The Lucas Off-Road Racing Series—the pinnacle of off road short course racing—is rapidly climbing up the leader board of televised motor sports and is now ranked second only to NASCAR in cumulative on-air hours.

The 15-race series plus the season ending "Challenge Cup" will air a total of 110 hours of original first run programming.

These include 8 one-hour shows on CBS; 32 one-hour shows on CBS Sport Network, (64 hours with re-airs); 8 one-hour shows on NBC Sports Network (16 hours with re-airs); 30 one-hour shows on SPEED (60 hours with re-airs) and 32 one-hour shows on MAVTV (64 hours with re-airs).

2013 Dates & Venue:

* March 15 - 17
Firebird Raceway, Chandler, AZ

* April 19 - 21
Speedworld Off Road Park, Surprise, AZ

* May 17 - 19
Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, Lake Elsinore, CA

* June 21 - 23
Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT

* July 26 - 28
Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, CA

* August 23 - 25
Wild West Motorsports Park, Reno, NV

* September 19 - 21
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV

* October 25 - 27
Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, Lake Elsinore, CA
(season ending "Challenge Cup")

"Short course off-road racing is fast, exciting and something for the entire family to enjoy," says Lucas Oil founder and President, Forest Lucas, “[including] fender to fender racing featuring superstars like Carl Renezeder, Brian Deegan, Rob MacCachren and Jeremy McGrath in the elite ranked Pro-2 and Pro-4 classes. While on the same program, grassroots racers and their families highlight the action packed amateur classes, making this a truly ‘American Real’ motorsport."

For more information, visit www.lucasoiloffroad.com.

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has announced the names of its 12 inductees for 2013. 

Those that will be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 1, 2013, during the 24th annual ceremonies in Knoxville, Iowa, are:

Drivers: Charles “Dutch” Baumann, Art Bisch (Sr.), Andy Linden, Brad Noffsinger, Lou Blaney, Jeff Bloom.

Owners-Mechanics-Builders-Manufacturers-Car Sponsors: C.W. Van Ranst, Harold “Red” Lempelius, Richard Hoffman.

Promoters-Officials-Media Members-Event/Series Sponsors: E.A. “Ernie” Moross, Edd Sheppard, Jean Lynch.

According to National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation executive director Bob Baker, they have already received verbal commitments from Brad Noffsinger of North Carolina, Jeff Bloom of Michigan, Dick Hoffman of Ohio and Jean Lynch of Pennsylvania that they will be in Knoxville on June 1 to receive their awards.

Those seeking more information on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame can visit www.sprintcarhof.com. Also, the museum can be reached at 641/842-6176.

NASCAR and Featherlite Trailers have announced that the Iowa-based company has agreed to extend its long-term partnership with NASCAR.

The six-year extension ensures that Featherlite Trailers will be the Official Trailer of NASCAR through 2018. Entering its 13th year as an Official Partner, Featherlite Trailers built its first race car transporter for owner Richard Childress 20 years ago, dating its relationship with the sport back to 1993.

Currently, Featherlite Trailers plays a vital role in facilitating high-quality NASCAR race events each weekend.

Ninety percent of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series teams rely on Featherlite transporters to move vital race equipment to every event.

Additionally, approximately 10 transporters manufactured by Featherlite Trailers serve as official office and meeting spaces for NASCAR race officials and personnel each weekend across the country.
 
In the second half of the 2012 NASCAR season, Featherlite Trailers introduced its newly redesigned custom “T1” NASCAR support and media trailer. The transporter, featuring larger and more efficient work spaces, is utilized by NASCAR broadcast partners at the track each weekend.
 
Featherlite Trailers, a leading designer and manufacturer of aluminum trailers, including specialized 53-foot racecar transporters and highly customized specialty trailers, also manufactures car, recreation, utility, horse and livestock trailers.

The MAXSpeed Group welcomes Thierry Germanovitch as its new Brand and Marketing Manager.

Thierry brings over 30 years of experience both on and off the track to the team headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Thierry has experience behind the wheel in karts, Formula Fords and Formula 3. But, after eight years of driving he decided to turn his attention to the marketing and promotions side of the sport.



In 1991 Thierry organized the World CIK ICA karting Championship in LeMans. This experience led him to develop the concept of the Paris Bercy indoor stadium karting event that brought racing stars like Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna together in identical karts and broadcast on TV worldwide.

Interestingly, it was the Paris Bercy event that gave the Rotax FR-125 its first taste of worldwide exposure when the engine was used in 2001. Recently, Thierry has worked as the Marketing and Events Manager for Sodi Kart in both their racing kart and rental kart divisions.



Thierry’s duties will be focused on working with the Rotax Dealer Network across the US to assist them with their Rotax and Mojo line of products. Additionally, Thierry will be in charge of promoting and running the 2013 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals.

