The Advanced Engineering Technology Conference (AETC) will kick-off the afternoon of Tuesday, December 4, with an opening experience that will include an interactive panel discussion with All-Star Engine Builders moderated by Billy Godbold of COMP Performance Group and feature:
 
    •    Ed Pink, Ed Pinks Garage
    •    Sonny Leonard, Sonny’s Racing Engines
    •    Keith Dorton, Automotive Specialists
    •    Jon Kaase, Jon Kaase Race Engines
 
Then on Wednesday, there will be a full-day of value-packed seminars delivered by such experts as Jeremy Wagler, Wagler Motorsports;  Lake Speed Jr., DRIVEN Racing Oils; and Gary Patterson of ECR to name a few. The day will also feature a special seminar hosted by winners of the 2018 Engine Masters.
 
Following the conference on Wednesday, attendees are invited to attend the 2nd Annual Engine Builder Happy Hour that serves to recognize engine builders and offer a great community of networking for the industry.
 
Register at aetconline.com by Friday, October 19, and save. Questions? Email info@aetconline.com.

Eric Trimble has been hired as the marketing coordinator for Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI), the manufacturer of Hot Shot’s Secret high-performance fuel and oil additives, and will report to LSI Director of Marketing Kyle Fischer. In this position, Trimble will support all marketing endeavors from trade show support, media buys, public relations, advertising, social media and ecommerce.

A graduate of The University of Akron with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies, Trimble prior worked as a freelance writer for the Akron Beacon Journal and communications specialist for the Jefferson Center in Minneapolis. In 2017, he joined LSI as an account executive to grow and maintain sales for the Hot Shot’s Secret product line to commercial and industrial accounts in a 12-state territory.

“We are very fortunate to have Eric join our marketing team. It was great to work from within to find the ideal candidate that already had the product knowledge and a good grasp of what it takes to promote and sell our products,” Fischer said. “This combined with his marketing skills, project management and ability to write for multiple platforms, has allowed him to step into the position seamlessly.”

The Swiss capital of Bern will fill the last remaining spot on Formula E’s season five calendar.

The schedule for the eagerly-awaited new season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship was published following the conclusion of the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) meeting in Paris last week.

Bern will host the final round of the newly-titled voestalpine European races, before the series crosses the pond to close out the season in New York City throughout two days on July 13–14.

Alongside making its debut in Bern for the Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix, Formula E will be traveling to other new destinations, including Sanya and Ad Diriyah, when the season gets underway on December 15.

"It’s a milestone season for Formula E with the introduction of the new car and we’ve put together a calendar to match our ambitions as a truly global sport,” Formula E Founder & CEO Alejandro Agag said.

For the complete Season 5 schedule, visit here.

Carteret County Speedway Owner Bobby Watson passed away late Thursday evening at the age of 66.

Watson passed away at his home at the race track around 7:15 EST. His health issues caused the track’s 2018 season to be in question before an interim general manager was named for the track.

“We are saddened to confirm the death of track owner Bobby Watson,” Carteret County Speedway Public Relations Director Andy Marquis said. “Bobby was a great man and a great track owner. The entire racing community will mourn him.”

A North Carolina-native born in Durham, Watson had a love for stock car racing and was a kart promoter in Rougemont before working to open the Carteret County Speedway kart track.

Later, after nearly a decade of construction, Carteret County Speedway reopened in 2015 as a pavement short track, bolstering the track to host premier events like the CARS Tour and two popular Limited Late Model events that generated an “unrivaled buzz” for the track.

Watson was known for his positive attitude, relentless work ethic and his love for country, which included more than 100 American flags that fly on the race track’s property.

Watson is survived by two sons, Bobby Watson, Jr. and Cam Watson, grandchildren Carter Watson and Frankie Watson, brothers Ronnie Watson and Larry Watson, and girlfriend Scarlett Scott (pictured).

