Tri-County Speedway in Flomaton, Alabama, and Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker, Florida, have signed an agreement to be a part of the 2020 Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series. 

The two tracks will work together and alternate race weekends.

Both tracks will feature the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Late Model 604 Division, the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Street Stock Division, and the Newsome Raceway Parts Late Model Sportsman 602 Division. Drivers will be able to compete for both a track points fund and a national points fund.

“This is going to be a good thing because, working with Northwest Florida Speedway, we’re going to give more racers more places to race,” Tri-County Speedway Promoter Isaiah Day said. “Being sanctioned with Crate Racin’ USA gives a lot of racers a consistent set of rules so they can race at multiple tracks without having to buy different tires and make changes to their race cars.”

The Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series features a 27-week season that runs from March 23 through September 27. A driver’s top 14 weekly point totals count as their season total. A purse of $10,000 will be rewarded to the division champion.

For more information, visit crateracinusa.com.

Sonoma Raceway officials have released the 2020 schedule for its drag strip, with over 30 days of racing slated for the wine country facility.

The NHRA Sonoma Nationals will highlight the schedule for the 33rd consecutive year, as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series returns for its only stop in Northern California. NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, Summit ET Bracket drag racing and the Wednesday Night Drags program also return to the drag strip throughout the 2020 season.

New for 2020, Sonoma Raceway will host the inaugural Gold Rush Big Bucks Bracket Drags, July 2-5. More than 250 drag racers will compete for a $10,000-$20,000 purse per day over the course of the three-day event, which will be run by promoter Kyle Seipel.

All Wednesday night drag racing and bracket events can be viewed live at SonomaRaceway.com/live. For more information, the complete drag strip schedule and more, visit sonomaraceway.com.

Photo courtesy of Sonoma Raceway

The future of land speed racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah is still in jeopardy. The once 13-mile race track is now less than eight miles due to salt erosion.

Industry members are encouraged to help restore Bonneville by contacting the US Department of the Interior and urging officials to fund the Restore Bonneville program through the department’s FY 2020 budget.

The SEMA Action Network (SAN) has created a form to send a letter directly to administrators with the Department of the Interior. To send a message, visit the SAN website here. For more information on the restoration of the salt flats, visit savethesalt.org.

Photo courtesy of the Save The Salt Coalition

NASCAR officials have announced that the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen vehicle will feature a single, center-locking lug nut on its wheels. The announcement goes in hand with the news that the Next Gen car will feature an 18-inch wheel.

Currently, Cup Series cars feature a five-lug pattern, which has been used for decades.

John Probst, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development, told NASCAR.com that the move away from a 15-inch steel wheel was part of an overall goal to provide more relevance and a stronger correlation to today’s production cars with an 18-inch wheel. As such, a strong enough fastener that could hold up under high-speed conditions was a necessity.

“For us, we felt like, from a standpoint of the wheel, is that we wanted to get to an 18-inch wheel, an aluminum wheel,” Probst said to NASCAR.com. “Once you get to an 18-inch aluminum wheel, the next step for us is to make sure that from a durability standpoint under racing conditions is that it will accept the durability that we need to finish races and then also finish multiple races. To do that, the single nut was our only option.”

“I think from a fan standpoint, the choreography of the pit stop will look unchanged,” Probst continued. “I think that a lot of times when we say single lug nut, people fear that it’s an open-wheel style pit stop where people will be on their knees waiting for the car to come in. We don’t intend to change anything with respect to how the pit stop flow is executed.

“There will still be guys coming off the wall, there will still be a premium for that athlete to come off the wall, get to the right side of the car, make that tire change, get over to the left side of the car and make the tire change. From the look and feel of the pit stop, we don’t see any significant changes.”

The single lug-nut design made its debut earlier this week during the Next Gen prototype’s fourth on-track test at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The wheels used in the Next Gen testing were manufactured by BBS, a German company with its US headquarters in Braselton, Georgia.

For more information, visit nascar.com.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR

POWRi has announced the addition of the Southwest Lightning Sprint Series, making it the fourth series to join the POWRi Lightning Sprint League.

Based out of Southern California, the Southwest Lightning Sprints will run under a unified POWRi rule package, with Brent Sexton serving as series director.

