As I flew back from the Knoxville Nationals, I was thinking about the role of ambition in racing. ‘Hope’ is a lovely word, but ambition is hope backed by hard work and perseverance. Ambition is a word that seems to have horsepower and torque naturally attached to it. Ambition is an engine.

It takes ambition to be a racer. It may be a young man’s first race, but he would not have entered this sport without a driving ambition to win.

Next, the winning racer develops the ambition to win championships.

For a very few, an interesting vision occurs to them, followed by the ambition to make it happen: starting a racing business.

The racing industry is full of people who never planned to make a career in racing. If you asked them if they considered it when they were younger, many would say they’d have thought it impossible. If you ask them who encouraged them to open a racing business, many will answer, “Nobody.”

This entire industry is based on the power of ambition. Let’s go racing. Let’s keep racing. Let’s make a living racing. It’s a big dream. But, tens of thousands had the personal horsepower and torque to make it happen.

Yes, there are new challenges in racing today. There always will be. Come to the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, and you’ll meet up with tens of thousands with the ambition to rise to these challenges, and succeed. It re-energizes and remotivates you. Whether it’s the race engine parts, the chassis parts or the sanctioning bodies, it’s ambition that’s on display. The ambition to win races and championships. The ambition to meet challenges. The ambition to keep racing the most glorious of sports, with participants numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

The ambition of this dynamic racing industry can meet challenges like nobody’s business.

Friends, family, fellow legends and motorsports and automotive industry insiders converged in downtown Detroit this week to usher an illustrious group of seven motorsports icons representing the Class of 2012 into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at the organization’s 24th Annual Induction Ceremony at the historic Fillmore Theater.

The accomplished Class of 2012 class includes event attendees Ed Pink (Drag Racing), Derek Bell (Sports Cars) and Ricky Johnson (Motorcycles) who were joined by friends and family members that touchingly memorialized and enshrined deceased inductees Pop Dreyer (Historic), Neil Bonnett (Stock Cars) and Vic Edelbrock Sr. (At Large).

Inductee Danny Sullivan (Indy Cars) was forced to miss the event after an unexpected schedule change kept him in England on a television shoot, but he was capably represented by AutoWeek Editor and Associate Publisher Dutch Mandel who both inducted and accepted the honor for his friend and the 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner.

A keynote address was delivered by Honorary Chairman Jim Campbell, General Motors Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. In addition to respectfully acknowledging the achievements and contributions of the other well-known manufacturers represented at the event, Campbell focused on the Chevrolet brand’s important role in motorsports history, as well as its particular presence in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson inducted AMA Supercross and Motocross legend Ricky Johnson. Although unrelated, the two remain close friends today from their youthful California off-road racing days that launched both to stardom.

Leonard Wood, a Hall member enshrined with his brother Glen Wood in 2000 as the leaders of the famous Wood Brothers racing team and pit crew, inducted Edelbrock, Sr. Edelbrock was considered one of the founders of the American hot rod movement and built a small auto repair shop into one of the world's premier parts suppliers for racers and auto hobbyists.

Vic Edelbrock Jr., who accepted the honor on behalf of his later father, has been at the helm of the family company’s success for the last 50 years.  He provided one of the evening’s most touching moments when he pointed to the heavens in acknowledgment and respect to his parents.

Hall of Famer and NASCAR icon Bobby Allison (Class of 1992) presented for the second consecutive year after having the honor of inducting his brother Donnie Allison in 2011.  On Wednesday, Bobby Allison enshrined fellow "Alabama Gang" member Bonnett, one of the most affable drivers in NASCAR history.

Bonnett’s widow Susan Bonnett Northcutt accepted the honor on behalf of her late husband.

Pink was enshrined by Hall member and drag racing legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme (Class of 1991).  Pink supplied engines to “The Snake” during his most successful years as a dominant NHRA funny car driver.

Pink extended his personal thanks to Prudhomme, the countless number of other competitors he has worked with for decades and also to the Hall itself.