A victory celebration will be held for Watson on Saturday, October 20, at Carteret County Speedway beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Twelve drivers from across the US and abroad have been invited to try out for NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program, often known as the top driver developmental program in motorsports, at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway and Bethune-Cookman University on October 22–23.

The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Combine invites promising ethnically diverse and female drivers to test their skills over a two-day period as NASCAR evaluates talent for the 2019 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development class.

In partnership with Rev Racing, NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program offers racing opportunities in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and U.S. Legend Cars International for one full season, providing selected drivers with equipment, mentoring, and competition experience.

All candidates will vie for an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson, the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs.

The combine, which will serve as a key element in the selection process for setting the driver lineup for Rev Racing in 2019, will evaluate participants on their driving skill and work ethic on and off the track, as well as their marketing and media skills. Each driver will also take part in a physical fitness assessment at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. Additionally, Rev Racing and NASCAR will work with B-CU communications students for additional training and evaluation of the combine participants that will include a mock press conference and one-on-one interviews.

Drivers under consideration to return to the team in 2019 are Chase Cabre, Ernie Francis Jr., Rubén García Jr., Nick Sanchez and Ryan Vargas. This year’s participants also include Juan Manuel González, Loris Hezemans, Perry Patino, Brooke Storer, Ryu Taggart, Gracie Trotter and Britney Zamora.

Rev Racing also operates the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Driver Development Program, which targets drivers 12 to 17 to compete in the U.S. Legend Cars International (USLCI) and serves as an entry point to the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. The deadline to apply for the youth program is Oct. 31, 2018.

For more information on the 2019 NASCAR Drive For Diversity Combine candidates, visit here.

PRI exhibitor Keystone Automotive Operations has opened a new distribution center in Eastvale, California. The new 450,000-square-foot facility replaces its 190,000-square-foot distribution center in Corona, California.

The highlight of the massive new facility is the 80 dock doors, with 40 dedicated to shipping and receiving and 25 docks for cube vans. Its Corona facility only had seven docks.

Because trailers can now park in a dock that is parallel to the products slated for the truck, the shipping department saves 1.5 hours on each delivery. Shops in the West Coast area will be able to receive extended next-day shipping hours as well.

The new facility brings other benefits, including less local traffic.

Following Keystone’s 900,000-square-foot headquarters in Exeter, Pennsylvania, the new Eastvale location is the company’s second-largest distribution center out of a total of seven such facilities in the United States.

For photos of Keystone’s Eastvale Open House, visit here. For more information on Keystone, visit here.

Continuing the trend of moving its National Championships to a new track each year, PRI exhibitor National Auto Sport Association (NASA) has announced that the 2019 NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires will continue as a singular event set to take place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Just two weeks ago, NASA hosted its largest Championship event in the company’s 28-year history with nearly 500 competitors taking part in the historic event at Circuit of The Americas. The 14th annual NASA Championships will take place at the track where it all began, where NASA held its inaugural championships back in 2006. Mid-Ohio is a track renowned among drivers for its nuance, its ever-changing weather and Midwestern hospitality.

“I still remember our first Championships event at Mid-Ohio,” NASA Vice President Jeremy Croiset said “We took in all the feedback we received at our Championships event this year and ultimately decided to return to the singular Championships event format. The 2019 Championships will be our sixth time at Mid-Ohio, and it’s a track racers love. It has everything from long, fast straightaways to corners with tricky elevation and camber changes, and lots of opportunities for passing. It’s a great facility for our Championships event.”

The 2019 NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires is scheduled to take place September 18-22, 2019.

“We look forward to welcoming some of the country’s best amateur racers back to Mid-Ohio next September for the NASA Championships,”  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course President Craig Rust said. “Crowning national champions in over 20 race classes is going to provide a great ending to our 58th season of racing in 2019.”

When more information becomes available, it will be posted at nasachamps.com.

Officials have announced an enlarged 2019 FIA World Rally Championship calendar, which features a visit to Chile, in Paris today.

The 14-round calendar retains all 13 rallies from 2018 and gives an increasingly global look to one of the world’s most prestigious motorsport series for production-based cars, with five events outside Europe.