The POWRi Lightning Sprint League will consist of the Rocky Mountain Lightning Sprints (RMLS), the Midwest Lightning Sprints (MLS), the Minn-Kota Lightning Sprint Series, and now the Southwest Lightning Sprints.

As part of the organization, POWRi provides a point fund for each individual division, offering competitors opportunities to grow within their respective league and series.’’

Starting off its inaugural season at Imperial Valley Speedway in Imperial, California, on March 7-8 for the Mid-Winter Fair, the Southwest Lightning Sprints will mainly race Barona Speedway in Lakeside, California.

In addition, the Southwest Lightning Sprints will now participate in a national championship held at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois on May 22-23.

“I’m proud to be working with the whole POWRi Team. We’re all looking forward to the partnership for the 2020 season and beyond,” Sexton said. “We have a lot of new drivers and local racers who are beyond excited to be part of our inaugural season.”

For more information, visit powri.com.

Lafayette County Speedway, the 3/8-mile clay oval in Darlington, Wisconsin, has announced the addition of three IMCA divisions to its regular weekly shows this season.

Beginning with the 2020 season, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods will be featured at the track. Twelve Friday programs are scheduled from April 24 to August 14.

“IMCA is very well respected in the racing industry and a lot of our drivers already race IMCA,” Track Media Director Kari Ruf said in a written release. “We’ve been getting good car counts and our rules were similar to IMCA’s. We decided sanctioning was [a] good way for us to go.”

Both Modified and Northern SportMod fields are expected to be well represented by drivers from the Tri-State area as well as Illinois and Iowa, according to an IMCA release. The Hobby Stock class, noted Ruf, will be a “perfect fit” for younger drivers looking to begin their racing careers.

“Lafayette County Speedway has a long history of great racing and we’re proud to become part of that,” IMCA Vice President of Operations Jim Stannard said in a written release. “The Darlington area is home to a lot of talented drivers and race fans there have even more to look forward to this season.”

The 3/8-mile clay oval was converted from a half-mile in the early 2000s.

For more information, visit imca.com and lafayettecountyspeedwaywi.com.

Ashton Robinson has joined Performance Racing Industry (PRI) as Marketing Coordinator, where she will support the day-to-day operations of the marketing department for the motorsports industry’s leading trade show, held annually in Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as its monthly publication and associated media.

Robinson brings with her a deep passion for motorsports, having been involved with the industry from childhood. As Ashton describes it, “My entire life revolves around motorsports and the automotive industry. I grew up around motorsports with my Dad, from dirt bikes to go-karting. I'm excited to start my new role, and I’m blessed to be a part of the automotive industry!”

That passion continues, as she is currently competing in this year’s Optima Batteries Search For The Ultimate Street Car. She has also previously driven at the Auto Club Speedway (CA) and Willow Springs International Raceway (CA).

In addition to Ashton’s experience as a racer, she brings a variety of marketing and administrative experience to the position. She has worked for companies like Hotchkis Performance, Racechick, and most recently at Aero Sports Concepts. In prior roles, Ashton has coordinated website and graphic design, managed social media and key administrative functions, and created content through video and photography.

“As we continue to grow, Ashton’s industry knowledge and experience are well-suited to help further PRI’s mission within the motorsports community,” PRI Marketing Manager Jon Shakill said. “Her passion and enthusiasm will be a valuable asset to our business, and we’re happy to add her to the team.”

In addition to her competitive driving and work experience, Ashton has continued to pursue her education, and will complete her B.A. in Communication Studies from California Baptist University this spring. She will be based out of the PRI offices in Aliso Viejo, California.

Each year for the last 30-plus, PRI Magazine has produced a comprehensive survey of motorsports retail businesses across the US. Although time- and labor-intensive (shout-out to Managing Editor Meredith Kaplan Burns and our partners in SEMA’s research department for much of the heavy lifting), this report is invaluable in the information it collects and the intel it provides.

Beyond confirming what we suspect to be true—that drag racing and street/strip are currently the industry’s biggest and fastest-growing market segments, for example, or that most companies today cover more than one type of racing—it always manages to reveal some interesting or surprising tidbits about how engine builders, fabricators, dealers, machinists, tuner/installers, service/repair and race prep shops operate.

