Formula 1 officials have announced the Australian Grand Prix will not take place in 2021.

The race, which was scheduled for November 19-21 at Albert Park in Melbourne, was set to be round 21 of 23.

A spokesperson for Formula 1 said that while they are disappointed that the event can’t take place, they “are confident we can deliver a 23-race season in 2021, and we have a number of options to take forward to replace the place left vacant by the Australian Grand Prix.

“We will be working through the details of those options in the coming weeks and will provide further updates once those discussions are concluded.”

The 2021 schedule can be found at formula1.com/en/racing/2021.html. For more information, visit formula1.com.

Image courtesy of NHRA

Calverton Executive Airpark, located in Long Island, New York, has become the newest NHRA member track. 

The announcement marks drag racing’s return to Long Island after a 17-year hiatus. The closest drag racing venues for the region are Island Dragway in New Jersey (131 miles away) and Atco Dragway, also in New Jersey (169 miles away). 

The unique airpark location will see NHRA racing action five weeks of the year, beginning in August. 

“We are thrilled to be bringing back drag racing to Long Island...,” said Calverton Executive Airpark Track Promoter Peter Scalzo. “I first believe that the mention of these events being sanctioned by the NHRA was a major factor for the Town of Riverhead approving our Racetrack Not Street Series.” 

“We are very excited to welcome the track to the NHRA member track family,” said NHRA Division 1 Director Dave Mohn. “This is a long-needed facility on Long Island, and we look forward to working with the track to take racing off the streets.” 

Calverton Executive Airpark features two runways, including a 7,000-square-foot runway formerly used by the US Navy. According to Dragzine, the track will also follow a handful of restrictions, including limited spectators (about 1,300), muffled vehicles, and no traction compounds applied to the surface. Officials will also install concrete safety barriers.

As an NHRA-sanctioned track, the facility will be eligible to offer racers NHRA racing opportunities, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, and NHRA Jr. Street. NHRA Division 1 includes seven tracks across the region. Racers in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Maryland make up the division in the northeast region. 

For more information, visit nhra.com or nhradiv1.com.

QA1 has announced the company will host its first open house event since the completion of its state-of-the-art facility in 2020. The company’s space will be available to visitors from 7–9 a.m. local time on Friday, July 16. Guided tours of the facility will be followed by a #goDRIVEit cruise to the Street Machine Summer Nationals at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.  

The open house will allow enthusiasts to see QA1’s development center, manufacturing floor, and more. Attendees will see how QA1’s products are designed and manufactured in the Lakeville, Minnesota facility and will be able to explore the 100,000-plus square foot building. Refreshments and donuts will be available. 

QA1’s upcoming open house marks the return of the company’s annual event after a two-year hiatus due to the transition to the new building in 2019 and COVID-19 precautions in 2020. 

“Our open house has always been an event we love to host. It gives us an opportunity to share the pride we take in building QA1 products with area enthusiasts,” QA1 Marketing Manager Dave Kass said. “We’ve always had a great turnout and fun event at our old building and can’t wait to see people’s reactions to our brand new facility and all of the opportunities it offers.”  

To take part in the free cruise from QA1 to Street Machine Summer Nationals, drivers can register via QA1’s Eventbrite page. Taking part in the cruise will also provide preferred entrance to the event if drivers have registered early. 

For more information, visit qa1.net.

Photo courtesy of GTA, Motolyric

SCCA Pro Racing’s Global Time Attack (GTA) and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach officials have announced that the Global Time Attack Pro Championship will run at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, set for September 24–26.

The GTA event, which will take place with competition laps on all three days, will feature 20 cars in three different divisions trying to set the fastest lap of the 11-turn, 1.97-mile race circuit in the streets of Long Beach. This year marks the first time GTA will run at the iconic event. The race will feature Unlimited, Limited, and Street classes with mass-produced street cars modified to GTA specs. Cars will be sent out five to 10 seconds apart so each can complete flying laps (laps with no race traffic) to secure the fastest time. 

