U.S. Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and Sanford D. Bishop (D-Ga.) are leading efforts in Congress to speak on behalf of the automotive industry and enthusiasts, co-chairing the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus for the 119th Congress.

The bipartisan caucus since 1996 has worked to recognize the contributions the automotive performance and motorsports industry has made, and continues to make, to the U.S. economy.

Rep. LaMalfa is a lifelong car enthusiast, while Rep. Bishop carries a deep respect for the role that cars play in the fabric of our nation. SEMA and PRI will work with both to identify legislative opportunities to support and protect the automotive aftermarket industry and the nation's community of grassroots racing and car enthusiasts.

Contact Eric Snyder, SEMA's senior director of federal government affairs, for more information on how to engage with the caucus, at erics@sema.org.

Knowledge was the most valuable commodity at the 2024 PRI Show.

The constant buzz heard throughout the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, was the exchange of countless bits of invaluable knowledge. Exhibitors learning about customer needs, racers discovering the latest performance products, old friends swapping stories after a long season. For everyone who attended, the 2024 PRI Show was likely the most educational three days of their entire year.

The free-wheeling exchange of information was not limited to just the bustling show floor either. The popular PRI Education program, now a core component of the PRI Show, offered attendees a thoughtfully curated lineup of 12 seminars covering a wide range of motorsports topics. Each seminar was free for Show attendees, providing an exclusive opportunity to learn from influential thought leaders, innovators, and experts in the motorsports industry.

For many, the sessions are one of the major benefits of coming to the PRI Show.

“The PRI Education sessions are always a highlight of my trip to the PRI Show,” said Amanda Van Den Elzen, founder of Racer on Demand, Seymour, Wisconsin. “Since we launched our business and website in early 2024, I was eager to soak up practical advice, and I wasn’t disappointed.”

Van Den Elzen acutely understands the importance of sharing knowledge within the motorsports community. In fact, she founded her business to “give racers the tools, skills, and resources they need to build meaningful connections with fans and sponsors—ultimately putting more money in their pockets.” As she works to continue building her business, she attended six PRI Education seminars and gained valuable information from each.

“The Women in Motorsports Panel made a big impact. This was my fourth year attending, and I always leave feeling more empowered,” said Van Den Elzen. “Elly Wong’s advice about conducting informational interviews to fill knowledge gaps really hit home for me, especially as I look to scale my business into areas of motorsports I’m less familiar with. Another great moment was when Madison Conrad posed the question, ‘What is the ROI of your social media?’ That prompted me to rethink how I spend my time on social platforms and whether I’m reaching the right audience—those who are actively moving through my sales funnel. Since coming home, I’ve been reimagining my social media strategy to prioritize reaching a more targeted audience with less time spent.”

That’s the value of PRI Education: Highlight the issues limiting growth for motorsports businesses and then provide solutions to overcome those challenges. This year, PRI Education seminars provided answers on a variety of topics including technical information to optimize vehicle performance, best practices for increasing sales revenues, valuable guidance for selling sponsorship, and more.

For readers at home, we gathered the Cliffs Notes from a few select sessions, with additional insight from instructors and attendees. For those wanting to learn more, sessions are available to stream on PRI’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/pritradeshow...

To read the complete article for free, sign up for a digital subscription to PRI Magazine on Zinio here.    

Once you download the Zinio mobile app or are logged into Zinio on a desktop browser, you will gain immediate access to more than a year's worth of content, including "......." here and more PRI Show coverage in the January/February 2025 issue here. 

Photo courtesy of Speed of Air Engine Technologies

LS engines making 3,000 horsepower. Diesel pulling engines making more than 5,000 hp. Endurance race engines that withstand excessive heat and pressure for hours at a time. These are just a few examples of race applications that have challenged piston and ring manufacturers. 

“Power levels and cylinder pressures just keep increasing,” noted Rick (RC) Canning of CP-Carrillo, Irvine, California. “Not everyone’s doing 9.5:1 compression on gasoline. It’s E85, or alcohol, and they want 10.5 or 11:1 stack compression, and they want to put 40 pounds of boost to it. So you have to make the part really stout.”

“We are constantly pushing this stuff to extremes,” added Keith Jones of Total Seal, Phoenix, Arizona. “Think about what an LS engine is capable of. Could we have made a production small block Chevy do that in 1975? No. All the material and technologies are better now. The coating technologies and ring technologies are better. Engine management, the big one, is better. That makes us change how we think about all the other processes.”

