The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) is again partnering with the Society of Automotive Historians to present "The First Turn Meets the Cultural Turn — History on the Eights," an academic symposium on racing history.

All are welcome to attend the fourth annual Michael R. Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History that will take place Friday and Saturday, November 9–10, in Watkins Glen, New York.

The event will showcase discussions on Formula Vee, Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, British automotive designer and engineer Reid Railton, several different presentations about NASCAR, and more. A detailed schedule may be found here.

The Friday morning and afternoon sessions will be held at the Watkins Glen International Media Center adjacent to the famed race track. An evening reception from 5-8 p.m. at the IMRRC Visitor's Center in downtown Watkins Glen will include a screening of the movie "Cars" followed by Jon Summers presenting "Differentiating Between Richard 'The King' Petty and Pixar’s 'Mr. The King': Historiography in NASCAR and Why It Matters."

The Saturday sessions will take place at the Watkins Glen Elementary School auditorium adjacent to the IMRRC. Buz McKim, the recently retired historian at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and author of "The NASCAR Vault: An Official History Featuring Rare Collectibles from Motorsports Images and Archives," will be the keynote speaker.

The International Motor Racing Research Center collects, shares and preserves the history of motorsports.

Team Penske has announced several organizational changes within the leadership structure of its IndyCar and IMSA racing programs, effective immediately.

Veteran motorsports race engineer Ron Ruzewski, who most recently has served as the team's technical director, has been promoted to managing director and will report directly to Team Penske President Tim Cindric.

Ruzewski will oversee Team Penske’s IndyCar program, along with the Acura Team Penske IMSA sports car operations. Ruzewski moves into the new role with longtime Team Penske executive Clive Howell set to retire at the end of the year after 39 years of service with the organization.

“It’s hard to imagine Team Penske without Clive Howell as he has played such a key role in creating the culture that we refer to as the Penske Way,” Cindric said.

Under Ruzewski, Kyle Moyer and Jon Bouslog have both been promoted to general managers within the organization. Moyer will oversee the Team Penske program that will compete with three full-time entries in the IndyCar Series. Bouslog will lead the Acura Team Penske program, which will race two full-time DPi entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class.

“…one of our biggest strengths has been the depth we have throughout the organization. Ron, Kyle and Jon have nearly 50 years of collective experience with Team Penske. Their leadership will continue to bring continuity to our programs and we are confident in their ability to build on what has already been achieved,” Cindric said.

Team Penske produced six wins and eight pole positions in the Verizon IndyCar Series this year, including the team’s 17th Indianapolis 500 victory. Acura Team Penske returned to sports car competition this season and the team earned six podium finishes and three pole positions, highlighted by a 1-2 finish in May at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

MW Company is officially launched, combining some of the most iconic aftermarket performance and racing brands under one unified, corporate identity.

In 2017, Cisneros Corporation, which owned the MOMO brand, purchased WELD Racing and all of its brands to combine them into what MW Company is today.

The independent organization MW Company will be headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and will be led by Chairman of the Board Henrique Cisneros. Cisneros was integral in bringing the MOMO and WELD companies together.

The formation of MW Company establishes one of the largest portfolios of performance and motorsports brands within the industry and includes: MOMO, WELD Racing, ADV.1, Driven Motorsports, CCW Forged Performance, Reds, Forgestar, HiPer Technology and Tikore. Combined, these brands represent nearly 200 years of automotive performance industry leadership and the winningest record in motorsports.

The SEMA Show will serve as MW Company’s official launch, with booths in Central Hall (20635) Lower South Hall (46063) and Upper South Hall (35087). You may also see the WELD Racing and MOMO brands at PRI 2018 in the Green Hall (1135).

MW Company’s product portfolio includes wheels, tires, steering wheels, shift knobs, helmets, gloves, shoes and racing apparel.

The company will continue to operate facilities in Kansas City, Anaheim, California, and Milan, Italy.

For more information on the MOMO brand, visit here. For more information on WELD Racing, visit here.

The Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout will return to the Valley of the Sun as the Bondurant Racing School near Phoenix, Arizona, will host the third annual event December 8-9.

At stake for the 20 champions of junior open-wheel series from around the globe is a $200,000 scholarship from Mazda to enter the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship in 2019 — the first step on the world-renowned driver development ladder system.

The Bondurant Racing School main track, a 1.6-mile, 15-turn road course located at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, will provide the playing field for drivers to showcase their skills during an intense two days of competition aboard Formula Mazda cars powered by Mazda rotary engines on Cooper tires.

Perhaps just as important as the talent behind the wheel will be the off-track presence as well as the application of coaching feedback as an illustrious panel of judges will once again be faced with a formidable task in determining the winner.

“The Bondurant Racing School provides an excellent platform for the Shootout and was a great host last year,” Mazda Motorsports Director John Doonan said. “We look forward to welcoming our international line-up of champions there in December. We have an outstanding panel of judges on board who, based on the standings in all of the feeder series I have been following, are set for some extremely tough decisions again this year.”

Heat and sound solution performance market manufacturer and PRI exhibitor Design Engineering, Inc. (DEI) has announced the addition of Jason Pokines as the company’s new social media specialist. The new position will help strengthen DEI’s digital, social media and e-commerce team with a more strategic approach to customer engagement, branding and sales.

Pokines will be responsible for developing social media campaigns supported by analytics across multiple platforms to enhance DEI’s complete line of heat control and sound insulation products—DEI, Boom Mat, CryO2 and Radiator Relief.

Additionally, Pokines will work with the company’s web manager, and marketing and graphics team to develop a social media strategy to integrate and improve content development and engagement for multiple markets including automotive aftermarket, 12 volt/Car Audio, powersports, marine and commercial/industrial channels for print and digital.

Before his new position at DEI, Pokines worked as a marketing coordinator for RW Beckett Corporation, an Ohio-based market leader in oil-fired home heating, and as a UI/UX designer with OverDrive, Inc., a worldwide digital reading platform for libraries and schools.

“We are very fortunate to have someone with Jason’s unique blend of design capability and technical knowledge to join our team. He is a quick problem solver and has hit the ground running in preparation for the show season,” DEI Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tom Miller said.

For more information, visit designengineering.com.

Verizon IndyCar Series team Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has announced that Piers Phillips has stepped down from his general manager post.

After discussions about the future of both the organization and Phillips’ involvement, his departure was a joint decision.

“Both Ric (Peterson) and I are very thankful to Piers for the impact he has had on the team for the last three years and for helping us to get to where we are today,” Team Co-Owner Sam Schmidt said. “We wish him nothing but the best in whatever he chooses to do next.”

Team leadership has opted to promote from within in Team Manager Taylor Kiel. Kiel will reportedly take on the bigger role at SPM, a team he has been with since 2008.

PRI exhibitor ProMedia’s National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) tech committees have released the 2019 season preliminary rules for both series.

Both committees thanked the racers and sponsors who submitted rule requests, stating they have reviewed hundreds of submissions and many concerns have been addressed. The tech committees are still accepting input and suggestions no later than November 26, 2018, for the finalized 2019 season rules.

The NMRA technical committee is also reviewing the specialty shootout categories to "ensure they continue to represent hot segments in the marketplace" and will make an announcement in the coming weeks.

The 2019 NMCA and Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series preliminary rules and payouts may be found here, while the 2019 NMRA preliminary rules and payouts may be found here.

For more information, visit the NMCA website and the NMRA website.

PRI exhibitor Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) revealed its 2019 racing schedule which includes the additions of two of America’s most revered road courses, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and Lime Rock Park.

America’s premier vintage racing series gets into full swing for its 41st year in February with the annual Sebring Vintage Classic weekend and closes with the seventh Golden Bell Helmet U.S. Vintage National Championships at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in October.

“The addition of these two iconic courses to our schedule is the culmination of years of building and then strengthening our national racing platform,” SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella said.

The 2019 season actually begins at Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah where the focus is the annual SVRA “fast track” driver’s school in addition to the Bob Williams Heritage Cup races. The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca date is simultaneous with the SVRA weekend at Road America, but officials do not see that as a serious conflict and predict that hundreds of vintage racers will converge on both venues.

“With more 11,000 vintage drivers in our database, including 2,500 SVRA licensed members across the country, and the vast geographic distance between these two amazing road courses, we’ll have hundreds of race cars at both events,” Parella said. “We will look to adjust the dates in future years.”

Another highlight of the season will be the return of the charity pro-am races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Under consideration is the addition of a third charity pro-am to create a Vintage Race of Champions (VROC) series. Those races have featured hall-of-fame legends such as Al Unser, Jr., Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte and Paul Tracy among many others. Additional details concerning VROC will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit svra.com.

BorgWarner announced the appointment of Thomas McGill to the role of interim chief financial officer (CFO), effective January 1, 2019. McGill will succeed Ron Hundzinski who will remain with the company through the end of 2018 to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities before retiring from the company effective December 31, 2018.

BorgWarner management has initiated a search process, which includes hiring an external search firm, to consider internal and external candidates to permanently fill the CFO position.

McGill has been with BorgWarner for more than 17 years and currently serves as the company’s vice president and treasurer reporting directly to Hundzinski, a corporate position he has held for the past six years.

During his time at the company, McGill has worked in numerous corporate and operations positions. In these senior roles, he has gained comprehensive, executive-level financial and operational experience in areas including cash management, capital allocation, balance sheet oversight, external reporting, internal controls, international and domestic tax planning, post-acquisition integration and restructuring activities. McGill holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

“I would like to personally thank Ron for his tremendous contributions over the years to our company, particularly his leadership in continuing the legacy of financial discipline that is a cornerstone of our company’s success,” BorgWarner President and CEO Frederic Lissalde said. “I speak for the entire management team in wishing Ron well in future career opportunities, and we appreciate his commitment to helping with the transition of his role through the end of the year. I have the utmost confidence in Tom and know that he will continue to be a great asset as he leads our financial team in this interim role.”

A special ceremony at Talladega Superspeedway highlighted the official groundbreaking on Tuesday for the track’s new Turn 3 Oversized Vehicle Tunnel to launch Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project.

As part of a special ceremony held on sacred ground at the end of the Alabama Gang Superstretch near the entrance of Turn 3, Talladega Superspeedway and its parent company, International Speedway Corporation (ISC), announced that Taylor Corporation from nearby Oxford, AL, will spearhead the construction of the new tunnel, which is scheduled for completion in time for the track’s April 26-28, 2019, spring tripleheader weekend, headlined by the GEICO 500.

Also in attendance of the groundbreaking was Dell Hill, who was a part of the original track groundbreaking in May of 1968, as well as Lana Osborn, who was the first Miss Talladega 500 for the inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the 2.66-mile venue in September of 1969.

The Oversized Vehicle Tunnel is a feature of an approximately $50 million redevelopment endeavor that is part of ISC’s long-term capital allocation plan and reinvestment into its major motorsports complexes. The project, highlighted by a one-of-a-kind Garage Fan Zone Experience, will feature “up-close” access, interactive attractions and enhanced amenities for fans, sponsors, teams and stakeholders in the iconic Talladega infield.

The new two-lane tunnel will have dimensions capable of allowing vehicles as large as race team haulers and fans’ recreational vehicles to enter and exit the track simultaneously with ease. The lane tunnel will have a height of 16 feet, 8 inches, a width of 28 feet and a length of 208 feet. The tunnel will be located near the current Gate 9 crossover and will be open 24 hours during event weekends.

The track and ISC also recently announced that Creek Enterprise, Inc. – an integrated information services company headquartered in Tecumseh, MI – as the first “Transformation Partner” of the “We Transformed Talladega Superspeedway” lineup that will include other corporations to be announced in the future.

Full completion of Transformation is set to be finalized for the fall 2019 NASCAR Playoff event weekend. Fans can learn more about the project by visiting talladegasuperspeedway.com/transformation. In the near future, fans will be able to view the progress 24/7 via live feed.