“Words cannot explain how excited we are at Global Time Attack to join the 2021 Acura Grand Prix,” GTA President Jason Dienhart said. “We are honored to take part in this historic event and look forward to the GTA drivers attacking the iconic Long Beach race circuit.”

In addition to GTA, the 2021 Acura Grand Prix will be headlined by the NTT IndyCar Series along with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, plus doubleheader action from the Formula D Super Drift Challenge, Robby Gordon’s SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks, and the also new-for-2021 Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge. 

For more information, visit globaltimeattack.com or gplb.com.

Air Flow Research (AFR), the manufacturer of high-performance cylinder heads, intake manifolds, and related components, has been acquired by Taglich Private Equity (TPE) in a partnership with AFR’s founding family and management. The company’s 42 production and office employees based in Valencia, California, will remain with the current executive team and staff.

AFR was founded in 1970 by Ken Sperling and has been family-owned until the recent acquisition. Sperling’s son Rick will remain as president and significant owner of the company. 

“Completing this sale marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the history of AFR,” Rick Sperling said. “We are excited about partnering with Taglich Private Equity and continuing to build on the foundation that my family and all the AFR employees have built over the years.”

For more information, visit airflowresearch.com.

Specialty lubricants manufacturer Champion Brands has been acquired by PLZ Aeroscience Corp., one of North America’s largest independent specialty aerosol and liquid product manufacturers.

Operating from a 450,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Clinton, Missouri, Champion produces more than 300 functional fluids and performance products, including brake fluid, fuel treatments, semi-synthetic and full-synthetic engine additives, and specialty motor oils. Its customers span the performance racing, automotive, heavy duty, and agricultural markets.

Champion is led by Matt Lowe, the third generation of Lowe leadership at the company. He will remain with Champion following the transaction.

“We look forward to leveraging PLZ’s extensive industry experience and national footprint to help grow Champion in the years to come,” Lowe added.

Headquartered outside Chicago, Illinois, PLZ is owned by Pritzker Private Capital.

For more information, visit championbrands.com.

Performance Racing Industry (PRI), producer of world-class trade events and media, is launching the racing industry's first of its kind membership program on July 13, 2021. This will make it possible for racers and enthusiasts to join racing businesses in a groundbreaking movement to protect and grow the industry.

PRI Membership allows the racing community to showcase their passion and pride for the industry. By uniting the industry, PRI is actively working to address challenges and needs, such as providing support for racetracks to prevent them from closing, advocacy for the racing community against current legal threats, and educational programs that help businesses and racers succeed.

"Now more than ever it is critical that the racing community unite to protect our businesses and racing rights," said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer. "PRI's Membership program now allows individuals to join the movement to push back against challenges facing our industry and continue to support motorsports."

More than 300 businesses in the racing industry have already joined the groundbreaking membership program since it was first offered to PRI Trade Show exhibitors in March. Several companies have also extended their commitment to support the racing industry for a minimum of 10 years by becoming PRI Founding Members. Now individual racers, enthusiasts and fans are invited to join the PRI Membership to become part of the community, and receive a range of exclusive benefits.

PRI Membership offers different levels of benefits and starts at only $40 per year for a Pro Membership. Features and benefits include:

• Entrance to PRI Show for Qualified Attendees
• Save Our Race Cars Advocacy: Contribute to the fight to protect the racing community, and ensure racing continues and grows in the United States and internationally
• Inclusion in the Performance Racing Political Action Committee
• 10% Discount on PRI Merchandise
• 12 Issues of PRI Magazine Digital Edition
• Subscription to the PRI eNewsletter
• Posting Access on the PRI Jobs Board
• Membership Card & Welcome Packet
• PRI Stickers

The membership program is a major part of PRI's mission to build, promote, and protect the racing community. Alongside efforts like the PRI Road Tour, PRI Ambassador Program, and the world’s premier auto racing trade show, the PRI Trade Show, PRI ensures that the industry continues to grow and succeed.

"We're continuously identifying ways to support the interests of the racing community," said Meyer. "The membership program enables us to continue our advocacy efforts at the local,

state, and federal levels, and provide the industry with legal support, education, research, and world-class events and programs."