We asked these and other piston and ring manufacturers to talk about some of the wilder, more outrageous designs they’ve come up with to produce today’s power levels. In some cases, we bumped up against confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. But even then our sources provided solid information on their theories behind custom piston and ring designs as well as trends they see in the marketplace...

To read the complete article for free, sign up for a digital subscription to PRI Magazine on Zinio here.    

Once you download the Zinio mobile app or are logged into Zinio on a desktop browser, you will gain immediate access to more than a year's worth of content, including "Wildest Dreams: Pistons and Rings" here and more PRI Show coverage in the January/February 2025 issue here. 

Howard Kaeding, the West Coast sprint car legend and founder of Kaeding Performance, has passed away, the company confirmed in a social media post. He was 92.

Kaeding was a strong influence in the West Coast sprint car scene, founding the company in the 1960s and winning more than 130 main events at San Jose Speedway in California. 

He is also the father of Sprint Car Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding and grandfather of Bud and Tim Kaeding. Bud Kaeding, a three-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion, now runs Kaeding Performance, which supplies a variety of sprint-car and open-wheel-racing parts.

Photo courtesy of Bud Kaeding

NASCAR officials have introduced specific penalty options for manufacturers in an update to the NASCAR Rule Book in case the sanctioning body finds any wrongdoing from any of its three OEMs.

The updated structure was announced as a new section in the rule book, Section 10.5.2.8.c, including but not limited to the following possible reprimands:

• Loss of 25-50 manufacturer points
• Loss of 30-60 wind-tunnel hours
• Loss of 250-500 RCFD (restricted computational fluid dynamics) test runs
• Loss of 2-4 vehicle tests

The revised rule also states the following, according to NASCAR:

"NASCAR reserves the right to determine if an OEM has violated the NASCAR Rule Book and may impose penalties on the OEM or its representatives accordingly. The following framework serves as a general guideline for assessing OEM penalties. The examples provided are illustrative and not exhaustive, offering clarity on the types and ranges of infractions that may result in penalties, should NASCAR determine enforcement is warranted."

For more on the updates to the NASCAR rulebook, visit nascar.com.

Ford Motor Company has announced several key changes to its leadership group.

Sherry House, who has served as vice president, finance, since June, will become Ford's CFO as planned.

House succeeds John Lawler, who will continue to serve as Ford's vice chair with a focus on strategy, partnerships, alliances and corporate development. Ford also announced Marin Gjaja as chief strategy officer after holding key leadership roles since joining the company in 2022, including COO for Ford Model e. Gjaja will report to Farley and Lawler.

Ford also announced that David McClelland, who has led strategy at Ford since 2019, will retire after a 32-year career with Ford. Andrew Frick will take on additional responsibility as president, Ford Blue and Ford Model e. He will continue to oversee Ford Pro in the interim until a new leader is named.

Kay Hart, who led Ford's International Markets Group, will be appointed general manager of Ford Model e, reporting to Frick. Hart was a key member of the team that developed and launched the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, Ford said.

Additionally, Daniel Justo, vice president, Ford customer service division, will take the lead for customer experience, while Sam Wu, president and CEO, Ford China, is taking an expanded role to include leading the International Markets Group. Jeff Marentic will report to Wu as head of Ford International Markets Group.

For more information, visit ford.com.

Brembo, the Italian brake manufacturer, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in motorsports in 2025 and will be marking the occasion with a series of planned events and initiatives throughout the year.

Founded in 1961, the company entered the motorsports world in 1975 when it supplied Scuderia Ferrari with the first cast iron discs in Formula 1 and has since won more than 700 titles in major competitions around the world.

The company will also celebrate throughout 2025 with a new logo dedicated to its 50th year in racing.

For more information, visit brembo.com.

The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) wrapped its 2025 virtual National Convention, a yearly event to celebrate notable achievements throughout the year in different racing categories.

