As the on-track action heats up with NASCAR's postseason set to begin, NASCAR, Sprint and Turner Sports announced this week the launch of the sport's first official app for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App allows fans to follow their favorite drivers and stay on top of all the Chase for the Sprint Cup race action, including access to race day content, schedules, standings, breaking news and more.

iPhone customers with a Sprint Unlimited Data Plan will have access to extra features, including:

-- Live MRN and PRN race radio broadcasts

-- Live in-car audio for all 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers

-- Live RaceBuddy in-car video and track camera views

-- Live NASCAR on SPEED broadcasts including live Qualifying, Practice and favorite trackside shows such as NASCAR RaceDay

-- Live in-race highlights and alerts

-- Live post-race press conferences

-- Real-time leaderboards and Pit Pass telemetry data

The popular NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App provides fans with 24/7 access to all things NASCAR.

NASCAR's digital rights including NASCAR.COM, the official online destination of NASCAR which provides racing enthusiasts with an all-inclusive offering of engaging content including fantasy games, video highlights, social elements and in-depth editorial content, are currently managed by Turner Sports.

As part of a restructured partnership announced earlier this year, Turner Sports remains the exclusive sales agent across the NASCAR Digital Media platform through 2016 while NASCAR assumes operational control on Jan. 1, 2013 of its interactive, digital and social media rights and all related platforms.

As part of that two-year digital partnership extension, Turner Sports remains the exclusive sales agent across the NASCAR Digital Media Platform through 2016.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod Touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

After world championships are decided, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) will conclude its highly anticipated race weekend at Texas Motorplex with its annual Racer Appreciation and Awards Gala on October 21 in the Champion’s Club.

Serving as a fitting finish to what has already been a remarkable 2012 season, the gala will end a weekend that includes the ADRL World Finals VIII presented by CarSafe, which takes place October 19-20 at Texas Motorplex.

The casual dress event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Champion’s Club at Texas Motorplex. Tickets are $25 and everyone must purchase a ticket to attend.

ADRL World Championship trophies will be presented to the 2012 class champions in a special ceremony.

Additionally, a number of other special prizes will also be awarded at the event.

Noted drag racing historian and ADRL television reporter Bret Kepner will serve as Master of Ceremonies for this year’s Gala.

The doors open at 9:30 a.m. and the celebration begins at 10 a.m. with an upscale breakfast brunch, with the awards ceremony to follow. There will be a cash bar as well. To purchase tickets, contact the ADRL offices at 855/277-ADRL (2375).

Tickets can be purchased by check, credit card or money order, but must be purchased in advance and no later than 5 p.m. CST on October 15 or until the event sells out.

Tickets will also be available for purchase at the ADRL Summit Racing Equipment registration trailer during the upcoming Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags VI presented by Mickey Thompson, which takes place September 28-29 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Legendary driver Parnelli Jones will be saluted in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his victory in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 during “Legends Day Honoring Parnelli Jones” on Saturday, May 25, 2013, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jones drove the No. 98 Agajanian Willard Battery Watson/Offy roadster, nicknamed “Calhoun,” to victory from the pole in the 47th Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1963. Jones will drive the fabled car May 25 in parade laps on the 2.5-mile oval, accompanied by 34 other Indianapolis 500 front-engine roadsters.

Jones, the 1961 Indianapolis 500 co-Rookie of the Year, will participate in a question-and-answer session with fans May 25 on the Coca-Cola Stage in the Pagoda Plaza, followed by an autograph session.

Other featured events on “Legends Day Honoring Parnelli Jones” will include the annual Public Drivers’ Meeting on pit road adjacent to the Tower Terrace grandstand, autograph sessions with the 2013 Indianapolis 500 starting field of 33 drivers and former Indy 500 drivers, and a huge Indianapolis 500 memorabilia show.

Admission to IMS on “Legends Day Honoring Parnelli Jones” will be $10 for adults, with children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult.

Longtime California resident Jones also won the pole in 1962 at 150.370 mph, the first single lap and four-lap qualifying average faster than 150 mph in Indianapolis 500 history. Jones finished in the top 10 four times in seven “500″ starts. He led 492 laps, still seventh among all-time lap leaders.