Motorsports pioneer Dreyer was inducted by his grandson and Dreyer-Reinbold Racing IndyCar team owner Dennis Reinbold in one of the evening’s two all-family presentations.  Dreyer’s enshrinement was accepted by his son, and Reinbold’s uncle, Junior Dreyer.

Bell was ushered into the Hall by his son and fellow sports car World Champion Justin Bell in the night’s second family-style enshrinement. Derek Bell’s stateside success includes three overall victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Road racing champion, SPEED television broadcaster and Hall member David Hobbs (Class of 2009) kept the evening’s program moving and entertaining in his second year as Master of Ceremonies. He was capably supported by Justin Bell, his SPEED colleague, who assisted with the evening’s off-stage Inductee and VIP introductions in addition to enshrining his father.

Additional Hall members and other notables in attendance at Wednesday’s ceremony included Donnie Allison, Tom D’Eath, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Ralph Gilles, Paul Goldsmith, Hurley Haywood, Mel Kenyon, Katherine Legge, Jim McGee, Hershel McGriff, Leo Mehl, Shirley Muldowney, Scott Parker, Bill Simpson, Jay Springsteen, Bobby Unser and more.



Organizations supporting the Induction Ceremony included Pirelli North America, Bridgestone Americas, American Honda, Mazda, Chevrolet, Ford Racing, Edelbrock Corp., Toyota, NHRA, SPEED TV, Daytona International Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, NASCAR, SCCA, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, AMA Pro Racing, Porsche Cars North America, Bentley Motors, Ed Pink Racing Engines, Glenora Wine Cellars, One Source Talent, MotorCities National Heritage Area, Bonwell, Kelley & Associates and others.

The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame is operated by the Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently announced the launch of its Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge, a vehicle-modification build competition where fans get to determine the winner.

In fact, fans throughout the world will be able to visit www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com to watch the builds come to life through a series of "minisodes."



The final builds will be unveiled during the Toyota press conference on Tuesday, October 30, the opening day of the 2012 SEMA Show.

Fans will be able to tune in to watch the entire press conference and the action unfold in real time. 

NASCAR stars Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer will modify a Camry sedan and Prius hybrid, respectively, while NHRA standouts Antron Brown and Alexis DeJoria will build a Sequoia SUV and a Tundra pickup.

Though the drivers are competing for glory against each other, the real victor will be the winning driver's charity of choice, which will receive a $50,000 check from Toyota. 



Voting opens on October 20 and will be available for 10 days. Fans will be able to vote once per day via Facebook and enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing "Dream Trip," which will be given away to one lucky fan.

Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) will bring the spectacle of rallycross racing to the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The race will take place on Tuesday, October 30, the opening night of SEMA, on a course specially constructed on Las Vegas Convention Center grounds, directly across from the convention hall.

Global Rallycross will also be featured in SEMA’s Racing and Performance Forum at 1 p.m. on October 30. The forum will be moderated by John Waraniak, SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology, and include Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing, Jim Campbell, Vice President of General Motors Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, and Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group.

The event will be televised on the ESPN networks.

For more information, visit www.semashow.com.

The Kenny Bernstein Racing Collection is now available for sale to the public at www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org.

The personal memorabilia collection was donated by six-time NHRA Champion Kenny Bernstein to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation earlier this year. And a special online catalog has been created by the foundation so race fans can easily purchase pieces of NHRA history.

Proceeds from sales of the collection will benefit the foundation's mission of providing support for people with paralysis and preventing spinal cord injuries. Specifically, they will support the foundation’s national Wheelchair Donation Program, which donates custom power wheelchairs to individuals facing medical and financial hardships. It will also help the foundation keep teenagers safe and prevent spinal cord injuries through its Education & Prevention Program in high schools.

The collection of racing history includes race car bodies, race-worn items, tool boxes, jackets, crew shirts, collectible parts, novelties, art, jewelry & accessories, trophies & plaques, diecasts, fan apparel, trading cards and print collectibles.

The collection is unique in that many items are from Kenny’s personal collection of memories and treasures from his brilliant racing career. Many of the items in the collection are autographed.