By joining the PRI Membership, individuals not only become part of the community to protect racing and gain a suite of benefits, but they also join forces with the newly formed Political Action Committee called the Performance Racing PAC. This new organization under PRI was recently established as a direct way to influence lawmakers and to protect the interests of the racing community. Now more than ever, racing and motorsports face challenges that must be addressed in a united effort to protect the rights of racers, racing businesses and the entire community.

"The racing industry is joining forces like never before, and we invite everyone—racers, enthusiasts, builders, track operators, sanctioning bodies, and businesses—to be a part of this movement," said Meyer. "This is the time to come together and unite."

For more information on PRI Membership for individuals, visit performanceracing.com/membership/individual. To register for the 2021 PRI Trade Show, visit here. 

GMS Racing has announced the team is preparing its NASCAR Cup Series debut in the upcoming 2022 season.

“GMS is always looking forward, and I believe this is the next step for the team in that process,” Team Owner Maury Gallagher said. “We have the goal to be a championship-caliber team in any series in which we compete, and I am excited to watch the team grow in the coming years.”

Since its formation in 2014, GMS has won 61 races across the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series. GMS also took home the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, and the ARCA East championship in 2019 and 2020.

“GMS has always risen to the occasion and proven that we are a team capable of competing at every level of this sport,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “We have been preparing to make this step and with the addition of the Next Gen car in 2022, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make the move.”

As the team actively seeks partnership opportunities for the 2022 Cup Series season, GMS Racing expects further announcements regarding driver and event schedules to come later.

For more information, visit gmsracing.net.

NASCAR and iRacing.com have announced a new partnership agreement that will grant the Massachusetts-based developer of PC-based racing simulations as the “official simulation partner of NASCAR.”

The deal will serve to elevate a decade-plus licensing relationship to official partner status, as the two organizations work to promote the various eNASCAR series which live on the iRacing platform. The pair are also collaborating on initiatives designed to have far-reaching implications on the future of NASCAR—including the design of new and proposed NASCAR race tracks, collaboration and technical support on the NASCAR NextGen race car project, the creation of sim racing-oriented content for NASCAR Digital Media channels, and the use of iRacing as a training tool for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity class.

“NASCAR fans know and love iRacing for their accomplishments in the development of virtual racing series, but what many may not realize is that the company is so much more than just an esports partner,” said Tim Clark, senior vice president and chief digital officer, NASCAR. “iRacing is a full-on technology partner in every sense of the word, and their best-in-class simulation and engineering capabilities are helping us innovate across multiple layers of our business– whether that be in designing new race tracks, developing new race cars, creating compelling digital content, or providing a virtual training ground for the next generation of NASCAR stars.”

For more information, visit nascar.com, enascar.com, and iracing.com.

The NASCAR Cup Series operation by Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) has been purchased by Nashville-based Trackhouse Entertainment Group founded by Justin Marks and co-owned by Grammy-winning musician Armando Pérez, also known as Pitbull. 

The transfer of all of CGR’s NASCAR assets to Trackhouse Racing will be completed immediately following the final NASCAR Cup Series race on November 7. As a result, Trackhouse Racing will field two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries in 2022. 

Daniel Suárez, the current driver of Trackhouse Racing’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro, will continue with the organization. The second driver will be named at a later date.

CGR will continue to run its programs in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA, and Extreme E out of its Indianapolis racing facility. His teams have won four races in IndyCar and one in IMSA, while the two CGR drivers Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain fight for spots in the 2021 NASCAR playoffs.

“NASCAR has been building momentum over the last few years, and I am confident that it will continue to do so. Also, I can honestly say that my NASCAR team was not for sale. Justin simply came to me with a great offer and an even better vision. As everyone knows, I care deeply for my employees, so selling to someone like Justin, who is part of the CGR family, made the reality of selling that much easier,” Ganassi stated. “Everyone needs to know that I am still completely dedicated to the motorsports industry and will continue to run my other teams in IndyCar, IMSA, and Extreme E with the same enthusiasm that I always have.” 

For more information, visit chipganassiracing.com and trackhouse.com.