The African American Automotive Association (AAAA) has formed its inaugural board of directors to lead the organization.

Christopher Harris, founder of the organization and seasoned executive with more than a decade of experience in the motorsports industry, will lead the board.

Joining Harris on the board are Kellie Crawford, Pamela Brown-Matthis, Kyle Mayers, Jeremey Miller, Dystany Spurlock, and Larnelle Haynes.

The AAAA board will be committed to making the automotive industry more diverse and inclusive, according to the organization, and its mission is to build the foundations that foster diversity and change the makeup of decision-makers, allowing new ideas to grow within the automotive world. By transforming the industry's leadership to be truly representative of all people, AAAA aims to drive innovation and create a dynamic future for the automotive sector, the organization said in a statement announcing the inaugural board of directors.

For more information on the board and its first members, visit aaaassoc.com.

Utica-Rome Speedway, located in Vernon, New York, is under new ownership, the facility announced.

Now owned by Utica-Rome Productions, the group is a partnership between promoter Brett Deyo and businessman Jason Broedel.

General Managers Jamie and Denise Page will continue in their roles under the new ownership group.

For more information or to read the full announcement, visituticaromespeedway.com.

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America's (MSHFA) latest blockbuster fundraising auction, featuring a rare opportunity for a behind-the-scenes and full-immersion experience of Team Penske at their North Carolina facility, is now live on bringatrailer.com/listing/team-penske-tour. The top bidder and five guests will receive a private two-hour "Behind the Scenes VIP Tour," showcasing Team Penske's NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA race teams, as well as driver meet and greets with two Team Penske drivers.

Proceeds will be donated to the MSHFA, which is operated by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation.

"We are extremely grateful to Roger and everyone at Team Penske for making this amazing experience at Team Penske available to one lucky group that will truly have an experience of their lifetimes," said MSHFA President George Levy.

For more information, visit the MSHFA announcement or visit mshf.com.

The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule will feature three races celebrating a 25th anniversary in 2025 and culminate with the 60th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona.

As previously announced, the 2025 campaign will open at legendary Gainesville Raceway for the third straight year, as the 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals kicks off the NHRA's 74th year of racing on March 6-9. The NHRA will commemorate 25 years of racing during both events at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, as well as the 65th anniversary of the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, the 40th anniversary at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix, Texas Motorplex in Dallas, and Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, and the 15th anniversary of four-wide racing at state-of-the-art zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

In all, the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule currently includes 20 races at standout facilities across the country. Minus the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals on August 27-September 1 in Indy, which will feature five qualifying sessions, and the Virginia NHRA Nationals, which will again have three qualifying sessions on Saturday as part of a two-day event, every other race will include four overall qualifying sessions, with two on Friday and two on Saturday.

For the full details, visit the NHRA website announcement or visit nhra.com.

Mustang Week has announced a new, "massive" second event to its lineup for 2025. Mustang Week: Texas will be held in Galveston, Texas, on April 23-27, 2025.

"For over 20 years, Mustang Week has captivated enthusiasts in Myrtle Beach, the Carolinas and surrounding states, becoming the biggest and best Mustang-only event in the country," said Director of Events Tom Myroniak.

Mustang Week: Texas will kick off Thursday, April 24, at the Motor Speedway Resort (MSR) Houston for a full day of road racing and go-karting. The following day, the festivities will move to Houston Motorsports Park for all-Ford and Mustang drag racing, burnouts and head-to-head "spectator drags" on the HMP circle track, while autocross and Ford club meet-ups will take place at Moody Gardens. A massive Friday Night Bash at Moody Gardens will ignite the weekend with drifting exhibitions, a burnout box, autocross, celebrities, music, food trucks and more. The event will head into the weekend at Moody Gardens for the Mustang Week: Texas Mustang-only car show on Saturday and an All-Ford and Mustang cruise-in on Sunday, as well as a performance marketplace on both days.

More than 5,000 Mustangs are anticipated to participate for a week of burnouts, drag racing, autocross, cruising and meet-ups.

Power Automedia revived Mustang Week in 2023 and has sought to expand, starting in 2024, with more features to the Myrtle Beach event as well as more locations.

