The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) announced it has finalized an agreement to purchase the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS), the racing trade show that has been held annually in Indianapolis since 2009.

The IMIS will be consolidated with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show, which returns to Indianapolis for 2013 and beyond. The 2013 PRI Trade Show will occupy the entire Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Show days, December 12-14, 2013.

The acquisition unifies the racing industry’s two trade shows into one, creating the opportunity for exhibitors and buyers to do business in a single location.

“The racing industry needed to have just one motorsports trade show in the U.S. I’m proud to say we’ve accomplished that,” said Scooter Brothers, SEMA chairman of the Board of Directors. “We have all worked toward a common goal, and have succeeded on behalf of the industry. To have a single home for the racing trade show is clearly the best thing for the industry, and working together with Chris Paulsen (co-founder of IMIS), we got it done.”

Both the PRI and IMIS trade shows will take place as scheduled for 2012. The PRI Trade Show will be held November 29–December 1, in Orlando. The IMIS will be held December 6–8, in Indianapolis. The IMIS transaction is set to close in December 2012.

“We formed IMIS in 2009 to bring a hardcore racing tradeshow back to Indianapolis,” Paulsen said. “We grew a lot faster than we ever could have dreamed of and we couldn’t be happier that a hardcore racing tradeshow will remain in Indianapolis for years to come. SEMA will be great stewards of the hardcore racing industry and I couldn’t be more pleased that Indianapolis will remain the center of motorsports both on and off the track.”

“Being from Indiana, having a hardcore racing trade show in Indianapolis was very important to me,” said Tony Stewart, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and co-founder of IMIS. “That’s why I got involved with Chris and Jeff (Stoops, co-founder of IMIS) to help form IMIS and bring back a show to Indianapolis. I know SEMA will do a great job to make sure Indy remains the place for hardcore racing. The State of Indiana and City of Indianapolis, especially Governor Mitch Daniels and Mayor Greg Ballard, were huge allies of the show and I know the city and state will continue to help grow the motorsports industry in Indiana.”

The 2013 PRI Trade Show will be organized and produced by the PRI team based in Laguna Beach, California, with John Kilroy at the helm as Vice President/General Manager. This year’s PRI Trade Show in Orlando is the 25th edition. PRI also publishes the racing industry’s only business magazine.

“We are excited to bring the PRI Trade Show back to Indianapolis, where exhibitors and buyers experienced six very successful racing industry trade shows, from 1998 to 2004,” said Kilroy. “Chris Paulsen, Jeff Stoops, Tony Stewart and the entire IMIS team have done an excellent job starting up a new racing trade show, and we promise to build on their mission to keep Indianapolis the annual epicenter of new racing technology.”
 
“This consolidation is all about helping the racing industry to succeed,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “Unifying the racing industry’s trade shows makes it more affordable for all to participate and allows us to focus on providing the greatest value and benefits for the racing segment. Look for the association to be adding resources and services to help participants get maximum value from the PRI Show in Indy.”     

ABOUT SEMA:
Founded in 1963, the SEMA trade association provides services and resources to businesses in the automotive specialty equipment industry. Members include manufacturers, distributors, retailers and marketers of products that enhance the styling and functionality of cars, trucks and SUVs. In addition to producing the premier automotive accessories trade show, where more than 100,000 individuals come to do business, SEMA offers education, research and several publications specifically targeted to the industry. The association also represents its members with a legislative advocacy group. SEMA acquired PRI in March, 2012.

ABOUT PRI:
The Performance Racing Industry (PRI) serves the racing industry through the PRI trade show and the PRI Magazine. With more than 1,000 companies exhibiting at the annual trade show, the event is the world's largest auto racing trade show and the gateway to the worldwide racing marketplace. The monthly magazine complements the show with issues between 130-380+ pages and is recognized as the "voice of the racing marketplace." PRI was purchased by SEMA in March, 2012.

ABOUT IMIS:
The International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) is the United States’ premier hardcore racing trade show, conducted each year at the Indiana Convention Center and owned by Chris Paulsen, owner of C&R Racing, Jeff Stoops, president of Stoops Freightliner, and three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. From car builders to tire manufacturers to parts suppliers, every aspect of motorsports is represented at IMIS, which has a lifetime contract with the City of Indianapolis and reserved show dates through 2017. Nearly 25,000 attendees are expected for IMIS, which will feature more than 530 motorsports companies, including more than 100 that are new for 2012. And with several longtime exhibitors expanding their booths this year, the 2012 IMIS show floor will be bigger and better than ever.