The collection was donated to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation with an announcement at the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals in March 2012. DGF staff transported the collection to its race shop in Florida and began the process of appraising, photographing and cataloging all 1,500+ items so they could be made available for sale.

In 2002, Gwynn and his wife Lisa started the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in an effort to support people living with paralysis. This September 2012, the foundation celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

Free market America is a competitive place. Closing sales is paramount to building a loyal customer base. Generating volume leads to growth. Growth pays the bills—or does it? My definition of selling includes closing the sale while making a fair profit. The free market system only allows for a modest profit—especially in racing, where our customers fight for every penny to keep cars running all season long. For all you racers reading, you can be assured that your manufacturers and dealers run on minimal profit. While it is great to have low prices, it is also nice to have needed items in stock on Fridays. Knowing your dealer will be around next week is good too!

We manufacturers and dealers chase after the discretionary dollars of our customers. Our biggest competition is less likely to be our direct competitor and more likely to be found at all of the places that take cash from the wallet of our customers. While we need to make quality product that gives customers a reason to purchase “our” brand, we also must remember that we need to make a compelling case for customers to buy from us in the first place. We need to make our products exciting to buy—and we need to make a little profit, allowing us to serve our loyal customers year after year. Profit funds growth and ingenuity. To keep our customers excited, it is vital that we companies evolve and invent.

Our true competition surrounds us at every turn. The purchase experience needs to make customers feel good about buying from us. Competition is good and helps us to focus on how to create an environment where price is just one of the factors instead of it becoming the only factor. Would a driver work as hard if the grandstands were empty and no other racecars or teams were at the track? Competition provides the relativity and drives performance. We should strive to lead and initiate, as falling down to the level of lesser competitors is bad business. While comparing your company to another can provide insight, the real goal is to reach for new heights that lift us above comparisons.

Companies that drive prices down as their only tool to create volume usually fail. It is OK to make a profit—even the people that buy from us understand that we have expenses. Our customers know that our companies must make money. Even though those same customers are trying to save on every purchase, they reluctantly understand that businesses need to be paid for hard work.

Often, dealers lower prices too quickly for fear of losing a sale to competitors. Market share is important, and paying close attention to market pricing is a worthwhile effort. As a dealer, it is difficult to hold onto a higher price and lose a sale. To be successful, sometimes it is wise to lose a sale if the price required to close a deal is a break even proposition. Technology has created new pricing pressures as consumers can shop from many places in a short amount of time—even on the road right from their phones. Prices today are now pressured by access to instant information and gratification.

When dealers enter into technology-based sales platforms to sell their products, a new set of rules becomes part of the game. E-commerce, online advertising, and product sales through online product fulfillment resources cultivates new business. A new set of customers is introduced to the company product line in a dynamic fashion that evolves daily. Print media is etched in paper and information can become stale the second it is printed. Dealers benefit by accepting both sides of the T Chart by realizing that the new digital marketplace has wonderful advantages. In return for advantages, new and challenging disadvantages must be accepted and managed. Taking the good with the bad is an old adage that is built into utilizing new online technologies.

Accepting the limitations will help dealers to fulfill their goals with less frustration. The “system” will give you advantages, but the same system comes with the strings of instant visibility. Online pricing is broadcast instantly for all to see. Competitor reactions that took days or weeks in the past, now take seconds. Companies that realize the digital marketplace is constantly changing will prevail. Relying on a low price business model as a selling tool is erased by competitor reactions. The new digital norm places a focus on providing service, as low pricing published online will be matched by your competition before sunset.

In fact, dealers that enter the technology-based world with a methodology of undercutting the established norm start a battle, and the casualty is likely to be lost profit. Reactions are swift—retaliations are harsh. All dealers work on thin margins. I ask dealers often to focus on knowledge and service while they have a little margin at their disposal. The company that relies solely on pushing a lower price tips the dominos to fall in the wrong direction. Within minutes, competing companies simply match price, and instantly the segment is running on unsustainable margins.

