PROJECT X, the innovator in the off-road lighting solutions space, has announced the promotion of Jared Chavez to Director of Brand Development and the addition of two industry veterans, Matt Moghaddam and Shawn Bell, to the Marketing and Sales leadership teams.
The appointment of Chavez signifies Horizon’s investment in the future of the off-road industry, the company stated. Chavez, a 16-year industry veteran, helped develop the TYPE S brand, a division of Horizon Brands.
Moghaddam’s marketing experience includes working with brands including MagnaFlow, Nitto Driving Line, and Automotive Performance Group (APG) Offroad. Bell, meanwhile, will oversee sales for PROJECT X.
It was also recently announced that Larry Chen, the renowned automotive photographer and car builder based in Los Angeles, has joined Horizon Brands as a key ambassador for the TYPE S and PROJECT X teams in 2022 and beyond.
Officials with Dawson County Raceway, the dirt track in Lexington, Nebraska, have announced Bobby and Janelle Lincoln as the new promoters, taking over for Chad Dolan.
“I am really glad to leave the track in great hands. We worked really hard to get it rebuilt, and I believe Bobby and his family are a great fit… [and that] they will really take care of the sponsors, fans, racers, and the community,” Dolan stated in a track release.
The Lincolns also own and operate US 30 Speedway in Columbus, Nebraska.
Dawson County Raceway hosts Sunday night racing for the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season for IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, IMCA Northern SportMods, and Mach-1 Sport Compacts. The season opens May 8 with season championship night set for August 28.
Drag Illustrated, the drag racing Magazine and content producer, has announced the nominees for the inaugural Drag Illustrated Awards.
PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer has been nominated in the “Special Award for Ambassadors to the Sport of Drag Racing” category for PRI’s advocacy and membership efforts to support the sport of drag racing. He appears alongside Brian Lohnes, Clay Millican, Ron Capps, and Jim Hughes.
Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings champion Ryan Martin, NHRA Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson, PDRA Pro Boost driver and tuner Todd Tutterow, NHRA Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence, and NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith we nominated for the Racer of the Year.
“Our editorial team spent a lot of time narrowing down these categories and choosing the most deserving nominees,” said Wes Buck, founder, and editorial director, Drag Illustrated. “We tried to cover as many bases as possible by highlighting the people, places, and experiences that made 2021 such an incredible year for the sport of drag racing.”
A selection committee will determine the winners, which will be announced during Drag Illustrated’s DI Awards Show livestreamed on Thursday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. Central on its Facebook and YouTube pages. The winners will also be featured in the new Racer of the Year Issue launching in early February.
Racer of the Year: Ryan Martin, Greg Anderson, Todd Tutterow, Steve Torrence, and Matt Smith
Sportsman Racer of the Year: Luke Bogacki, Jeff Serra, Tyler Bohannon, Sean Bellemeur, and Christopher Dodd
Outlaw Racer of the Year: Manny Buginga, Stevie Jackson, Tim Essick, Ken Quartuccio, and Rob Goss
Breakout Racer of the Year: Lyle Barnett, Kyle Koretsky, Dallas Glenn, Josh Hart, and Justin Swanstrom
Pass of the Year: Brittany Force’s 3.637 at 335 mph in Top Fuel at Texas NHRA FallNationals, Todd Tutterow’s 3.58 at 211 mph in Outlaw Pro Mod at U.S. Street Nationals, Daniel Pharris’ 3.49 in Radial vs. the World at Lights Out, Manny Buginga’s 5.75 in Outlaw vs. Extreme at World Cup Finals, and John DeFlorian’s 4.000 in Extreme Pro Stock at PDRA World Finals
Race of the Year: NHRA Texas FallNationals/Stampede of Speed, PDRA World Finals, 50th Annual Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, NHRA Gatornationals, and World Doorslammer Nationals
Crew of the Year: Fireball Racing, KB Racing, GALOT Motorsports, the “Capco Boys,” and Elite Motorsports
Tuner of the Year: Jeff Pierce, Brandon Switzer, Steve Petty, Bobby Lagana, and Jake Hairston
John Force Showmanship Award: Scott Palmer, Alex Laughlin, Stevie “Fast” Jackson, Matt Hagan, and Lyle Barnett
Special Award for Ambassadors to the Sport of Drag Racing: Dr. Jamie Meyer, Brian Lohnes, Clay Millican, Ron Capps, and Jim Hughes
Promoter of the Year: Andy Carter, Victor Alvarez, Tyler Crossnoe, Bill Bader, and Sam Korkis
Track of the Year: Texas Motorplex, Bradenton Motorsports Park, Summit Motorsports Park, Virginia Motorsports Park, and Bandimere Speedway
Moment of the Year: Bruno Massel vs. Mason McGaha Staging Duel at Topeka, Lyle Barnett Wins in NHRA Pro Mod at Dallas, Justin Kirk Wins in XPS at Bowling Green, John and Brittany Force Win Together at Topeka, Troy Coughlin Jr. Defeats Greg Anderson at Las Vegas, and JR Todd’s Throttle Whack to Stage at Indy
Rivalry of the Year: Matt Smith Racing vs. Vance & Hines, John Force vs. Matt Hagan, Jim Halsey vs. Tommy Franklin, KB Racing vs. Elite Motorsports, and Justin Swanstrom vs. Everyone but Team X
Social Media Influencer of the Year: Justin Swanstrom, Alex Taylor, Clay Millican, Leah Pruett, and Alex Laughlin
Red Line Oil has signed a two-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals. The Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals offers six national events catering to grassroots drag racing, street performance, and the restoration and customization segments.
