NASCAR announced today several rules for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (previously named the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) aimed at strengthening both the competition on the race track and the identity of each series.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a maximum starting field will be 38 cars starting in 2019. As part of the restructure, NASCAR will reallocate the purse money previously awarded to the 39th- and 40th-place finishers to the rest of the field.

NASCAR also announced that the four 2018 tracks will again make up next year’s Dash 4 Cash slate. In 2019, the March 30, race at Texas Motor Speedway will serve as the qualifier race, with the top four Xfinity Series points earners landing a spot in the Dash 4 Cash opener at Bristol Motor Speedway (April 6). The remaining three Dash 4 Cash races will be held at Richmond Raceway (April 12), Talladega Superspeedway (April 27) and Dover International Speedway (May 4).

This season, NASCAR strengthened the identity of each series by implementing more defined participation guidelines for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will be known as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2019.

In 2019, the next step in that evolution will occur, as team owners in the Xfinity Series will only earn Playoff points and a race win will only count towards Owner Championship Playoff eligibility if the driver earns points in that series or the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Subsequently, a Gander Outdoors Truck Series owner will only earn Playoff points and a race win will only count towards the Playoffs if the driver earns points in that series.

Lonesome Pine Raceway (LPR) in Coeburn, Virginia, which announced earlier this year its closure for the 2018 race season, will reopen in 2019 as a dirt track, according to Johnson City Press.

Local businessman Bobby Hill purchased the track, which is scheduled to get its first load of red clay next Monday.

LPR has operated as an asphalt track since its grand opening in 1972.

Karen Tunnell, former general manager of LPR and current GM of Kingsport Speedway, will reportedly retune to the track in some capacity.

More information, including a complete 2019 schedule, is expected at a later date.

ARCA and Daytona International Speedway have announced the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards 2019 dates at the storied 2.5-mile trioval. The series will host its annual preseason open test on January 11-12, 2019, and will return for the 56th annual Lucas Oil 200 on February 9, 2019.

The open test is the first opportunity many young drivers have to take to Daytona's intimidating 31-degree banking. It's also the first opportunity ARCA officials have to watch many of them in full-bodied stock cars at speed.

“Daytona is our longest-running annual event, having raced there in February every year since 1964,” ARCA President Ron Drager said. “It’s an opportunity for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards to showcase our drivers, teams and sponsors at a time of the year when most of the stock car racing community has gone without racing for most the long winter season. This is consistently our highest-rated televised race of the season and we’re proud of our 56-year tenure at such a historic facility as Daytona.”

Daytona joins Iowa Speedway as the first to confirm dates for the 2019 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season. Event start times and television broadcast information will be released when the series officially releases the complete 2019 schedule, which is expected before the series visits Indianapolis for its annual post-season Championship Banquet on December 8, during the PRI Trade Show.

Maryland International Raceway (MDIR) has announced that Christopher Higgins has taken over as director of Marketing and Public Relations. Higgins has been employed with MDIR for four years as an announcer and working various events.

Higgins takes over for the departed Rick Linder.

“Four years ago if you told me that I would be in this position, I never would have believed you. This is one of the best tracks in the country and I am getting to learn from a top-of-the-line staff lead by [General Manager of MDIR and COO of IRG Sports and Entertainment] Royce Miller. I am looking forward to the new challenges that this opportunity will bring while continuing to grow in my new role,” he said.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and the newly formed Sprint Car Council today announced rule changes for the 2019 racing season. The changes, structural in nature, are part of the ongoing effort to apply technological advances in the design and manufacture of equipment to enhance competition and safety.

The Sprint Car Council, composed of major 410ci sprint car sanctioning bodies and race tracks, met earlier this week to review and adapt recommendations coming out of the chassis builders meeting during the Knoxville Nationals earlier this month.

Changes will affect the following components:
    •    Chassis support bars
    •    Slip Joints
    •    Wing T-post
    •    Steel LF Radius Rod and Rod Ends
    •    Left and Right Nerf bars
    •    Elimination of bolt to bolt axle tethers
    •    Securing fuel cells

Chassis Support bars
In 2019 all chassis will be required to have additional bars installed to support and decrease the span between the front and rear uprights. The new support bars must be an addition to the front and rear uprights.

Left- and right-side support bars may be one of two forms a “Curved Support Bar” similar to current “safety bar” used in some chassis’ or a “Support Bar” similar to the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series 2018 Rules Bulletin #2 dated March 8, 2018.

Slip Joints
Slip joints will no longer be allowed in any form. Bolted or clamped slip joints will no longer be allowed. If a current chassis has a slip joint, it will have to be welded the full circumference of the tube to become solid.

Wing T-post
Wing T-post will be built from 1” X .083” minimum ASTM4130 normalized steel or equivalent material. No parts made from castings will be allowed on any wing t-post. Wing attachment designs will be subject to approval.

Steel LF Radius Rod and Rod Ends   
LF radius rods are to be made of 4130 steel with steel rod ends.

Left and Right Nerf bars
All left and right side nerf bars must attach to the chassis at 3 points. Two point side nerf hoops will no longer be allowed.

Elimination of bolt to bolt axle tethers
2019 will be the last year axle tethers will be attached to the radius rod bolt on the axle. January 2020 all axle tethers will either wrap around or clamp to the axle.

Also in 2019, all axle tethers will be required to attach to the front engine plate post or the rear bolt of the front radius rod and not the radiator post per manufactures instructions.

Securing Fuel Cells
World of Outlaws officials are considering some ideas to better secure fuel cells and keep them attached to the chassis during crashes. Some ideas being considered are to strengthen the existing mounting points, tethers and additional mounting points.

For more information, including drawings of the chassis support bars and Wint T-posts and more details, visit the World of Outlaws website here.

ISM Raceway President Bryan Sperber will end his 16-year tenure at the race track at the end of the season.

According to AZ Central, Sperber notified ISM staff on Monday about his departure and spoke with ISM’s parent company International Speedway Corp.’s Joie Chitwood about his decision. Both Sperber and Chitwood said the decision was Sperber’s and the parting is amicable. A replacement has not been named.

Previously known as Phoenix International Raceway, the facility is currently undergoing a $178 million transformation, which includes a new infield tunnel, redesigned infield including new pit road, media center, victory lane, fan zone and more, upgraded grandstands and much more.

The final race for the season at ISM Raceway will be the Can-Am 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race taking place November 11. 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Mustang Cobra Jet, Ford Performance unveiled its new limited production, drag racing special Cobra Jet at the Woodward Dream Cruise, last week in Detroit.

Ford described it as the fastest production Mustang on the drag strip, capable of quarter-mile times in the mid-eight-second range trapping at 150 mph.

While horsepower figures have not been released yet, the company says it comes with a bored-out 5.2-liter version of Ford’s Coyote V-8 and a 3.0 liter Whipple supercharger. PRI exhibitor Aeromotive is helping fuel the new car with its Pro Series fuel pump.

Additional features include a nine-inch solid rear axle, height-adjustable coilovers, an NHRA-certified roll cage and FI-certified racing seats. Only 68 of the commemorative Cobra Jets will be built with a choice of two color options: Race Red or Oxford White. The price is set at $130,000.

Livernois Motorsports & Engineering, the tuning shop that provides engineering services, performance products and vehicle manufacturing in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, is offering a Customer Appreciation Track Day event at Milan Dragway on Friday, September 28, from 5–9 p.m. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.

Livernois Motorsports & Engineering customers (those whose cars have been upgraded or tuned by Livernois Motorsports) are invited to take part in the free event at the 1/4-mile drag strip in Milan, Michigan.

To RSVP for yourself and one other guest, or for more information, contact info@livernoismotorsports.com or 313/561-5500.

The Driving American Jobs Coalition, a group that includes the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and represents the United States’ leading auto manufacturers, parts suppliers, auto dealers, parts distributors, retailers, and vehicle service providers, announced this week the formation of a new coalition to oppose potential new tariffs on imported automobiles and motor vehicle parts.

The coalition will inform policymakers and stakeholders on the negative effects of imposing new auto tariffs, including massive job losses and significant consumer price increases for virtually all motor vehicles and parts, whether domestic or imported. 

Higher auto tariffs will also result in less capital for investments in innovation and less competition in promoting cutting-edge automotive technologies developed here at home.

At a time of unprecedented growth, new tariffs on imported vehicles and parts represent a significant threat to our economy and the tremendous job growth that has occurred since the president took office.

That is why the American Automotive Policy Council, the Auto Care Association, the American International Automobile Dealers Association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Association of Global Automakers, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, the National Automobile Dealers Association, and SEMA have joined this unprecedented, industry-wide effort through Driving American Jobs. The group replaces a prior coalition of the same name formed to address other trade issues.

“The proposed tariffs are an unwelcome tax on every sector of the auto industry,” SEMA President & CEO Christopher J. Kersting said. “From the automakers to the many small businesses that comprise the specialty auto parts industry, tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts pose an unexpected threat to a healthy American economy.”

The famed Copper World Classic will return to Arizona’s ISM Raceway in mid January, according to a report by SPEED SPORT.

A group of investors and motorsports stakeholders has been organized to lease the historic one-mile oval and promote the event, which like the original Copper World Classic, will feature at least four divisions of racing.

The signature race will be the inaugural North American Trophy Cup for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. It will be a combination race for the East and West divisions.

A mainstay of the original Copper World Classic, the USAC Silver Crown Series will be part of the program. Non-winged sprint cars will also be on the card, though, no sanctioning body has been secured for this portion of the program.

Finally, super late models and late models will fill out the program. Officials are undecided if the two classes will be combined or will race separately. It is believed competition can be balanced between the two classes with weight and tire adjustments.

The first Copper World Classic was run in 1977 and the event was run annually in January or February until it was moved to November to coincide with the fall Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series weekend at the track beginning in 2007. The last Copper World Classic at the track was run in 2009.

A dirt-only version of the Copper Classic has been run at various Arizona dirt tracks in recent years.

An official announcement is expected this week, according to SPEED SPORT.