This fall, Kyle Petty will host the “Charity Ride Revival (CRR),” a one-time only, miniature version of his annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. The CRR was created in response to postponing the larger Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America until Spring 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differing from the annual Ride, the CRR will be half the time, half the size and based at one single hotel–The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. It will also only include previous participants of the Ride. These are precautions put in place by the Ride to protect the safety of participating riders and team members. 

From September 21–23, the CRR will travel a different route each day to a unique point of interest for riders to explore and enjoy before returning to the hotel. 

“With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and restrictions being lifted, we wanted to do something to get our riders back together again in a safe way; thus, the Charity Ride Revival was created as a way to do just that,” said Kyle Petty, former NASCAR driver, current NBC Sports racing analyst and founder of the Ride. 

Kyle Petty’s 2021 Charity Ride Revival Schedule:
    •    Day 1, Tuesday, September 21 – National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia

    •    Day 2, Wednesday, September 22 – Seneca Rocks in Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

    •    Day 3, Thursday, September 23 – New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia


The CRR will continue the Ride’s mission of raising funds and awareness for Victory Junction–a camp dedicated to providing life-changing camping experiences for children with chronic and serious medical illnesses. 

For more information, visit kylepettycharityride.com.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a member organization dedicated to advancing the automotive and automotive aftermarket industries, announced the hiring of Benjamin Kaminsky as the new SEMA Garage Detroit Operations Manager. Earlier this year, SEMA announced the purchase of a 45,000-square-foot building in Detroit, Mich., to be used as a second SEMA Garage. Kaminsky will be responsible for the overall management of SEMA Garage Detroit services and facilities to assist members with new product development and integration.

“Benjamin Kaminsky will be a great addition to our SEMA Garage team,” said Mike Spagnola, Vice President of OEM & Product Development Programs. “He comes to SEMA with over 20 years of experience in the automotive and automotive aftermarket industry as an engineering and project manager, having worked at both automakers and tier-one suppliers.”

Kaminsky will work closely with domestic and import OEMs, along with tier level suppliers and testing facilities, to ensure flow of information essential to the industry’s accurate development of new and innovative products and develop opportunities that will benefit SEMA member manufacturers. Kaminsky’s experience will allow him to cultivate these relationships.

Prior to joining SEMA, Kaminsky worked at General Motors (GM) as a senior design and release engineer. He oversaw the design, development, validation, and release of Chevrolet Performance air intakes, exhausts, and components for use in performance applications. He also worked closely with GM emissions compliance and legal groups to ensure engineering hardware development and release processes consistently delivered products that met and exceeded regulatory requirements.

Prior to GM, Kaminsky worked at Bosch Motorsport in a variety of roles, from senior technical engineer to hardware development manager. He managed a department of engineers to develop hardware components for the professional racing industry.

“With his experience and solid OEM and tier supplier relationships, Ben will help SEMA Garage Detroit best-serve our manufacturer members,” shared Spagnola.

SEMA Garage Detroit will offer manufacturers access to advanced product-development tools and equipment, a state-of-the-art emissions testing lab, an ADAS research and development center, and expert technicians who will help bring products to market. The Detroit facility will give aftermarket parts manufacturers access to sophisticated resources that are typically accessible only to large-scale manufacturers. In addition to exclusive OEM measuring sessions, scanning services, advanced tools and equipment, a CARB-recognized emissions lab, and a modern training center, the Detroit facility will include expanded services and offer new SEMA benefits through the ADAS Research & Development Center.

“Being part of SEMA Garage provides me the opportunity to combine my engineering background, project management skills, and relationships to make a difference in the automotive and automotive aftermarket industry,” said Kaminsky. “I look forward to working with SEMA manufacturer members and continuing my relationships with OEMs and tier suppliers.”

The SEMA Garage Detroit facility is scheduled to be open for members in early 2022. For more information, visit semagarage.com.   

The Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series has announced its third season winter tour schedule, which features four weekends of Late Model racing from November through February.

Eight races are set across South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, as the series adds Lancaster Motor Speedway and I-75 Raceway to the schedule for the first time. 

The season champion is set to earn $15,000 from a $42,000 point fund that rewards the top 10 overall who compete in the entire schedule. 

Drydene Performance Products also continues as the title sponsor of the tour. 

“The level of competition we’ve seen the past couple of years is second to none, and we are excited to be part of this series with racers who work so hard to compete and put on a tremendous show for the fans,” said Dave Klinger, president of Drydene Performance Products.

All events will be broadcast on DIRTVision.

For more information, visit xtremedirtcar.com.

Skip Barber Racing School has launched its first-ever member program geared toward alumni of the school.

Member levels include Paddock, Pit Lane, and Pit Lane (Family), with each program providing access to select benefits. These include race weekend paddock passes, hot laps with SBRS instructors, a private buy/sell/trade community, access to the new SBRS Karting Academy based in New Jersey’s American Dream Mall, invitations to participate in race weekends, e-racing access, brand partner discounts, and more. 

The Member program is part of a multi-year business expansion plan, including opening the 40,000-square-foot indoor karting facility at America’s Dream Mall in Bergen County, New Jersey.