“Red Line Oil has a rich history in motorsports and bringing them into the NMCA as the series sponsor is a great fit from hardcore Pro Mod racers to street performance enthusiasts as well as fans across the country,” said Steve Wolcott, CEO and founder of ProMedia Events, the parent company of the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals.
The Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals is prepared to launch at Bradenton Motorsports Park on March 17–20 for the NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem Presented by Holbrook Racing Engines. For the complete 2022 season schedule, visit here.
Penske Truck Leasing has donated a specially equipped 26-foot Freightliner M2 box truck to house and transport the new TechForce Foundation Mobile STEM Career Center. The Center is a traveling, hands-on exhibit designed to engage and help Gen Z discover a rewarding career path as professional technicians in the transportation field.
“Although we developed the STEM career activities over the past few years, we’ve been limited by our ability to deploy them – these are big and heavy activities. This Penske truck makes us highly mobile, and we are looking forward to hitting the road in 2022,” TechForce CEO Jennifer Maher said.
The new Mobile STEM Career Center will offer activities, including:
• Pit Stop Challenge – Race against the clock to see who can change the tires fastest on the front clip of a real NASCAR using the real power tools from the racing pits.
• Go Nutz – Match the fasteners (nuts) to the Snap-on wrenches.
• The Virtual V8 – Discover the inner workings of the virtual V-8 engine projected into the real world.
• Off the Line – Test reflexes on a real light tree from a drag strip starting line.
• Slot Car Racing – Discover how shape and weight can determine the winning car.
• High-tech circuits – Build a functioning circuitry with real circuit boards, wires, motors, and lights.
• How’s It Work – Discovery station crewed by instructors who demonstrate some common auto systems and maybe even some catastrophic failures.
• Model of Power – Try a hand at building a functioning scaled-down model of a V-8 engine.
• Cutaway V-10 – Check out the inner workings of a real high-performance V-10 engine.
• Code-A-Car – Write code to power miniature auto functions like lights and fans.
• Ford GT – See the Nicolas Cage Ford GT up-close.
• TechForce Network – Explore the free competitions, events, training and other resources designed especially for the next generation of techs.
The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has debuted the new hybrid Rally1 race cars.
In the presence of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem ahead of the 2022 season launch, reigning champions Toyota Gazoo Racing, Hyundai Motorsport, and M-Sport Ford revealed the all-new vehicles which will compete across 13 rounds on four continents.
The plug-in hybrid-powered cars are built around an upgraded safety cell chassis and feature 100% fossil-free fuel and sustainable energy supplies. The new hybrid challengers blend a 100kW electric motor with a 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol engine, which has powered the sport’s top-tier cars since 2011.
The series stated that the package raises peak performance levels to more than 500hp while also reducing harmful emissions.
Photo of Maurizio Reggiani courtesy of Lamborghini
Lamborghini has announced Maurizio Reggiani as vice president of Motorsports.
Reggiani will be responsible for the strategic direction of Lamborghini’s entire motorsports division, which secured victories in GT championships in recent years.
“Maurizio Reggiani has been behind every fundamental decision that has enabled this company to achieve the today records. He was the father of Lamborghini’s most successful models, from the Aventador to the Urus, from the Huracán to the Countach LPI 800-4, models that have become icons in the history of this brand or will soon become so. His pioneering vision has given continuity to Lamborghini’s DNA, which has made the drive for innovation one of its founding values since 1963,” Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said.
