Mooresville Motorplex, a world-class karting facility, officially opened to the public on October 8. The complex is designed and operated to provide karting experiences for all levels of the sport—from an arrive-and-drive entertainment event to competitive kart competitions.

Mooresville Motorplex worked closely with local jurisdictions and signed on world-class motorsports partners as well as local companies to design and construct the most dynamic and complete kart track of its kind in the United States.

Mooresville Motorplex is the first multi-faceted karting facility in the region providing experiences for all levels of the sport. The .70-mile-long track is the most accessible entry point into the world of motorsports in the region and one of the only karting-specific motorsports venues in the southeast.

The complex includes 54 kart garages, both standard and deluxe levels, available for rent for those intending to make Mooresville Motorplex their home track. Additionally, a 6000-square-foot building houses a retail store and KartSport North America, a full service karting parts supply warehouse.

Normal operating hours will be Monday, noon-9 p.m.; Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

The Mooresville Motorplex offers opportunities for individuals and groups to experience kart racing through arrive-and-drive and customized group outings.

The fleet includes the new Sodikart RT8 390cc kart, the newest and most advanced machine in the industry, featuring cutting edge technology and the best performing chassis capable of speeds over 50 mph.

The Arrive-and-Drive program is the simplest and most cost-effective way to experience the excitement of high-performance karting at the world-class racetrack. Packages start at $25.

For more information, visit www.mooresvillemotorplex.com.

World Karting Association officials engaged in a successful meeting last week with Andy Hillenburg of Rockingham Speedway in an effort to bring kart racing back to the North Carolina venue.

The meeting with Hillenburg went very well, according to WKA officials, and at least one national-level karting event will return to Rockingham in 2013.

Plans also are in place to build divisional karting programs at Rockingham in 2013.

Rockingham boasts a number of tracks suitable for karting, including the infield sprint course that once hosted popular WKA Gold Cup Series nationals, the road course that utilizes the one-mile tri-oval that has hosted WKA Road Racing nationals in the past, and the new half-mile “Little Rock,” a Martinsville Speedway replica that has a quarter-mile oval inside it that could host Speedway Pavement-style kart events.

Rockingham last hosted a WKA Gold Cup national in 2004. The last Road Racing national at The Rock was held in 1989.

Hillenburg purchased the track in October 2007 and has worked to revive it since. Series that have raced at The Rock since Hillenburg became owner include ARCA, UARA-STARS late models, NASCAR K&N East and, this past April, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Further 2013 scheduling announcements will be released soon.

IZOD IndyCar Series manufacturer and team off-season, preseason and in-season private testing through the Oct. 19, 2013, season finale at Auto Club Speedway has been significantly reduced, the sanctioning body announced.



“In the interest of continued cost containment and with the support of the majority of the partners involved, testing is being reined in after the initial development of the new car,” said IndyCar vice president of technology Will Phillips. “We’re recovering from the cost of re-capitalizing the whole field and testing can be the most expensive part of a team’s program.” 



Engine manufacturer preseason testing in 2012 had been unlimited as Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus prepared their 2.2-liter turbocharged V6 engines for the 2012 season on the most diverse set of racetracks in motorsports. 

Full-season entrants are allocated a maximum of 10,000 miles per calendar year for use in all team tests, Open Tests and race events. Excluding manufacturer test days, no full-season entrant has topped 9,000 total miles this year. Scott Dixon, driving the Honda-powered No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, has a series-high 19 test days. The team has two additional test days scheduled (October 11 at Milwaukee and October 29 at Barber).



Costs of a single test day—factoring in track rental, travel, lodging/food and per-lap expenditures (tires, engine, fuel, mechanical wear and tear)—quickly add up to $30,000 to $50,000.



Approved engine manufacturer testing:

In the updated testing regulations distributed to teams and partners, manufacturers are limited to two days each during the off-season (through December 31) and preseason (January 4, 2013, to the March 24 opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida). In-season manufacturer test days have been reduced from six to four, with a restriction of two manufacturer days per team.