Chile becomes the 32nd country to host the WRC since the championship was launched in 1973. Event representatives celebrated its inclusion as live news transmissions were broadcast to the country from the French capital.

The calendar is the largest since 2008 and was approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.As is traditional, the 2019 championship opens on the ice-covered Alpine roads of Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 24–27. It again closes on the gravel tracks of Rally Australia on November 14–17, the event where 2018’s title fight is likely to come to a thrilling conclusion next month.

ROUND / RALLY / DATE
1. Monte-Carlo / January 24 - 27
2. Sweden / February 14 - 17
3. Mexico / March 7 - 10
4. France / March 28 - 31
5. Argentina / April 25 - 28
6. Chile / May 9 - 12
7. Portugal / May 30 - June 2
8. Italy / June 13 - 16
9. Finland / August 1 - 4
10. Germany* / August 22 - 25
11. Turkey / September 12 - 15
12. Great Britain* / October 3 - 6
13. Spain* / October 24 - 27
14. Australia* / November 14 - 17
*subject to approval

Next year’s 21-race Formula 1 calendar, along with a handful of 2019 rule changes, have been signed off by F1’s governing body, the FIA, following a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) today.

For the third time in history, the world championship will be contested over a record 21 Grands Prix, equalling the total held in 2016 and 2018. Eleven of the 21 will take place in Europe, five in Asia, four in the Americas and one in Australia.

The 2019 season will begin on March 17, in Australia, and finish on December 1, in Abu Dhabi. In between those—in China on April 14—Formula 1 will celebrate the 1000th Grand Prix since its inception in 1950.

To view the complete 2019 Formula 1 Grand Prix schedule, visit the F1 website here.

The WMSC also approved changes to the 2019 F1 Sporting Regulations including:

—Changes to the safety car regulations to ensure there is a consistent point at which drivers may overtake when the safety car returns to the pits. This will now be the same in all three types of a restart.

—The teams will now be responsible for initial scrutineering of their cars. Before the cars go on track for the first time, teams must declare conformity with all safety related matters.

—The official end-of-race signal will now be a checkered light panel, although the checkered flag will still be shown.

For 2020, the team personnel curfew—the amount of time for which all team personnel must be away from the track overnight—will increase from eight to nine hours.

And Formula 1 Strategy Group and Commission proposals concerning the 2019 Technical Regulations were agreed, including:

—Changes to the mirror regulations and also associated rear wing changes (height) for rear view visibility and safety.

—The on-board camera regulations will be modified to improve the TV spectacle.

—Rear endplate lights are to be added for safety.

—Minor modifications to the halo fairing are to be made for safety reasons during a potential driver extraction.


Full details will be made available on FIA.com.

Finally, a report on the security procedures to be put in place for the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix was presented to the Council, following meetings between the FIA, Formula 1 and the local authorities.

PRI exhibitor Honda Performance Development (HPD) has announced the availability and sale of the Honda Civic Type R TCR race car to registered North American racing customers.

This year’s successful debut in the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) series featured five race victories, culminating in RealTime Racing driver Ryan Eversley winning the TCR Drivers’ Championship.

“The out-of-the-gate success of the Civic Type R TCR car has created a huge interest,” HPD Commercial and Customer Motorsports Manager John Whiteman said. “We’re extremely happy to announce sales and provide details on how our customers can acquire these cars, and campaign them in next year’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge or Blancpain GT World Challenge series.”

The Civic Type R TCR was developed by Honda partner JAS Motorsport in Italy and is available in race-ready condition through HPD. The race car features some of the latest developments in Touring Car competition, including a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine tuned to produce 330 hp.

Power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed, paddle-operated sequential gearbox. The Type R is fitted with a race-tuned suspension and anti-roll bar package, along with an “aggressive” aerodynamic body kit that accentuates the performance-based styling of the Civic Type R.

Full specifications and ordering information are available here.