Lamborghini has also appointed Rouven Mohr as the chief technical officer.
Longtime Speedway Motorsports executive Don Hawk has been announced as the new CEO for the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), the racing series launched by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham in 2021.
In his new role, Hawk will be responsible for the strategy, operations, and business development including media, sales and marketing, personnel, track relationships, rules, safety, international expansion, and more, as reported by AP News.
Hawk began his tenure with Speedway Motorsports in 2007 and held positions including chief racing development officer and vice president of Business Affairs. Prior, he served as a consultant and director of Regional Racing Development for NASCAR.
SRX hosted six events televised on CBS in 2021 and included visits to Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford, Connecticut), Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa), Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio), Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (Brownsburg, Indiana), Slinger Speedway (Slinger, Wisconsin), and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville, Tennessee).
Tracking legal, legislative, and regulatory developments impacting the racing and performance industry.
PRI’s Washington, DC-based advocacy team and Race Track Ambassador Tom Deery work continuously to protect tracks, sanctioning bodies, and motorsports businesses around the nation. This month, we are tracking several initiatives, including many that came out of the 2021 PRI Trade Show: track operators and promoters uniting to benefit the industry; the Save Our Racecars Rally that raised funds to support motorsports; and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s visit to the event. Plus, an update on our campaign to increase awareness of the vital RPM Act.
Track Operators, Sanctions Unite
Drag racing track operators and event organizers across the nation have teamed up to find solutions to current issues, including how to keep gates open and grandstands full, plus how facilities can receive legal assistance for issues such as noise ordinances and curfews.
An all-encompassing roundtable, led by Kurt Johnson of Total Venue Concepts, drew about 70 professionals representing some 30 drag racing facilities and five sanctioning bodies.
“The session was a huge success. The beauty is the ease of collaborating between so many tracks with different sanctions, sizes, and geographical areas. Yet, all of these tracks have so many of the same problems,” Johnson said. “Many in attendance did not realize that PRI can help the tracks with legal issues. This was addressed, and contact information was shared with attendees, so that alone was a big success.” [Editor’s note: the PRI track promoter helpline can be reached at 202-794-8279 and racinghelp@performanceracing.com.]
The drag racing meeting mirrored similar roundtables for dirt and asphalt oval tracks led by Joe Skotnicki of Racing Promotion Monthly. In these separate gatherings, topics ranged from on-track competition to marketing events, including the “hot topic” of live streaming races. Around 50 track and sanction professionals attended the dirt oval meeting, while approximately 30 participated in the asphalt installment.
An all-new dedicated workspace at PRI 2021 helped unite owners, promoters, officials, and staff of race tracks and sanctioning bodies.
“Several regions were represented, including Florida, Alabama, Alaska, and more. Some big names were also present, including Gregg McKarns, Larry Kemp, Larry Boos, Bob Sargent, Scott Gobrecht, and more,” Skotnicki said. “Anytime you can bring promoters and sanctions together, it is amazing what you will learn. It was a success, and also a building point for further discussions.”
The conversations took place in the new-for-2021 Track Operators, Promoters, and Sanctions (TOPS) Workroom and Lounge as part of PRI 2021. The space, dedicated to owners, promoters, officials, and staff of motorsports facilities and sanctioning bodies, provided a one-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with professionals with shared interests and needs.
“One of the strongest elements of the PRI Show is the participation of the tracks and sanctioning bodies. Outside of the lineup of world-class PRI Education seminars, we’ve never given them the opportunity to meet, greet, and discuss in a formal setting. That’s what we accomplished in 2021 with the brand-new TOPS Workroom and Lounge,” Deery said. “It allowed that segment to have their own space with like-minded people; but more importantly, it helped show they are not in this alone—PRI is here to help, along with countless other tracks.
“For those who weren’t able to make it, we missed you at the Show,” he added. “But PRI’s track promoter helpline and resources are available each day to help with those everyday problems. It can be as simple as talking a problem through, getting in touch with valuable contacts, or even resources to solve an issue.”
Skotnicki invites track operators and sanctions to continue the dialogue in Florida during Racing Promotion Monthly’s 49th RPM@Daytona Workshops set for February 13–15, at the Plaza Resort in Daytona Beach.
Indiana Governor Tours PRI Show
In a show of support for motorsports, Gov. Eric Holcomb walked the floor of the 2021 PRI Trade Show, where he saw firsthand what constitutes the world’s premier gathering of motorsports professionals.
