The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) will host a Town Hall Meeting at Canyonlands by Day and Night in Moab, Utah, on Thursday, April 18.

The Town Hall Meeting is a unqiue opportunity to network with local industry leaders as well as SEMA members and staff. The meeting will also be an opportunity to share business challenges and opportunities, discover how SEMA can help and voice opinions about the state of the industry.

The Town Hall will be held in conjunction with the SEMA General Membership Meeting. Each year, SEMA includes a "general meeting of the membership" among the events and programs the association provides to its members.

Seats are limited. For more information and to register, visit the SEMA website.

Talladega Superspeedway announced that passes are now available to the new Talladega Garage Experience, where fans will be "immersed into the sport of NASCAR like never before” when it debuts at the 2.66-mile venue in October upon the completion of “Transformation” – The Talladega Infield Project presented by Graybar.

Fans can call 1/877-Go2-DEGA to reserve passes into the Talladega Garage Experience, which will deliver extraordinary access and activities,  including:

    •    Access inside all of the MENCS garages via an “up-close” fan viewing walkway – It’s like getting in the locker room on game day as fans will be under the same roof, just feet away from the teams and cars of NASCAR’s premier series as they are prepped for the track.

    •    Open Air Social Club – The 35,000-square-foot venue is steps away from each of the top 22 MENCS garage stalls and will feature a bar, a large 41-foot diagonal video screen, lounge chairs, tables, televisions and more.

    •    Celebration Plaza – Be a part of the Gatorade Victory Lane celebration once the winner of each race takes the checkered flag.

    •    Iron Alley – After entering the Talladega Garage Experience, take a stroll down memory lane, filled with iconic track facts, historic race cars and memorabilia. 

    •    Social Areas – Watch Zone with a 40x80 foot video board, a Kids Zone and a Beer Garden. A total of 140,000 square feet of engagement areas with plenty of seating for relaxation.

    •    Wi-Fi – Free Wi-Fi access available only in the Talladega Garage Experience.

    •    Other enhancements such as concession stands, restroom complexes, Guest Services Center and fan first aid facility are throughout the Talladega Garage Experience.

Passes are available in one-day passes and full weekend options, with pricing for adults, children under 12 and military and first responders. Each Talladega Garage Experience pass must accompany a grandstand or infield admission ticket for that day’s on-track event.

For more information, including pricing options, visit the Talladega Garage Experience website.

(Image courtesy of Talladega Superspeedway).

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) & Museum has announced its annual “Salute to Champion” will focus on Texas legend AJ Foyt in 2019. The exhibit runs from May 1 to October 1, 2019.

Foyt—a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, a Daytona 500 winner and winner of the 24-Hours of Le Mans (co-driving with Dan Gurney)—is the only driver to accomplish all three feats. He is also the only seven-time USAC National Championship titlist.

Foyt was a member of the 1990 inaugural class of the NSCHoF who also had a legendary career on the dirt tracks. Away from Indy and Champ cars, he amassed 42 stock car wins, 28 sprint car wins and 20 midget wins under the USAC banner alone. He was also the 1972 USAC Dirt Champ (now Silver Crown), and was named Co-Driver of the 20th Century by the Associated Press.

“We’re extremely humbled to honor AJ Foyt with this year’s ‘Salute to Champion’,” Museum Coordinator Bill Wright said. “We’d be remiss if we didn’t thank Jason Vansickle and his team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Tony Stewart, and Jerry Nowicke for their awesome cooperation with us in getting a great lineup of cars. We’re expecting to have a diverse representation of AJ’s history on the dirt, the bricks and the pavement!”

Seven cars are planned for the display. Three of Foyt’s Indy 500 wins as well as his rookie car at Indianapolis will be represented. 

The cars will include the 1957 Dean Van Lines Monza winner (driven by Jimmy Bryan, and AJ’s Indy Rookie car in 1958), the 1961 Bowes Seal Fast Trevis Roadster Indy 500 winner, the 1967 Sheraton Thompson Coyote Indy 500 winner, the 1974 Steve Stapp sprint car that AJ drove to twin 50-lap feature wins at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the famous 1974-76 Dirt Champ #14 car, the 1977 Gilmore Coyote Indy 500 winner back-up car, and the Bob Nowicke midget that won the 1961 “Hut Hundred” at Terre Haute (arriving around June 1).

For more information, visit the NSCHoF website.

NASCAR today announced the 20 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020, as well as the five nominees for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
 
The list includes six first-time NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees whose careers spanned the entirety of NASCAR.

Among them are a NASCAR Xfinity Series pioneer and two-time champion (Sam Ard), an original member of the “Alabama Gang” (Neil Bonnett), a Daytona 500 winner (Marvin Panch), a short track ace (Jim Paschal), a three-time Cup Series champion (Tony Stewart) and the first master mechanic in NASCAR (Red Vogt).

Stewart was nominated in his first year of eligibility and could join Jeff Gordon as a second consecutive first-ballot Hall of Famer.

The nominees were selected by a nominating committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, and media. The committee’s votes were tabulated by accounting firm EY.

From the list of 20 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees, five inductees will be elected by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, which includes a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.com. Voting Day for the 2020 class will be Wednesday, May 22.

For the complete list of NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees and Landmark Award nominees, visit the NASCAR website.

CSF Performance and its lineup of cooling products are now available through Turn 14 Distribution.

CSF manufacturers a variety of cooling systems with more than 117 different applications, ranging from high-performance, all-aluminum, direct-fit replacement radiators, to complete custom applications.

CSF is a provider of intercoolers, radiators, charge air coolers, condensers, inverter coolers and pressure caps for a wide range of racing and high-performance vehicles. Its factories, which are ISO certified, also supply OEMs in the US and abroad in Germany and Asia.

