The NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals Series has announced its 2013 event schedule.  

Next year will feature the NMCA’s 25th anniversary tour with special events planned at each race.  

In fact, each NMCA national event also features a huge DuPont Custom Finishes Car Show, the giant manufacturers midways and swap meets, flame-throwing 300+ mph jet car exhibitions, and the world famous NMCA burnout contest.

The schedule is as follows:

March 21-24, 2013    
11th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Nationals
Featuring the Chevrolet Performance LSX Challenge
Bradenton Motorsports Park – Bradenton, Florida

April 11-14, 2013        
5th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
See NMRA & NMCA Stars Racing the Same Weekend at the Same Event!
Atlanta Dragway – Commerce, Georgia
   
July 11-14, 2013        
8th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing Presented by Miller Welders
Watch as Team NMRA Takes on Team NMCA for Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Super Bowl Rings!
Route 66 Raceway - Joliet, Illinois

August 2-4, 2013        
12th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Nationals
Featuring the Dave Duell Nostalgia Super Stock Classic
Beech Bend Raceway – Bowling Green, Kentucky

August 23-25, 2013    
7th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Nationals
Featuring the 3rd Annual Ford Racing Cobra Jet Showdown
And the 5th Annual Late-Model HEMI Shootout
Summit Motorsports Park – Norwalk, OH

October 10-13, 2013    
12th Annual NMCA World Street Finals
Featuring the 7th Annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis – Indianapolis, Indiana

For more information on the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, log on to www.nmcadigital.com or call 714/444-2426.  

Flaming River has expanded its operations and opened a powder coating facility at its headquarters in Berea, Ohio.

Powder coating services will be available for customers looking to customize a Flaming River product they have purchased for their specific project or build.

Popular products available for powder coating include steering columns, rack and pinions, steering boxes, and steering column accessories like column drops and column mounts and steering wheel adapters.

The company offers a wide array of colors and shades to choose from and has an RAL color book available (part # FRPC100) to help customers select a color that will complement their vehicle’s interior or exterior.

For more information, and to learn more about the process and view a complete list of colors that are available, call 800/648-8022 or visit www.flamingriver.com/powdercoating.  

Ken Squier, the talented broadcaster and visionary track owner who became the “voice of NASCAR Cup racing” and who once described the sport as “ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” received the prestigious NASCAR Buddy Shuman Award during the recent 2012 NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Award Luncheon in Las Vegas.

The Shuman award is sponsored Federal-Mogul’s Champion brand of spark plugs, wipers and chemical additives.

Squier is the 56th recipient of the award, which is presented annually to an individual who has played a key role in the continued growth and success of Cup racing. The award was established in memory of early NASCAR Grand National driver and chief technical inspector Louis Grier “Buddy” Shuman, a beloved figure who died tragically in a hotel fire in 1955.

For more than 20 years, Squier provided lap-by-lap commentary during NASCAR Cup telecasts and is credited with convincing CBS to offer flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 beginning in 1979. His timing couldn’t have been better: The broadcast was seen by millions who were kept at home by a major East Coast storm, and those who tuned in witnessed the legendary trackside fistfight between drivers Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough.

Squier was the first to describe the annual Cup Series opener as “The Great American Race” and introduced a number of innovations—including the in-car camera—to motorsports telecasts. 


Squier announced his first stock car race, at Morrisville (Vt.) Speedway, at 14. He announced and promoted races at area tracks throughout the 1950s and ’60s. In 1960, at age 21, he built the quarter-mile Thunder Road International SpeedBowl in Barre, Vt., and in 1969 was co-founder of the Motor Racing Network (MRN).

For all of his success in racing, Squier is first and foremost a broadcaster. The Vermont native began working at his father’s radio station, WDEV, at age 12 and is now president and owner of Radio Vermont, Inc., which operates several stations.

For more information on Federal-Mogul, visit www.federalmogul.com.