The economy we now live in has already squeezed most companies to the brink—the cutbacks have already been made. To survive, efficiency is required and some of the savings should be pocketed. The market needs more service as cutbacks have eroded the knowledge sharing that was once plentiful. Employees wear many hats as smaller staffs are asked to do more. Just watch the poor person at your favorite fast food drive thru that is taking your order through a head set, packing your meal and forgetting your fries!

So yes, competing dealers can see low online prices just as quickly as customers. In fact, they are likely to see price drops even quicker than customers. Software programs and simply paying attention bring new low prices to light at about the speed of light. Loyal customers call to buy product and reference a lower price from the company across town or even more likely out of state—dealers nearly always match price to keep the sale. Yet, sometimes it pays to simply let the sale go as profit is the energy drink that keeps companies energized. Most industries are limited by the free market system, and it takes hard work to have a few dollars left at the end of the year. Growing companies nearly always reinvest profits to fund growth—at least the smart ones do. Growing builds equity and your accountant will tell you that the tax man is rich enough. Re-investing verses paying more taxes.… Not a hard call there?

A long time ago, one of my dealers felt it was best to move product off the shelf instead of carrying non-seasonal inventory through winter. His belief was that he needed to lower prices to move product and move it now. Agreed, inventory turns are important, as turning inventory quickly creates healthy cash flow. That said, losing money based on fear of lower than desirable inventory turn levels creates a quick path to purchasing an Out of Business sign.

I eloquently explained to the fearful dealer the math and visually showed him how he lost money by reducing pricing to below sustainable profit levels. When you factor in freight, cost of funds, salaries, overheads and all the elements needed to keep the doors open—the sales price he chose cost him both cash and profit. Ironically, he was happy that he “moved” the product off his shelves and put less cash back in his pocket than before he bought inventory. My time in the banking industry taught me that cash is King. If cash is King then profit is Queen. We need both, and we need the King and Queen to be powerful equals. The Cash King reign only lives as long as the Queen produces profit to repeat the cycle. Then we have the prince and princess that will take over someday. Build some profit as the heirs to the throne spend first and add later.

My dealer friend literally sold product at the cost he paid me (the manufacturer) for product so as to not carry inventory through winter. He did it with me standing right there —so much for my MAP policy. The dealer I refer to was adamant about his pricing habits, and I had to work hard to show him the math. He listened, but he didn’t act on my advice. Instead, he chose to initiate a price battle with a competitor that was located an hour away—even farther during rush hour. I wish the strategy of my dealer was successful. He was a good person and a friend. He built a nice customer base and literally built a new market from scratch. Pricing missteps proved to be the domino that knocked his business out. The benefactor was the Out of Business sign company where my dealer friend purchased his last item. The Out of Business company closed their sign sale deal—literally.

Analyzing product pricing and positioning is difficult and takes experience. It also takes confidence during those times when you charge more than your competition. To help illustrate the importance of focusing on profit, I built myself a spreadsheet that shows me what will happen if I lower price in a visual format. I can just give you a formula (Simple Formula: Existing Gross Profit dollars: Divided by Proposed Gross Profit Dollars: Multiplied by Existing Unit Sales = New Unit Sales to Maintain Current Profit Dollars), but I like the visual look that my spreadsheet provides. Just email me at jeff@joesracing.com and I will email you my spreadsheet. To use the spreadsheet you simply plug in a few numbers and everything instantly tabulates automatically—if you don’t like how the sheet produces prices or profits, you can just keep plugging in numbers until you find a price/profit balance that passes your common sense test. I wonder how many companies lower prices and simply have zero idea how many more units they will have to sell to make the same amount of cash. Cash pays the bills—percents are just funny symbols on your keyboard.
 
Often, what seems to be a modest price decrease presents a scenario that forces you to double sales to make the same amount of money (real cash). If you knew how many more pieces you needed to sell in advance of a price drop, I bet companies would be more selective about lowering prices. Maybe the price drop would have been less? Maybe a pricing issue would be viewed as it pertains to one retail situation. Blindly making an across-the-board price change available to all is likely more detrimental than companies realize. The spreadsheet is easy to use and fills in within seconds—it is meant to be a guideline and not the end-all decision maker for business. You only need a few basic pricing numbers to get a visual look at cause and effect. Even if you estimate the numbers you plug in—the relative message will be the same and your business decisions will come from a scientific baseline verses just guessing.

