Series Directors Vicki Emig and Mike Leone have announced the 2022 race dates for the Pace Performance RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn's Tire/Born2Run Lubricants Touring Series.  

Each event will pay a minimum of $3,000-to-win and the point fund will be increased to $51,400, with the champion to earn a record $15,000. 

“... we are excited to offer the richest Touring Series Championship and schedule of events in RUSH Series history,” Emig stated in a release. 

The 2022 season is set to kick off April 13–16 for the "Battle of the Bay" Speedweek. Signature events such as the “Bill Emig Memorial” (June 23–25 at Lernerville Speedway), “Jook George Steel City Classic” (August 6 at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway), and “Bill Hendren Memorial” (September 30–October 1 at Pittsburgh) have also been confirmed.   

Additional event announcements will be announced at a later date. 

For more information, visit rushlatemodels.com. 

Longtime NASCAR broadcaster Bob Jenkins has been named the winner of the 2021 Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. He is the 10th recipient of the prestigious award named after Ken Squier and Barney Hall.

Jenkins served as the lead lap-by-lap announcer for NASCAR broadcasts on ESPN and ABC from 1981-2000.  He passed away in August at age 73 after a battle with brain cancer.

“The voice of Bob Jenkins is synonymous with the many great NASCAR moments he called over two decades,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France. “The broadcast team of Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, and Benny Parsons is one of the most memorable in NASCAR history, it is fitting to see Bob honored in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

Jenkins will be honored during NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony festivities on Friday, January 21, 2022, and featured in an exhibit in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Tickets and more information are available at nascarhall.com.

Nexen Tire America, the provider of high-performance, passenger, SUV/light truck, and winter tire technology, has announced the relocation of its US-based headquarters to Richfield, Ohio. 

The new headquarters joins its North American technical center located at 4014 Wheatley Road. The $5.2 million 35,540-sq.-ft. facility opened in 2019 and is one of three technical centers Nexen Tire operates worldwide.

“Nexen Tire’s road to growth is running straight through the middle of the country into Richfield, Ohio, and we’re ecstatic to be reuniting with an already incredible and established team at our North American technical center,” said Brian YoonSeok Han, CEO of Nexen Tire America, Inc. “Our world-renowned technical center is best known for its unmatched tire testing and development and is now the official home of the Nexen Tire America team where we will continue to develop top-tier tires for our customers.”

Nexen Tire will continue to utilize its three US distribution facilities located in California, Georgia, and Ohio as well, providing tires to its customers and its network of dealers faster than ever.

For more information, visit nexentireusa.com.

NHRA has announced a new Factory X (FX) exhibition racing class for the 2022 season. Known as NHRA Factory X presented by Holley, the category will bridge the gap between Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Stock and will be reserved for 2019 and newer manufactured automobiles, including the Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, and Ford Mustang Cobra Jet. 

The FX class will have a minimum weight limit of 2,650 pounds, which is nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than a Factory Stock Showdown car, and a manual transmission is mandatory. FX will be included in the 2022 season with Competition eliminator across all seven NHRA Divisions and will debut as a 2022 exhibition category beginning mid-year at select NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events, with the potential to showcase big-performance numbers right off the bat in the lightweight, modified class.

“…our intention is this will become a heads-up category at select NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events in 2023 and will continue to be included in Competition eliminator across all divisions,” NHRA National Tech Director Lonnie Grim said. “The fact that it is manually shifted with strong performance capability and will allow fans to enjoy the sounds of 10,000 RPM will be a huge draw for fans and racers alike.” 

For more information, including race car specs, visit the announcement here. For more information, visit nhra.com.

Officials from Anderson Speedway (Anderson, Indiana) have announced a partnership with veteran sprint car promoter Tom Hartsell to launch the 500 Sprint Car Tour, which will include 10 races in 2022. All events will feature non-wing pavement sprint cars competing for a championship.

Anderson Speedway and Lucas Oil Raceway (Brownsburg, Indiana) will host three events each, while two races will take place at Berlin Raceway (Marne, Michigan). Two additional tracks will be announced to round out the schedule.

With the goal to strengthen pavement sprint car racing in the Midwest, the 500 Sprint Car Tour builds on the history and tradition of the Little 500 sprint car race, a 74-year-old, 500-lap spectacle. The Tour will be managed by the team that runs the Little 500. 

In addition, Tom Hartsell, with more than 15 years of sprint car racing promotion experience, will serve as an advisor and public address announcer for the tour.

“The idea of starting a sprint car tour has been something we have considered for many years,” explained Jared Owen, Vice President of Operations at Anderson Speedway. “Finally, everything aligned, and we felt the series would be a great accompaniment to Anderson Speedway and the Little 500. We are excited to see the continued growth of pavement sprint car racing in the Midwest and throughout the country.”

All races will be broadcast live by the tour’s streaming partners.

Additional information will be announced in the coming weeks, and Tour officials will be on-hand at the 2021 PRI Trade Show, Dec. 9–11, in Indianapolis. 

For more information, visit andersonspeedway.com.

T Sportline, the Los Angeles-based manufacturer of parts and accessories for Tesla vehicles owned by Kian Capital, has announced Brian Reese as its new CEO. 

Prior to this appointment, Reese had served as the president and CEO of the Driven Lighting Group/The Retrofit Source (2020–2021) and as the president and CEO of Race Winning Brands (2017–2019). He also worked as the Vice President of Product for Craftsman and DieHard. 

Reese currently serves on the SEMA Board of Directors, IMI Board of Directors, and LAND Board of Advisors. He is also a partner and co-founder of VeloQuip, a provider of Peloton accessories, among other positions. 