For additional information, visit the Turn14 website or the CSF Performance website.

Best in the Desert (BITD), the large off-road racing organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced new milestones in contingency awards available to Best 2019 competitors.

“We are happy to report our 2019 Contingency Program is our biggest ever,” BITD CMO Bryan Folks said.

More than 65 companies have stepped up to offer over $3.7 million in cash and product awards across Best in the Desert’s car/truck, UTV, quad and motorcycle classes.

There are several programs available to BITD competitors, including a new plan by Ford offering cash payouts.

 “Ford Motor Company’s new program is the first of its kind in off-road racing, offering cash to racers not only in car and truck classes, but also in UTV, quad and motorcycles. Highlights of the F150 EcoBoost Performance awards include large cash payouts within the F150 EcoBoost Performance Awards, and all new for 2019 the Year End Long Haul Awards available to all classes based on their performance over the entire season. Now, even if racers don’t race a Ford, but drive a Ford support vehicle, they can qualify for Ford cash payouts.”

The next race for the off-road racing series is set for April 5–7 in Laughlin, Nevada, for the Polaris RZR UTV World Championship.

For more information, including the full details on the BITD Contingency and Awards Program, visit the series website.

Fulton Speedway and DIRTcar Racing officials have announced a new “Win and You’re In” format for the special Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified race as part of the NAPA Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway, set for October 9–13, 2019.

For the past decade, a special Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified race awarded the winner the final starting position in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 event. A new-for-2019 format includes three features.

Drivers will draw for starting positions for one of the Twin 25 Feature races. The top two finishers in each 25-lapper pick up $1,000 and $500 respectively. The top 10 from each Twin 25 automatically advances to the Wildcard feature. Positions 11 to last head to a 12-lap Last Chance Showdown. The top four qualify for the 50-lap finale. All drivers who start the Last Chance Showdown but fail to transfer receive $250.

Then, the top 10 qualified drivers redraw for positions 1 through 10 to start the Wildcard Feature. Positions 11 to 24 start as they finished in the qualifiers and Last Chance Showdown. The winner of the Wildcard Feature, or the highest finishing driver not qualified for Sunday’s 200, starts last in the NAPA Super DIRT Week XLVIII Billy Whittaker Cars 200.

The total prize money for the Wildcard 50 is more than $22,000. In addition to the final starting position for the 200, the winner receives $4,000, second picks up $2,500, and third takes home $1,500.

For more information, including the Wildcard purse and past “Win and You’re In” winners, visit the NAPA Super DIRT Week website.

The Sooner Late Model Series (SLMS) begins its 2019 season on Saturday, March 16, with a stop at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma.

The season opener is the first of 17 events set for 2019 and the first of two events at the central Oklahoma 1/4-mile oval.
 
Later in the season, the SLMS will visit Dodge City Raceway (Dodge City, Kansas) for the first time on July 13, followed by another first time visit to the Hutchinson Fairgrounds (Hutchinson, Kansas) on July 26-27, to take part in the annual Hutchinson Grand Nationals.

For more information, visit the Sooner Late Model Series (SLMS) website.

2019 Sooner Late Model Series Schedule
March 16 - Red Dirt Raceway
April 20 - Enid Speedway
May 4 - Enid Speedway
May 17 - Southern Oklahoma Speedway
May 18 - Oklahoma Sports Park
June 8 - Caney Valley Speedway
June 15 - 81 Speedway
June 22 - Super Bowl Speedway
July 3 - Enid Speedway
July 13 - Dodge City Raceway
July 26-27 - Hutchinson Kansas Fairgrounds
August 3 - Super Bowl Speedway
August 10 - Enid Speedway
August 24 - Oklahoma Sports Park
September 21 - Enid Speedway
October 19 - Red Dirt Raceway
October 26 - Enid Speedway

Formula One officials announced on Monday that drivers who set the fastest lap during every event would receive a bonus point towards the overall F1 championship.

F1 bosses and the FIA have been in discussions about introducing new initiatives, and awarding a point for the fastest lap is one that received backing from all involved. The Strategy Group gave it the green light, as did the Sporting Working Group.

The new initiative was also approved by the F1 Commission and received ratification by the World Motor Sport Council. This means the new rule will be enforced beginning with Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

There is a condition for earning the bonus point. Only drivers who finished in the top-10 are eligible for the extra point. Drivers who fail to finish or finish outside the top-10 can not earn the bonus point.

With 21 races on the Formula One schedule, there is potential for an additional 21 points to be awarded throughout the year.

For more information, visit the F1 website.

RideTech has announced the appointment of Chuck Whitney as the company’s production manager. In his new role, Whitney will be responsible for overseeing all manufacturing and order fulfillment operations at RideTech’s Jasper, Indiana-based factory.

Whitney brings a wealth of aerospace and racing experience to RideTech, having worked in manufacturing for the last 11 years producing AS9100 parts for Boeing, Airbus, Honeywell, Raytheon, and a host of other major manufacturers. His extensive racing career, on the other hand, includes stints as crew chief and operations manager on numerous dirt modified and sprint car race teams.

Whitney also manages his son, Reed, who competes in national and regional USAC quarter midget tours. Reed is a two-time regional champion and a consistent Top-Five finisher on the national level.

“We make serious parts here at RideTech. Performance, reliability and durability are critical facets of our design and manufacturing programs,” RideTech President and CEO Bret Voelkel said. “We are thrilled to have a new production manager with aerospace and racing experience. Chuck Whitney is a proven winner—on and off the race track.“

For more information, visit the RideTech website.