directly to the body of the driver.

Also, unlike most other motion simulators, the GS-4 responds to all up/down, side-to-side, and forward/backward G-forces that occur in the simulation. Almost any motion cue a driver feels in a real car can be conveyed by a GS-4.  The Ultraforce GS-4 can be easily added to existing simulators as a replacement to a static racing seat.

"The RaceCraft 1 business and training model that Kelly Jones had created makes a lot of sense to us, and we're looking forward to working with him both as a dealer and in the development and beta testing of new innovations in racing simulator software," said Kevin Villers, General Manager of SimXperience. 

G-FORCE Racing Gear, a manufacturer of driver’s safety equipment, has announced that they will continue their support of US Legends and INEX with their Legends, Bandolero, Thunder Roadsters and US Legends Modified series.

“G-FORCE Racing Gear continues to be the perfect fit for competitors in all forms of motorsports looking for quality and value," said Don Stodola, Executive Account Manager for G-FORCE Racing Gear, in announcing the renewal of the partnership. "We are pleased to be affiliated with US Legends Cars International and INEX. The G-FORCE Racing Gear product line is designed to provide competitors with safety products for their Bandolero, Thunder Car, LMOD, and Legends racing, as well as throughout their motorsports careers.”

INEX is a leader in inexpensive racing for thousands of racers worldwide. “Our continued relationship with G-FORCE Racing Gear has helped provide our racers with top quality racing equipment,” said GE Chapman, General Manger of USLCI. “We strive to provide our customers with quality products at affordable prices and G-Force follows that same standard.”

G-FORCE has been a contributing sponsor of the INEX racing series since 2005. And 2013 will again provide the opportunity to evaluate and improve G-FORCE’s commitment to this International Series. 

The development of the company’s products is based on the company’s experience with America’s premier racing series, including NASCAR, ARCA, NHRA, USAC, INEX, and SCCA. The product line includes several standard designs, or complete custom designed suits.

They also provide products for fire and rescue crews at many professional motorsports venues. The involvement with their partners provides direct feedback to help determine product performance and development of new designs.

GRAND-AM Road Racing and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) have announced a license and cooperation agreement with the Internationale Tourenwagen-Rennen (ITR e.V.), which administers DTM racing.

The collective goal is a North American version of DTM, the popular German touring car series. Representatives from all three organizations gathered for the announcement during a press conference Tuesday at the InterContinental New York Times Square Hotel’s Gotham Ballroom, an event highlighted by GRAND-AM founder Jim France and ITR Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht signing the agreement.

The earliest the new series would begin would be 2015, possibly running as part of United SportsCar Racing event weekends. United SportsCar Racing was announced March 14 as the name of the new series resulting from the merger of GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. IMSA will serve as the sanctioning body for United SportsCar Racing, which also was announced on March 14.

“On the heels of our United SportsCar Racing and IMSA announcements, reaching this agreement adds to the momentum we’re experiencing right now,” GRAND-AM President and CEO Ed Bennett said.

“The next steps in this process will involve further discussions with various automotive manufacturers, whose commitment to this concept is essential if a North American DTM-style series is to become reality.”

If realized, a North American version of DTM would join the current Europe-based DTM and Japan-based SUPER GT platforms. DTM is administered by ITR e.V., SUPER GT by GT Association (GTA). ITR e.V. and SUPER GT agreed last October to a cooperation starting in 2014.

“The new technical regulations and the formed partnerships represent – for the first time in the history of the sport – a global platform for the manufacturers involved,” said Aufrecht, “a platform offering them the opportunity to race – on the same technical basis and with the best global promoters as guarantee for a competitive and attractive platform – in the core markets of North America, Europe and Asia.

“In addition to the six German and Japanese manufacturers – Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and Toyota – which are already involved, the new cooperation quite obviously also offers a new and extraordinary field of activity for the American premium manufacturers such as Cadillac, Lincoln or Dodge SRT within the framework of future motorsport programs. Now, we have to inform and thrill them together with our new partner GRAND-AM/IMSA and encourage them to get involved.”

Said GTA Chairman Massaki Bandoh: “The new partnership between the parties will further increase the value of DTM, GRAND-AM, IMSA and SUPER GT. This would be the opening of the doors for globalization of GT/Touring car races. We have to take this opportunity to cooperate with each other.”

European automobile manufacturers responded optimistically to news of the agreement, acknowledging the importance of the US market to their businesses and the direct link DTM-style racing would create with consumers.

Drivers competing in IMCA’s Mach-1 Sport Compact division will also be allowed to race an IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock or in either IMCA SportMod division.
Previously, rules had specified that Sport Compact drivers could only race in that class.

“We have been getting more frequent requests to allow this combination of licensing. It is now justified by the growing numbers of licensed Sport Compact drivers and sanctioned tracks,” IMCA Vice President of Operations Brett Root said.

More Sport Compact drivers are looking to race in another division as their skills increase, he explained, and can now do so without forfeiting points earned toward local track, state or national Sport Compact standings.

“It’s important to note that drivers cannot race in a Sport Compact and any other division at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s,” said Root. “Our main concern is to prevent a driver who has primarily been racing a Hobby Stock or SportMod from racing at only Sport Compact special events.”

