The Mint 400 announced that The Great American Off-Road Race will invite the current group of Baja TT Spec truck racers to compete at The Mint 400 beginning in 2020.

The Baja TT Spec Truck Class, which will be a standalone class, allows for up to 40” tires, a 525 HP engine and underdrives. The Mint 400 will return to Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 3, and run through Sunday, March 8, 2020, with racing on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7.

“It’s been awesome to see the rise of the 6100 Spec Truck Class over the years in the Best in the Desert series and at the Mint. But there are 30+ teams racing in Baja that don’t currently have a home here in the US. We’re happy to invite them to the Mint next year so they can battle amongst one of the largest classes in off-road racing,” Mint 400 COO Josh Martelli said.

Racer and spectator information will be released in the coming months on themint400.com.

Image courtesy of The Mint 400

The SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) has teamed up with the NASCAR Technical Institute (NTI) in Mooresville, North Carolina, to host the Gear-up Girl Networking Event on September 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

A female-only event, SBN Gear-up Girl is a unique networking opportunity for professional women in the motorsports and automotive industry to connect with female students pursuing careers in the field.

SBN Gear-up Girl is designed to help students gain an understanding of available opportunities as well as identify interests and how those might connect with niche markets or companies. The event will also provide an opportunity for women automotive professionals to strengthen their network.

All SBN members, women in the automotive industry and female student pursuing a career in the automotive industry are encouraged to attend. SBN leadership will be present to discuss the Network’s initiatives, volunteer opportunities and additional ways to get more involved.

SBN Gear-Up Girl is free to attend but an RSVP is required. For more information, visit here or contact SEMA Director of Networks Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org or 909/978-6691.

SRO Motorsports Group and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach officials announced today that a round of the 2020 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Series will run at next year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, set to take place April 17-19.

The 60-minute race will take place Sunday, April 19, and feature a pit stop with a driver change. It’s the first time the GT4 America SprintX series has run at Long Beach.

“The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of the preeminent events on the motorsports calendar every year and we are excited to be bringing our Pirelli GT4 America SprintX series to the 2020 schedule,” SRO Motorsports President and CEO Greg Gill said. “To be able to say that you have won at Long Beach is an honor and I know our teams and drivers will be pushing hard to stand on the top step that day.”

The Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Series features top GT4-spec sports car teams competing in marques such as Audi, BMW, Ford, McLaren, Mercedes, Panoz and Porsche.

In addition to the GT4 America SprintX race, the 2020 Acura Grand Prix will be headlined by a round of the NTT IndyCar Series and also feature the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge, Robby Gordon’s SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks and the new-for-2020 Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge in a doubleheader format.

For more information and to purchase tickets beginning October 21, visit gplp.com.

Ford has revealed the all-new 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Mustang race car, which will debut at Daytona International Speedway on February 15.

The new racing Mustang is among four other projects conducted by members of Ford’s engineering and aerodynamics teams based out of the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina. Other all-new motorsports Mustangs includes builds for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, National Hot Rod Association Funny Car division, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and grassroots Cobra Jet.

“We’ve always talked about Mustang being a car that was born to race, and it’s been gratifying to see it performing so well in multiple series around the world,” Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook said. “It’s a credit to all of our engineers and teams that have worked so hard to make Mustang a championship contender right out of the box.”

For more information, visit fordperformance.com or nascar.com.

Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS officials and the management at Crisp Motorsports Park have released the dates for CRA SpeedFest 2020.

The prestigious pre-season event featuring Super Late Models and Pro Late Models will be held on Friday, January 24, and Saturday, January 25, with Sunday, January 26 as the event’s rain date.

As is tradition, this event is held the weekend prior to the Super Bowl every year. This will be the 9th straight year that SpeedFest has been held at Crisp Motorsports Park—Home of the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia.

The event will again use the Friday and Saturday format, which was changed in 2018 and praised by fans and competitors alike.

“Each year we look to continue to make this event one of the top late model events in the country,” Speedway Owner Wayne Lyle said.

Changes for the CRA SpeedFest 2020 include the increase purses introduced in 2018, with the Supers paying $10,000 to win and the Pro’s $5,000 to win. 

