Ford Performance unveiled the new Ford Mustang set for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' 2019 season during a special ceremony on Thursday in Dearborn, Michigan.

Retired NASCAR driver Tony Stewart took part in the big reveal, which was attended by all of the MENCS Ford drivers and hundreds of fans.

Mustang, which has a long history in racing including involvement in SCCA, Trans-Am, IMSA, NHRA, Formula Drift and the NASCAR Xfinity Series, has never competed at NASCAR’s highest level. This changes next year with its debut race in the Daytona 500 on February 17.

NASCAR, Ford Performance and Ford-driven teams all collaborated before the debut of the new Cup-level Mustang. The new car is said to be designed and engineering to be both competitive and remain true to its heritage.

In related Mustang news, Ford announced the 10 millionth Mustang rolled off its assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, on Wednesday.

The 2018 Championship Awards Banquet for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will be held on Saturday, December 8, at the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) Sagamore Ballroom in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is in the same facility and at the same time as the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show.

Attendance is required for point fund eligibility (Top 10 Drivers and Owners must attend; 11-20 Drivers and/or Owners must attend) per the ARCA Rulebook. Dress code for the function is formal (tuxedos for male attendees is required).

There is no single “host hotel.” As previously established, banquet attendees have the opportunity to reserve hotel rooms from any of the PRI partner property hotels in the downtown Indianapolis area, many of which are connected to the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) by skywalks. Rooms can be booked by logging onto the ARCA website at arcaracing.com and clicking the “2018 Championship Awards Banquet” tab under “Schedule.”

Room reservations are also available over the phone by contacting Michelle at PRI (949) 499-2044, through email michelleg@performanceracing.com or online at pri2018.com/arca18 under the “Hotel/Travel” tab.

Invitations will be sent to series participants in October, and tickets will go on sale Monday, October 29. Further details are available from Shalene Williams, email swilliams@arcaracing.com or (734) 847-6726 ext. 1002.

Dayco has significantly increased the size and capacity of its Australian warehouse and distribution center, located in the Melbourne suburb of Hallam.

The Hallam warehouse expanded its capacity by more than 10,763 square feet (1,000 square meters) of warehousing space, transporter access bays and internal modernizations to support the addition of more than 4,000 new Dayco SKUs.

The company says the expansion will allow for further growth in Dayco’s product range over the coming years with the company’s planned introduction of an industrial belt range along with radiator caps and future additions to the Dayco automotive aftermarket offering.

The Dayco Australia warehouse expansion also will see the company introduce a new barcode scanning system to increase product distribution efficiency and accuracy.

With locations worldwide, Dayco is a leader in the research, design, manufacturing and distribution of essential engine products, drive systems and services and has been for more than a century.

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) announced the 2019 schedule for the IMSA Prototype Challenge, its longtime prototype-only series that serves as a platform for aspiring future IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers and veteran drivers alike. The series enters its 14th season under IMSA sanction in 2019.

Among the enhancements made to the IMSA Prototype Challenge schedule is the evolution of the endurance racing format that debuted in 2018. One year after shifting from two 45-minute sprint races per weekend to a single one-hour, 45-minute endurance race, the series will extend to a three-hour race format for select events in 2019.

The six-race schedule will feature three-hour endurance races at Daytona International Speedway in early January – run during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend – and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The three-hour races will have a minimum of two drivers per car and a maximum of three. All other events will remain one-hour, 45 minutes in length.

“There is no shortage of momentum behind the IMSA Prototype Challenge. We believe three-hour races at Daytona and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be another attractive opportunity, not only for our current competitors and stakeholders but also those interested in the rapidly growing LMP3 platform,” IMSA President Scott Atherton said.

All six races on the IMSA Prototype Challenge calendar will be run in conjunction with the WeatherTech Championship.

Date	Venue	Duration
Jan. 4–6	Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, FL)	3 hours
March 13–16	Sebring International Raceway (Sebring, FL)	1 hr, 45 minutes
May 3–5	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, OH)	1 hr, 45 minutes
July 5–7	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada)	3 hours
Aug. 23–25	VIRginia International Raceway (Danville, VA)	1 hour, 45 minutes
Oct. 9–12	Road Atlanta (Braselton, GA)	1 hour, 45 minutes

(Photo courtesy of IMSA).

