Americas Rallycross (ARX) announced its 2019 ARX and ARX2 schedules, which includes six ARX Supercar events and nine ARX2 events, beginning in June and concluding in October.

 “We are delighted to reveal our 2019 schedule which includes a foray into America’s heartland,” Series Promoter IMG Motorsports Senior Vice President Paul Bellamy said. “Our new multi-year partners at Mid-Ohio and Gateway Motorsports Park are great additions to our ongoing partnerships with Circuit of The Americas in Austin and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Canada as we expand our presence in North America. We are pleased to bring our high-octane brand of action to motorsport fans and sports lovers in the US seeking a four-wheeled adrenaline rush.”

The ARX calendar expands for the 2019 season, including two new events in the Midwest at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Gateway Motorsports Park, marking the championship’s first visit to the Midwest.

The season begins at the historic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 8–9, and concludes with a second trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Cooper Tires ARX of Mid-Ohio, October 5–6.

Tickets for the June and October Cooper Tires ARX of Mid-Ohio events and ARX of Canada are on sale now, while tickets to the ARX of Gateway and ARX of COTA will be on sale soon.

For the complete 2019 schedule and more information, visit the Americas Rallycross website.

Bridgestone Americas has plans for a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Akron, Ohio, that will serve as the future home of Firestone race tire manufacturing.

Located across the street from the Bridgestone Americas Technical Center, the Bridgestone Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) will take over race tire production for the Bridgestone Advanced Technology Workshop, where race tires are currently produced today. Plans for the ATPC include both new construction and the full renovation of an existing Akron structure.

The announcement was made at a special event in Indianapolis that included Indycar and Bridgestone leaders, racing legend Mario Andretti and veteran IndyCar driver and team owner Ed Carpenter. A second event also was held at the Bridgestone Americas Technical Center in Akron with two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr.

All race tire manufacturing will move to the new facility over the next four years, and early plans are for the site to produce its first Firestone Firehawk race tires for testing in the NTT IndyCar Series by the end of 2020.

For more information, visit the Bridgestone Americas website.

Tenneco Inc. announced that business leader Denise Gray has been appointed to its board of directors effective March 1.

Gray will also be one of several founding members of the board of directors for the new Tenneco powertrain technology company that will emerge later this year. The new company is a result of Tenneco’s acquisition of Federal-Mogul in 2018, and the subsequent separation into two new, publicly traded companies.

“We are very pleased to welcome Denise, a true leader in business, to our board,” Tenneco Chairman of the Board of Directors Gregg M. Sherrill said. “Denise is not only a highly successful and respected executive, she is a true innovator in automotive technology, having led global technical organizations that have transformed the industry. I expect Denise will make significant contributions to the current Tenneco organization and play a critical role in the formation of the new Tenneco board of directors later this year.”

Gray is currently president of LG Chem Michigan Inc. Tech Center in Troy, Michigan overseeing the North American subsidiary of South Korean LG Chem Ltd., one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

For more information, visit the Tenneco website.

Grand Bend Motorplex, one of Canada’s premier racing facilities, has reached a multi-year sanctioning agreement with the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).

Located on 407 acres in Huron County, Ontario, the Grand Bend Motorplex is a multi-purpose motorsports facility that consists of a 1/4-mile drag strip, a 1/4-mile high banked paved oval, and a multi-circuit road course for cars, bikes and go-karts.

The 20th annual Mopar Canadian Nationals—one of Eastern Canada’s largest drag racing events with over 350 participants—highlights the list of special events. It features Top Fuel dragsters, Nostalgia Nitro Funny Cars, Nitro Harleys, Pro Mods, Outlaws, Jet Trucks, a Studebaker Wheelstander, CAN/AM Stock/Superstock and hundreds of Sportsman competitors.

The facility includes ample parking, unobstructed seating, a rough camping area, paved roads throughout the pit area, washrooms with showers, and a licensed trackside food and beverage court.

For more information, visit the IHRA website or the Grand Bend Motorplex website.

Two more IMCA divisions will be featured this season on Friday race pro­grams at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota.

IMCA Modifieds and IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars join IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks on the half-mile dirt oval. A car show and test ‘n tune session is also on the tentative schedule for April 27 with the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing opener on May 3.

The 2019 season will be the fourth for sanctioned Hobby Stocks at Black Hills.

“We have had a non-sanctioned sprint car class the last few seasons. A lot of local drivers have expressed an interest in something more concrete, with a point fund and sanctioning body,” Black Hill Pro­moter Ed Kirchoff said to IMCA.com. “Modifieds are a natural progression for us. We had Modifieds at a Gunslinger Tour race and again at the end of the season last year.”

Five hundred dollars is the top prize for the Hobby Stocks in their May 31 special at Rapid City while the winner of the 38 Special for Modifieds earns $1,250 and a spot on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot on July 19.

Season championship night for all three IMCA divisions is set for August 16.

The track, managed by John Carlton, is currently undergoing upgrades to its lighting system as part of an ongoing program of facility improvements.

For more information, visit the IMCA website or the Black Hills Speedway website.

Sonoma Raceway will host more than 45 days of racing action on its drag strip during the 2019 season, as the Sonoma Valley facility celebrates 50 years of racing in wine country.

The NHRA Sonoma Nationals will highlight the schedule for the 32nd consecutive year, as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series returns for its only stop in Northern California. The NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, presented by Korbel, Summit ET Bracket drag racing and the popular Wednesday Night Drags program also return to the drag strip.