For more information on MAXSpeed and the U.S. Rotax MAX Challenge, visit www.GoRotax.com.

Longtime NMRA True Street sponsor TREMEC, in part with presenting sponsor Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords magazine, has announced that they will hold the first-ever “Stick Shift Shootout” as part of this year’s 19th Annual NMRA Nitto Spring Break Shootout—March 7-10, 2013, in Bradenton, Florida.

Over 100 entrants will battle for top True Street honors, with the fastest eight stick cars receiving a special shootout plaque to recognize their prowess.

From there, the quickest two manual-equipped vehicles will have an all-out slugfest with a "winner takes all" best two-out-of-three heads-up finale.

The winner will be highlighted in a special event feature by Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, and go home with a brand new TREMEC Magnum XL 6-speed transmission system valued at $3500. The system fits all S197 Mustangs, easily handles up to 700 lb.-ft. of torque, and comes with an SFI-certified bellhousing.

Additionally, TREMEC has also announced a Racer Appreciation Party that will take place before the True Street awards ceremony. Open to all True Street racers, along with their families and crew, the gathering will feature plenty hot food, cold drinks, and good cheer for all.

For more information on the NMRA Bradenton, Florida, event, or for True Street class rules, log on to www.nmradigital.com or call 714/444-2426. 

For more information on TREMEC or the Magnum XL transmission system, visit www.tremec.com or call 800/401-9866.

Southern Super Series officials announced this month their inaugural 2013 schedule. 

The 16-race slate brings together five racetracks in four different states, and will include such legendary races as the World Crown 300 and the All American 400. 

Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Montgomery Motor Speedway, Florida’s Five Flags Speedway, Georgia’s Gresham Motorsports Park and Tennessee’s Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville make up the facilities that some of the best Super Late Model racers will compete on with the series this coming year.

Taking a page from Southern racing history, the series was formalized recently in Prattville, Alabama, which was the birthplace of the former All Pro Series that legendary promoter Bob Harmon once created.

In addition to Dan Spence, who will act the Southern Super Series Race Director, it has also been made official that Ricky Brooks will serve as the series Technical Director.

With the exception of the World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park (Jefferson, GA) and the All American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville, TN), the remaining 14 races will be 125-green flag laps.  Each of the regular distance races will pay $4,000 to win and $500 to start, based on a 32-car starting field.  The 125-lap races will have a break at lap 75 for 10-minutes for teams to make adjustments to their cars.  A six-tire limit per race will be governed for those regular distance races.

The 2013 Southern Super Series will also crown a champion at the conclusion of 16 races.  That title will be worth $10,000.  Currently the top three in the final series points will be awarded a points fund check, however, series officials are quick to point out that if sponsorship is found, it would like to pay the top ten point finishers.  And although the Snowball Derby is not part of the 16-race SSS schedule, the series champion will receive his laurels at the prestigious event in December at Five Flags Speedway (Pensacola, FL).

There are several other items of interest to racers and fans alike that will be announced in the coming weeks, including how points will be awarded during each race.

For more information on the Southern Super Series, its website, SouthernSuperSeries.com, will be launched in the coming weeks.

ASA Racing has welcomed North Florida Speedway, located in Lake City, Florida, to the ASA Member Track program. 

The 3/8-mile clay oval becomes the third track in Florida to become part of the popular short track focused sanctioning body.
 
Phil Guadagno, co-owner of North Florida Speedway, along with his wife Elizabeth, purchased the facility located three miles south of Lake City, over eight years ago. During that time, they have made many improvements to North Florida Speedway. Recently, they installed new aluminum bleachers in time for their season opener on January 25-26.
 
Elizabeth added that they have made improvements with lighting, track surface, installing concrete walls and more. 
 
Throughout the year, the TQ Lates, Pure Stocks, Street Stocks, Sportsman, Box Stocks, Limited Mods, Open Wheel Modifieds Late Models, Florida Mini Sprints Association and more will challenge the 3/8-mile clay oval on Saturday nights.
 
North Florida Speedway will kick off their 2013 season on January 25-26 with the 2013 Nationals for the Locals.
 
For more about North Florida Speedway, visit www.northfloridaspeedway.com; to learn more about the ASA Member Tracks and Sanctioned Series in your area, visit www.asa-racing.com.

Honda Performance Development’s Roger Griffiths and Allen Miller, leaders of the Honda engineering team that developed the multiple championship winning HPD HR28TT V6 engine for endurance racing competition, were honored this week with the “Race Engine Designer of the Year” award, presented by Race Tech International at the organization’s World Motorsport Symposium in Birmingham, England.

Introduced in 2011 as part of the new, cost-capped regulation package for endurance racing’s LMP2 category, the HR28TT features the stock block and cylinder heads as well as many other components from Honda’s ubiquitous V6 engine offered in many popular Honda production vehicles. The HR28TT engine’s winning streak continued in 2012 as it powered championship winning efforts in both the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series.

