Rep. Pete Stauber [R-MN], Rep. Glenn Grothman [R-WI], and Rep. Angie Craig [D-MN]

Minnesota and Wisconsin will hold their 2022 primary elections on Tuesday, August 9, and it’s important to know which candidates support racing when going to the polls or voting early. Visit PRI’s Vote Racing page for information on voting in the primary, including absentee and early voting, registering to vote, and identifying your lawmakers and the candidates running in 2022.

The Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act), H.R. 3281 and S. 2736, enjoys strong support from Minnesota and Wisconsin members of Congress. The bipartisan RPM Act guarantees the right to modify street cars, trucks, and motorcycles into dedicated race vehicles and safeguards the industry’s right to offer parts that enable racers to compete. For more information on the RPM Act, visit saveourracecars.com. 

Below is a list of federal lawmakers who have co-sponsored the RPM Act in the 2021–2022 session of Congress and are running for re-election in 2022. 

MINNESOTA: 
Rep. Angie Craig [D-MN] 
Rep. Pete Stauber [R-MN]*  

WISCONSIN: 
Rep. Glenn Grothman [R-WI]*  
*Original RPM Act co-sponsor 

For more information, contact erics@sema.org.  

Image courtesy of SRO Motorsports Group
 

SRO Motorsports Group has announced the SRO Motorsports Group America calendar for 2023. SRO Motorsports Group is the international sporting organization that promotes and organizes racing events and series, including the Total 24 Hours of Spa, Intercontinental GT Challenge, and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe.

For North America, Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will headline seven race weekends beginning at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 24–26. Then, on March 3–5, GT America racers will head to the Streets of Florida to join IndyCar for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. 

The annual trip to California’s Wine Country will take place from March 30–April 2 at Sonoma Raceway. Circuit of The Americas returns to the calendar on May 5–7 in Austin, Texas.

Next up, VIRginia International Raceway kicks off summer on June 16–18 as more and more US competitors take on “the greatest GT race on the planet”—the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on July 29–30. 

GT America returns to the Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville on August 4–6. All series return to Road America on August 25–27, kicking off the second half of the season at the National Park of Speed.  
Sebring International Raceway in Florida serves as the penultimate round on September 23–25 and concludes in style at the most iconic racing venue in North America, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS on October 5–8. 

For more information, visit sro-motorsports.com. 

For the first time since 2014, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 15–17, 2023, as the headline event of a full weekend of IMSA sports car action billed as the “IMSA Battle on the Bricks” around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. The two-hour, 40-minute WeatherTech Championship event will be held on Sunday, September 17, with live NBC network television coverage.

“Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground in the world of motorsport, and we are honored to bring IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship back to IMS,” IMSA President John Doonan said. 

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will headline the action on Saturday, September 16, with a four-hour, bumper-to-bumper traffic jam of production-based race cars. The weekend also will include other IMSA-sanctioned single-make series to be announced later.

Looking forward, IMSA will return to the Racing Capital of the World in 2024 and 2025, as well, for longer endurance races. Fans who purchase race tickets or infield camping in 2023 will have first access to secure those spots for the 2024 IMSA endurance race.

For more information, visit ims.com or imsa.com. 

Southern Style Racing Engines (SSRE) & Components Inc., based in Pinellas Park, Florida, is for sale.  

Founded 50 years ago by current owner George Pils, SSRE is a fully equipped machine shop and performance parts business.

Included in the sale is a robust stock of parts and purchasing power at some of the industry’s best rates.  

Serious buyers may contact George Pils at southernstyle@brightouse.com.

Tyler Epp has been named president of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix event, as announced by the event’s managing partner, Tom Garfinkel.

Epp previously served as the event’s senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO) and has more than 20 years of senior management experience spanning multiple sports. 

“Tyler is a dynamic leader with integrity and diverse executive experience across multiple sports. We are excited to promote him to the president of the Grand Prix,” said Garfinkel. 

As part of the announcement, Richard Cregan moves into a consultancy role, where he will continue to provide his knowledge and experience to support Epp and the management team.

Epp’s experience includes roles with the Kansas City Chiefs football and San Diego Padres baseball teams. He also served as the general manager of the Hall of Fame Racing, a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior, he was vice president of business development for Sports Management Network, a motorsports representation and consulting firm. 

Additionally, Epp spent five years with Chip Ganassi Racing, the motorsports organization with teams that competed in NASCAR, IndyCar, and GrandAm Series. He got his start in the industry as a marketing assistant at Kansas Speedway. 