Motorsports professionals can now access the racing industry’s ultimate business resource, the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Buyers Guide, online thanks to PRI Direct. This new, mobile-friendly platform instantly connects more than 2,400 industry suppliers to over 90,000 racing businesses and high volume buyers, and features product photos, videos and intuitive search tools.

"For more than 30 years, motorsports professionals have relied on the PRI Buyers Guide to conduct business, and now PRI Direct gives users instant online access to all of the valuable information in the print publication," said PRI Publisher/Vice President of Events & Business Development Peter MacGillivray. "It is a comprehensive search tool for domestic and international racing suppliers, wholesalers, warehouse distributors, service providers, race sanctioning organizations and manufacturers reps."

In addition to keeping buyers updated on the latest in race product information and sourcing, PRI Direct gives racing businesses added exposure through various online features and add-ons, including:

 • Complimentary company listing for qualified motorsports suppliers.
 • Complimentary enhanced listings for PRI Show exhibitors and qualified PRI Magazine advertisers.
 • Opportunities to maximize exposure through enhanced listings with photo, video and visitor statistics; product category sponsorships; and product highlights.

"PRI Direct provides companies another easy way to increase their business impact by participating in the PRI Buyers Guide," said MacGillivray. "Because PRI Direct is part of the PRI ecosystem, businesses can increase their ROI by leveraging the power of PRI Magazine and the PRI Trade Show to increase their exposure."

The 2018 PRI Trade Show, held December 6-8 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, will feature over 1,100 companies exhibiting in more than 3,300 booths, showcasing the latest developments in auto racing technology to tens of thousands of buyers from all 50 states and 70 countries.

Start using PRI Direct today at pridirect.com.

Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI), the manufacturer of Hot Shot’s Secret fuel and oil additives, has announced the new director of e-commerce as Carmen Fiordirosa.

In the newly created role, Fiordirosa will collaborate with cross-functional partners to grow e-commerce sales for multiple markets by ensuring a consistent brand message, robust content and online account support. Responsibilities include business development and strategy, website and social media content and development, promotional campaigns, online marketing, website design, customer service, web analytics and technologies.

Before joining LSI, Fiordirosa served as the director of marketing for CleanTools, Inc. in Westmont, IL.

Fiordirosa joined the LSI team in July and will work remotely from Chicago.

LSI currently offers a line of over 30 fuel and oil additive products, lubricants and preventative maintenance specialty products for gas and diesel powered vehicles under the brand Hot Shot’s Secret.

Hot Shot’s Secret has also recently unveiled a new website, hotshotsecret.com, that expands the company’s focus on new markets identified as semi, motorcycle, RV, automotive and construction.

The 2018 National Speedway Directory—one of the top sources for race tracks in the nation—hits shelves this month.

The 38th edition of the National Speedway Directory lists over 1,300 auto racing facilities and is one of the most comprehensive publications of active tracks in the United States and Canada available anywhere. The 512-page paperback book lists detailed information on oval tracks, dragstrips and road courses including phone numbers, addresses, exact directions, nights of operation and type of racing.

Listings for approximately 300 sanctions, 60 racing publications and 70 racing related museums pushes the total to over 1,730 motorsports related listings. The 2018 schedules for several race series are also included.

The fourth edition of History of America’s Speedway - Past and Present is also available. The 853-page book includes over 700 photos and information on over 9,000 auto racing facilities that have existed in the nation, with data on the town they were located, various names, sizes of each track, and the years in operation.

The price for one copy is $15 (including postage) or $25 for two copies. Orders can be placed online at speedwaysonline.com or by sending an email to twfrost@speedwaysonline.com.

Force India’s future looks to be secure after news that a consortium of investors—led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll—has agreed on a deal to bring the F1 team out of administration.

The agreement, which was signed on Tuesday, means all 405 jobs at the team will be saved and Force India’s creditors will be paid for in full while there is ongoing funding guaranteed.

As a result, Force India will be ready to race when the F1 season resumes with the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month.

Force India was placed into administration by London’s High Court on the Friday before the Hungarian Grand Prix, following the action brought by driver Sergio Perez, who said he did so to “save the team.”