The 10,000-horsepower machines of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will rattle the grapevines as NHRA’s best go head-to-head in the world’s fastest race cars, reaching speeds over 330 mph, July 26-28. The 2019 national event will also feature the return of jet dragsters following Friday night qualifying. The weekend will also look back 50 years of drag racing history in Sonoma, as the raceway celebrates the sports legends, it’s memorable moments and incredible fans throughout the race weekend.

In addition, the raceway’s popular Wednesday Night Drags program enters its 31st  season this year, which attracts more than 200 drivers nightly. The amateur drag racing competition runs most Wednesday evenings from March 13-November 13 and gives anyone with a driver license and a car that passes a simple technical inspection a chance to race down the quarter-mile drag strip.

The fan-favorite Top the Cops program, which gives teens the chance to race against law enforcement officers, who compete in full uniform in their official vehicles on the quarter-mile drag strip, will also run from April through August in conjunction with Wednesday Night Drags.

For more information, including the complete 2019 Sonoma Raceway Drag Racing Schedule, visit the Sonoma Raceway website.

POWRi has added another division to its portfolio with the creation of the POWRi Lightning Sprint League.

The POWRi Lightning Sprint League will serve as the official sanctioning body for the California Lightning Sprints, the Rocky Mountain Lightning Sprints, the Midwest Lightning Sprints and the Movie Land Lightning Sprints.

Offering a point fund for each club, all of the leagues will have the opportunity to grow and create enticement within their operation. On top of that, the four clubs will come together under POWRi to establish a unified set of rules across each organization.

Competitors from all four lightning sprint groups will merge on October 4–5 to battle it out for the national championship held at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri. The POWRi Lightning Sprint Nationals will offer the chance for each club to be represented as drivers chase the prestigious honor of winning a national title.

“We’re thrilled for this opportunity to create the POWRi Lightning Sprint League and bring a unified feeling to the lightning sprint community,” POWRi League Director Jason McCord said. “We have really prided ourselves on the diversity that POWRi offers between midgets, micro sprints, and sprint cars, and now lightning sprints will just up that ante. I am confident we have picked up four great organizations and I can’t wait to see the success this new partnership creates.”

For more information, visit the POWRi website.

Dr. Robert Hubbard, who made major advances in motorsports safety with the invention of the HANS device, died Tuesday.

Hubbard’s passing was announced on the HANS website, which read: “Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends. Bob’s invention truly changed the world of auto racing safety and he was a kind-hearted person who would help anyone in need. He will be missed greatly.”

Hubbard’s Head and Neck Support (HANS) system was a breakthrough in minimizing the risk of whip-like head and neck movement in the event of a crash. Hubbard, a professor of biomechanical engineering at Michigan State University, developed the safety restraint after discussions with Jim Downing, his brother-in-law and an accomplished sports-car racer.

“Dr. Robert Hubbard’s contribution to NASCAR safety remains unrivaled,” NASCAR Senior Director of Safety Engineering John Patalak said to NASCAR.com. “In helping develop the HANS device, Hubbard sparked a safety evolution that continues to this day. His ground-breaking work has elevated driver safety to unprecedented levels. NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of Dr. Hubbard, a giant in motorsports safety.”

For more information on the HANS device, visit the HANS website.

The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced that it has reached a multi-year agreement with Acura to become the title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Long Beach starting in 2019.

The 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place April 12-14, 2019.

“This is truly the start of a new era in the history of the Grand Prix,” President and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Jim Michaelian said. “As we enter our 45th year of conducting America’s No. 1 street race, we are looking forward with great enthusiasm to this new partnership with a premium luxury brand like Acura. Together we will explore new ways to elevate the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to greater heights in the coming years.”

Featuring a wide variety of on- and off-track activities for the entire family, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be headlined by the NTT IndyCar Series, as well as the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

In addition, the weekend will feature the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights, Robby Gordon’s Stadium SUPER Trucks, the sports cars of the Pirelli GT4 America series and the Historic IMSA GTO Challenge.

Tickets are now available for the event at gplb.com or by calling toll-free 888/827-7333.

For more information, visit the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach website.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be part of the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2023 following an agreement reached with Baku City Circuit.

The agreement was signed earlier this week in Baku by the Azerbaijan Minister of Sport and Youth, Azad Rahimov, and the Chairman and CEO of Formula 1, Chase Carey, during the 2019 Conference on Benefits of Hosting Major Sports Events organized by Baku City Circuit.

The Grand Prix renewal is the first to be signed in 2019 and follows those for the Belgian, Chinese, German, Japanese and Singapore races, signed over the previous two years. Also added to this lineup is the Grand Prix of Vietnam, which will make its debut on the calendar in 2020.

Baku first hosted F1 in 2016, with its street circuit running in part along the shoreline of the city’s historic center, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It soon grabbed the attention of fans, and for the last two years running has been voted as the best race of the season in the annual survey run by the F1 Fan Voice community, according to F1.

“We are very pleased to have renewed this agreement which will see the Azerbaijan Grand Prix feature on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar for many years to come,” Chairman and CEO of Formula 1 Chase Carey said. “In just a short space of time, this race has become one of the most popular of the season, always producing closely fought and spectacular racing. The Republic of Azerbaijan provides a really excellent welcome to everyone in Formula 1 and the beautiful city of Baku is an amazing backdrop for the greatest motor racing show in the world.”

For more information, visit the F1 website.