For more information, visit tsportline.com.

Speedway Motorsports—the marketer, promoter, and sponsor of motorsports entertainment and owner of several premier racing facilities—has entered an agreement to acquire Dover Motorsports for an approximate total equity value of $131.5 million. Dover Motorsports owns and operates Dover International Speedway (Dover, Delaware) and Nashville Superspeedway (Lebanon, Tennessee). 

The transaction was announced by Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith and Dover Motorsports President and CEO Denis McGlynn.

“We’ve been committed to working for the fans and growing the sport of NASCAR for more than 60 years,” said Smith. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to continue growing our investment in motorsports.

“I’d like to thank Denis McGlynn and the Dover Motorsports board for their cooperation and support in our goal to exceed customer expectations and create amazing lifetime experiences for all NASCAR fans.”

“While this marks the end of our 52 years as an independent operator in NASCAR,” said McGlynn, “our future advancement is best secured by joining forces with a major player in the sport and we are happy to be able to become part of the Speedway Motorsports family and to be able to work with Marcus Smith as NASCAR embraces its future.”

Speedway Motorsports owns and operates Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and Texas Motor Speedway.

For terms of the merger agreement and related information, visit the announcement here. For more information, visit speedwaymotorsports.com or doverspeedway.com/dover-motorsports-corporate.

Andersen Promotions has unveiled the 2022 schedule for the launch of its new series, USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires. The professionally managed, entry-level series is aimed at preparing drivers for the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, the stepping stone to the NTT IndyCar Series. 

The 2022 schedule will feature six events and 16 total races, held in conjunction with USAC's Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, the NTT IndyCar Series, and select NASCAR events. All races will be run to a lap count with extended time windows to ensure competitors a set number of green-flag racing laps.

The season kicks off alongside USF2000 and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at the annual Road to Indy Spring Training test held on the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course in Homestead, Florida, on February 17–18. Additionally, classroom training led by USF Juniors teaching staff comprising Series Driver Coach Gabby Chaves, Race Director Joel Miller, Race Steward Johnny Unser, and Series Manager Gustavo Yacaman will take place.

The series finale will feature a triple-header round at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, on September 17–18.

USF Juniors will feature a prize package exceeding $325,000 which includes a scholarship valued at more than $200,000 to advance to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, the first step on the driver development ladder.

For the complete 2022 USF Juniors schedule, see below. For more information, visit usfjuniors.com.

Eight first-time nominees are among the 21 individuals under consideration for induction into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2022.

The inaugural nominees include Greg Biffle (NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and 19-time NASCAR Cup Series winner), Brendan Gaughan (two-time ARCA Menards Series West/former NASCAR West Series champion and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner), David Gilliland (Daytona 500 pole winner and two-time ARCA Menards Series West/former NASCAR West Series championship crew chief), Eric Holmes (ARCA Menards Series West/former NASCAR West Series 17-race winner and two-time champion), John Moore (founder of JM Environmental, 2021 All American Speedway and NASCAR State of California titleholder, and team owner and sponsor), Brad Noffsinger (two-time CRA title winner and former Cup crew chief for Wally Dallenbach Jr.), Ken Sapper (three-time Modified Stock Car champion at the former Saugus Speedway (California) and current Speedway Engineering president), and Jimmy Sills (three-time USAC Silver Crown champion). 

Nominated again after appearing on previous ballots are Ken Boyd, Ernie Cope, Mike David, Garrett Evans, Dave Fuge, Lance Hooper, Tony Hunt, Brent Kaeding, Danny Ongais, Greg Pickett, Nick Rescino, Carl Trimmer, and Sean Woodside. 

Five inductees will be named in early 2022, following two rounds of voting by the organization’s Board of Directors. First-round voting begins next week.

The organization also will induct its fifth Heritage class of five individuals whose careers began prior to 1970. The Heritage inductees will be named in 2022.

For more information, visit westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com.

EngineLabs is teaming up with Late Model Engines (LME) to give away a 1,500 horsepower supercharged LS engine. 

The engine will be on display at the PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis from December 9–11, where attendees can stop by the Power Automedia Booth #951 to watch it being assembled live on the Show floor by LME, one of the top LS builders in the world.

Participants can register to win at the booth, and earn additional giveaway entries by visiting partner booths throughout the Show. Those that will not be in attendance can still enter online at EngineLabsGiveaway.com.

“Late Model Engines is excited to be part of the PRI engine giveaway,” said LME co-owner Bryan Neelen. “We love building high horsepower engines and there is no better place to build one than in front of thousands of our industry peers. Even better, one lucky guy or gal is going to have one hell of a late model engine when the week is over. PRI here we come!”

Entries will be accepted until December 31, and the winner will be selected on January 15. Once the engine is complete, it will be shipped from the PRI Show in Indianapolis to LME’s facility in Texas to be broken in on the engine dyno and tuned with the winner’s choice of either a Vortech V-30 94A supercharger or a Vortech V-7 YSi-B supercharger.

This giveaway will be made possible by its sponsors Late Model Engines and Vortech Engineering as well as ATI Performance Products, Cometic Gaskets, COMP Performance Group, Ferrea Racing Components, Fuel Air Spark Technology, Holley, MAHLE, Manley, Melling Engine Parts, Meziere Enterprises, Milodon, Trend Performance, Dart Machinery, Diamond Racing Pistons, Wrenchers, LTA Manufacturing, Ryno Classifieds, SCT, and VP Racing Fuel.

For more information, visit powerautomedia.com.