Nearly 100 exhibitors have headquarters or facilities in the Hoosier State, including Hoosier Racing Tire, Impact Racing, Lucas Oil Products, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), and PWR Advanced Cooling Technology North America, all businesses Gov. Holcomb was able to connect with during his tour.
While there, the governor doubled down on his support for racing by stopping by the new PRI Headquarters booth and signing up for a Champion PRI Membership.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, at left with PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer, became a PRI Member during a visit to our Headquarters booth.
“Visits like Gov. Holcomb’s to PRI serve to raise awareness for the industry with key lawmakers,” said Daniel Ingber, PRI’s Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs. “The more friends we have in our corner, the more we can get done. PRI encourages its members to get engaged and host their local lawmakers to tour their businesses. PRI Government Affairs staff are available to help make all the arrangements.”
Companies interested in hosting lawmakers at their motorsports business may contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.
Rally Raises Over $24K For PAC
More than $24,000 was raised for the Performance Racing Political Action Committee (PAC) during the first-of-its-kind Save Our Racecars Rally at the 2021 PRI Trade Show. More than 300 PRI members attended the event in the Quarterback Suite of Lucas Oil Stadium.
“The goal was to raise awareness for and to stimulate engagement with PRI’s government affairs efforts, such as the passing of the RPM Act to ensure street cars can be legally converted into dedicated race cars. To that end, the event was a complete success,” said Daniel Ingber, PRI’s Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs. “One-hundred percent of the funds raised will go toward supporting the candidates and lawmakers that support racing.”
Hundreds of supporters turned up for the Save Our Racecars Rally to raise awareness and funds for the PRI PAC.
The Performance Racing PAC was established as a direct way to influence lawmakers and protect the racing community’s interests. “Now more than ever, motorsports faces challenges that must be addressed in a united effort to protect the rights of racers, racing businesses, and the entire community,” Ingber said.
PRI’s advocacy team continues its social media campaign encouraging the racing community to write their federal officials in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to ask them to support the RPM Act.
“Many wonder if their voice can make a difference, and the answer is a resounding yes,” said Eric Snyder, PRI’s Director of Congressional Affairs. “The people who make up the racing industry—including the race teams, manufacturers, retailers, fabricators, fans, and more—are on the frontlines in the fight to pass the RPM Act.”
The latest campaign achieved nearly 800,000 impressions on social media at press time, which has helped to increase the outreach from the racing community and grow lawmakers’ support for the RPM Act. PRI appreciates the efforts of everyone who has helped so far and is enthusiastic about the campaign’s impact as it continues to evolve.
Cast aluminum fins, shown here, add surface area and draw heat away from fluid in the pan. Gussets, meantime, provide strength and rigidity to the housing.
Relying on products designed for street and highway use will prove detrimental once a race vehicle hits the track or off-road course. Consider these guidelines when choosing an oil or transmission pan.
Racers should be aware that there are upgrade options to the long-lived trend for manufacturers to use stamped steel for differential covers, oil pans and transmission pans, along with molded plastic for oil and trans pans. These materials can do a “good enough” job holding fluid in, but they are sub-par when it comes to heat dissipation and, frankly, providing any other benefits.
Setting the Record Straight on Tin
The term “tin” is frequently used when describing stamped-steel materials. Tin is rarely used by itself but rather is alloyed for a particular purpose. For instance, a grocery aisle tin can is a tin-coated steel container. Likewise, oil pans are not made of tin but may be alloyed with both tin and steel. Sheetmetal is simply metal formed into thin, flat pieces. Many different metals can be combined to create sheetmetal, such as aluminum, brass, copper, steel, nickel and titanium.
Plastic Pans: A Discarded Reality
The reality of using plastic for oil and trans pans is that they are discarded as part of the service cycle, only to require the customer to repurchase the same (underperforming) pan. It’s also worth noting that plastic pans can warp, melt and fracture upon impact. Molded plastic also acts as an insulator, holding in damaging heat.
Quality and Performance Cost More
The process of casting aluminum alloy is not cheap, so a replacement part will cost more. However, cast aluminum alloy is much better at heat dissipation than stamped steel or plastic. Aluminum alloy conducts heat at least three times better than mild steel. So, all things being equal, a transmission with an aluminum pan will cool the fluid three times faster than one with a stock steel pan (depending on the environment).