“The Skip Barber Member Program gives us the opportunity to thank and unite our alumni with great events, online training tools, and a host of other programs, creating a true value proposition,” Chief Marketing Officer Dan DeMonte said. “We believe it’s important to build this community and look forward to launching the program.”

Skip Barber’s team provides over 200 instructional days each year and hosts more than 10,000 students at every skill level. Its alumni have taken podiums in every facet of motorsports and include Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Lyn St James, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

For more information, visit skipbarber.com/membership. 

Calistoga Speedway, the 1/2-mile dirt oval in Calistoga, California, has announced its 2021 Hall of Fame class. The Hunt Family, Dewey Gatson, Paul Worden, and Dick Golden join the already announced inductees, which include Gene Figone, Ray Smith, Shane Scott, Roger Henderson, and Rick Hirst.

The Hunt Family, which includes Tommy, his wife Jeanne, and daughter Louie, and son Tony, were the visionaries behind the Louie Vermeil Classic, one of the premier racing events in Northern California. 

Gatson, also known as “Rajo Jack,” was one of the winningest drivers of the West Coast in the 1930s and 1940s and is credited with 31 Main Event wins for his sprint car (formerly known as big car), stock car, and midget racing. 

Worden, a car owner and mechanic, won his first championship (as a mechanic) in the American Roadster Association in 1958. 

Golden, the sprint car owner, won the 1967 championship for the Northern Auto Racing Club.

Driver Figone won the very first race on the track 83 years ago. Figone was one of the most versatile drivers of his era who drove roadsters, midgets, champ cars, and motorcycles on oval tracks throughout Northern California in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Former car owner Ray Smith, who campaigned sprint cars at Calistoga Speedway and on the Northern Auto Racing Club tour in the 1970s and 1980s, ranks 19th best among car owners at the half-mile oval, with six career wins with drivers such as Phil Pedlar, Don Melvin, and Billy Yon.

Retired sprint car driver Shane Scott, known as the “Flyin’ Hawaiian,” ranks fifth of all time with 59 career victories at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, where he also claimed seven track championships over a 25-year career.

Car owner Henderson fielded a top-caliber sprint car throughout Northern California in the 1970s and 1980s for legendary open-wheel drivers such as Jimmy Boyd, Ron Horton, Hank Butcher, and Roger Crockett.

Sprint car driver Hirst made a name for himself as the 1986 Calistoga Speedway and Northern Auto Racing Club champion.

The inductees will be honored during the Louie Vermeil Classic taking place at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, on Labor Day weekend. The 10th annual Calistoga Speedway HoF dinner takes place on Friday, September 3, prior to the winged sprint car event running on Saturday and Sunday, September 4–5.

For more information, visit the event page here.

Image courtesy of TMS

Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) has promoted Ellen Stallcup to the newly created position of vice president of marketing.

“Ellen continues to be an incredible leader, marketer, and team player for our company and Texas Motor Speedway,” Speedway Motorsports Vice President of Partnerships Geoff Ulrich said.

Stallcup began working for the multi-purpose facility—which celebrates its 25th Season of Speed this year—in 2003 as an intern with the corporate sales department for the fall IndyCar race weekend. 

She is now responsible for the development of marketing, advertising, promotional and budgetary planning, and the NASCAR event at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. She also manages Big Hoss, the 22,704.64-square-foot HD LED display that owns the Guinness World Record as the world’s largest HD LED video board.

The Windthorst, Texas native began her full-time career at No Limits, Texas, in 2004 as a ticket sales representative. In 2006, she was named advertising and events manager and promoted to director of the department in 2017. She was promoted in 2020 to the position of director of marketing.

“I look forward to the challenge of extending the reach of No Limits, Texas, and Speedway Motorsports as I continue to grow and evolve in this new role,” Stallcup said.

H85AX Honing Machine 

Fast, Accurate, and Easy to Operate–The H85AX vertical honing machine is ideal for the high-performance engine builder with an automatic hole-to-hole operation and a precise stone feed-out system. Rottler offers the complete package with tooling, abrasives, and technical support.    

rottlermfg.com/cnc-vertical-honing-machines.php?model=H85AX

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F69A Machining Center

Is it time to automate your shop with the F69A like so many other successful high-performance engine builders? This machine brings CNC automation and versatility to the highest level of technology. With a huge assortment of optional tooling, the F69A is ideal for machining blocks, surfacing cylinder heads, line boring, and general machining. 

rottlermfg.com/multi_purpose_cnc.php?model=F69A

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EM69HP 5-Axis CNC Digitizing/Porting Machine

Rottler takes cylinder head porting to another level with the EM69HP. This machine has increased spindle output making it ideal for billet and casting machining. The digitizing software and Rottler’s own 4C makes this machine simple to operate. Ideal for making custom parts. 

rottlermfg.com/linear-rail-engine-machining-center.php?model=EM69HP

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SG9MTS Seat and Guide Machine 

When it comes to seat and guide machines, Rottler’s SG9MTS is the cornerstone for today’s high-performance cylinder head shop. Rottler’s Unipilot system allows the speed of a live pilot while producing the accurate centering of a fixed pilot. The efficient machine design allows for fast machining and precise concentricity. 

rottlermfg.com/seat_and_guide.php?model=SG9MTS

For more information, visit rottlermfg.com.

