The Late Model Truck Series is set for a seven-event schedule in 2019.

The regional truck series will kick off its second season at Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on Saturday, March 23, and conclude its 2019 campaign on Championship Night at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 23.

The Series will also visit Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, California and The Speedway at Willow Springs in Rosamond, California in 2019.

“Gary Wyatt and I are excited to announce the 2019 Late Model Truck Series schedule, with nearly double the number of dates as we had a year ago,” Co-Series Organizer Mike Riefler said. “We had a great response to the revival of the series last year, and we can’t wait to see the excitement continue to grow in 2019. The LMTS drivers provided some great action in our first season back, and we expect top-notch racing all year long.”

The region’s truck racing lineage dates back to the Speed Truck Series that originated in 1997 under the American Speed Association (ASA). The trucks raced at up to 10 different tracks in California, Arizona and Nevada before the ASA disbanded in 2013.

The series trucks feature a full-tube chassis, a 330-horsepower sealed V-8 spec engine and two-speed direct-drive transmission, with a clutch pedal dump valve, coupled to an aluminum quick-change rear end. The trucks sport replica fiberglass bodies of the Chevrolet S-10, Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Dakota, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.

For more information, including the complete 2019 schedule, visit the Late Model Truck Series website.

The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) has announced the addition of Lonnie Grim as its competition & technical director, along with the promotion of Paul Cartwright to the assistant event director position.

Grim, a drag racer himself, held various roles with the NMCA/NMRA, Holley LSFest, Street Outlaws No Prep Kings, Outlaw Street Car Reunion and HOT ROD Engine Masters Challenge.

Cartwright, meanwhile, moves into his new position after two years as the sanctioning body’s staging director. Previously, Cartwright held various leadership positions, including as operations director at Heartland Park Topeka (Topeka, Kansas) and Memphis International Raceway (Millington, Tennessee). He also served as the track manager at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana.

The 2019 PDRA schedule, featuring eight races, begins April 4–6 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, North Carolina, for the PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech.

For more information, visit the PDRA website.

Performance Open Wheel Racing, Inc. (POWRi) has announced a partnership with the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) to form a new midget sprint car series. Going forward, the BCRA group will be known as the POWRi BCRA Lucas Oil Midget Series.

The series will race on both dirt and asphalt at several US tracks.

As part of the partnership, POWRi will work with the BCRA to restructure and reorganize the series, which includes increased payout purses and an expanded dirt track schedule.

“The addition of BCRA to the POWRi brand is a big step for us in expanding outside of the Midwest,” POWRi League Director Jason McCord said. “Moving into California, this will allow us across the board to begin exploring options such as increasing point funds and creating more national television opportunities.”

The POWRi BCRA Lucas Oil Midget Series is now under the POWRi banner, which also includes the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League, the POWRi Lucas Oil West Midget League, the POWRi Lucas Oil Rocky Mountain Midget series.

For more information, including the complete 2019 schedule, visit the POWRi website or the BCRA website.

VP Racing Fuels, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a new property and facility in Huntingdon, Tennessee, citing a favorable atmosphere for business growth and development.

“VP was founded over forty years ago in San Antonio,” VP Racing Fuels President and CEO Alan Cerwick said. “As the company has continued a consistent and remarkable growth, we have acquired additional properties in Texas, plus have facilities in Indiana and Delaware. We evaluated all of these locations, ultimately hoping to expand in Texas, but unfortunately, acquiring the approvals to fully develop the Texas sites has been too challenging. On the flip side, Tennessee is clearly open for business, and their desire to attract and partner with companies wanting to grow is a perfect fit for VP.”

The new Tennessee facility includes nearly 160,000 square feet on 57 acres and will be used for manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, and distribution, expanding as the company grows.

These plans will require VP to make considerable investments in new equipment, including packaging equipment and an expanded fuel tank farm. For that, VP has already begun additional investment in the Huntingdon area community, engaging local architects, engineers, and other contractors.

VP had acquired two additional properties in Bexar County in past years, but as of today, the company has not been able to fully use the properties for needed expansion. As a result, one of the properties is under contract for sale. The other property will be held for now, pending any future decision to expand operations in Texas or Tennessee. Likewise, the decision on the corporate headquarters expansion location will be made at a later date.

For more information, visit the VP Racing Fuels website.

Paul Buddin has been announced as the chief financial officer of the UK-based McLaren Group. He takes up the role with immediate effect.

Buddin has been Acting CFO of McLaren Group since March 2018 and been CFO of the luxury sports car and supercar maker McLaren Automotive, a role he has held since January 2016. Automotive has announced record sales in 2018 of 4,806 vehicles, over 90 percent of which are exported outside of the UK.

“On behalf of the Board and Executive Committee, we’re delighted to announce that Paul Buddin has taken up this new role on a permanent basis which includes financial oversight of the combined McLaren Group, that brings together McLaren Automotive, McLaren Racing and McLaren Applied Technologies. This builds on Paul’s extensive experience and knowledge of the McLaren brand and will continue to align our long-term business planning and synergies across the Group,” McLaren Group Chairman Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa.