Questions can be directed to Root at the IMCA home office, 319/472-2201.

Registration is now open for WKA’s final Race Official Training and Certification in 2013.

The training will take place on Friday, April 5, and is being held in conjunction with the Manufacturers Cup and National Road Racing Series events at Carolina Motorsports Park.

The seminar will begin at 4:30 p.m. and should conclude by 8 p.m., including time to take the SFI/WKA certification exam. This schedule will allow any event competitors who wish to attend to complete Friday’s practice session prior to reporting for the seminar.

This seminar is designed for national, divisional and local race and event officials. It is conducted in an interactive format allowing for questions and interaction with other participants.

Included are job descriptions for virtually every position on the event team including:

Race director
Flagman
Corner worker
Grid steward
Chief scorer
Technical inspector
Gate Keeper
Registrar
Scale operator

The cost for the WKA Race Official Training Seminar is $125. That includes the seminar, the SFI/WKA Certification examination and a WKA 2013 Technical Manual.

Those participants successfully completing the exam will receive a clothing patch and an ID card, and their names will be included on the list of SFI/WKA Certified Race Officials. The certification is good for two years.

To register for this seminar, call Marie Borsuk at WKA Headquarters, 704/455-1606 ext. 11. Participants must be WKA members in good standing and register in advance to attend.

For more information, visit www.worldkarting.com.

The updated 2013 rules for three Crate Racin’ USA Divisions has been posted on the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series website at www.nesmithracing.com. 

The updated rules are for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division, the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series, and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division.
    
The updated rules for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division are located on the Touring Division website. The updated rules for the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division are on the Weekly Racing Series website.

The biggest change in the 2013 rulebook for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division and the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series is that E85 Fuel will now be permitted for use in the Chevrolet Performance 604 and 602 Crate Engines. VP CHP Racing Fuel will no longer be allowed after May 31.
 
Another change for the Weekly Racing Series is that there will be no Bonus Points awarded this season. This is due to the widening geographical area of NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series tracks.
    
All of the changes for the 2013 season for the two Crate Engine series are printed in red. The NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division is a new sanction under the Crate Racin’ USA umbrella for 2013. The point fund for the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division is also listed in the rules.

The rules on the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series website also features a link where the rules and the body dimensions can be printed out in a pdf file format. The rules updates are effective immediately.

The next event on the 2013 schedule for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division will be on April 12-13 with the $5,000-to-win 3rd Annual Rumble On The Gumbo 75 at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS. There will also be an open practice session on April 11.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division will begin their respective 27-week seasons on March 25, and run through September 29. Drivers at the sanctioned weekly tracks throughout the country will compete against each other through a points system that will count their best 14 weekly point totals.
    
In both weekly series, drivers will compete for a track point fund and a National point fund that will pay back to the top ten drivers at the end of the season. The NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series National Champion will earn $10,000, and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division National Champion will earn $2,000.
    
Drivers in all of the Crate Racin’ USA series are encouraged to pre-register before the season begins to prevent any delays in the opening weeks of the season. Registration Forms and Membership information is located on the series website.  

There are Registration Forms available on the website for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series for those competing in the Touring Division and the Weekly Racing Series, as well as Registration Forms for the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division.

When Crate Racin’ USA officials have received the completed Registration Forms and the Membership Fees from competitors for the series they will be participating in, they will be sent a 2013 Membership Card for the appropriate series.

The dirt late model race cars in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division and the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series are powered by the economical Chevrolet Performance Crate Engines that are built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications.  

There are two engines to choose from: the 400 horsepower aluminum-head Chevrolet Performance 604 engine and the 350 horsepower steel-head Chevrolet Performance 602 engine that gets a 100-pound weight break. The Chevrolet Performance 602 Crate Engine is also used in the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division.

All of these Chevrolet Performance Engines are in stock and on sale at discount prices through March 31 at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, Georgia.

To place an order, call Tim Bland at 877/497-3624.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series website at www.nesmithracing.com.

The NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals has announced that the 5th Annual DiabloSport Late-Model HEMI Shootout will have a new home at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, August 23-25, 2013.
 
This NMCA event will feature all the cars and all the stars of the NMCA series as well as the coolest modern HEMI race and show cars in the country.

Late-Model HEMI competitors join the NMCA’s already large base of muscle car racers and enthusiasts. Other exciting features of this NMCA event include a huge car show, a giant manufacturers’ midway/swap meet and a 300+ mph jet dragster.

The DiabloSport Late-Model HEMI Shootout is a special “event within an event” that features race & car show classes specifically designed for modern HEMI-powered Chrysler and Dodge vehicles.
 
Each year the DiabloSport Late-Model HEMI Shootout attracts the fastest supercharged, turbocharged, nitrous-powered and naturally aspirated late-model Challengers, Chargers, Magnums, 300s and Jeeps in the country to compete on a national stage.
 
This year the Modern Street HEMI Shootout Series will make this a points event for their index class racers and will award appearance points for their heads-up racers.
 
