International Speedway Corporation (ISC) announced that Julie Giese, the managing director of Business Operations for ISC Design & Development, has been promoted to president of ISM Raceway, formerly Phoenix Raceway.

Beginning in November 2018, Giese will assume oversight of promotion and operation of the all-new ISM Raceway. Giese’s first major event, the Can-Am 500, will be part of the Raceway’s Opening Weekend on November 9, 10 and 11.

 “We couldn’t be happier to announce Julie Giese as President of ISM Raceway,” ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said. “She has spent close to two decades in motorsports, most notably with ISC, that included leadership roles in major redevelopment projects like DAYTONA Rising and the ISM Raceway Project. Julie’s unparalleled knowledge of the industry, along with her experience and passion, will serve her well in this new role.”

Currently, she leads the coordination between ISC’s 13 motorsports entertainment facilities, internal corporate departments and the Design & Development team on the company’s significant capital investment and redevelopment projects. Since January 2017, Giese has worked alongside the ISM Raceway team on the design and project management of the $178 million ISM Raceway Project Powered by DC Solar.

Joining ISC in 2001, Giese has taken on roles with increasing responsibility, from director of Public Relations at Watkins Glen International to vice president of Marketing and Communications at Daytona International Speedway where she spent 12 years overseeing all aspects of consumer marketing, branding, creative, advertising, digital, public relations and event entertainment for the “World Center of Racing.”

Giese also played a leading role in the DAYTONA Rising project, managing the marketing and branding of the redevelopment as well as the opening of the all-new Speedway.

Matt Giangrande has been named Director of Sales and Growth for Victory 1 Performance, Inc., in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Giangrande brings over 35 years of experience in the racing industry to his new role. He has been involved with the technical side of product development, sales and service for over a decade, according to a company statement.

“[Giangrande’s] extensive commitment to the racing industry and his ‘service is a product’ mentality have been a major factor in this decision,” the company added. “Victory 1 has built an impressive set of tools which Matt will use to achieve our common goal of providing excellent service race after race.”

Victory 1 Performance has forged valves in house for over 25 years; its capabilities include rapid prototyping, part analysis, consultation, part runs from one to 10,000, and more.

For additional information, visit titaniumvalve.com.

Clarendon Specialty Fasteners, Inc. (formerly Coast Fabrication), a stocking distributor of fasteners and components to the motorsports, aerospace, defense and industrial sectors, has announced the return of Donny Franco, who joins the business as Sales Account Manager for the Motorsport sector.

Franco brings a wealth of technical knowledge and experience in supplying the motorsports industry to his new role, which includes further strengthening the current team, according to a company statement.

“We are delighted to welcome Donny back to the business,” Clarendon Specialty Fasteners Managing Director John Hunt said. “With over 20 years’ experience, his meticulous client relations and program management skills make him a great fit for our company ethos of providing the highest level of customer service and technical support. Donny joins us at an exciting time as we extend our geographical footprint and product offering in the US.”

Franco’s first racing job was in 1998, when he began working at Swift Engineering on their CART Indycar project. In 2001, Franco joined Coast Fabrication, traveling to domestic and international events as a technical consultant for the Formula Atlantic series.

In 2012, he entered the professional sports world as parts manager for an Indycar team, ensuring critical component availability at race tracks around the world.

For more information, visit clarendonsf.com.

Greg Walter, a 19-year veteran of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., has been promoted to the role of executive vice president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith announced recently.

With the promotion, Walter will oversee all operations of the motorsports megaplex campus, which includes the famed 1.5-mile superspeedway and the ROVAL, as well as zMAX Dragway and The Dirt Track at Charlotte. He will report to Smith.

Walter joined Speedway Motorsports in 1999 as vice president of sales for Atlanta Motor Speedway before being promoted to the national sales team in 2014. He was named executive vice president at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2016.

Walter graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism and began his professional career working for a radio station in Wilson, North Carolina. From there, Walter worked in advertising sales for Raycom Sports, helped launch 96.1FM in Charlotte, and eventually became the head of affiliate sales for ESPN Regional.

After his time with ESPN, Walter moved to Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, where he oversaw advertising sales for national NASCAR radio networks, as well as the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes Television Network and the Duke University Sports radio network. After five years, he joined Speedway Motorsports in Atlanta.

In 2014, Walter was promoted to the Speedway Motorsports national sales team, where he was responsible for identifying and building partnerships at the eight world-class racing facilities in the Speedway Motorsports portfolio. He was promoted to lead the executive team at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2016.