Approved team testing:

Similarly, team private off-season, preseason and in-season testing has been reduced from six total days to two days, plus four total engine manufacturer test days per team. 



Tires:

Each full-season entrant will be allocated a maximum 16 sets of tires for off-season, preseason and in-season private test days—half the total as 2012. This excludes engine manufacturer tests and Open Tests. Open Test entrants will be allocated three sets of tires per day per entry.



Open Tests: 
These tests, which supplement private test days, are scheduled during the race week at Barber Motorsports Park in early April, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early August, and at Sonoma Raceway in late August. Additionally, an Open Test is scheduled for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in April. Dates and times will be announced at a later date, as will a preseason Open Test venue.



New teams, drivers:

Teams will be allocated two additional test days and three sets of tires per day for the purpose of testing a rookie driver. Any new IZOD IndyCar Series teams for the 2013 season will be allocated two additional team test days and three additional sets of tires per day during the off-season and preseason period.



Also new for the 2013 calendar year:

Full-size wind tunnel testing is restricted to two days per team and four days per engine manufacturer. Model wind tunnel testing is permitted. Testing that requires the use of an approved chassis must be submitted with a minimum of seven days’ notice to IndyCar for approval.

FOX Sports Arizona and Phoenix International Raceway have agreed to a new partnership that allows the regional sports network the ability to showcase Arizona’s premiere motorsports venue.

The historic track hosts the Southwest’s biggest racing events and has become one of NASCAR’s fastest and most exciting stops in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Beginning this Wednesday (October 10), racing fans will be able to relive some of PIR’s best races in recent memory when FOX Sports Arizona debuts its new “Phoenix International Raceway Classics” series.

Produced to highlight past races at the venue won by NASCAR legends and get fans ready for this year’s Advocare 500 Weekend at PIR (November 11-13), the first show will take viewers back to the 2003 Checker Auto Parts 500 that was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The series will offer four different one-hour episodes hosted by Valley resident Chris Neville, who is part of NASCAR’s coverage on TNT and SPEED TV.

Other races that will air in the series include the 2006 Subway Fresh 500 won by Kevin Harvick, the 2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500 won by Jeff Gordon and the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 won by Mark Martin.

The complete schedule is as follows:

    October 10 @ 7:00 p.m.        2003 Checker Auto Parts 500
    October 15 @ 7:00 p.m.        2006 Subway Fresh 500
    October 24 @ 7:00 p.m.        2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500
    October 30 @ 7:00 p.m.        2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500

This new agreement will also have FOX Sports Arizona produce a half-hour program in the Spring that highlights all the happenings from the 2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500.

Phoenix International Raceway is one of just 12 tracks to host two Sprint Cup Races in one season, and this program will bring to light everything that happens on not only the 1.0-mile oval, but off the track and outside PIR during race week. The air date and time for the show will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit the Phoenix International Raceway website.

I just wanted to give everybody a quick heads-up on where to spend Thursday night at the PRI Trade Show. Nearby Pointe Orlando (within walking distance of the Convention Center) has long been a popular spot for dining and entertainment with the PRI crowd. You have a great selection of restaurants, and there are some lively places to hang out with your industry friends late into the night.

We’re adding more fun to the Pointe Orlando experience on Thursday night with PRI@Pointe Orlando. Several restaurants, bars and clubs are offering special deals to folks with PRI credentials. The BB King’s Blues Club is even offering no cover charge, and they’ve got a rocking house band. Click here to get details.

Maggiano’s, The Oceanaire, Taverna Opa, Adobe Gilas, Copper Canyon, Hooters, The Pub...Pointe Orlando offers a perfect restaurant for your tastes and budgets.

Plus, we’ve lined up a terrific racing documentary that you can watch at no charge at Regal Cinemas. It’s a documentary called “Boys of Bonneville,” and we’ve screened it and can verify it’s one of the best films about speed that you’ve ever seen. It starts off as a fairly thrilling documentary about the pioneer racer at Bonneville, Ab Jenkins. Then, it moves into a very touching second part about a son paying tribute to a father.