If you choose to use my visual spreadsheet, you will vividly see how many more unit sales you will need to make the same amount of cash as compared to your established pricing. In nearly every case, you will see that the new unit volume required, based on lowering prices, will appear unreasonable. A lower price may bring in “new” sales. With thought, it may be time to label a specific item as discontinued?

You must make a profit, as more volume multiplied by a product that is losing money equals a lot of lost money! If you lower prices—your goal should be to bring more cash into your company. Why would you lower prices only to manage more unit sales (more unit sales creates more work and internal costs) just to match the current cash level you are bringing in on an item? Your goal is to make more money, not just work harder to make the same money.

The reality is that your competition is going to price match quickly. Dealers that think there will not be a reaction to their low price entry into the market are potentially making a business ending choice. Competition matches price within hours, and now both parties provide their knowledge and service without the benefit of getting paid? Why not simply provide quality, service, and sound knowledge while you can still put some money in the bank?

Pricing products is an art form. Spreadsheets and science should be coupled with keeping a pulse on overall market conditions. Charging a fair price that keeps you competitive is the way to go. Coming into the party thinking lowering established prices rarely works. If you have found a way to lower historical costs and are passing your savings on to your customers, then perhaps you can gain a sustainable market advantage. Efficiency that creates savings, that can’t be easily reproduced by your competition, may allow for sustainable lower prices. Simply placing an X through established pricing and hoping a new low price will give you the market lead is a choice that comes with an unpleasant ending. Service, knowledge and filling your shelves with the correct blend of products builds your company. Cutting price based on believing you will have a monopoly on low pricing shrinks your company and evaporates the contents of your wallet.

It may appear that my process promotes raising prices so that profits zoom upward. Reality dictates what the market considers a fair price. The competitive landscape creates a price range for all products. Charge too much and you will miss every sale. Undercut the market and you will miss making payroll. The idea is to keep a balance and realize that the focus should be on the small portion of every dollar that you get to keep. Too easily, companies look at sales dollar totals when they should be focused on a fraction of that amount found in the profit column. Many good companies thrive on profit percentages in the low single digit range. Double digit profit is a home run. Huge profits are rarely found in small business. 25 percent profit is reserved for oil companies, tobacco companies, and politicians.

Service and ingenuity always prevail—my goal is to prevail before we have zero profit to fund our future. Be fair in your methods and you will profit in more than just dollars. The reward comes in the form of pride, as serving happy customers turns work into play. Spreadsheets are unable to measure enjoyment, so have fun and cultivate profitable customers with an energetic supply of knowledge and service.

Go Forward – Move Ahead

Jeff Butcher

 

Rockingham Speedway President Andy Hillenburg was recently named the second quarter winner of the NMPA Speedway Motorsports Spirit Award.

The award is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports.

Each year, quarterly winners are selected, and a yearly winner is determined by a vote of the National Motorsports Press Association membership.

Hillenburg was selected for his efforts to return NASCAR to Rockingham Speedway. NASCAR left the track in 2004 after nearly 40 years but, due to the work of Hillenburg, returned with the Camping World Truck Series last April.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer was the first quarter winner of the award.

For more, visit nmpaonline.com.

With a new series sponsor and enthusiasm for continued growth in the sport, NHRA announced its 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule as part of a whirlwind of announcements and activities at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis on the eve of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Highlighting the 2013 schedule is the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, June 20-23. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ visit to the Northeast marks a process of more than a decade in the making.

The summer months leading into the most prestigious and historic event on the tour, the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Labor Day weekend (August 28-September 2) at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, will be a grueling challenge for the teams with nine races in 12 weeks and will see the teams travel from coast to coast.

That portion of the schedule kicks off the first weekend in June (May 30-June 2) with the Toyota NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown.