Jones also won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 1970 and 1971 as co-owner of Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, which fielded the famed Johnny Lightning Special for driver Al Unser.

The 97th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26.

Twenty racing pioneers central to the success of the sport in New England during its formative era will be inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame on Sunday, November 18, at the Speedway Clubhouse located on the grounds of the Hoenig family’s history-rich Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Connecticut. 



Slated for induction are stock car drivers Tony Mordino, Sparky Belmont, Hank Stevens, Ed Patnode, Johnny Georgiades, Wally Silva, and Ray Brown.

Midget racing standouts Eddie Casterline, George Rice, Al Pillion, Billy Tibbert, Frank Simonetti, Charlie Ethier, and George Monson round out the open-wheel inductees.

Completing the list of those entering the Hall of Fame are car owners Anthony “Beebe” Zalenski, Ed Stone, Wen Kelley, Bob Oliver, Gordon Ross, and owner & promoter of Connecticut’s former Plainville Stadium, Joe Tinty.

Many past HOF inductees have confirmed that they’ll be taking in the Pioneers Induction Banquet. 



In addition to the inductions, among the day’s other activities will be a good-natured “Roast” of the Hall’s members to be administered by some of the region’s top raceway media figures including among others, Rollie Jacobs, John Spence, Pete Falconi, Ben Dodge, and Matt Buckler. 



Several memorabilia exhibits will be part of the celebration, and the popular Pronyne Mobile Museum will be present for attendees desiring an “up-close & personal” view of the sports beginnings via our region’s only museum.

Renowned Eastern racing photographer John Grady is attending, and with him he’ll bring his vast file of racing photographs. Lew Boyd’s Coastal 181 Publishing will also set up shop for those looking to add to their personal auto racing libraries. 



Doors open at 10 a.m., with dinner to be served at 1 p.m.

Tickets are priced at $35. Reservations may be made by sending payment to NEAR Pioneer Banquet, Box 172, Milldale, Connecticut, 06467.



For additional information, contact NEAR President Val LeSieur at 508/238.7797 or email vallesieur@aol.com.

As entries continue to arrive from all over the world and across the United States for the 45th anniversary of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, all the elements for the SCOREville exhibit at the upcoming Off-Road Expo at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, are being finalized as well, including the live drawing for starting positions for the granddaddy of all desert races.

The SCOREville exhibit at the Off-Road Expo will salute SCORE Baja Legends and the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame on October 6 and 7.

In addition to static displays of vintage and current desert racing vehicles along with autograph sessions with many of the stars of the sport, both past and present, a live drawing for starting positions for this November’s 45th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be held at the Off-Road Expo on Saturday, October 6.

The official course map for the race will be unveiled during the event. SCORE will also announce and introduce the grand marshals for this year’s historic event.

On both October 6 and Oct. 7, autograph sessions will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at SCOREville with many of the top desert racers from today and yesterday.

The November 14-17 race runs down the length of the Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Nearly 300 entries, from nearly 20 countries and 40 US states, competing in 35 Pro and six Sportsman classes for cars, truck, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to compete in this year’s international adventure. While late entries will be accepted up until race morning on November 15, in order to be included in the start draw at SCOREville, entries must be received by SCORE no later than noon on Tuesday, October 2.

SCOREville at the Expo will also include a major display from the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame as well as a pictorial tribute timeline to the first 44 years of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 through the lenses of Trackside Photography.

SCORE will also debut the official commemorative merchandise of the 45th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. SCOREville will also feature the SCOREville theatre showing numerous SCORE Baja 1000 race videos including the iconic 2004 film “Dusty to Glory”.

For more information regarding SCORE International and the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, visit www.score-internaitonal.com, for information on the Off-Road Expo visit www.offroadexpo.com.

Five Honda National Auto Sport Association (NASA) racers closed out their 2012 racing seasons in the best possible manner, winning six class titles at the NASA National Championships, September 8-9 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

More than three dozen Honda and Acura racers made the annual trek to Lexington, Ohio, for this year’s national championship races, with the majority taking part in the Honda Challenge classes.

In Honda Challenge 1, Jason Kohler led the field from the green flag in his Honda S2000 and was never challenged to claim his first NASA National Championship, with Jonathan Baker finishing second.