For more information, visit www.performanceracing.com, www.sema.org or www.imis-indy.com.

The racing industry lost one of its nicest guys the other night in Dick Dixon. He was an ever-smiling bastion of positive energy and enthusiasm. We had many conversations at many industry events over the years, and we’ll sure miss him at the next big event: the PRI Trade Show.

Southern California media relations expert Doug Stokes, of Stokes Communication, penned a moving tribute to Dick, and we would like to share it here:

My dear friend Dick Dixon left us in his sleep last night, he was a friend to many in this business, this is what I've come up with about him so far...
 
Here was a guy who just plain never tired of being a totally dedicated/all-in car person. As long as I'd known him I've always thought to myself that the word 'indefatigable' must have been coined for him. It was always quite clear that Dick's whole life was built around that love of machines and the thing that he loved (and did) best: sharing that love, that excitement, in so many ways with so many people.
 
His last foray into his automotive world was a major trip to the tap root, the mother lode, the center of his universe: The annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas. I met him there early on Tuesday morning; he was holding court in the restaurant area just off the main concourse.
 
Not bragging, but simply for my information, Dick reeled off an all-star list of the industry people who he had already seen and conversed with and then talked about how crowded his dance card already was for the rest of show week. That was his element, the more friends, colleagues, cronies, contemporaries, students that he met there, the stronger he got.
 
He told me that he would be starting a new therapy when he got back home the next week and was anticipating feeling a whole bunch better very soon.
 
We made plans to meet at his favorite Starbucks on Foothill near his La Verne home "next week" and then (as usual) we talked about my plans, and what was going on in my life, neatly skipping over his. That was just Dick, he was, as all of us are, vitally interested in his own life, but his friends and colleagues always came first.
 
I know now that he really had to pull himself up just to have the strength to make it to Las Vegas ... He just about didn't come, but his wife Judi and a good friend, and fellow professor, Pat McInturff, got him there. There, he felt little pain, he was the regular Dick Dixon who knew everyone on the floor, and who just plain, flat-out, loved being there.
 
No one who greeted or met with him during that week knew that it was destined to be his last great adventure among his friends and colleagues. He was getting better, feeling fine ... That's what everyone heard from him.
 
Yeah, he looked a little tired, a little gaunt honestly, but he was Dick Dixon for heaven's sake. He burned brightly, bravely and quickly blew off any sort of concerns put forth about his own health. "Hey ... a bump in the road ... Now let's talk about you..." (or a specific project, or school, or the next race he was going to, or Hawaii, or the Indy 500 at the end of May where he'll be sorely missed next May).
 
His work was always about other people, educating them, mentoring them, seeing them do well and get ahead. Dick Dixon thrived on the successes of others. His pride was all about others that he was able to help succeed. Fairly late in his life he came upon his true calling, education. As above, he had always been open and quick with counsel if anyone asked. But becoming a professor, recognized in the education system, able to crystallize his talent and offer his knowledge and expertise to willing, interested students ... that was special, that was something he never took for granted, but something that this guy felt so very comfortable doing.
 
Of course Dick had a teen-ager's crush on his wife Judi, you could see it in the way he lit up whenever she came into the picture ... I saw just a few weeks ago in Las Vegas; I know that Judi sees it every time she closes her eyes.
 
They say that close friends often feel something that almost feels like anger when one of them dies; there's none of that here. I already miss the hell out of this guy, but he paid his dues, he made far more friends than enemies, and he checked out under his own rules. I sure can't get mad at him for that

Doug Stokes -
November 16, 2012

NHRA has announced the 2013 Pro Mod Series schedule as well as changes to the series for 2014.

ProCare Rx owner Roger Burgess will not sponsor the Pro Mod Series after the 2013 season. The formation of the Pro Mod Series was made possible by the financial commitment and support of ProCare Rx and Get Screened America, led by Burgess.