After a week off, the circuit embarks on four races in row, beginning with the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol (June 14-16), the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals (June 20-23), the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago (June 27-30), and concluding with the traditional July 4th celebration in Norwalk with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals (July 4-7).

From Norwalk, the series will head on to the famous Western Swing, which features three races in three weeks under three very different conditions: the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver (July 19-21), the NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma (July 26-28), and the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle (August 2-4).

After a week off, the demanding summer stretch will conclude in Brainerd with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals (August 15-18).

The 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series begins, as it has for 53 years, with the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona February 14-17, and continues the following week in Phoenix with the NHRA Arizona Nationals (February 22-24).

The traditional East Coast opener will be held March 14-17 at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville with the 44th running of the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.

The fourth stop in the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (April 5-7), followed by the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte (April 19-21).

The series continues with the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston (April 26-28), the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta (May 3-5), and the NHRA Kansas Nationals in Topeka (May 17-19).

The six-race 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s playoffs, will kick off in the fall with four consecutive weeks of racing: the NHRA Nationals in Charlotte (September 13-15), the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas (September 19-22), the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis (September 27-29), and the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading (October 3-6).

The season concludes out West with the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas (October 24-27) and returns to where it all began for the season finale with the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals (November 7-10).

Pro Stock Motorcycle riders will compete in a 16-race schedule with six of those races in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, a part of the ESPN network, the worldwide leader in sports, will again provide exclusive television coverage, on a same-day basis, of all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events featuring action from qualifying rounds on Saturday and Sunday’s race.

For more information, visit www.nhra.com.

Shelby American has added retail veteran and longtime Shelby enthusiast Jer Gervasi as Vice President for its Shelby Performance Parts (SPP) division.

In addition, Keith Criswell joined the team as Wholesale Manager for SPP to focus on the rapidly expanding wholesale and dealer segments. 



Gervasi will oversee product development, operations, parts sales and customer service. Originally from Massachusetts, he managed operations at several different Guitar Center retail locations across the country.

During that time, he drove sales and improved customer service that helped propel the company’s success over the last decade. A committed “gearhead,” Gervasi relocated to the Las Vegas Guitar Center to be near Shelby American in 2009.

Criswell has tremendous experience, knowledge and success in the aftermarket parts industry. Over the past five years at Drake Automotive Group, Criswell managed millions of dollars in wholesale parts accounts and was responsible for a substantial growth of sales.

Previously over the years, Criswell has worked for some of the largest specialty retail companies, gaining high-end training in management and business. 

The expansion of SPP is part of the carefully orchestrated plan laid out by Carroll Shelby and his executive team earlier this year.

Celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary in 2012, Shelby American has conducted a grassroots nationwide tour, introduced new cars, added products to the SPP catalog and collaborated with Ford Motor Company on a commemorative vehicle.

For more, visit www.shelbyamerican.com.

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) announced this week that it has reached an agreement to license the commercial rights of the FIA Formula E Championship to a consortium of international investors, Formula E Holdings Ltd (FEH).
 


Formula E is a new FIA championship featuring Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades.
 


In addition, Rio de Janeiro has officially signed up to host one of the events in 2014.

FEH, the new promoter, has as anchor investor London-based entrepreneur Enrique Bañuelos, and as CEO and shareholder former MEP and racing team owner Alejandro Agag, who has a long experience in the motor sport business. Also associated with the project are Lord Drayson, Managing Partner of Drayson Racing Technologies, and Eric Barbaroux, Chairman of the French electric automotive company "Electric Formula."
 


Demonstration runs of the Formula E cars will start in 2013, followed by the championship in 2014 with an objective of 10 teams and 20 drivers participating in the competition. The races will be ideally staged in the heart of the world’s leading cities, around their main landmarks.
 


The series will be open to any cars sanctioned as Formula E by the FIA. The consortium will ensure that a Formula E Car, based on the Formulec EF 01 prototype already in operation, is available for those competing teams willing to race with it.


For more information, visit the FEH website at www.formulaeholdings.com.