For more information, visit the McLaren website.

The United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS) will host a sprint car seminar and driving experience at WaKeeney Speedway in WaKeeney, Kansas, on April 20.

The seminar will include a morning class on proper maintenance, setup tips, driving tips and a range of other topics related to sprint cars. This session will be taught by “Kansas Tornado” Jon Johnson along with several veteran drivers. Following the class, each entrant will take a turn at 15 laps in a race-ready sprint car.

Race ready sprint cars, the track and proper insurance coverage will be provided by the URSS. Drivers must have an approved helmet, a fire suit, gloves and shoes. Those that are unable to provide these safety products may contact URSS before the event date to see if the organization has some products they can loan.

Participation is limited. Cost for the seminar is $200. For more information, visit the URSS website.

Tenneco Inc. has announced a new publicly traded aftermarket and ride performance company that will launch in the second half of 2019 following Tenneco’s split into two independent companies.

The new company, DRiV Incorporated, will serve as a global multi-line and multi-brand aftermarket supplier and original equipment (OE) performance and braking supplier.

DRiV will have headquarters in the greater Chicago area.

“It is a landmark day, now that we are able to announce the future company’s name and identity,” Tenneco Co-CEO Brian Kesseler said, who will also serve as the future chairman and CEO of DRiV. “DRiV will be a unique new business, a more than $6 billion start-up, built from the combined strengths of Tenneco, Federal-Mogul and Öhlins—laser-focused on innovation, performance, brand development and customer service.”  

DRiV’s aftermarket business, which will be known as “Motorparts,” will develop, manufacture and distribute a portfolio of products in the global vehicle aftermarket. Through the acquisition of Federal-Mogul in 2018, its stable of brands includes Monroe, Champion, Öhlins, MOOG, Walker, Fel-Pro, Wagner, Ferodo, Rancho, Thrush, National, Sealed Power, Axios and others.

For more information, visit the Tenneco website.

Firebird Raceway, a longstanding NHRA Member Track located in Eagle, Idaho, has been listed in the National Register for Historic Places.

The New family established the drag strip in 1968 and has owned and operated it for the last 51 years. While a couple of other racetracks are listed in the NRHP, Firebird is the first drag racing strip in the United States to achieve the honor.

“The Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is excited to see the Firebird Raceway listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP),” said Idaho State Historical Society SHPO Administrator/Deputy SHPO Tricia Canaday said. “The SHPO administers the NRHP program, which is the official, national list that recognizes places considered important in our past and worthy of preservation. Firebird Raceway is the Gem State’s only purpose-built drag strip, and is an excellent example of the property type.”

Firebird Raceway, which annually hosts an NHRA Division 6 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event as well as an event in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, consists of approximately 60 acres, including the original strip and associated features of the raceway, which was completed in 1968. Located in a high-desert valley, the raceway is in close proximity to the Boise foothills and Boise National Forest.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

For more information, visit the Firebird Raceway website or the NHRA website.

(Image courtesy of Firebird Raceway).

Offered for the first time, SAM Tech has announced a new series of high-performance marketing seminars explicitly developed for the automotive aftermarket.

Attendees will be introduced to basic marketing concepts as it applies to the high-performance industry by lead instructor Dr. Jamie Meyer, the current performance parts program manager at Chevrolet Performance and Cadillac V-Performance.

Content will include brand and brand management, marketing success metrics, public and press relations, communications planning, website development, product placement, event marketing, local marketing, advertising, social media and more.

The seminar—which will benefit engine shops, race teams, OEM vehicle manufacturers and more—is open to current SAM Tech students, graduates, outside individuals and companies.

SAM Tech, located in Houston, Texas, is a provider of machining and technical education training for students seeking careers in the high performance racing industry.

To sign up for the seminar, call (713)683-3817 or visit the SAM Tech website here.

Yamaha Motor Corp. officials have decided not to continue the R1DT dirt-track project that the company launched in the fall of 2017.

The R1DT concept featured a tube chassis, purpose-built race car powered by a fuel-injected inline four-cylinder engine from Yamaha’s R1S production motorcycle. The car was designed to be low maintenance, low cost to the racer with vehicles purchased at Yamaha outlets and transported directly to the race track.

The car was seen as a valuable training tool for up and coming drivers and an affordable and fun racing machine for more experienced drivers.

“The Yamaha R1DT prototype project was an exciting and educational project that allowed us to learn a lot about the dirt track industry, racers, fans and industry partners,” read the Yamaha statement. “Yamaha is proud to have participated in this space even if only for a short time during this project, and we want to sincerely thank all of the partners, vendors, test drivers, fans and friends that we made along the way. While we’re not able to continue to move the R1DT project forward at this time, we have a huge appreciation for the sport of dirt track racing and everyone who loves and lives it. Thanks to everyone who was involved.”

After being launched in Sept. 2017, the program saw an exhibition race that November at Perris Auto Speedway in California.

For more information, visit the Yamaha Motor Corp. website.