Other special features of this event include an all-HEMI True Street class, racer contingencies, awards for the fastest HEMIs, and a special competitor welcome party and free parts raffle. Also, all racers and show participants will receive a collectible all-metal DiabloSport Late-Model HEMI Shootout license plate.

For more information, log on to www.nmcadigital.com/hemi or call 714/444-2426.

For specific questions please refer to the list below:

ϖ    Race: Gene Bergstrom – 714/460-3813 or e-mail at gbergstrom@promediapub.com
ϖ    Car Show: Ron Fetter – 949/254-5693 or e-mail at carshow@promediapub.com
ϖ    Vendor: Dave Farley – 949/784-9061or e-mail at vendor@promediapub.com
ϖ    Sponsorship: Brian Gwin – 714/444-2426 ext. 120 or e-mail at bgwin@promediapub.com

This year, May 24-25 marks a milestone for the Lane Automotive Car Show, celebrating 25 years of their annual car enthusiast hospitality.

In appreciation for their customers’ loyalty and patronage, the participant entry fee is always free, as is spectator admission. Enthusiasts from all over the Midwest will attend, bringing over 1200 hot rods, customs, race cars, muscle cars, custom trucks, and special interest vehicles.

Friday night, May 24, opens the Silver Anniversary celebration with the 6th annual “Open Header Cruise.” Participants will cruise through downtown Coloma and Watervliet, Michigan, to their final destination at the Lane Automotive Cruise Night celebration.

The Chassis Dyno Challenge will also be under way as participants strap down their street cars and trucks to compete for the top horsepower and torque numbers. The Dyno Challenge continues through the show on Saturday, with big horsepower cars scheduled at noon.

Saturday’s “Big Show” kicks off at 9:00 a.m. and is packed with excitement all day. Watch the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge competition, where high school teams from around the Midwest tear down and re-assemble a hot rod engine and race the clock.

The 13th annual Nitro Noise Fest fires up at noon, when a host of nostalgia dragsters, funny cars, and fuelers come to life as they fire up one-by-one. Special guest NHRA Top Fuel racer Terry McMillen will be at the show all day signing autographs and visiting with fans; plus, he will wrap up the Nitro Noise Fest by firing up his 8000 horsepower Top Fuel dragster.

Over 125 major high-performance brand manufacturers will be on display in the “Manufacturers Marketplace,” and factory support trailers will also be on site showcasing their latest products. Talk with factory representatives and get the latest info and technical advice on the products they produce.

Lane Automotive is located at 8300 Lane Drive, Watervliet, Michigan, 49098.

Registration for the 25th Anniversary Lane Automotive Car Show, Open Header Cruise, and Dyno Challenge is available at www.laneautomotive.com.

MSD, an industry leader in manufacturing and marketing of ignition and EFI fuel system products, has named Joe Pando as Drag Racing/Engine Builder Support Manager.
 
Pando, who has worked at MSD since 1979, will be in charge of managing and supporting all MSD products as they relate to drag racing and engine builder needs.

MSD, known since its formation of their multiple spark discharge technology, has established a new field support team whose purpose is to support the racing circuit and engine builder market.
 
Pando, who will be the lead person to manage and support this new initiative, started at MSD in the manufacturing department almost 35 years ago. He has participated in drag racing, driving schools and panel discussions as an industry expert in his field.

MSD also has named Erik Brock as Product Manager.
 
Brock, who has worked at MSD since 2003, will be in charge of managing and marketing all EFI fuel system products and assist in the development of new products.

MSD has developed a new Product Management structure to support the ongoing global growth of this category, and Brock will be one of the driving forces as part of this newly developed team of product managers.
 
Brock started at MSD in the engineering department to help develop the Sports Compact market.
 
Prior to joining MSD, Brock worked at local Speed Shops and was an instructor at Western Technical College. He has participated at some level in drag racing, sand drags, nitrous street cars and heads up turbo events.

Finally, MSD has named Silver Gomez as Product Manager.
 
Gomez, who has worked at MSD for 16 years, will be in charge of managing and marketing all ignition system products.

MSD has developed a new Product Management structure to support the ongoing global growth of this category, and Gomez will be one of the driving forces as part of this newly developed team of product managers.
 
Gomez started at MSD as a customer service technician and has held various positions of increasing responsibility including work in R & D, Power Sports business development, product training, and most recently the management of their event marketing trailer program.

John Cardinale, vice president of media and community relations at Sonoma Raceway, has died following a two-year battle with gastric cancer. He was 47.

“John Cardinale was as true a friend, as loyal a colleague, as devoted a husband and father, and as fine a human being as you could ever hope to know,” said Steve Page, president & general manager of Sonoma Raceway. “John has been a part of every good thing that has happened at this track over the last 15 years. We are all so fortunate to have had him in our lives and to have shared in his intelligence, his wit, his integrity and his brave spirit.”

John is survived by his wife, Andrea, and their two daughters.
 
For those who wish to make a donation in John’s honor, a memorial fund has been set up on behalf of his family. Donations may be sent to the John Cardinale Memorial Fund, care of Sonoma Raceway, 29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476.
 
Information on services and other arrangements have not yet been made available.