Consider that for racing businesses in 2019, the third fastest-growing market behind the eighth- and quarter-milers was… vintage! Maybe not a total shock, since we’ve been reporting for some years on these competitors’ vast disposable incomes and willingness to spend. Not to mention the impressive strides made by organizations like the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA). But we didn’t necessarily expect it to outpace stock cars, modifieds or road racers nationwide.

Our survey, which was conducted late last year, also provided reasons to feel good about the current state of racing and performance retail. Almost nine out of 10 business owners told us that sales have either held steady (46%) or increased (43%) over the last 12 months. Similar percentages were reported when we asked whether their customer bases had grown (50%), stayed the same (41%), or shrunk (9%) from the previous year.

But wait, there’s more—so much more…

For one, we discovered some definite lines in the sand when it comes to marketing trends. Social media, for instance, has now overtaken word of mouth as racing companies’ go-to means of promotion. Sponsorship remains a viable strategy, too, but not nearly to the degree of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. As for websites, well, they appear to be falling out of favor, as only 44% of the companies we polled said they even have one. Among the top reasons given for not maintaining a site, lack of perceived value and the time required to build/maintain were cited most often. Of note, several also reported some version of “Can’t keep up with all the business I have” or “I run a small shop and we’re fully booked” for bypassing a URL.

Equally attention-grabbing were revelations about the impact of tariffs on imported goods; how often retail businesses attend races at their local tracks; whether these companies also manufacture the products they sell; and a host of other insights and takeaways on motorsports products and services.  

The data we collected and the story it tells, which begins on page 20 of PRI Magazine's March issue, truly connects the dots of a dynamic industry. It lets us know which types of racing are moving the retail needle, and how business is getting done for thousands of small and mid-sized companies in this space. We encourage you to review this information closely, and to use it to your professional advantage as you embark on this first racing season of a brand new—and hopefully prosperous—decade!

Officials from Sprints On Dirt (SOD), the race sanctioning organization formed in 1979, have announced the series will not hold a regular-season schedule in 2020. The series will, however, hold one race at the end of the 2020 season, with details to be announced at a later date.

The sprint car racing sanctioning organization also announced that series director Dave Muzzillo will no longer lead the organization. SOD held events primarily in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

Series owner Ed Kennedy confirmed the news with the following statement:

After much thought and consideration, the SOD series will not compete as a traveling series in 2020. Throughout the course of this year, we will work on a refresh of the strategy and direction of the series to develop towards a strong future. Specifically, we will work towards building a new leadership team and a competition structure that better aligns the series towards longterm stability for our competitors, teams, tracks, partners, and fans that have supported the series throughout our 40+ year history.

We will look to do this in collaboration with other series and organizations willing to work together for the collective good of the sport and all stakeholders.

As part of this transition, we… will immediately begin the search for a visionary leader that can develop and execute our plans for the future. Finally, we will sanction one race at the end of the 2020 season where we will reveal the revised strategy and direction for the SOD series in 2021 and beyond.

For more information, visit sprintsondirt.com.

Photo courtesy of SOD, Jim DenHamer

The New Mexico Motor Racing Association (NMMRA), the race sanctioning body formed in 1946 and based in Albuquerque, will now compete under the POWRi banner, as recently announced by POWRi officials.

NMMRA will visit three tracks in New Mexico in its 2020 season, which opens Saturday, April 4, with a feature co-sanctioned with the POWRi Lucas Oil Border Tour at Vado Speedway Park. NMMRA will also visit Aztec Speedway, as well as Sandia Speedway.

“We’re all looking forward to the start of the season, we listened to our drivers and fans on this. Everything just made the most sense going with the POWRi team. From the points to the promotion, they have everything we were after to put on the best racing possible,” POWRi NMMRA Series Director Steve Bonesteel said in a press release.

POWRi, or Performance Open Wheel Racing Incorporated, launched in 2005 and sanctions sprint cars, micro sprints, lightning sprints and quarter midgets.

For more information, and the complete NMMRA 2020 schedule, visit here.