NHRA confirmed that the NHRA Pro Mod Series will continue in 2014 with or without series sponsorship. Event purses and year-end bonuses for 2014 will be dependent on new sponsorship. NHRA will continue to pursue sponsorship opportunities for the series.

The 2013 NHRA Pro Mod Series will once again feature 10 races; be contested at the same venues as 2012; feature 16-car fields; and provide world championship points and an overall purse, including event purses and a year-end bonus fund, totaling $470,000.

The Pro Mod season will open with the 44th annual NHRA Gatornationals, at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville (Fla.), March 14-17. From there, the series will make the first of two visits to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., April 19-21, as part of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The 250-mph machines will compete in the traditional two-wide configuration.

After Charlotte, the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series returns to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston (April 26-28), the Toyota NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J. (May 30–June 2), the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. (June 14-16), and concludes the first part of the season with a stop at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, July 4-7.

The second half of the season begins at the most prestigious NHRA event of the season, the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Aug. 28–Sept. 2. Following the traditional Labor Day weekend event, the Pro Mods will head to Charlotte for the NHRA Nationals (Sept. 13-15), the second annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis (Sept. 27-29) and conclude the season, Oct. 24-27, at the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

For more, visit www.nhra.com.

BLP Racing Products will hold an Open House on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the company's facility at 1015 W. Church Street in Orlando, Florida (32805).

Guests are invited to take a tour of the property and mingle with friends while enjoying Southern barbecue and beverages.

RSVP by calling 800/624-1358 or emailing carol@blp.com. BLP asks that you indicate the total number in your party in RSVP.

The Sports Car Club of America has announced the results of the SCCA Board of Directors elections that were held in five of the SCCA’s geographic Areas.

One new board member was elected, with four incumbents rejoining the board for a second three-year term in office.

Richard “Dick” Patullo, of Hampden, Mass., and Todd Butler, of Yamhill, Ore., ran unopposed in Area One and Area 13, respectively, to retain their positions on the Board of Directors.

In Area Five, Bruce Lindstrand, of Darien, Wis., defeated Todd Heilicher, of Minneapolis, Minn., 853-192 votes to win the spot vacated by outgoing Board member Bob Lybarger.

R. David Jones, of Fort Worth, Texas, retained his Area Seven position with a 390-214 vote margin over Dan Helman, of Huffman, Texas.
Bill Kephart, of Colorado Springs, Colo., retained his Area Eight seat by just 25 votes over Jim Leithauser, of Westminster, Colo.

The 2013 SCCA Board of Directors will be:

Area One: Dick Patullo

Area Two: Jerry Wannarka

Area Three: Robin Langlotz

Area Four: Stephen Harris

Area Five: Bruce Lindstrand

Area Six: Lisa Noble

Area Seven: R. David Jones

Area Eight: Bill Kephart

Area Nine: Brian McCarthy

Area 10: John Walsh

Area 11: Michael Lewis

Area 12: Philip Creighton

Area 13: Todd Butler

Election ballots were received through November 15, and were tallied by Mize, Houser & Company, Certified Public Accountants.

The current Board members will gather for their final meeting of the year at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 30–Dec. 1, joined by incoming Board Member Lindstrand. Linstrand will officially assume his duties on January 1, 2013.

Fan participation, including eight trips to the program final in Las Vegas and a grand prize of a new Toyota Tacoma, highlight the 29th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge.

In addition to potentially winning a tremendous prize package including the custom Toyota Tacoma, fans will be able to again vote for their favorite NHRA Pro Stock driver as the eighth and final participant in the 2013 event, which will be held April 6 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, the fourth event in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

The longest-running specialty event in the NHRA, the K&N Horsepower Challenge is a unique race within a race that pits the seven Pro Stock racers who have accumulated the most qualifying points since the last specialty event (in July) and one driver selected by fans in a three-round, high-dollar shootout that awards the winner $50,000.

Fans can also take part in this annual celebration of the factory hot rods by entering the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes at knfilters.com/register/KN_HP_CS.aspx. From the entries received, eight finalists will be chosen who will receive a trip for themselves and a companion to the 14th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

On the day of the event, each finalist will be randomly paired with one of the eight qualified drivers; the finalist whose driver wins the race will take home the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge special-edition Toyota Tacoma, a unique midsize pickup that will be created by TRD and K&N Filters for this event with modifications to include a supercharger, custom wheel and tire package, intake system, shocks, and springs.

Following another record-breaking year for the International Hot Rod Association’s grassroots racing programs, the IHRA has announced the Summit Team Finals schedule for the 2013 season.
 
Designed to give local racers an opportunity to compete on a national stage, the Summit Racing Equipment Team Finals presented by AMSOIL and Moser Engineering and Summit SuperSeries presented by AMSOIL and Moser Engineering programs have grown in size each year.

Thousands of new racers have spawned new divisions, more teams and more drivers competing for championships and that tradition will continue in 2013 and beyond as Summit Racing Equipment renews its commitment to the IHRA with a three-year deal to return as sponsor of these popular programs.
 
Today thousands of racers from all across North America compete at their local track for an opportunity to advance to the Summit Team Finals for a fun weekend of racing with individual and team prizes on the line.

Awards are given out in multiple categories including team championships, individual special awards and the Summit SuperSeries championship race. Each Summit Team Finals event advances a set number of racers in the Top, Mod and Junior Dragster classes to the Summit SuperSeries World Championships at the end of the year.
 
The coming year’s Summit Team Finals schedule spans six states and one Canadian province beginning in late August and running through early October. The IHRA season will culminate with the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals October 11-12 at Memphis International Raceway.
 
The 2013 Summit Team Finals season will get underway at Castrol Raceway in Alberta with an early showdown in Division 6 Border Bandits the weekend of August 16-18.
 
The racing season will really pick up the weekend of September 13-15 with four consecutive weeks of competition throughout the country. That weekend the Division 5 Thunder competition will take place at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan while Caprock Motorplex in Odessa, Texas will host the Division 7 Gunslingers Division.
 
The following weekend two more Team Finals will hit the track as Carolina Dragway in Aiken, South Carolina hosts the Division 2 East Heat Wave Team Finals and Pittsburgh Raceway Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hosts the Division 3 North Stars both the weekend of September 20-22.
 
Two more races will bring September to a close as the Division 4 Renegades Team Finals at Dallas Raceway in Texas and the Division 9 Raiders Team Finals at Piedmont Dragway in North Carolina take place the weekend of September 27-29 as Piedmont prepares for a back-to-back slate of Team Finals action. One week later, the weekend of October 4-6, Piedmont Dragway will be back in action as it hosts the Division 1 Patriots Team Finals.
 
The 2013 Summit Team Finals season will wrap-up at Memphis International Raceway the weekend of October 4-6 with the Division 2 West Team Finals.
 
More details about each individual Summit Team Finals event will be released soon, including special races, rule packages and a complete schedule of events.

Visit www.ihra.com for more information.

Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and Cars and Stars Promotions (CSP) have announced a formal partnership to bring the Midwest Tour—a Midwestern-based, pavement super late model series—under ARCA sanction.

The ARCA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings will make stops at 11 different tracks in 2013, spanning Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The sanctioning agreement between ARCA and CSP reflects ARCA's interests in supporting and strengthening the sport of stock car racing.

The newly branded tour, founded in 2006 by short track racing veterans Tim Olson and Steve Einhaus and formerly known as the ASA Midwest Tour, is based in Lake Geneva, Wis. The ARCA Midwest Tour joins the ARCA CRA Super Series and ARCA Truck Series on a developmental level to support ARCA's top division, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

The Midwest Tour races at historic venues such as the Milwaukee Mile, the LaCrosse Fairgrounds, Madison International Speedway, and Elko Speedway. Major events like the 2012 Howie Lettow Memorial at the Milwaukee Mile brought a record 80 entries and over 12,000 fans.

A unique aspect to the series is its "Touring Stars" program, which recognizes the top drivers committed to racing the entire Midwest Tour schedule.

Touring Stars are featured throughout the year in promotion of the series and are eligible for pay bonuses. Additionally, at each track the series visits, there exists a local super late model division with an identical rules package developed by the Midwest Tour. Local racing heroes are able to compete against the tour's traveling stars, creating fan excitement and a loyal following.