So, if you don’t want to partake of the bar scene at Pointe Orlando, get to Regal Cinemas at 8:30 pm to catch this wonderful movie we’ve set up for the enjoyment of racing industry folks in town for the PRI Trade Show.

Make sure PRI@Pointe Orlando is part of your PRI Trade Show schedule. You’ll find members of the PRI team over there as well Thursday night.

George "Honker" Striegel, CEO of Clay Smith Cams, has formed a performance alliance with Chris Straub of Straub Technologies.

The two companies will combine efforts to produce a quality driven product line for the performance consumer that will be distributed through traditional channels.  

Combining the Clay Smith brand and Straub Technologies' production resources and knowledge of horsepower building components, the companies will launch a complete performance line with emphasis on quality-made US parts that make competitive power under the Clay Smith name, said Striegel.

Added Straub: “With its 82-year heritage of performance and quality, the Clay Smith brand will be an ideal platform for expansion. Having specialized in valve train and performance components the past 17 years, we look forward to expanding into other product areas and distribution channels.”

George “Honker” Striegel has been a staple in the motorsports industry for over 50 years, a highly recognized and respected innovator of high-performance engineering. His Camshaft and Engine combinations have set countless land, water, and speed records all over the world in numerous competitive motorsports classes and fields.


Clay Smith Cams has been in the automotive performance industry since its founder, the legendary Clay Smith, started the business is 1931 in Long Beach, California. For more, visit www.claysmithcams.com.

Straub Technologies founder Chris Straub has been in the performance industry since 1988. Focusing on product development in valve train, Straub has worked for several companies in the industry developing product lines.

After honing his skills with product development with a few companies, he set out on his own in 2006 to provide components to some of the industry’s top companies.

For more information, visit www.straubtechnologies.com.

The greatest prize package in all of sportsman drag racing will be on the line at Memphis International Raceway on Saturday, October 13.

The Summit Racing Equipment SuperSeries presented by AMSOIL and Moser Engineering has long been revered as one of the greatest sportsman programs in all of drag racing, and for the 11th year in a row three more names will be etched into the IHRA history books as winners of one of the most prestigious programs around.

Designed to give grassroots racers a chance to compete on the biggest stage in motorsports, the Summit SuperSeries features a 16-car tournament in three separate classes at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals, with the winner of each being crowned IHRA World Champion and taking home the lucrative SuperSeries prize package made possible by dozens of generous sponsors.

This year’s world champions will be crowned in Top ET, Mod ET and, for the first time in IHRA history, a Junior Dragster World Champion will be crowned for the first time in the sport.

Since its inception in 2002 the Summit SuperSeries has crowned 19 champions, some of which have gone on to have success in other programs as well, and has grown into the fastest growing sportsman program in the United States, with thousands of racers from nearly all of the IHRA’s 100 member tracks participating.

Drivers race all year at their local track, accumulating track points with the hopes of advancing to the next stage of the competition. At the end of the track racing season the top registered Summit SuperSeries points earners move on to the Summit Team Finals to race against other track champions at the regional level. At the Summit Team Finals competitions the winners in Top ET, Mod ET and Junior Dragster then move on to the IHRA World Finals in Memphis to fill the three 16-car fields to runoff for the Summit SuperSeries World Championship.

This year, in addition to being crowned world champion, each winner will take home a lucrative prize package made possible by the IHRA’s generous sponsors that includes everything from cash, a brand new dragster, an enclosed trailer, a trip to Aruba and more.

Beginning in Top ET, the 2012 Top winner will receive $10,000 courtesy of Summit Racing Equipment and a brand new turn-key dragster made possible by American Race Cars. The brand new dragster features a custom Trick Flow engine plus various parts and pieces from some of the most competitive companies in drag racing including Summit Racing Equipment, Moser Engineering, Abruzzi Transmissions and Converters and many more. The Top winner will also receive a trip to Aruba, IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and more.