"As for the original Mustang Week in Myrtle Beach, rest assured... we are fully committed to bringing this iconic event back in 2025," stated Myroniak. "While we are still finalizing the plans, we promise that Mustang Week will return stronger than ever in the home of Mustang Week for more than 20 years. We are dedicated to ensuring that the Myrtle Beach event continues to be the premier gathering for Mustang enthusiasts."

For more information, visit mustangweek.com.

NASCAR and ABB, a company specializing in electrification and automation, have launched a new partnership, the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership and revealed a new EV prototype.

ABB becomes the first Official Partner of NASCAR IMPACT, the sanctioning body’s platform to strengthen its communities and contribute to a healthier planet, and together will work to advance NASCAR’s strategic sustainability ambitions across electrification. 

The ABB NASCAR EV Prototype was built by the NASCAR Research and Development Center team and developed in collaboration with NASCAR's OEM partners, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.

The track-tested, electrified stock car has three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors (one front, two rear) supplying power directly to all four specially designed Goodyear Racing Eagle tires. Anchored by a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery, the tunable powertrain can produce 1,000 kW at peak power. Regenerative braking converts kinetic energy into power, making the car ideal for road courses and short oval tracks.

The all-wheel-drive car has a generic Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) body made of sustainable flax-based composite. The body sits on a modified Next Gen chassis, and the steering, suspension, brakes, and wheels all derive from the NASCAR Cup Series car.

For more information, visit nascar.com.

Mark Dawson has been named NHRA's Northeast Division Director, overseeing NHRA-member tracks in Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as facilities in Canadian provinces New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.

Dawson, who has more than 30 years of drag racing operations experience, comes to Division 1 from Famoso Dragstrip in McFarland, California, where he served as the director of racing operations. He also spent time at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, California, as well as Maple Grove Raceway, home of the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

The Northeast Division hosts several NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events throughout the season, as well as NHRA national events at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, Virginia, and Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit nhra.com.

Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), based in Daytona Beach, Florida, has launched the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty's Garage, a new series for the organization's growing Group 8 Historic Stock Cars division.

The series will debut at VIRginia International Raceway during the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge weekend on August 23-25.

The class will be open to stock cars that have been retired from active competition. Eligible NASCAR Classic cars include those built to previous NASCAR rule book specifications for Cup, Xfinity, Truck and ARCA competition. Current editions of the rules-eligible cars in each series, such as the Cup series Generation 7 chassis, are not eligible in NASCAR Classic competition.

Additionally, all rules-eligible cars must carry authentic and period-correct liveries previously seen in NASCAR competition over the years. A maximum of 30 select entries will be accepted by HSR for each of 2024’s HSR NASCAR Classic rounds.

For more information, visit hsrrace.com.

Sports and entertainment media executive Guillermo Santa Cruz has been named the new president of Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Santa Cruz joins the Homestead-Miami Speedway team after spending more than 10 years at IMG, a global sports agency, where he served as vice president, Latin America, Mexico and U.S. Hispanic. In that role, he managed sales, business development, and client relations across the entire region of Latin America for IMG. During that time, he represented and negotiated media rights for Major League Soccer, Concacaf World Qualifiers, WWE and Roland Garros (French Open).

Santa Cruz takes over for long-time Homestead-Miami Speedway executive Al Garcia, who has served as the president since 2019. Garcia will remain with the track in a consultant position.

For more information, visit homesteadmiamispeedway.com.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has revealed a multi-phase plan for upgrades at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) in Brownsburg, Indiana.

The plans include a new Wally Parks Tower, renovated suites, a new fan entrance, and moving the professional pits to a new location inside the facility.

As part of an overall reinvestment into facilities owned and operated by the NHRA, the sanctioning body's upgrades at IRP will begin later this year and take place over three phases.

• Phase 1: New Wally Parks Tower and renovated suites
• Phase 2: Fan enhancements, new entrance, restrooms, ticket office and ditch relocation
• Phase 3: Shifting the Pro Pits to the West side of the facility

The new Wally Parks Tower is set to be completed in time for the 2025 NHRA U.S. Nationals, according to the organization, and will be a three-story facility that will feature race control, a media center, television broadcasting capabilities and three suites on the third floor.

The open-air covered roof will include an overview area and an event space that can host more than 500 people. The tower will also have dedicated bathrooms, a staircase, and an elevator, and will sit in the same area as the previous tower.

For a full look at the planned improvements, visit nhra.com.