Kohler doubled his championship tally on Sunday, with a victory in the TTB class in the Group F Time Trial event.

Jeremy Croiset took the Honda Challenge 2 crown in his Honda CRX after an early-race battle with Egidijus [Eddie] Sadauskas until Lap 5, when Sadauskas went off track in the Mid-Ohio Carousel and Croiset broke away from the rest of the H2 field to claim his first NASA Championship trophy.

Members of the Honda Racing Line taking part in the Honda Challenge races were eligible for up to $2500 in contingency awards at Mid-Ohio. In addition, American Honda provided catered trackside hospitality exclusively for Honda/Acura competitors and their crew members.


Sadauskas rebounded from his H2 disappointment on Saturday with a victory the following day in his PTB-class Honda Civic.

Other Honda winners on the weekend included Eric Waddell, victorious in his Honda Civic in PTE, and Aaron Byram, who claimed TTS honors in the Group H Time Trial.

Launched in July 2009, the Honda Racing Line is a program targeted at licensed participants in sanctioned amateur and entry-level professional racing. The Honda Racing Line was formed to provide its members with a direct connection to Honda Performance Development and its unparalleled record of success at the highest levels of motorsport.

Competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line through HondaRacingLine.com.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is the Honda racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for high-performance Honda racing cars and engines.

Berlin Raceway’s transformation from an asphalt track to a dirt-covered showplace for one spectacular racing weekend is complete.

More than 300 truckloads of clay now cover the 7/16th-mile oval in advance of the Keyser Manufacturing ‘Down & Dirty 100’ Presented by NAPA Auto Parts, a historic $20,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model Series event on September 21-22 that will return the venerable Marne, Michigan, facility to its dirt-track roots.

The first truckload of clay was dumped ceremoniously on Berlin’s homestretch last Saturday night following the final checkered flag of the ‘Chet Championship Weekend’ that closed the track’s 2012 pavement racing schedule. Application of the clay commenced full force at 7 a.m. on Monday and continued virtually unabated through Tuesday evening.

Over 7500 yards of clay—some excavated from the site of an athletic-field construction project at a local college, some from a nearby landfill—has been spread around the track, producing a dirt surface atop the asphalt that is roughly 12 inches thick.

The project has been overseen by Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park promoter Jeremie Corcoran, a former DIRTcar big-block Modified driver who has track-prep experience at several dirt tracks in the Empire State. Berlin officials were put in contact with Corcoran during the summer and decided to contract him to handle all work done on the temporary clay surface.

With bulldozing, grading and rolling equipment for the special event provided by the Georgetown Construction Co. in Jenison, Michigan, Corcoran has been smoothing the clay since Monday. He expects to spend the remainder of the week discing, watering and packing the surface in preparation for a possible initial test session for local race teams on Saturday.

A full evening of practice for the WoO LMS event and competitors in the weekend’s support divisions is set for September 20, from 4-8 p.m.

Action will begin on September 21, with WoO LMS time trials and heat races headlining a program that also includes DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned racing for UMP Modifieds ($1500 to win), Factory Stocks/Bombers ($350 to win) and 4-Cylinders/Mini-Stocks ($125 to win).

The grand finale on September 22, features WoO LMS B-Mains and the Keyser Manufacturing ‘Down & Dirty 100’ Presented by NAPA, plus another full UMP Modified show paying $1500 to win and a $400-to-win Street Stock event.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 each night of the weekend, which is generating plenty of buzz in the Michigan racing community. It’s a throwback race for Berlin, which opened for business in 1950 as a dirt track but has exclusively presented asphalt action since 1966.

Tickets will cost $20 on Friday and $30 on Saturday, with a two-day pass available for $45. Kids are $7 on Friday and $10 on Saturday, or $15 for a two-day pass.

Fans can purchase tickets online and obtain the latest information on the event by logging on to www.berlinraceway.com or calling the track office at 616/662-2051.

Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) has secured substantial funding that will ensure the continued growth of the breakout sport of rallycross in the US and around the world.

Under the new partnership, Global Rallycross Championship will make significant investments in the series, with a focus on continued fan enjoyment, competition excellence and operational infrastructure.