Lucas Oil recently made several major announcements in Indianapolis regarding its cornerstone Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

After an introduction by Lucas Oil Executive Vice President Bob Patison and a patriotic keynote speech by company founder Forrest Lucas, motorsports television personality Ken Stout announced that the growing series would be under the direction of racing veteran Ritchie Lewis, who will serve as series director effective immediately.

Lewis is most notably recognized for his instrumental role as series director of the highly successful Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Following his introduction as the new Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series director, Lewis unveiled a revamped management structure for the high profile series. Off-road racing veteran Greg Foutz will serve as race director, while Greg Sheidecker will remain as operations manager. The husband and wife team of Lee and Poppy Perfect have been named assistant race director and administration manager. Gary Lane will remain as technical director.

Lewis went on to unveil several significant changes to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series marketing management team. Lucas Oil veteran Manny Gutierrez will be joined by company newcomer Marty Fiolka, former editorial and marketing director of Dirt Sports magazine, to create and implement the series' highly revamped 2013 marketing and public relations program—a campaign that will also include longtime staffer Ken Johnson.

Lewis and the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series then announced the series' 2013 schedule. Next season Lucas Oil short course racers will return to many familiar Lucas series tracks, beginning on March 16 at the Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix, Arizona. A second race weekend at Speedworld Off Road Park on April 19-21 precedes the first of two season stops at the newly renovated Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park near Los Angeles May 17-19.

The world-class racing facility at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City will host Lucas racers again on June 21-23rd, followed by the vibrant spectacle of night racing at legendary Glen Helen Raceway on July 26-28.

The final half of the season kicks off at the recently constructed Wild West Motorsports Park in Reno Nevada, followed by the season's second race under the lights at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. New for 2013 will be a series finale at Lake Elsinore, a race weekend that will once again feature Sunday's all-or-nothing Lucas Oil Challenge Cup – the richest single day of racing in the sport of four wheel off-road racing.

As for the future of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series, Lucas will be building new tracks for the 2014 season in San Angelo, Texas, and at the company's luxurious Lucas Oil Speedway at Wheatland, Missouri.

2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Schedule:

March 15-17 - Firebird International 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 - Sparks, NV

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

October 25-27 - Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park - Lake Elsinore, CA

* Night races

IndyCar, sanctioning body of the Mazda Road to Indy development series, has announced the creation of the Pro Mazda Championship.

The series will be owned and operated by Andersen Promotions—administrator of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda—and will fill the opening vacated by the Star Mazda Championship. 

A key level on the Mazda Road to Indy bridging the gap between USF2000 and Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda operated under the leadership of founder Gary Rodrigues, who recently announced that the series would conclude following a 22-year run.

Graduates of Star Mazda include IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Raphael Matos and Graham Rahal, and rising stars Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier amongst many others.



The Pro Mazda Championship will utilize the same equipment as the former Star Mazda Series, including the 260-horsepower Mazda “Renesis” rotary engine. The full 2013 schedule will be unveiled next week.

The tradition of awarding a scholarship from Mazda for the series’ champion to advance to Firestone Indy Lights competition the following year will remain in place, and a full prize money and award summary will be available in the coming days. Bill Van De Sandt, IndyCar’s Director of Operations, will remain as race director for the series.



Andersen Promotions is led by Dan Andersen, owner and Chief Executive Officer, who founded and led the original USF2000 Championship from 1991 to 2001, turning it into one of the top open-wheel development series in the world. After an eight-year absence, Andersen revived the series in 2010 as part of the Mazda Road to Indy.

He has also been a successful team owner in USF2000, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights and currently owns and operates an extensive karting venture and test track in Palmetto, Florida.

SCORE International is adding to its legacy of innovation and pioneering technology development with the recent announcement by SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish of two new pro four-wheel vehicle classes.
    
The new classes, SCORE SV6 and Pro Stock UTV, will make their debut at the 28th annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, March 8-10, the season opener of the three-race 2013 SCORE Desert Series.
    
The SCORE SV6 class will be an unlimited 4-wheel, single or two-seat open-wheel vehicle class with sealed stock V-6 engines with a maximum stock displacement of 225.78 cubic inches.
    
After several years of running a Sportsman UTV class, SCORE will add the Pro Stock UTV for 4-wheel, two-seat and four-seat (maximum two occupants) Original Equipment Manufacturer UTV vehicles. The vehicles must use stock production UTV motors with a minimum production of 500 units.

The detailed class descriptions as well as rules and regulations for the new SCORE SV6 class and Pro Stock UTV class are available on the SCORE website at http://www.score-international.com/technotes.aspx. For further information regarding the class, contact the SCORE Tech office in Vista, California, at 760/599.1013.

In addition to season class point championships, the racers also compete for part of the over $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race.

Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes in 2012 also attempted to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards presented to all car and truck Pro class drivers who completed the 1,920.19 required miles of the five-race season. 

Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 27th consecutive year, a total of 16 drivers earned the award for the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series.
    
Racers also compete for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award. All categories, except Engine Builder and Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer, are determined by public on-line voting while Engine and Buggy awards are determined by season points.

Jim Hunter, former NASCAR vice president of corporate communications, will be posthumously inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame on January 19 in Charlotte, N.C.
 
One of three new members, Hunter joins Pocono Raceway founder and patriarch Dr. Joseph Mattioli, who will also will be inducted posthumously, and pioneer sportscaster Ken Squier.
           
“This is a well-deserved honor from a group deeply rooted in our sport,” said Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR. “Jim joins a distinguished list of people—which include my father and grandfather—who have helped build this sport. Through his career with Talladega, Darlington and, of course, NASCAR, Jim’s talents and personality helped tell the sport’s story to our millions of passionate fans. I’m thankful to the NMPA for honoring him in this manner.”
 
The three were selected on more than 65 percent of the ballots cast by NMPA members to earn induction into the Hall of Fame. Hunter was selected on 89 percent of the ballots, while both Mattioli and Squier were on 65 percent of the ballots.
 
Hunter, who lost a year-long battle with cancer on October 29, 2010, started his career as a journalist in South Carolina, then moved into the public relations field for Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway, before rising to the role of track president at Darlington. As one of the most trusted confidants of longtime president Bill France Jr., Hunter then took on corporate roles with NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. and remained with NASCAR for the rest of his life.
 
Mattioli founded Pocono Raceway in the early 1960s, a unique 2.5-mile facility that has hosted NASCAR events since 1974. Mattioli was a hands-on track operator, embracing drivers, crews and media members as part of his track family each time the race came to town. Keeping fans in mind, he worked to stay on top of enhancements and led NASCAR into a new era by building a solar energy system on 25 acres of the track’s property to make it a leader in environmental fields.
 
Squier, a native of Vermont, began his racing career as a track announcer at the age of 14. One of the original founders of Motor Racing Network, he later became a fixture in the broadcast booth for CBS. Squier continues to be a part of racing through his radio station in Vermont and the Thunder Road track he built in his home state.

Mike Lewis, Don Schumacher Racing senior vice president, and Pete Hylton, director of motorsports for the Motorsports Engineering program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, have announced plans for an expanded partnership.

IUPUI, in downtown Indianapolis, and Don Schumacher Racing, which is based in nearby Brownsburg, began collaborating four years ago. Major strides were made after one year in the development of a new Top Fuel Dragster chassis that debuted in 2010 with what at the time was the fastest run ever.

For various personnel reasons, the program was on hiatus last season, but it resumed at full speed this fall and plans to expand in 2013.

In addition to offering the country’s only four-year motorsports engineering bachelor’s degree, IUPUI will introduce a master’s degree program with a motorsports concentration.

A few months ago, Hylton met with Lewis and Mike Green, crew chief for Don Schumacher Racing’s U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster driven by seven-time NHRA world champion Tony Schumacher, to reenergize the internship program.

“There is such a great synergy between our program and DSR that it was only a matter of time before we would reactivate it,” Hylton said, "and we see several areas where we can achieve mutual benefit for the team, the university, the students and the sport."

Schumacher, who will be inducted next year into the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame, has been an innovator in drag racing since he was a pioneer Funny Car driver and owner in the mid-1960s.