Many of racing's top stars have appeared in the Midwest Tour, including Matt Kenseth, Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Ken Schrader, Aric Almirola, David Ragan, David Stremme, Kelly Bires, Kevin Harvick, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, Ron Hornaday, Travis Kvapil, Todd Kluever, Johnny Sauter, Erik Darnell, Scott Wimmer, Tim Sauter, Jay Sauter, Dick Trickle, and Rich Bickle.

Super late models used in the ARCA Midwest Tour will follow composite ABC body rules and straight rail chassis specifications. Engine specifications range from a 10:5.1 compression aluminum concept engine (ACE) to an open 9:5.1 and spec-style engines, with tight specifics regulated by the builders and the series. Weight packages range from 2750-2800 lbs., with the cost-effective 4412 carburetor required, designed to provide longer lasting engine performance while keeping expenses under control.

The partnership will provide participants in the ARCA Midwest Tour with ARCA member benefits, including Participant Accident Insurance. ARCA will provide public relations, race operations, and marketing support to its new formal partner, while expanding and strengthening an already strong developmental racing base.

More information about ARCA is available at ARCARacing.com.

ACT officials have announced a 14-race schedule for the 2013 American Canadian Tour season at eleven different Northeast short tracks.
 
The 2013 season will include three new additions to the Tour schedule. There will also be three more non-point counting special events during the 2013 campaign.
 
The Tour will return to 2012 tracks Lee USA Speedway, Thunder Road, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Airborne Speedway, White Mountain Motorsports Park, and Beech Ridge Speedway in 2013.
 
A visit to Riverside Speedway in Groveton, New Hampshire, is planned for a 150-lap event on Sunday, June 2, and will mark the first time ACT has raced there since 2004.  

The American Canadian Tour will also head to Canaan Fair Speedway on Saturday, June 15 for the first time since 2005, and has set a date for Star Speedway on Saturday, July 6, last visited in 2003.  

The American Canadian Tour schedule will include two point-counting combo events with the Canadian Série ACT Castrol at Sanair Super Speedway, which will be increased to a 150-lap event from 100, and at St-Croix, QC’s Circuit Riverside Speedway for the 4th Annual Can-Am 200.  

The Inaugural International 500 will be run at Airborne Speedway on the weekend of July 20-21. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the 5th Annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational on Saturday, September 21. And the 51st People’s United Bank Milk Bowl will be held at Thunder Road the first weekend of October.

For more information, including the full schedule, visit www.acttour.com.

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation has awarded a $2 million gift to the Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest Council in support of the development of the Council’s 700-acre Oak Springs property, which serves as a retreat for Girl Scouts and their leaders from throughout an eight-county Carolinas region.

In recognition of the gift, which is the largest ever granted by the foundation and the largest single gift ever received by the Hornets’ Nest Council, the campus at Oak Springs will be named the Dale Earnhardt Environmental Leadership Campus in honor of the legendary NASCAR driver.

The foundation’s grant will be used to help fund the ongoing development of the Oak Springs property, including a 25-acre lake under construction.

The Girl Scouts retreat, which is located in Iredell County, features heavy forestation, diverse wildlife, broad open areas, natural water sources and rolling terrain. The property includes the former site of a skeet shooting range that was a longtime favorite of Earnhardt’s.

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation was created in 2002 with a goal to “CONTINUE THE LEGEND” of Earnhardt, who won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship seven times and was elected to the inaugural induction class at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The Hornets’ Nest Council acquired the property in Iredell County in 2007, consolidating activities that had previously taken place at three other sites.

The Council is implementing a long-range development program for the campus that has so far included infrastructure improvements, challenge courses, nature trails, archery range and Girl Scout villages that feature camping areas and cabins.

The Girl Scouts property is serving a central role in the mission of Hornets’ Nest Council, offering girls a diversity of learning, outdoor experiential and leadership development opportunities. Several individual Girl Scout projects have been completed on the site, including an outdoor amphitheater surrounding the original homestead on the property and support area and shelter for the advanced challenge course.

The vast majority of the property will remain in natural forestation, in partnership with the Catawba Lands Conservancy, seamlessly integrating hiking trails, challenge courses, campsites, cabins and an environmental education center.

To learn more about The Dale Earnhardt Foundation, visit www.daleearnhardtinc.com/foundation.