Texas Motorplex, home of the new Stampede of Speed event and the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals, has hired Charles Myers as operations manager.

In the newly created position, Myers will work with the sales manager on new sponsor recruitment as well as current sponsors support. He will also focus on production aspects of events, including planning, creative, and staff and promoter management.

“We announced the Stampede of Speed earlier this month and Charles will be a major factor in the success and growth of that event as well as dozens of our other events. We are taking every event we host and produce to the next level, and bringing Charles on board will make our whole team better,” Texas Motorplex General Manager Andy Carter said. 

The motorsports marketing professional joins the Ennis, Texas-based multi-use motorsports facility after serving as business development manager for Nitrous Supply in Huntington Beach, California, where he grew the business from $900,000 in sales to $3.5 million in one year, according to Texas Motorplex. 

Myers also gained experience working for Irwindale Speedway, Auto Club Famoso Raceway, Galot Motorsports Park, and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). He has twice been named Drag Illustrated’s “30 Under 30” and was recently announced by SEMA as a member of the “35 Under 35” class for 2021.

The new Stampede of Speed event begins during the 5th annual Night Lights sky-lantern festival on Saturday, October 2, and will conclude with the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals, October 7-10. Plans for a full week of events, conferences, and activities are being finalized, including a 5K race, BBQ contest and cook-off, a variety of concert events,  business development conferences for track operators. 

For more information, visit texasmotorplex.com.

IMCA has announced its Hunting With Heroes Salute to Veterans Race has expanded from a one-night special to a three-night tour. 

IMCA Modifieds race for at least $3,000 and up to $3,500 to win in three Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying features as the tour travels to Clay County Fair Speedway on July 28, Kossuth County Speedway on July 29, and Boone Speedway on July 31.  

IMCA Sunoco Stock Car features pay $2,250 to win at Spencer, $3,500 at Algona, and $1,000 at Boone and are B & B Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifiers. Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods race for $1,250 to win at Clay County, $1,500 at Kossuth County, and $1,000 at Boone, while IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks run for $1,000 to win the first two nights and for $600 in the finale.

The total purse for the three nights will be more than $85,000, and all feature winners receive custom carved wooden trophies created by Anthony Martin, medically retired Army, from Logs4heroes. 

Veterans and widows of veterans will receive free admission to each race program, plus complimentary meals, beverages, can sleeves, fans, miniature flags, and $20 gift cards each night.  

“Our goal is to reach as many veterans as possible by providing great racing, amazingly patriotic environments, and by giving over $75,000 in gifts, food, meals, drinks, and prizes to our deserving veterans,” said Jason Becker with Hunting With Heroes.  

Hunting With Heroes is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) charitable organization that has served thousands of veterans in its 11 years of existence.

For more information, visit imca.com.

Performance Racing Industry (PRI) has joined forces with the North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) to protect racing in the Tar Heel State—home to over 50 race tracks and over 30,000 motorsports jobs. As the leading advocacy group for the racing industry, PRI unites motorsports businesses, race teams, racers, and fans to strengthen the industry’s ability to advocate and protect motorsports.  

PRI is committed to growing and protecting the racing community from threats, including government overreach. Working with PRI, NCMA is actively fighting against Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overreach and urging NCMA members and the North Carolina motorsports community to join in RPM Week on August 2-6. 

“Motorsports has a long history as an American tradition, and yet the industry is at great risk,” said David Miller, NCMA executive director. “Working with PRI and the entire motorsports community, we will be able to make our voices heard and protect the hobby well into the future.”

As part of the EPA’s National Compliance Initiative, aftermarket parts businesses are being targeted and jeopardized. Companies are being fined and risk being shut down. The RPM Act is a bill that will protect the racing industry by clarifying that it is legal to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars, and it ensures that motorsports parts businesses can legally produce, market, and install racing products. 

The bipartisan bill was recently introduced in the US House of Representatives by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) serving as the lead Republican cosponsor. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is serving as the lead sponsor of the RPM Act in the US Senate and is working closely with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to position the bill for reintroduction and passage in 2021. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has served as an original cosponsor of the RPM Act and is a strong supporter of the legislation. The RPM Act must be passed into law to ensure that the motorsports-parts industry can continue to sell products that enable racers to compete, and that racers can continue to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars. 

NCMA and PRI are joining forces to make our voices heard in the state. During RPM Act Week, North Carolinians are urged to raise awareness of the bill by posting on social media, linking to articles, and writing legislators to support the bill and pass it into law. Supporters can write to their legislators by visiting SaveOurRaceCars.com and downloading images for social media by visiting performanceracing.com/rpm-assets.

“This is the time for the race community to band together and make their voices heard,” said Miller. “We must work together to protect our rights and save our race cars.” 

To learn more, visit performanceracing.com/rpm-act.