“The future of our great sport of NHRA drag racing is not just in finding talented drivers but in cultivating mechanics, crew chiefs, machinists and engineers,” he said.

Lewis added, “DSR’s relationship with IUPUI partners our engineers and crew chiefs with IUPUI instructors and students on specific research projects related to the safety and performance of our Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. Students learn from their real-world experience in the DSR race shop, and we’ve enjoyed tangible benefits from this joint effort.”

IUPUI students’ involvement with the racing team has expanded to other projects, including the study of Funny Car chassis dynamics and failure analysis of engine components.

VP Racing Fuels, Inc. this week reported that donations to the Prevent Cancer Foundation in conjunction with sales of pink VP Motorsport Containers have reached $2695.

This amount is in addition to an auction bid of $2000 given to the foundation last month for a pink container autographed by three top NHRA drivers. VP also announced the pink containers will be made available as a regular stock item and donations to the foundation will continue with each sale.
 
“Our original intent was to offer the pink containers as a “Special Edition” only during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but due to their popularity we decided to extend production to generate additional contributions,” said Alan Cerwick, President of VP Racing Fuels. “Going forward, we’ll donate $2.50 to the Prevent Cancer Foundation with each sale of a pink container, while during each Breast Cancer Awareness Month we’ll double that to $5 per container as we did this year.”
 
“In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, we hope the pink containers will be viewed as the ideal gift – meeting a need among the race fans in your family while also providing a gift to a great cause,” Cerwick concluded.
 
To order a pink VP Motorsport Container, visit VP Racing Fuels online at vpracingfuels.com.

For more information, contact the nearest regional VP distribution center listed online at http://www.vpracingfuels.com/contactus.html.

For more information regarding the Prevent Cancer Foundation, visit preventcancer.org.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series will compete in more than 90 races at more than 50 tracks across 24 states in 2013.

The schedule, which will continue to grow in the coming weeks as several additional dates are finalized, kicks off with the 42nd annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment Feb. 15-17 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., near Daytona Beach.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars then head west for March and the first two weeks of April with events at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas (March 6-7) and at Tucson (Ariz.) International Raceway (March 9) before California races at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare (March 15-16), Stockton 99 Dirt Track at San Joaquin Fairgrounds in Stockton (March 22), Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico (March 23), Antioch Speedway in Antioch (April 5), Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga (April 6), Kings Speedway in Hanford (April 12) and Perris Auto Speedway in Perris (April 13).

Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma host their lone events with a race at El Paso Speedway Park in El Paso (April 16), at Paducah International Raceway in Paducah (April 19) and at Salina Highbanks in Salina (April 26) as the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series makes its season debut in the Midwest.

The schedule heats up throughout the spring and summer with at least 10 races per month from May through August, including a variety of big-paying events and two unique races.

The ‘Month of Money’ returns in July and August, highlighted by the $50,000-to-win, 30th annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway (July 13), the 22nd annual Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway (July 16), the $20,000-to-win Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway (July 19-20), the $20,000-to-win Ironman 55 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 (Aug. 3) and the $150,000-to-win, 53rd annual Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway (Aug. 7-10).

Additionally, for the first time since 2001 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars will race on a pavement track covered in dirt. Elko Speedway in Elko, Minn., will cover its 3/8-mile oval for a race on May 10.

The Outlaws venture to Canada for five races as well, beginning July 27 at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec. Cornwall Motor Speedway in Cornwall, Ontario, hosts a race for the second straight year (July 28) and Ohsweken Speedway in Ohsweken, Ontario – where NASCAR star Tony Stewart has claimed victory the past two years – will race on July 30.

The seventh consecutive Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, on Aug. 23-24 concludes the races in Canada to start the final West Coast swing of the season. The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars will compete in eight races at seven tracks between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8 throughout Washington, Oregon and California.

The 51st annual, $50,000-to-win National Open at Williams Grove Speedway (Oct. 4-5) highlights a handful of races in October before the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars wrap up the season at the seventh annual PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Nov. 7-9.

For up-to-date changes throughout the offseason, visit WoOsprint.com.