NASCAR has announced the four finalists for The NASCAR Foundation’s eighth annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award.

The award, named in honor of the foundation’s late founder and chairwoman, honors NASCAR fans who are also accomplished volunteers working for children’s causes in their communities throughout the United States.

The winner will be determined via an online fan vote today through Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. (ET) at NASCARfoundation.org/Award. The winner will be announced on Nov. 29 during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at Wynn Las Vegas. The NASCAR Foundation will donate $25,000 to the charities represented by the award finalists, with the winner’s charity receiving a $100,000 donation.

The four finalists are:

• Carl Dakes of Harwood, Maryland, an 18-year volunteer representing the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s Foundation, Inc. of Catonsville, Maryland. The foundation provides hospital and respite housing services to critically ill children and their families.

• Sarah Kersey of Dublin, Ohio, a cancer survivor who represents Flying Horse Farms in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. The facility, where Kersey has served as a volunteer since 2010, provides transformative camp experiences for children with serious illnesses, at no cost.

• Cliff Preston of Gainesville, Florida, representing UF Health Shands. He has volunteered for more than 25 years as a “cuddler” to soothe hospitalized newborns in the NICU during a parent’s absence.

• Rex Reynolds of Hazel Green, Alabama, representing the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Alabama. Reynolds grew up participating in club programs and has now served in a volunteer role for 13 years.

Since the award’s inception, The NASCAR Foundation has impacted the lives of more than 260,000 children by providing more than $1.2 million in contributions to charities represented by finalists for the award.

For more about The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award and to vote for the 2018 finalists, visit NASCARfoundation.org/Award.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) has officially launched the HPD Civic Si Race Car program after a positive reaction to the racing Civic Si concept shown at last year’s Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show.

HPD plans to build, sell and support a turnkey, current-gen Honda Civic Si race car, and create additional opportunities to use the highly capable, reliable, and affordable Civic in racing series such as the 2019 Pirelli World Challenge TCA, SCCA T3 and NASA H2 classes.

The Civic Si was designed as a dynamic and proven racing platform that is affordable and fun to drive.

Like HPD’s other Civic touring car race cars, the HPD Civic Si race car will be built from the HPD Civic Body-in-White, which debuted at the 2016 SEMA Show. HPD will include a full complement of race-tested performance parts used in running the car during the past two seasons in the Pirelli World Challenge, as well as technical support and documentation through its HPD Racing Line program.

The complete race car is priced at $52,500 (excluding delivery from Santa Clarita, CA) and includes an installed roll cage, HPD-developed and homologated parts including engine, suspension, exhaust, and electronics packages.

For more information, including a full list of included racing components that are included with the vehicle, visit hpd.honda.com/CivicSi.

In-demand track prep specialist Tyler Crossnoe has been named the track manager at Virginia Motorsports Park.

The news was announced Friday by track owners Tommy and Judy Franklin during a pre-race driver’s meeting at the PDRA World Finals. Crossnoe has also signed on for another season as the track prep director for the PDRA.

Crossnoe has worked extensively with the Franklins this season as the track prep director for their eight-race PDRA series, in addition to helping with a handful of events at Virginia Motorsports Park.

He displayed a strong work ethic and broad knowledge of event operations, leading the Franklins to offer him a full-time position for the family’s second year of track ownership.

“What we’re most excited about is having someone with his passion and vision for drag racing,” said Tommy Franklin. “It’s another step in the direction we’re trying to take the track. We’re making a lot of changes and adding talented people to our staff so we can be better prepared to put on big, successful events.”

Crossnoe’s work as a track prep specialist has taken him to dozens of racetracks and events around the country. His new role at Virginia Motorsports Park will allow him to focus on one facility while still working with five other tracks on the PDRA tour.

Crossnoe noted that the operations of his own race, the Outlaw Street Car Reunion at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will continue as planned.

Crossnoe will transition into the track manager position in December after fulfilling the rest of the obligations on his 2018 schedule.

Five of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)'s designated race divisions will select new members to serve on the Board of Directors. Board members serve a three-year term, and ballots that are mailed to members must be returned to Mize Houser & Company by November 15. Areas up for election this year are as follows:

Area 1: Encompasses the Northeast Division, including the New England, New York and Northern New Jersey regions.
- Incumbent Area 1 Director Bob Dowie is running unopposed

Area 5: Encompasses the Central Division, including: Badlands, Central Illinois, Great River, Lake Superior, Milwaukee, Blackhawk Valley, Chicago, Iowa and Land O’ Lakes regions. Outgoing Director is Bruce Lindstrand.
- Peter Jankovskis
- Bill Trainer

Area 7: Encompasses the Southwest Division, and regions such as: Alamo, Delta, Lone Star, Texas, South Texas Border, Central Louisiana, Houston, Red River, Southwest Louisiana and West Texas.
- Incumbent Area 7 Director Dan Helman is running unopposed

Area 8: Encompasses the Rocky Mountain Division including the Colorado, Utah, Southwest Montana, Yellowstone, Rio Grande, Pan Am and Continental Divide regions.
- Incumbent Area 8 Director Arnie Coleman is running unopposed

Area 13: Encompasses part of the Northern Pacific Division, including: Northwest, Big Sky, Arctic Alaska, Oregon, Montana and Snake River regions. Area 13 post open due to current Director, Jim Weidenbaum, relocating outside Area’s border.
- Monty Holt
- Jeff Zurschmeide

Board of Directors members in the midst of their terms include: Area 2 - Jack Burrows, Area 3 - Lee Hill, Area 4 - Marcus Merideth, Area 6 - Chris Albin, Area 9 - Charlie Davis, Area 10 - Earl Hurlbut, Area 11 - Jason Isley, Area 12 - Tere Pulliam.

For more information, visit here.

INDYCAR has released a video, INDYCAR 101: Concussion Diagnosis, detailing the new concussion testing process that was implemented into the series in May this year.

The I-Portal Portable Assessment System (I-PAS), commonly referred to as the “goggles test,” runs high-quality diagnostic tests to evaluate patients with symptoms of dizziness and balance disorders, especially those associated with medical conditions such as concussions, migraines or BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo).

I-PAS resembles a virtual reality headset and is just as portable. It integrates clinical eye tracking with a digital display allowing medical professionals to run a series of non-invasive oculomotor, vestibular and reaction time tests.

Every driver must go through the eight to ten-minute test to familiarize themselves with the new protocol.

INDYCAR was introduced to the I-PAS technology following the first race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Driver Will Power’s car struck the wall during the first practice on the St. Petersburg, Florida, street circuit. The following day, after winning the pole position at a track-record pace, Power experienced concussion-like symptoms. When he didn’t feel significantly better the next day, he was held out of the race as a precaution.

With aspects of the incident not correlating, Power was sent to be examined by Dr. Steve Olvey, a former Indy car medical director, at the University of Miami’s concussion program. Olvey and his group put Power through a battery of tests, including I-PAS. It was determined that an inner ear infection—not a concussion—had triggered the symptoms.

To view IndyCar’s two minute and 36-second INDYCAR 101: Concussion Diagnosis video, visit here.

Lima, Ohio's DePalma Motorsports, one of the most winningest and iconic teams in the history of the USAC Silver Crown series, has announced that their 2018 championship season was their last.

The announcement concludes a five-year run with Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, California. DePalma Motorsports itself won the Silver Crown owner title each year they had Swanson as their full-time driver between 2014 and 2018.  Swanson himself won Silver Crown driving titles in the DePalma No. 63 in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Five consecutive series titles was a history-making feat for the team, trumping the series record of four wins set by Bob East/Tony Stewart Racing between 2002 and 2005 as well as Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, which won four titles in a row from 2010 to 2013.

The team also won five-straight races in 2018, breaking Jack Hewitt’s long-standing, 32-year-old record of four-straight Silver Crown wins set in 1986.

History-making wins aside, car owner Tony DePalma said he would miss the friends he made most.

“I’ve met a lot of good people in this sport and built a lot of great relationships,” DePalma told USACracing.com. “It’s been a pleasure to know a lot of people in this sport and it’s really one of the most rewarding things besides, obviously, winning races. It’s been really neat to get to know Kody’s family and friends over the last several years. It’s also fun to get to know our competitors. Yeah, they’re the people we competed against, but most of them I view as friends. That’s the most rewarding thing.”

For more on this story, visit here.

In related news, officials have announced the fourth running of the Junior Knepper 55 for USAC Midgets has been set for Saturday, December 15, indoors at the Southern Illinois Center.

Though the special event carries no points toward the season championship, it has quickly become one of the most coveted races to win.

For more information, visit here.