The other big-car winner running in Mod ET will receive $10,000 courtesy of Summit Racing Equipment, a brand new 26’ Pace Journey enclosed trailer and a custom golf cart. The winner also receives an Aruba vacation, IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and more.

In addition to crowning its very first IHRA World Champion, the brand new Junior Dragster program will also award its winner with $3,000 courtesy of Summit Racing Equipment, a brand new Junior Dragster built by Vic Puglia with an engine courtesy of Steve Waller, an IHRA Gold Card, World Champion Ironman and more.

This year’s Summit SuperSeries World Championship features drivers from multiple states as far away as Alaska who will be making the trip to Tennessee.

For more information on the Summit SuperSeries, visit www.ihra.com and click on the Summit SuperSeries button to learn more.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will make its first appearance at Road America in Wisconsin next summer, ARCA officials announced this week.

ARCA recently received from the track a sanctioning agreement that ensures the scheduling of the stock car series' first event at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course between Milwaukee and Green Bay on Saturday, June 22, 2013.

Opened on over 640 acres of Wisconsin farmland in 1955, Road America hosts over 400 events each year.

The track, located near the popular tourist destination of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, will be the 10th different road course to host the ARCA Racing Series since the series' first road race in 1958.

Not long ago, the ARCA Racing Series announced its renewal of a partnership at Mobile International Speedway in Alabama for a Saturday, March 9 event.

Additional race dates for the 2013 season will be released shortly.

Circuit of The Americas this week announced a formal, multi-year agreement with the V8 Supercars Series that will allow the Australian touring car series to make its North American debut at the new Central Texas sports and entertainment venue May 17-19, 2013.

Circuit of The Americas will open to the public this fall as host to the much-anticipated 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

The V8 Supercars Championship is made up of 15 championship events across Australia, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi, with the United States joining the schedule in 2013. The highly popular series is the world’s leading Touring Car Championship recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile and enjoys regular carriage by the SPEED television network.

V8 Supercars has quickly gained popularity in Australia and New Zealand and is in the process of expanding to new international jurisdictions. Formerly known as the Australian Touring Car Championship, the current series was devised in 1993 and branded as “V8 Supercars” in 1997.

The cars are based on modified versions of Australia’s two most popular passenger cars, the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. Automakers Nissan and Mercedes have announced that they will also provide vehicles for the series in 2013.

The series includes races on purpose-built racetracks, such as Circuit of The Americas, and on street circuits. Race formats include sprint races as short as 100 kilometers, as well as middle-distance endurance races with the race length often depending on the venue.

Tickets for the 2013 V8 Supercars series at Circuit of The Americas go on sale Tuesday, October 16. For information on tickets and pricing, visit www.circuitoftheamericas.com/tickets.

Bob Frey, the longtime announcer and voice of NHRA, has announced that he will retire from announcing at the end of the year.

“I’ve been doing this since 1966 and travelling extensively, and it’s time to settle down,” Frey said.

Frey started announcing at Atco Dragway in 1966 and has been a part of the sport ever since.

“I’ve been doing this since before Funny Cars or Pro Stocks were even classes,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to meet most of the stars of the sport and to be able to call them friends. It’s been a great ride, but it’s time to move on.”

He went on to say that he intends to stay involved in the sport but in a very limited and selective way. “I plan on doing the Don Garlits Hall of Fame inductions in March and the DRAW auction in October along with other selected events, but not in an announcing capacity…”

When asked about some of his most memorable moments Frey said that it would be tough to pick out any single one. “There has been so much that I have seen, from twin-engine dragsters to today’s fuel cars and everything in between. I love a good Competition Eliminator race as much as a Top Fuel one, so I really can’t single out any particular moment. I’ve enjoyed every aspect of my career but I’m looking forward to slowing down.”

Frey will finish out the season with the races in Las Vegas and Pomona and then begin his retirement.