The production-based HR28TT was developed for worldwide endurance racing by a team of engineers and technicians from both HPD in California and Ohio-based Honda R&D Americas, where the original production engine was developed. The endurance engine project activity is led by Large Project Leader Miller, and Griffiths, HPD Technical Director with responsibility for HPD’s pinnacle racing programs.

“This award is well-earned recognition for the collaborative efforts of everyone at both HPD and HRA in Ohio, to adapt an already great passenger car engine for the rigors of endurance racing,” said Griffiths, who accepted the award on behalf of Miller and the rest of the development team. “We take enormous pride in producing a powerful and reliable engine that still meets the cost cap and other requirements set forth by the FIA and ACO for international endurance racing.”

The HPD 2.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine powered the Starworks HPD ARX-03b to the LMP2 championship in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship with three race wins—including the 24 Hours of Le Mans—and four pole positions.

In the 2012 American Le Mans Series, Level 5 Motorsports campaigned a pair of HPD ARX-03b chassis, winning eight of ten races in the LMP2 category, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, as HPD and Level 5 combined to sweep the LMP2 engine, chassis, teams’ and drivers’ championships.

For more on Honda Performance Development (HPD), visit hpd.honda.com.

Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and The University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) have announced that the diverse Lima, Ohio-based school will extend its contract as the Official and Exclusive Educational University of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for 2013.

The program is highlighted by the UNOH/ARCA Race Club, an internship program designed to allow students to participate in real-world situations as crew members on ARCA Racing Series teams. Thirty-plus students annually participate in the ARCA Race Club, working with existing ARCA teams during the course of the full ARCA season.

"More than 40 UNOH students have applied for the ARCA Race Club Program," Jeff Jarvis, UNOH President said. "It's a great program, and one that provides real-life training for kids who aspire to work in motorsports."

The 2013 season marks the 10th year that UHOH has served in this official capacity with the ARCA sanction. The program also offers cash contingency awards to those teams actively utilizing students as part of the internship program.

In addition, UNOH will continue to offer $10,000 in scholarship funding annually to eligible ARCA members, or their immediate family members.

In related news, the University of Northwest Ohio will be hosting the annual ARCA Racing Series officials’ technical training session in the High Performance Motorsports Complex at UNOH on Saturday, January 12.

Series officials, in preparation for the 2013 season, will learn technical measures regarding race, qualifying, impound and pit road procedures.

The UNOH complex features a wide array of educational tools for automotive enthusiasts, including a 500-foot launching pad for drag racing classes, an eighth-mile asphalt oval for testing, and an obstacle course for testing off-road technology.

The newly formed Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires—the second official step on the Mazda Road to Indy—has announced its 2013 schedule, which will feature 16 races at nine high-profile events.

Drivers will have the opportunity to continue to hone their skills at three road course, four street circuit and two oval tracks, with five rounds held in conjunction with INDYCAR.

“Since we announced the new series in December, we have obviously been scrambling in a number of areas,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions, the series promoter. “I have to thank all of the track promoters for acting so quickly to allow us to finalize  and announce our schedule. I am excited about our events for 2013. It is a good mix, which will benefit our drivers as they continue up the ranks, and returning drivers and USF2000 graduates will both be exposed to new venues. In addition, the Mazda Road to Indy Summit program will continue to provide invaluable training to drivers in areas outside of the race car as well as race craft.”

Pro Mazda will make its debut at the Circuit of the Americas with a pair of races in support of GRAND-AM on March 1-2. The 3.4-mile road course and world-class facility located in Austin, Texas, received accolades from competitors and fans after holding its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in November.

The streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., will host the next two rounds of competition as Pro Mazda joins the full Mazda Road to Indy contingent at the season-opening race for the IZOD IndyCar Series on March 23-24.

May and June will encompass the two oval events on the calendar at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Ind., for the popular “Night Before the 500” on May 25 and at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., with INDYCAR and the Milwaukee IndyFest on June 15.

Pro Mazda will make its first swing through Canada in July with four races held over back-to-back weekends. Two races will be in support of INDYCAR on the streets of Toronto July 13-14 with the full Mazda Road to Indy ladder followed by two rounds with the American Le Mans Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formerly Mosport) on July 20-21.

The series will again team with INDYCAR and the full Mazda Road to Indy ladder at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a pair of races on August 3-4 before heading back to Canada for a double-header weekend at the popular Circuit Trois-Rivìeres street course on August 10-11.

The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season will conclude with two street course races at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas, in support of INDYCAR. The event will also be the site of the series’ season-ending awards banquet where the champion will be presented with a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to Firestone Indy Lights competition in 2014.

For complete schedule information, visit www.promazdachampionship.com.