Force India Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer worked with the administrators—FRP Advisory LLP—to find a buyer, with the Stroll-led consortium emerging as the bidder of choice.

Stroll, whose son Lance races for Williams, is joined in the consortium by Canadian entrepreneur Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman of Monaco Sports and Management, fashion business leader John Idol, telecommunications investor John McCaw Jr, financial expert Michael de Picciotto and Stroll’s business partner Silas Chou.

They take over from previous owners Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy and the Mol family.

ACL Distribution of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has named Larry Berger Jr. as the product manager for the company’s new line of Ajusa-brand gaskets.

Berger will be responsible for the gasket line distribution—including selling, marketing and procurement—in the US and Canada, and will also oversee the sales activities of ACL’s sales rep force.

Berger joins ACL from Heartland Sales, a manufacturers’ representative firm specializing in the marketing of engine parts in the Midwest, where he gained a comprehensive knowledge of engine parts, in addition to becoming acquainted with major machine shop operations and procedures.

Ajusa is a Spanish gasket manufacturer and one of the premier suppliers of gaskets for Asian and European engines throughout Europe.

Ajusa has designated ACL as its master distributor for the US and Canada. Ajusa gaskets are presently available from ACL’s distribution center in Grand Rapids, and will soon be distributed throughout its warehouse network.

Ajusa’s gaskets replicate OEM gaskets' design, materials and appearance, and come as complete sets or individual components. Gasket coverage includes current engines as well as engine models going back to the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Here’s a fun exercise: Enter “Trying to explain technology to your parents” into Google and see what comes up.

Among the 906,000,000 results are countless articles, videos, drawings and diagrams that attempt to simplify concepts like downloading images to a desktop, opening email attachments, or visiting a page on “the Facebook.”

This, of course, falls into the it’s-funny-because-it’s-true category of highly relatable experiences. We’ve all gone through it at some point, right? (“No Dad, I said right-click on the picture and hit ‘Save As’… OK, what just happened? … That’s not what I said … Did you right-click? … No, you have to RIGHT-CLICK … How are you not getting this???”)

Eventually we come to realize, however, that it’s not really our parents’ fault; it’s more our mistake in assuming they were as tech-savvy as we were. Shame on us. So we take a deep breath, hit redial, and start again, from the beginning, slowly.

While parents can be very understanding, in business we aren’t usually given more than one opportunity to convey the right message. Maybe you’re confronted with a new customer who enters your shop looking for more durable bump stops, or lighter brake rotors. Or maybe your off-road prep shop is launching a digital marketing campaign aimed at attracting a new class of clientele.

Whatever the case, as a supplier or service provider you must be sure the pitch is on point—and not just in terms of the information you provide. In fact, consumer behavior studies through the years have shown that how you say something is just as important as what you say. Put another way, the message must first be received before it can be believed.

Which brings us to the latest installment of our ‘Better Business’ column. Penned by regular contributor William F. Kendy, ‘The Basics of Generational Selling’ identifies our nation’s five primary age groups and examines their priorities, preferences and philosophies, as well as expert advice on how to effectively communicate with—and market/sell to—each one.

As consumer myself I found Kendy’s report to be spot-on and well worth the read. For instance, it was easy to identify with the characteristics typical of my peer group (Generation X), as the article cites Cam Marston, a recognized expert on generations and author of Generational Selling Tactics THAT WORK: “[S]ince they were basically ‘raised’ by television they have been exposed to the full gamut of advertising and sales pitches. That background, combined with skepticism and a dose of cynicism, results in a ‘built-in phony detector,’ which makes Gen X practically sales-proof. They don’t respond to pressure or blatant selling but do respond to straightforward and transparent dialogue. And once respect, credibility and trust are earned, they exhibit loyalty.”

Obviously there are exceptions to every rule—don’t assume that just because a customer falls into one of the aforementioned generations that they’ll automatically exhibit the behaviors outlined in our column. But it does offer some solid insight into why certain sales and/or marketing techniques tend to resonate with some customers better than others.

Perhaps something to consider when putting together that next sales promotion, or approaching a racer who may be a good deal older or younger than yourself. It might also help alleviate some stress the next time you’re explaining to Mom and Dad why it’s really time they ditch that dial-up Internet.