The dates for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix will be announced later. 

For more information, visit f1miamigp.com.

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) officials have announced the addition of an A/Fuel engine program for the Top Alcohol Funny Car class beginning in the 2023 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

With the addition of the A/Fuel (injected nitromethane) engine program into the class, NHRA aims to increase participation and give drivers and race teams another option to run.

“This is something we’ve been working on for several years, and it’s all about building new excitement and a sustainable business model for the category. We believe there is going to be strong interest right off the bat [and it] will reduce costs for interested teams, and we’re eager to see this class continue to grow,” NHRA Technical Services/ Top Alcohol Rules Committee Chairman Josh Hamming said.

“As an added benefit... the injected nitro combination can also serve as a viable path for drivers, teams, and crew members to ultimately advance to the nitro Funny Car class in the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series,” an NHRA release stated. 

For the complete ruleset for the new combination, visit nhraracer.com. For more information, visit nhra.com. 
 

Camping World—the Lincolnshire, Illinois-based provider of recreational vehicles and related components—has announced the company will end its 14-year sponsorship of the NASCAR Truck Series. 

The news was announced on Twitter by Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, who stated, “What an amazing opportunity it’s been. [Fourteen] years, over 30 race entitlements, over 35 drivers sponsored, and some of the best fans one could wish for. Thank you, NASCAR.” 

“...In acknowledging what matters most, our people, we have made the decision to reallocate those marketing dollars towards increasing the income and benefits of our people,” he continued. 

Camping World most recently renewed its entitlement sponsorship in a seven-year deal that began in 2016 and ends in 2022. The title changed names during the sponsorship, with the series known as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2019, and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020. The name reverted to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starting in 2021. 

NASCAR has not yet announced a new title sponsor. 

For more information, visit nascar.com. 

Five Star Race Car Bodies—the manufacturer of race car bodies and components based in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin—has appointed Dan Robinson to the newly created role of MD3 key accounts manager. MD3 is the provider of dirt late model, dirt modified, and street stock body panels. 

“I look forward to representing the MD3 brand and Five Star with a stronger presence in the field of dirt racing... [and] communicate with teams, chassis builders and sanctioning bodies to fine-tune existing products and to seek out new product opportunities that fit the needs of the industry,” Robinson said. 

Robinson has several years of experience in the racing industry beginning in 2009 as the series director, promoter, and general manager of Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. In 2018, he became the director of racing operations with Lucas Oil Products before being promoted to vice president of motorsports operations.

At the beginning of the year, Robinson was appointed as the chief operating officer (COO) at marketing and multimedia company XR, where he helped organize events and streaming broadcasts for races like the Bristol Dirt Nationals. 

“We have known Dan personally since his childhood in our hometown. His experiences and passion for motorsports are second to none. Dan will be a key piece to elevating our MD3 brand to a whole new level,” said Five Star Race Car Bodies Vice President Corey Schultz. 

For more information, visit fivestarbodies.com.

(Left to right) Jim Fornear, Jeff Kritzer, Don Henthorn, Javier Arias and Rudy Diaz

BendPak—the manufacturer of car lifts, wheel components, and shop equipment based in Santa Paula, California—has announced Jeff Kritzer as president and CEO. He replaces Don Henthorn, who has served as president and company founder since 1965. Henthorn moves into an advisory capacity as chairman emeritus.

Additionally, Rudy Diaz was promoted from vice president of information technology to executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). Jim Fornear, meantime, moves from financial controller to chief financial officer (CFO), while Javier Arias continues as vice president of operations. 

“All of us at BendPak are grateful for Don’s continued service to the company and his solid contributions to our success. We look forward to his ongoing guidance and direction during this transitionary period,” Kritzer said. 

For more information, visit bendpak.com. 

Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI)—the Mt. Gilead, Ohio-based provider of specialized oil and fuel additives and parent company of Hot Shot’s Secret lubrications—has promoted Julie Blankenship to chemical business development manager. 

Blankenship will be the primary support to international distributors authorized to sell LSI Chemical branded additives and Hot Shot’s Secret products. She will coordinate sales and marketing for LSI Chemical’s current 12 distributors in nine countries in Central America and Europe. She will also manage LSI Chemical’s trade show and conference event schedule and coordinate all educational and promotional materials.

Blankenship has over 30 years of experience with non-profits, corporate, trade associations, and public policy. Before this position, she served as LSI’s operations manager for the research and development department since December 2020. 

For more information, visit lsichemical.com.