The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship calendar has been released.

The series’ 60th anniversary season will be contested over 14 events, starting with a pre-season test day at The Bend on February 18 ahead of the Superloop Adelaide 500 on February 20-23.

Contracts for the street races at Queensland’s Gold Coast and Townsville have also been renewed with new five-year deals. Competitors will visit Townsville for the Watpac Townsville 400 on June 25-28. The Vodafone Gold Coast 600, meanwhile, is set for October 30-November 1.

The 2020 calendar will be highlighted by a new “2x200km” race format that will be used at all SuperSprint events, which is expected to increase field counts.

“It was important to us to increase the amount of Supercar racing for the fans at [the] track and at home,” Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said to supercars.com. “SuperSprint weekends are now full of Supercars racing on both days and we are really stepping up the entertainment value for fans and partners, on and off the track.”

For more information, including the complete 2020 Supercars calendar, visit supercars.com.

Photo courtesy of Supercars

Extreme E, the new electric off-road racing series, revealed its first race location and confirmed that Greenland would host the Arctic round of the championship when season one gets underway in 2021.

The news, which will see Extreme E make history as the first-ever motorsports series to hold an event in the country, was revealed near Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland, by Founder of Extreme E Alejandro Agag and Greenland’s Minister for Industry, Energy and Research Jess Svane.

“I am incredibly excited to be bringing Extreme E’s unique electric racing format to the front line of the global climate emergency here in Greenland. I promised Extreme E would break the mold in motorsport[s] and this really proves I meant it,” Agag said.

A first of its kind in motorsports, Extreme E will see electric SUVs race head-to-head in five remote environments in a mission to use the power of sport to shine a global spotlight on the biggest climate threats facing our planet.

In addition to confirming Greenland, which is experiencing unprecedented effects of global warming, four further locations are being scouted in the Himalayas, the desert, the rainforest and an Indian Ocean Island. Issues affecting these locations include deforestation, rising sea levels, melting glacier ice, desertification, and plastic pollution.

Race organizers will ensure that thorough environmental, social and governance assessments are carried out in each location with a local third party to safeguard environmental protection, social inclusivity and fair political practices.

For more information, visit extreme-e.com.

Photo courtesy of Extreme E

Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) is opening its camping facilities to evacuees seeking refuge from Hurricane Dorian.

The Speedway, which is equipped to handle thousands of campers during its annual NASCAR weekend, will provide camping space free of charge for dry RV and tent campers in its Legends Campground.

A limited number of camping spaces with water, power and sewer are also available for a nominal fee of $20 per night in the Premier Campground.

Located adjacent to the campgrounds, AMS will also open The Rinnai Shower Station camper bath house, allowing evacuees free access to hot showers and restroom facilities during their stay.

Over the last few years, Atlanta Motor Speedway has opened its grounds to hundreds of people seeking refuge from powerful storms including during Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018.

For more information including directions and a facility map, visit atlantamotorspeedway.com.

Photo courtesy of AMS

The Performance Racing Industry (PRI) office in Aliso Viejo, California, will be closed on Monday, September 2, for Labor Day. We will return on Tuesday, September 3.

We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day!

For more information on the 2019 PRI Trade Show including registration, visit pri2019.com.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR

Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has announced that longtime Solo competitor and Club member Mike King has been selected to serve as SCCA’s next Director of Solo and Rally effective October 1.

In his new position, King will be tasked with planning, directing and coordinating the activities of the Rally and Solo competition departments. He will oversee the development of, as well as develop new approaches to, new programs, products and services. He will also serve as a member of SCCA’s senior staff in the establishment of strategic and operational plans for the organization.

An SCCA member for nearly 30 years, King is a four-time Tire Rack Solo Nationals Champion, two-time Tire Rack ProSolo National Champion, and a two-time Solo Triad Award winner.

Beyond involvement in both SCCA Solo and Road Racing activities, King has been active in the Club as a member of the Buccaneer Region Board of Directors, an Assistant Regional Executive, Regional Solo Chairman and Event Chairman for Divisional, National Tour and ProSolo events. He has also worked as an Event Manager for Evolution Performance Driving School, and SCCA’s Starting Line and Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack programs.

SCCA previously announced in June the restructuring of Rally/Solo Senior Management as program leader Howard Duncan, who joined the staff in 1990, shifted his focus to the newly-created Sr. Manager of National Solo Field Operations position.

For more information, visit scca.com.

The AAM Group has announced the hiring of Abby Hathorn as its new marketing coordinator, a position that will allow AAM to produce more video and empower its installers to better engage their own social media marketing.

Hathorn will play a key role in managing AAM’s upcoming Social Power and ReadyPosts services, which will give installers access to ready-to-publish social media content for popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Most recently serving as a social media influencer specialist with Crown Laboratories, Hathorn brings a wealth of experience to her new responsibilities at AAM. In addition to starting a fashion blog at age 16 and writing about music for local magazines and newspapers, Hathorn served as a news intern for WCYB News Channel 5 in Bristol, Tennessee, and an on-air radio news reporter and anchor for the Bristol Broadcasting Company.

“I am overjoyed to join the AAM team and the automotive industry,” Hathorn said. “Though I have worked with AAM over the past few years on their various CAN video projects, I feel fortunate to be joining them on a full-time basis in an expanded capacity. Social media is something our members and installers are increasingly using to market their products and services, so I am especially excited to be playing a major role in launching our new Social Power and ReadyPosts services.”

Automotive Accessories Marketing USA, Inc. (The AAM Group) is the largest distribution group in the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) marketplace. Now in its 31st year, the corporation was founded by eight high-performance warehouse distributors that sought to achieve cooperative scaled purchasing and marketing advantages. The AAM Group now counts 20 member-companies operating 48 distribution centers throughout North America.

For more information, visit theaamgroup.com.

Effective immediately, The New Moler Raceway Park (MRP) is now operating under the direction of Robert and Joey Starett along with Blake and Mariah Naylor. The four have reached an agreement with Brad McCown and Kim Moler to take over operations at the dirt oval in Williamsburg, Ohio.

“We just want to give the local drivers a facility, where they are proud to race on a weekly basis,” the track’s new Director of Operations Blake Naylor said. “Our team likes to live our life based upon the concept of, ‘Do more than required when less will get the job done’. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to be in a position to make our mark on the racing world.”

Naylor has a background in the racing world as a driver in divisions ranging from karts to Chevettes and most recently Super Late Models. His wife, Mariah, will head concession stand efforts while providing additional track support.

The staff is currently in the process of adding more dates to the remainder of the 2019 schedule, including a race program on Friday, September 13, featuring Late Models, modifieds, Sports Mods, Compacts and Mini Sprints. An additional date is also being scheduled for Friday, September 20, and will feature Late Models, Crate Late Models, modifieds and Sport Mods.

For more information, visit thenewmrp.com.

Photo courtesy of MRP, Facebook

Formula 1 has released the draft calendar of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, which features an unprecedented 22 Grands Prix.

F1's 70th anniversary season opens with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15 and ends with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on November 29.

The calendar also features seven back-to-back race weekends and two new additions.

Vietnam will become the 34th country to stage a round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with a race in the capital Hanoi on April 5.

Meanwhile, the Zandvoort circuit returns in 2020, which will be the venue for the Dutch Grand Prix on May 3.

This year, several historical events—Australia, Great Britain and Spain—have renewed their contracts, as has the more recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mexico City will continue to host a race for the next three years under the new title of Mexico City Grand Prix. And, currently being finalized is an extension to the contract with the Italian Grand Prix, which next weekend celebrates its 90th anniversary.

The 2020 Formula 1 calendar is still subject to approval.

For more information, visit formula1.com.

Holley has announced that Geoff M. Turk has joined its executive management team as Chief Operating Officer. Turk has extensive senior-level experience in operations, R&D and acquisitions with U.S. Steel, Caterpillar as well as General Motors.

Turk also has a record of success on the race track with both the NHRA and NMCA drag racing series. Turk has become a perennial winner in the competitive Factory Super Cars class where he became the 2018 NMCA champion in his 2015 Dodge Challenger. He also became the first Stock Eliminator competitor to run a 7-second ET and the first member of the NMCA Holley EFI 7-Second Club.

In 2019, Turk switched to a Ford Cobra Jet and won the first event raced in the new car at NMCA Memphis. His program has gone on to contribute to Cobra Jet teams winning eight of the nine Factory Showdown/Factory Supercar races so far this year.

Geoff is a 1987 graduate of General Motors Institute (now Kettering Institute), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He completed additional training at Bradley University as well as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

For more information, visit holley.com.

McLeod Racing’s President Paul Lee has acquired FTI Performance Converters, the performance driveline company formed in 1992. Through the acquisition, Lee will be working closely with FTI Performance founders Greg and Phaedra Samuel.

"Being that FTI is the leader in racing automatic and torque converter technology, it is fitting to align ourselves with McLeod, the leading performance clutch manufacturer,” Greg Samuel said, who will continue his role as Chief Technology Officer at FTI.

“With increased distribution, back office and inventory infrastructure provided by McLeod, we as a team plan to help FTI Performance continue its dominance in racing transmissions and converters. This is the next necessary step for both brands to continue to provide our customers with the best products as well as the best service," Lee said.

Both companies share a passion for the racing community, as Lee is the driver of an NHRA Nitro Funny Car and the Samuel family has deep roots in drag racing.

As a celebration for the new acquisition and partnership, Lee featured FTI Performance and McLeod Racing livery on his Nitro Funny Car during the NHRA US Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. A special promotion through JEGS.com celebrating the acquisition has also been announced.

FTI Performance will continue to operate out of its Deland Florida-based operations and warehouses. For more information, visit ftiperformance.com or mcleodracing.com.