CRA SpeedFest 2020 will once again consist of an ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS special non-points 200 lap Super Late Model event and a JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance special non-points 125 lap Pro Late Model event. Additional information about CRA SpeedFest 2020 will be released at a later date. 

For more information, visit cra-racing.com.

Speakers and presenters taking part in this year’s Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show Education program represent a who’s who of industry experts and top performers on the track, in the shop, and behind the businesses that specialize in race parts and services.

Attendees of the 2019 PRI Show, set for December 12–14 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, will have more opportunities than ever to pick up valuable tips and takeaways during an expanded seminar lineup covering a wide range of topics—from sales and marketing strategies to finding and hiring qualified employees to best practices in race track operations and much more. In fact, included among this year’s expanded educational programming are several technical seminars focused on race engine technology, a roundtable with top sanctioning body representatives, a panel discussion featuring top female drivers, and more than a dozen business-focused sessions guaranteed to help racing professionals boost their operations ahead of the 2020 season.

“The quality and quantity of educational programming offered at this year’s PRI Trade Show is nothing short of extraordinary,” said PRI Editor Dan Schechner. “PRI Education has put together an incredible lineup of top-flight presenters and panelists in order to deliver unprecedented value for Show attendees and exhibitors. Regardless of the business or racing segment you’re involved in, we guarantee you’ll come out of our seminars more informed and better prepared for future success.”       

With more to be announced in the coming months, speakers scheduled to participate in this year’s PRI Education program include:

• Engineer and author David Vizard: With more than 30 automotive books and 4,000 magazine articles, Vizard is one of the world’s most widely published automotive writers. His technical seminar will offer insights and lessons from Vizard’s 50 years of engine customization.
    
• Lake Speed Jr. of Driven Racing Oil: Speed, a certified lubricant specialist, plans to discuss the latest evolutions in oils and fuels as they relate to direct injection engines, diesel engines, modern engines, and vintage engines.

• Darin Morgan of Reher-Morrison Racing Engines: In his seminar on key advances in modern cylinder and port design, Morgan will go in-depth on how efficiency has increased power over the years while uncovering the pitfalls associated with this technology.
    
• Jason Enders of RE Suspension and Gary Crooks of Port City Racecars: Enders and Crooks team up to present a seminar on bump stops and provide the necessary working knowledge to help teams better understand their race cars. Attendees will learn about the latest technology that short track asphalt racers are using to push the envelope.
    
• Jeanette DesJardins of Car Chix and Crank It Media will moderate an all-female panel that includes racing standouts Natalie Decker, Lea Ochs, and Sarah Burgess discussing opportunities for women in motorsports. Attendees will hear about their challenges, triumphs and lessons learned, and better understand how to market to, engage with, and raise awareness among young women interested in pursuing motorsports as a career.

• NHRA Announcer Alan Reinhart: Reinhart will lead a roundtable featuring representatives from ARCA, NASA, IMCA, NMCA/NMRA, and other race sanctioning bodies discussing a range of topics at the forefront of motorsports today, such as controlling costs, technical specs, and rules enforcement.

This year’s PRI-sponsored seminars, which are presented free of charge for all registered Show attendees and exhibitors, will be broken out by tracks—Sales & Marketing, Business Operations, International, Opportunities in Racing, Sanctions & Tracks, and Technical Education. All sessions are 60- to 90-minutes long and will take place in the Convention Center’s upstairs meeting rooms during all three days of the Show in the Convention Center’s upstairs meeting rooms. More information on specific seminar times, dates and locations is available at prishow.com/education.

The 2019 PRI Trade Show will feature over 1,100 companies exhibiting in more than 3,300 booths and showcasing the latest products, services, machinery, simulation and testing technologies, and trailers for the racing industry in a single location. Now in its 32nd year, PRI encompasses all forms of racing and attracts attendees from all 50 states and all over the world, including professional race teams, retail shops, warehouse distributors, engine builders, fabricators, dealers, installers, jobbers and media.

Known as Race Industry Week, the days leading up to and including the Show will offer a range of motorsports-related activities in and around the Indiana Convention Center beginning on Monday, December 9. Numerous conferences and seminars, among them the Race Track Business Conference and International Council of Motorsport Sciences’ Annual Congress, offer unlimited business opportunities and provide invaluable insight on the latest technologies and how to apply them throughout the racing world.