Hosted by SCCA members across several days, first up was the Road Racing Awards, which recognized:

• Mechanic of the Year: Chicago Region member Grant Stoneberg
• David Morrell Memorial Award: New England Region member Kathy Barnes
• Jim Fitzgerald Rookie of the Year: San Francisco Region member Ethan Lampe
• John McGill Award: Cal Club Region's husband-and-wife duo, Mark and Ceci Smith
• Kimberly Cup: Wichita Region's Tyler Ladd
• President's Cup: New England Region's Ethan Goulart.
   

Read more about the Road Racing awards and recipients here.

Following the Road Racing recognition was the annual SCCA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, along with the presentation of the:

• Member of Excellence Award: South Jersey Region member Matt Wojtkowiak
• 2024 Woolf Barnato Award: Nicholas Craw, a 2010 inductee into the SCCA Hall of Fame
   

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony featured videos celebrating Raleigh and Velma Boreen, Sam and Miles Collier, Bob Dowie, Alex Keller and Ken Miles.

Raleigh and Velma Borren accepted their award, with Richard Collier (Sam Collier's son) accepting for the Collier brothers, Michele Furbeck accepting for her uncle Bob Dowie, Susan Rosenberg accepting for her father Alex Keller, and Peter Miles accepting for his father Ken Miles. 

Read more about the new SCCA Hall of Fame members here and more about the Member of Excellence and Woolf Barnato Award winners here.

Following was the SCCA Region Achievement Awards, which also included a look at well-performing regions, like Central Florida, which gained 643 new members in 2024. In addition, the Region of the Year Awards recognized:

• Jumbo: Washington DC Region – Charles Edmondson, Regional Executive
• Large: Land O'Lakes Region – Mark Utecht, Regional Executive
• Medium: Continental Divide Region – Arnie Coleman, Regional Executive
• Small: Mid-South Region – Jay Park, Regional Executive
   

The Tom Burke Awards, meanwhile, is presented to Regions for exemplary efforts to activate and grow the SCCA:

• Jumbo: Oregon Region – James Coshow, Regional Executive
• Large: Lone Star Region – Nadja Pollard, Regional Executive
• Medium: Glen Region – Ed Zebrowski, Regional Executive
• Small: Southwest Montana Region – Loren Katzenberger, Regional Executive
   

Read more about Region of the Year and the Tom Burke Awards here.

Finally, the RoadRally Board (RRB), RallyCross Board (RXB) and Solo Events Board (SEB) all gathered to celebrate some of the greatest achievements by members, Regions, and Divisions in their respective programs.

Solo Rookie of the Year went to Land O'Lakes Region's Mitchell Welker, while Solo Driver of the Year went to Red Hills Region's Robert Lewis.

Find the complete RoadRally Awards, RallyCross Awards, and Solo Awards winners list here.

The SCCA National Convention comes after PRI and SCCA announced during the most recent PRI Show a new partnership designed to help expand motorsports access to all.

Strong leadership is the backbone of any organization's success. As women in the automotive aftermarket industry continue to break barriers as leaders in their businesses, they have an incredible opportunity to drive innovation, foster collaboration and enhance operations in ways never before seen.   

The SEMA Businesswomen's Network (SBN) Women's Leadership Forum, taking place March 11-13 in Orlando, Florida, will serve as a powerful catalyst for women to advance in their careers. Centered around the theme "Unlocking Potential," the event promises to provide attendees with the tools, resources and connections needed to thrive.    

Below are five reasons why the Forum is the must-attend event for women in the automotive industry:   

1. Amplify Your Executive Presence   

Whether you are a new or seasoned leader, knowing how to advocate for your ideas and inspire others to follow your vision is essential for success. This event will give you the necessary insights to fine-tune your executive presence and communicate your value.  

2. Innovative Seminars and Keynote Speakers   

Hear from a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers and industry experts as they deliver key learnings, actionable takeaways and fresh perspectives to fuel your creativity. Seminars will cover risk taking, accelerating people performance with emotional intelligence, unlocking competitive advantage with generative AI and so much more.    

3. Designed for Women in the Automotive Aftermarket    

Unlike other leadership forums with attendees from various industries, the SBN Forum is uniquely crafted to benefit women in the automotive specialty-equipment market. This focused approach enables participants to connect with peers that understand their unique challenges and learn from others who have shared the same experiences.  

4. Grow Your Network of Women Allies 

Networking activities are scheduled throughout the event, providing a unique opportunity for women to build their professional network, identify collaboration opportunities and build authentic relationships that can offer advice and support long after the event concludes.    