Global Rallycross Championship is a sports entertainment property that combines motorsport, action sport and youth culture. It pits production-based, small cars against each other for door-to-door racing featuring dirt, asphalt, and a 70′ gap jump. Drivers progress through a series of heat races to advance into a final race, where winner takes all.

Events feature intense racing, high-flying action and top-name drivers including Tanner Foust, World Rally Champions Marcus Grönholm and Sébastien Loeb and action sport icons Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, and Brian Deegan.

Since its debut in 2011, the Global Rallycross Championship series has experienced dramatic growth. The inaugural season saw a schedule of three stand-alone events. In 2012, under an agreement with Speedway Motorsports, the calendar expanded to include new venues and companion racing series NASCAR and IndyCar, as well as continued inclusion in X Games.

The series is highly competitive, with top-level manufacturer-backed teams from Subaru, Ford, Dodge, Hyundai and Citroën, as well as key privateers from around the world. Series partners include Puma, Discount Tire/America’s Tire, Motegi Racing, DiRT Showdown, Cooper Tire, and Go Pro.

The series is broadcast on the ESPN networks as part of a multi-year deal.

For more information, visit www.global-rallycross.com.

The 9th annual Knoxville Late Model Auction, which benefits both the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, will once again feature many unique, autographed items from the world of late model stock car racing. 

However, on Saturday afternoon, September 29, fans will have an opportunity to bid on original artwork by such noted motorsports artists as Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace. 

The live auction will begin at noon on the second floor of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, and it is free and open to the public.
 


“I have had this idea to have drivers create original artwork for years now and it really came together this year," said auction coordinator Tom Schmeh. "Kenny Schrader was here for the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Harris Clash in July and he was kind enough to draw his favorite car—the Don & Hank Sieveking-owned United States Auto Club (USAC) Ford Granada from 1981. 

“Then Kenny Wallace was here in town a couple of weeks later,” Schmeh added, “and he drew his favorite car—the Childs Tire-sponsored car in which he won the 1986 American Speed Association (ASA) ‘Rookie of the Year’ title.”


For more information on the non-profit National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, visit the website at www.sprintcarhof.com. 

When it comes to promoting races, Humpy Wheeler is the acknowledged master of our times, and the perfect speaker for the inaugural Race Track Business Conference Presented by National Speedway Directory (RTBC-2012).

The event will be held just prior to and in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry Show, the centerpiece event for Race Industry Week 2012. The RTBC-2012 takes place Wednesday, November 28.

The PRI Trade Show runs from Thursday, November 29, to Saturday, December 1, 2012, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Occupying 750,000 square feet, it features over 1000 exhibits of new racing technology and draws 38,000 buyers from across the US, and 72 countries.

"The RTBC-2012 will focus on issues facing motorsports professionals on and off the track. From event operations to marketing to social media to finance to legal to museums, we expect to present a wide variety of sessions," said Tim Frost, publisher of National Speedway Directory, racing's key source of information on race tracks and more.

Industry leaders from across racing will be among the expert presenters. They include: Derek Daly, Formula 1 and Indy driver; Michael Culver, CEO of Skip Barber Racing School; John Lopes, president of Andretti Sports Marketing; Brock Yates, Jr., One Lap of America; Stoke Caldwell, partner at Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson; David Pijot, senior vice president of SunTrust Bank; Chris Lencheski, president, Front Row Marketing Services; and Bob Baker, executive director of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Humpy Wheeler is the immediate past president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is a well-known, legendary promoter and member of nine halls of Fame, including the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Currently he is chairman of the Wheeler Company, a management consulting firm focused on professional sports, motorsports and general business. In addition, he is a race advisor to the GP America at Port Imperial, an F1 race in the New York City metro area scheduled for June 2013.

The list of speakers and agenda items are tentative and subject to change.

The cost to attend RTBC-2012 is $250. This cost includes lunch and admission to the PRI Trade Show. Additional information can be found at www.racetrackbusinessconference.com or by calling 847/853-0294.

About National Speedway Directory
National Speedway Directory (www.speedwaysonline.com) is an information source for the motorsports industry. Published annually since 1975, the publication lists information on tracks, sanctions, publications, museums, and race schedules. In addition, they are the developers of Track Guide, a mobile app for the iPhone and Android.

For more information on the PRI Trade Show, go to www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow.