The following message is from SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola:

SEMA and PRI appreciate the difficult task facing the Democratic Party as it begins its process of identifying a new nominee for president and vice president of the United States. While many issues will be weighed and considered with regard to the pool of emerging candidates, SEMA and PRI ask that the party identify and unite around nominees whose values are in line with those of the association's members--the 7,000 companies that create, buy, sell and use specialty-automotive parts--as well as the consumers whose support of these businesses help create jobs and fuel a nearly $337 billion in annual economic impact to the U.S. economy.  

SEMA and PRI seek candidates who will: 

• Remain technology-neutral in pursuit of decarbonizing motor vehicles in their environmental policy, including consideration for the many options on the road to zero emissions. Such a candidate will understand the pivotal role of American-grown biofuels, synthetic fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture and innovations in engine systems and fuels for achieving our shared goal of reducing carbon in the atmosphere. 
• Prioritize small business in their economic policy, including support for independent businesses by enabling them to thrive by fostering their ability to reach, support and engage with their customers to the betterment of the marketplace. Such a candidate will champion consumers' rights to decide where and with what parts they can use to repair and maintain their vehicles, as well as policies that ensure independent repair shops, aftermarket businesses and automotive enthusiasts have access to the tools and information necessary to repair and service motor vehicles. 
• Preserve America's recreational use of public lands in their conservation policy, including land-use policies that provide reasonable motorized recreational access to public lands so that off-road enthusiasts can responsibly enjoy their passion. Such a candidate will oppose usage policies that unnecessarily limit access, such as wilderness and national monument designations that are larger than needed to protect unique natural resources. 

When Americans will have their say on Election Day in November, SEMA and PRI will highlight candidates on the ballot who share the values that make our nation great: a commitment to the free market, to pragmatic, innovative solutions and to the people who deliver such solutions and bolster the world's strongest economy each and every day. 

Total Cost Involved Engineering (TCI), the Ontario, California-based manufacturer of chassis and suspensions, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024.

The company is celebrating the milestone by offering discounts on freight expenses for its products. The company will cover the full cost of freight for front and rear suspension purchases and provide a 50% discount for freight for the purchase of a new chassis. The promotion is available through the end of September.

TCI was founded in 1974 by Ed Moss, the current owner and president of the company, and its first product was a newly designed and engineered Model A chassis. Today, TCI operates from a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Ontario, California, ships globally and employs more than 50 employees.

For more information, visit totalcostinvolved.com.

Operation Motorsport, in conjunction with the United States Auto Club (USAC), will host the inaugural Veterans Race of Remembrance, scheduled for Veterans Day weekend, November 7-9, 2025, at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).

The USAC-sanctioned event will feature a 12-hour, multi-class endurance sportscar race, a 100-minute CanAm Challenge featuring GT4/TCR cars, and two rounds of a yet-to-be-announced single-make national series. In addition to on-track action, the weekend will also include activities to honor veterans and engage race fans.

Operation Motorsport is a veteran-led foundation based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Brighton, Ontario. It serves American and Canadian Service Members and supports the recovery of medically retired or retired service members affected by military service through motorsports opportunities.

“Operation Motorsport has provided recovery opportunities for medically retired service men and women through motorsports for seven years," said Operation Motorsport CEO Diezel Lodder. "It has long been our dream to organize a Veterans Race of Remembrance. Thanks to our partners and the North American racing community, I am thrilled that the first race of its kind will happen on Veterans Day weekend 2025 at VIRginia International Raceway.”

For more information, visit operationmotorsport.org/veterans-race-of-remembrance.

Competition Clutch ACES and PIES data is now available direct and through the SEMA Data Co-Op.

As part of The Wharton Automotive Group, Competition Clutch now provides the data necessary for its wholesale customers to populate their websites and ERP systems so they can easily and accurately sell Competition Clutch products, the company said.

"ACES and PIES is a digital tool that allows our customers to populate their websites and their back-end systems with information the customer needs to buy the right Competition Clutch products for their build," said Bob Scheid, vice president of the Wharton Automotive Group.

For more information, visit competitionclutch.com.

Whether preparing to sell your business or reviewing the books, here’s how to get more for your return on investment.

Is your business an investment or a job?

It is a rare experience to find a person within the industry who was not first attracted to racing because of a love for the sport. Who doesn’t want to have their life work be something they enjoy? Perhaps you have heard the expression, “Love what you do, and you will not work a day in your life.”

While that may be true, the business you have chosen should also be looked at in a very different way: as an investment. You have put in money, time, and effort into your business. While your time and effort do not appear on the balance sheet, they are going to appear in the form of money when you get to the point of selling that profitable business to someone. 

That component is called, “goodwill” or “blue sky” and is critical to selling a business. It is there because the buyer is purchasing a business with a proven track record with established customers, and the new owner will be selling products and services on Day One after acquiring the business.

None of these advantages exist to the person who is starting a new business. Hence the reasoning for an existing business being entitled to this money.

Analyzing The Balance Sheet

Let’s look at your business from the perspective of today. Take your balance sheet and look at the bottom section. This should be titled equity, stockholder’s equity, or net worth. Without selling the business, this is what your business is worth. Now let’s change the name from one of the three just mentioned to “investment.”

If we were to take that dollar amount and hand it to you, surely you would begin to look for where you could next invest that money. Perhaps you would contact a financial advisor, and during the conversation with this person, you are definitely going to ask about the rate of return on your money that you can expect to receive. You will also ask about the risk factor with the investment. If you are comfortable with their answers, you will allow them to invest your money for you.

But your money is invested in your business. And we would expect you to have a strong level of comfort with your money being there because you are knowledgeable in owning and operating your business.

We should then ask if you know what the return on investment (ROI) is in your business. We have found that very few people have ever looked at their business in this way, but shouldn’t you?

Surely you don’t want to find that you could have made more money by making an investment in something like Apple or Walmart stock, as compared to what you make in your business. With any stock, your investment is going to go up and/or down regardless of what you do. You can’t do anything to make that investment better. 

Your business is different. Of course, that means you have to know how ROI is calculated in any investment. You have to know how ROI is affected when any of those components are changed.

It seems logical if you can decrease expenses and your business makes more money, the ROI is going to increase. The same would be true if you were to purchase products or supplies for less money and when you can increase your hourly rate or the prices of the products you sell.

Let’s look at another example. You have tools that you are not using, and you sell them. Then what happens? Something you had sitting in your shop has now been converted into cash. What does that do with your ROI? Better? Worse?

The answer is that there is no change! What was an unused tool sitting on a shelf is now cash sitting in a checking account, and that cash is doing absolutely nothing for you. There might be a feeling that you are pleased with more cash on hand, but the reality is that the ROI on the unused tool and the cash in the checking account is zero.

You can expect a similar situation when we look at the business selling products. If you have products that are not selling, they too have an ROI of zero.

Cost of Inventory

There is a situation we should explore regarding the person who has bought a year’s worth of some merchandise. By that we mean that you have bought so much of an item that it is going to take you a year to sell all that you have. Think about buying 24 of an item at the start of the year. With a year’s supply on hand, that means there are two of them sitting on the shelf doing nothing for 11 months. Look at November and you have four that have sat there for the previous 10 months doing nothing.

You may have received a better price by buying 24 instead of just six, but you have to consider the cost of that inventory sitting on the shelf for so long. That decision should be more than just a guess. To help, we have created this online calculator that can help you make that decision of how you buy.

Performing this exercise can help you increase the ROI in your business.

If the decision is to purchase only six at a time, you are going to find that you have more cash sitting in the checking account. It will be the same with the inventory items that do not move, and you liquidate them.

The cash sitting in the checking account has that same zero ROI. It can only help the ROI if it is in the form of products that you sell.

This is not to suggest that you keep your checking account cleared out. You have to determine the level of cash on hand that is suitable for your business. It does clearly explain that tools not being used, inventory that does not sell, and cash sitting in a checking account cannot do anything to improve the ROI.

Back to that Apple and Walmart stock. You can’t affect their value improving. But you can do more to improve the value of your business. To that point we offer this online calculator that will show you how to determine the ROI in your business as well as show you when you change something how your ROI moves.

Now, in a way you are a financial advisor, and your client is your business. We have observed from those who learn how to monitor their ROI that their business is most often the best possible investment they could make.

SCORE International, the desert racing organization, has released its four-race schedule for 2025.

The 2025 season--which also marks SCORE's 52ndyear as an organization--will feature four events, all in Baja California, Mexico.

See the full schedule below:

   - King Shocks 38th SCORE San Felipe 250—April 2-6, San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico

   - BFGoodrich Tires 57th SCORE Baja 500—June 4-8, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

   - 6th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing—September 10-14, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

   - BFGoodrich Tires 58th SCORE Baja 1000—November 10-16, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

For more information, visit score-international.com.

Neil Britt, who led NHRA's National Dragster magazine and the NHRA's publications department for more than a dozen years through the 1980s and 90s, has passed away. He was 77.

Britt joined NHRA in November 1983 as director of publications, and helped the organization's weekly magazine grow in size, circulation and advertising revenue, the NHRA said. He also led the creation of the Daily Dragster, which debuted at the 1988 NHRA U.S. Nationals, and later championed the creation of the NHRA.com website in 1995. Britt was promoted to vice president of publications, and later to senior vice president, before leaving the NHRA in 1997.

For more on Britt and his impact at the NHRA, visit nhra.com.

High Limit Racing, the winged sprint car series owned by Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet, is hosting its first international race at Perth Motorplex in Perth, Western Australia, later this year.

Scheduled for December 28-30, for the three-day "High Limit International: Perth" will pay an Australian sprint car record $100,000 to the finale’s winner.

The international event will not count toward the Kubota High Limit Racing point standings, but six Kubota High Limit Racing drivers are already slated to participate in the event.

For more information, visit highlimitracing.com.

The UIM E1 World Championship, the all-electric raceboat series, has announced the relaunch of its Pilot Academy.

The program is designed to identify new pilots—from various racing backgrounds and disciplines—for the series' 2025 season. Selected racers will be given the opportunity to compete aboard the RaceBird, E1’s electric raceboat, and will undergo trials overseen by powerboating figures Mathilda Wiberg and Claire Toohey.

E1 regulations mandate that each team must select two pilots of different genders. The structured training program will include instruction on safety, media, and fitness training, as well as hands-on experience driving various types of boats. Successful candidates will join the 'pilot pool,' from which teams will select their lineups.

Applications for the E1 Pilot Academy are now open.

To register or find out more, contact recruitmentpilotacademy@e1series.com.

For more information, visit e1series.com.

The IMSA-sanctioned Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup spec series will hold an exhibition race as part of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale event on Saturday, October 26.

The event will be a 300-lap doubleheader called the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 with the Mazda MX-5 Cup taking to the track for 100 laps, directly followed by the 200-lap finale of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. The Mazda MX-5 Cup race will award $15,000 to the race winner.

The exhibition event will not count toward the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Cup championship, which concludes October 11 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 will be the first race on an oval circuit for MX-5 Cup. Entries are open for all racers and are not limited to MX-5 Cup or IMSA drivers and teams.

For more information, visit imsa.com.