To register for the 2019 PRI Trade Show, secure hotel reservations and sign up for free PRI Education seminars, log on to prishow.com.

USAC’s newest Hall of Fame class members have been named for 2019 with Johnny Capels, Bryan Clauson, Dick Jordan and Dave Steele making up the eighth class of inductees, who will be formally inducted Wednesday, September 4, during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).

Capels, a New Mexico native, is a five-time National Championship-winning chief mechanic, as well as a car owner and driver for a brief period. He also spent time employed by USAC, served as the USAC Senior VP and Director of Competition in 1992, USAC President and COO from 1997 to 2001, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors for USAC from 2002 to 2010.

Clauson, of Noblesville, Indiana, won 112 USAC races as a driver between 2004 and his 2016 passing and is one of just six drivers to reach the 100-win mark during his career with the club. Clauson ranks seventh on both the USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget wins list with 41 and 38 wins, respectively, in each division.

Jordan, of Brownsburg, Indiana, was USAC’s public/media relations man for over half a century from 1968 until his recent passing in 2019. Jordan devoted his entire working life to publicizing the USAC’s drivers and events, working with the media, as well as preserving the club’s rich history with his thorough race reports, statistics and record-keeping.

Steele, from Tampa, Florida, became a two-time USAC Silver Crown champion in 2004 and 2005. He also earned 60 USAC National pavement victories, including 16 Silver Crown, 26 National Sprint Car and 18 Midget wins. Steele passed away in 2017 following a crash on the opening lap of a Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series event at Florida’s Desoto Speedway.

For more on USAC and each of the inductees, visit usacracing.com.

The American Ethanol Late Model Tour (AELMT) has announced the addition of a new, “massive” event to its 2019 schedule. The Tour will return to Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, on September 26–28, for the first time since 2017.

Drivers will compete for their part of a combined $17,000-to-win overall purse during the Hoosier Autumn Classic. An open practice will begin the weekend Thursday night.

The top four point earners from the qualifier races on Friday will be locked in for the Hoosier Autumn Classic on Saturday, which will see $12,000, the second-largest payout of the 2019 season, go to the winner of the 50-lap main event.

The event marks the final race of the AELMT season ahead of the championships at I-96 Speedway.

For more information, visit aelmt.com.

The SCCA Foundation has announced that Frank Schwartz, a Detroit Region member, has been hired as the SCCA Foundation's Director of Donor Relations and Fundraising. Johnny Zuccarelli, SCCA Foundation’s Chairman, said Schwartz would be implementing a new donor management system and assisting the Foundation Board of Directors with several upcoming fundraising initiatives.

"Making sure that we are acknowledging our donors and following up with them in an effective manner is critical to the Foundation's ongoing success," Zuccarelli said. "We are thrilled to have Frank on board for this important role.”

Schwartz is a trend researcher, business strategist and the founding partner of the Advanced Automotive Consulting Services (AACS) and more. Before his 35-plus-year career in the automotive industry, he also worked as an architect in the nuclear industry.

A native of Germany, Schwartz currently resides outside of Detroit in the countryside where he spends his evenings tending to his classic car stable and his weekends road racing with the SCCA, where he currently campaigns a Mini Cooper in B-Spec and H Production. His garage is as varied as a 1970 Opel GT, 1972 Dodge Coronet Wagon, a 1980 Scirocco, and numerous Minis and Miatas.

The SCCA Foundation supports hands-on education and safety programs, recognizes excellence in automotive engineering education and promotes the SCCA’s heritage and club history. The goal of the SCCA Foundation is to give back to communities across the country.

For more information on the SCCA and the SCCA Foundation, visit scca.com.

Holley Performance Products, the provider of fuel systems and related products for the performance industry, has debuted “My Garage,” an online platform that allows users to share their builds with the community.

My Garage users can post vehicle photos, wish lists, specific parts of their build, stories behind the car and more. People can also earn points for the opportunity to be featured on the Holley site and for the chance to win Holley prizes.

“You are able to share your build story and ask other users questions on their vehicles—like a virtual car show,” Holley stated in a published source. “We will even have virtual car shows where the Holley crew picks their favorite rides.”

Vehicles that register before August 31 will be eligible to win a $1,000 gift certificate for Holley.com.

For more information or to register, visit holley.com/garage.