Adding to the cooling benefits of cast aluminum are fins, or raised surfaces, on the outside that act to increase surface area and capitalize on the under-vehicle airflow. Additionally, pans and covers with internal heat sinks help radiate temperatures outward and help reduce the oil sloshing effect. This ensures the oil stays available at the oil pickup and generally eliminates the possibility of oil starvation in hard cornering and heavy acceleration. Finally, some aluminum pans and covers are engineered with cast gussets on the outer surfaces, adding strength and providing rigidity for the housings.
Fluid Volume Matters
Many aftermarket pans and covers offer increased fluid volume over stock. Higher fluid volumes suspend more damaging metal particles, thus offering greater wear protection and extended service intervals. This fluid increase also contributes to lower temperatures since higher fluid volumes take longer to heat up. A nominal increase or decrease of 10 degrees is significant when considering heat’s detrimental effect on fluid, seals and valve-body components.
Another way to increase fluid volume is through the use of inline trans fluid and inline oil coolers. These components also take advantage of free-flowing air to cool fluid. In addition, factory tube-and-fin components can be upgraded to the superior bar-and-plate style of aftermarket coolers for even better cooling performance.
Inline transmission fluid and inline oil coolers take advantage of free-flowing air to cool fluid. The factory tube-and-fin components can be upgraded to the superior bar-and-plate style of aftermarket coolers, seen here, for improved cooling performance.
Durability
Cast aluminum alloy is more robust than plastic or stamped-steel pans. If either of these factory parts has contact with a hard surface on the road or is pierced, such as on an off-road trail, it can be potentially dangerous, especially in remote locations. The cast options can last a lifetime, and some manufacturers back up their products with a limited lifetime warranty to the first owner.
Benefits of Drainage and Magnets
Improved drainage is another benefit of upgrading to cast products. Many stock pans and covers now come without a drain plug, which can create fluid showers when servicing. If a stock pan comes with a drain plug, the plug is often located above the bottom of the pan, leaving behind a small pool of heavy, dirty fluid when the pan is emptied. The fresh fluid becomes immediately contaminated with gritty sludge in these cases.
Many of the stock pans also don’t have an integrated magnet, so the abrasive metal grit circulates, potentially causing havoc. The hope is that all particles will get lodged in the filter, but even the best filters don’t catch everything. The better cast pans come with magnet-equipped drain plugs to hold ferrous metals. The best plugs have integrated rare-earth neodymium magnets, which are almost magnetic overkill, but fluid can never be too clean.
Many stock pans don’t have a complete fluid drain, leaving the dirtiest oil to contaminate the new oil each time the oil is changed.
Racing Applications
Pans and covers for competition are highly specialized equipment. Options often include billet aluminum, and, in some cases, hand-built pans. Some racers opt for two-piece oil pans that allow for lower crankcase access and inspection without complete removal and replacement.
Machined billet offers superior structure compared to cast or fabricated options that can crack or fail at the welds due to vibration. However, the cost of billet products is significantly higher since the manufacturing process removes up to 95% of the raw material.
Some specialized pans have a sump chamber to keep the oil from pooling away from the pickup. A windage tray is used to cap the sump and helps keep the oil trapped. Baffles are also added to the floor of the sump to minimize sloshing.
The dry sump is widely considered the ultimate oiling system for internal combustion engines. Demonstrating this is the fact that all Formula 1, Indy cars, Le Mans, sports racing cars, and Super Stock cars use dry sumps. Traditional wet-sump oil systems are less capable of minimizing the fluid movement that occurs when high G-forces cause the oil to move away from the oil pickup, which creates a pressure drop. This is particularly harmful when the engine is spinning at 6,000-plus rpm.
The dry-sump system eliminates these problems by providing constant oil pressure. Other benefits are the ability to use a shallower pan, horsepower increase by eliminating the parasitic drag due to oil sloshing into the rotating assembly, and overall cooler oil.
Final Consideration
Depending on how hard a vehicle is driven or raced, one constant remains: Seals, rings and sensitive valve-body components do not perform well at even moderately high temperatures, especially for extended periods of time. In these conditions, the reality of greater wear and reduced service life is inevitable. Adding easily bolted-on aftermarket products increases cooling, rigidity and fluid volume, and makes servicing these high heat-generating components easier. The decision to upgrade is something every consumer should consider.
Michael Eckerson is the Design Department Manager for Pacific Performance Engineering (PPE) in Montclair, California, where he oversees full-scope brand unity, coordinates product placement, marketing, and assists with product development. Eckerson is also the Editor In Chief of Drive! Magazine, which is distributed in the western United States.
MEMBERSHIP LOGIN