5. Reduced Cost for SBN Members  

SBN members receive the reduced price of $599, compared to the non-SEMA member price of $799.   

Ready to learn, grow and unlock your potential? Register for the 2025 SBN Women's Leadership Forum at sema.org/sbn-wlf.   

In the world of high-performance vehicles, managing engine heat is critical. Overheating can rob your engine of performance and reliability or, at worst, irreparably damage it. Yet, outdated brushed motor cooling technology isn't up to the task.

Keep your engine cool with PROFORM Universal Brushless Electric Fans. Delivering 2100 to 4200 CFM, lightweight (3.9–4.7 lbs.), and a compact, 3-inch profile--perfect for tight spaces and peak performance.
 

Unparalleled Cooling Performance

Enter PROFORM Universal Brushless Electric Fans, providing cutting-edge cooling with more power than traditional brushed fans, delivering an impressive 2100- to 4200-CFM range. Despite this robust output, they are lightweight, just 3.9 to 4.7 lbs., and have a 3-inch-thick compact design--a power-to-size ratio that's at the top of the aftermarket. You never compromise on performance due to space constraints, fitting even the largest of engines into even the most cramped engine bays.

Truly Universal Installation, No Controllers Needed

PROFORM's Brushless Fans' key advantage is the utilization of an advanced voltage-regulation system that controls the fan motor. Unlike other brushless fans on the market that require vehicle-specific controllers, PROFORM fans can be installed with simple positive and negative wiring--just like traditional fans. This makes installation straightforward and hassle-free, saving time and eliminating the need for additional proprietary controllers or components.

PROFORM Brushless Fans feature an advanced voltage regulation system for easy installation. Simply wire to positive and negative terminals--no need for proprietary vehicle-specific controllers.
 

Additionally, this regulation system enables soft-start technology that slowly ramps the fan speed up, preventing amperage spikes at start-up. This feature not only extends the life of your fan but also reduces wear on other electrical components, making it a smart choice for long-term performance.

Why Brushless Is Better

Traditional fans use brushed motors, which rely on physical contact to generate power. Over time, these contacts wear down, leading to reduced efficiency and eventual failure. PROFORM's brushless motor technology eliminates these contacts altogether, resulting in a lifespan more than double that of brushed fans. This innovation provides extended durability and enhanced performance with no loss of cooling power over time.

Experience cutting-edge cooling with PROFORM Universal Brushless Fans! Delivering 2100 to 4200 CFM, they're lightweight (3.9–4.7 lbs.) with a compact 3-inch profile--perfect for tight engine bays.
 

Built for Tough Conditions

Each fan is designed to be installed quickly using essential hand tools and includes a nylon tie mounting kit and detailed instructions. Whether you're stuck in stop-and-go traffic or pushing your car to the limit on the racetrack, PROFORM's Brushless Fans are built to handle the heat. Their reinforced glass-filled polypropylene blades and plastic housing minimize weight while maintaining durability. Whether you need maximum cooling for a high-powered race engine or efficient performance for daily driving, there's a PROFORM Brushless Fan to meet your needs.

Choose the Right Fan for Your Application

With multiple models to choose from, PROFORM offers a range of fans to suit various performance needs:

•         67034: 12-Inch Straight Blade, 2100 CFM

•         67035: 14-Inch Straight Blade, 2900 CFM

•         67036: 16-Inch Straight Blade, 3400 CFM

•         67037: 16-Inch S-Blade, 3300 CFM

•         67038: 12-Inch Straight Blade (2-Pack), 4200 CFM*

•         67039: Multi-Speed Digital Controller with Display (optional)

* Combined CFM performance of two 67034 fans

PROFORM Brushless Fans feature soft-start technology, gradually ramping up fan speed to prevent harmful amp spikes. This extends fan life and reduces wear on electrical components--ideal for long-term performance.
 

Upgrade to Next-Level Cooling

PROFORM Brushless Electric Fans combine superior performance, longevity, and ease of use. Unlike outdated brushed technology, these fans are built to last and handle modern high-performance engines' demands. So, whether you're racing at the track or cruising on the streets, don't settle for yesterday's technology. Power up your passion and stay cool with PROFORM's revolutionary brushless fans. Learn more and explore the full range of fans at ProformParts.com/brushless.