Engine Parts Group, Inc., also known as Engine Pro, has welcomed its ninth member shareholder to its group, expanding the engine parts network into three continents. The announcement of Wilmink Group’s membership was made at Engine Pro’s recent annual supplier meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Based in the Netherlands, Wilmink Group supplies over 800,000 engine parts to customers in more than 48 European countries. The company distributes stock replacement engine parts as well as performance parts for most automotive racing applications including sport compact, drifting, tractor pulling, powerboat racing, and drag racing through the Wilmink Performance division.

“The Wilmink Group is an extremely well-run distributor organization providing strong marketing expertise to [its] customers in Europe and other international markets. We look forward to the mutual benefit this new relationship will bring,” Engine Pro Board Chairman Paul Van Woensel said.

The Wilmink Group will begin its official participation with Engine Pro on January 1, 2020, and with the group’s 2020 programs.

For more information, visit enginepro.com.

A new nonprofit organization, Off-Road Motorsports Youth Foundation (OMYF), has been formed to provide young people with unique hands-on opportunities in motorsports. OMYF, based in Evansville, Indiana, resulted from an individual’s dream to build a desert racing team that gives back to the community.

Preston Lewis—who is passionate about racing and was diagnosed with Leukemia in high school—helped create OMYF for kids connect to the motorsports industry and pursue their dreams with help from Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana.  

“Preston is an inspiring young man who is using his wish as a platform to inspire, engage and help others,” Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana Chief Advancement Officer and Wish Dad John Carreon said. “We can’t wait to see all the amazing things Preston will do through his nonprofit. We’re so grateful to our community partners like EXTEND GROUP who have helped make his wish a reality.”

Interested children can gain real-life experience working on the OMYF Class 7100 Unlimited Trophy Truck. There will also be the opportunity to pursue other aspects of the sport, including race management, repairs, design and development of new parts, and more.

For part manufacturers, OMYF will become a valuable asset as well as it will give them the opportunity to imprint their brand on potential lifelong customers and future employees.

“The whole goal for the foundation is to be able to give kids the golden ticket, as I call it,” said Lewis. “If we can just give them one trait or one piece of advice that they can carry for the rest of their life and go somewhere great with it, whatever it is, that’s the best possible outcome we can have.”

Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana connected Lewis to Michael Davis of VPS Architecture and Shawn Collins of EXTEND GROUP to help him launch his own 501(c)(3) and build a brand for the organization.

OMYF, which will have a booth at the 2019 PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis, will also host a press conference to announce the launch of the new organization. It will take place 11:30 a.m. - 12 pm in the Press Conference Center across the hall from the Media Center in the Green Hall of the Indiana Convention Center. Visit Booth #9511 in the Green Hall for more information on the organization.

To help make OMYF a reality, the team needs the community’s support and donations. When asked what the one thing he needs most to make OMYF happen, Lewis stressed the value of knowledge and time, according to an organization release. Any advice, industry insight, or a connection to someone that can aid the cause will help the team tremendously. Contact Preston Lewis at preston.lewis@omy-foundation.org.

The NHRA on FOX cameras will broadcast next week at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis with three full days of interviews from the show, available for viewing at NHRA.com beginning Thursday, Dec. 12.

NHRA on FOX talent Brian Lohnes, Tony Pedregon, and John Kernan will interview NHRA stars, teams, and partners including Stevie "Fast" Jackson, Jack Beckman, Troy Coughlin Jr., Tony Schumacher, Ron Capps, John and Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon, Greg Anderson and Jason Line, Tommy Johnson Jr., Matt Hagan, JR Todd, Leah Pritchett, Austin Prock and Robert Hight, and many more.

The interviews will be broadcast from Booth #7032 in the Yellow Hall.

To register for the PRI Trade Show, visit pri2019.com. For more information, visit nhra.com.

Officials at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway Motorsports Park) in Madison, Illinois, announced the addition of the new Midwest SuperStar Bracket Series to its 2020 track schedule. The series, which will pay $10,000 to the winner of each day’s bracket event, will consist of six races over two weekends.

The first event will be held April 17-19, 2020, in conjunction with the NHRA Division 3 JEGS Super Quick Series. A second event is scheduled for June 12-14, 2020.

“Our sales team, drag strip staff and our core racing community are working hard to secure additional sponsorships and bonus awards for the series so that participants are competing for a true championship,” World Wide Technology Raceway Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Blair said.

The SuperStar series will consist of one bracket class with door cars and bikes racing each other and dragsters racing dragsters as late as possible through the program.

“The April weekend will be run in conjunction with the JEGS Super Quick Series which, if a racer competes in both days of that event, provides the opportunity for a driver or rider to compete in five events in one weekend,” Blair added. “We are in discussions regarding a higher-payout Friday and Saturday night bonus race to run in conjunction with the June event.”

In addition to the Midwest SuperStar Bracket Series, WWTR also will host two $5,000 events in Fall (dates TBA), a bracket class in conjunction with NMRA and NMCA, a pre-1979 footbrake special in conjunction with the new Mother Road Rendezvous nostalgia event in May and the local E.T. Racing Series track championship program.

For more information, visit wwtraceway.com.

Image courtesy of WWT Raceway

Motor State Distributing has added Pro-Race Performance Products to its lineup of products.

Pro-Race Performance was founded over 35 years ago by Australian drag race driver Graham Withers. The company manufactures all-steel harmonic dampers, which were initially offered only for the Holden 308 V8. Today, its product line of high-performance racing dampers are for a wide range of engines, including GM, Ford, and Mopar.

Its Pro Racer and Pro Sport lines of dampers are SFI certified.

For more information, visit motorstate.com or pro-race.com.

Sonoma Raceway in Northern California has partnered with No Stomach for Cancer for the ninth annual John’s March Against Stomach Cancer walk for charity.

The event, which honors the battle against gastric cancer, is set for Saturday, January 11. John’s March offers the once-a-year opportunity to walk or run around Sonoma Raceway’s 2.52-mile road course in the name of charity.

The unique fundraising event has raised more than $133,000 over its eight-year history and is the only major fundraising walk for gastric cancer on the West Coast. It is named in honor of the longtime raceway spokesperson, John Cardinale, who passed away in 2013 after a two-year battle with stomach cancer.

For those looking for more of challenge, 5K and 10K race distances will be also marked. A shorter, less hilly course is available for those who do not wish to complete the full circuit.

Participants can also bring pictures of loved ones affected by gastric cancer to share on the Warrior Wall, which will honor those affected by the disease. Participants and donors are encouraged to raise awareness and increase their impact by registering and creating a team page at johnsmarch.org.

Day-of registration begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, and the March begins at 9 a.m. For more information, visit johnsmarch.org or sonomaraceway.com.

The CARS Super Late Model Tour will bolster the 2020 season schedule with the addition of the Rowdy Manufacturing Super Challenge. The challenge will allow select Super Late Model drivers to compete for a minimum of $10,000 to win at every event on the 2020 CARS Super Late Model schedule.

“If this isn’t something that will bring some of the best Super Late Model drivers in the country to race with us a few times a year, then nothing will. There are no hoops to jump through, no special requirements; just buy a license, file your entry to race, and win,” CARS Tour Owner Jack McNelly said. “We already had almost half our events paying $10,000 or more to win in 2020 for everyone competing, now this takes those remaining events and jumps them up to the same level for these select competitors.”

The selected drivers have won championships or a major Super Late Model event during the 2019 calendar year. In order to receive the $10,000 minimum payday for winning a race, each driver and owner must have valid CARS Tour annual license prior to the event, file their event entry by the deadline, and participate in promotional related duties set forth by the CARS Tour.

The Rowdy Manufacturing Super Challenge listed drivers will not be eligible for the new “Super Six” touring loyalty program that is expected to be announced for Super Late Model teams for the 2020 season. In addition, the 2020 Super Late Model purse throughout the entire field for CARS sanctioned solo races will also increase.

For more information, including the list of eligible drivers for the 2020 season, visit carsracingtour.com.

Speedway Motorsports officials have announced promotions for three senior executives. Jessica Fickenscher has been promoted to Chief Experience Officer; Kevin Camper to Chief Sales Officer; and Steve Swift to Senior Vice President of Operations and Development.

A member of the Speedway Motorsports staff for more than 20 years, Fickenscher will now expand her role to develop new Fans First initiatives and continue improving the sports entertainment company’s best-in-class fan experiences.

Fickenscher also facilitates capital improvement and property development projects across all eight of Speedway Motorsports’ NASCAR facilities and oversees the company’s relationship with food services partner, Levy Restaurants. In addition, she leads business operations as the senior executive for company subsidiaries U.S. Legend Cars International and SMI Properties. Fickenscher is also the managing director of Speedway Children’s Charities national chapter and serves as a board member for the Charlotte chapter.

“It takes a very unique skill set to excel in different facets of business, and Jessica has excelled in every area of her responsibilities during more than two decades with our company,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “Her attention to detail is exceeded only by her commitment to improve our fan experiences, and we look forward to her continued efforts each day to bring our ‘Fans First’ commitment to life.”

In his new role, Camper will be responsible for corporate sales revenue across all eight of Speedway Motorsports’ facilities and its Performance Racing Network subsidiary. He’ll also collaborate and help develop new events and revenue platforms while continuing his sales leadership role at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In his new role, Swift will oversee construction projects and capital expenditures at all eight of Speedway Motorsports’ facilities. Additionally, he will lead the development and management of standardized operation-related processes and procedures.

To date, Swift has supervised the construction of zMAX Dragway; the Neon Garage and ThriveHive Digital Center at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; multiple structures in the Bristol Motor Speedway infield; Kentucky Speedway grandstand and camping expansions plus track reconfigurations at Bristol, Texas, Las Vegas, Kentucky and the creation of the innovative Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, among other projects.

For more information on each of the promotions, visit the Speedway Motorsports website here.

The IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series has been acquired by the Malvern Bank Super Late Model (MBSLM) racing series, which is owned by Joe and Steve Kosiski and based in Omaha, Nebraska.

“It has been a great 33-year ride for this series and our traveling Late Model drivers,” IMCA President Brett Root said to IMCA.com. “The growth in Late Model sanctions, however, in 2019 demonstrated that we needed to commit our time and resources to further developing national and weekly race programs for that division.

“I firmly believe Late Model touring series across the Midwest need unification,” Root continued. “The Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing Series has rules that accommodate IMCA Late Model members and this is a positive step in the right direction for those drivers who want to be part of touring events.” 

The IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series, which was launched in 1987, is one of the longest-running Late Model series in the Midwest.

The series traveled to 42 different tracks primarily in Iowa and Illinois, with occasional visits to tracks in Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Typical car counts averaged at 35 entries.

For more information, visit slmrseries.com.

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) officials have released the 2020 NHRA Rulebook online.

Class-by-class regulations and requirements, racing procedures, and more are covered in the handbook, which is also available in the familiar pocket-size physical copy for $10.

NHRA members receive a 30% discount. To order a physical copy, visit here. To view an e-book of the rulebook, visit here. 

For more information, visit nhra.com.

Image courtesy of NHRA