Four drivers, a race organizer and a chief mechanic comprise the six initial 2018 inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame. Two additional inductees will join them in a formal celebration of their accomplishments during a USAC ceremony in Indianapolis, Ind.

Highlighting the seventh annual USAC Hall of Fame inductions will be former USAC Technical Director and Chief Mechanic Mike Devin, USAC’s first-ever race organizer Bill Lipkey, plus Indianapolis 500 champion Troy Ruttman, and USAC driving champions Tony Elliott, Paul Goldsmith and Jimmy Sills.

The official induction ceremony will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday, September 6, before USAC’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 P1 Insurance National Midget race, which will unfold on the brand-new IMS infield dirt oval.

The festivities are all part of the buildup to IMS’ Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard NASCAR race, scheduled September 9. USAC’s Hall of Fame inductees will also be saluted in a video tribute to be broadcast on the IMS Jumbotrons in front of Thursday night’s midget crowd.

Online voting for the final two additional 2018 inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame will be available on the USAC website soon at usacracing.com.

For more information, including short biographies of the inductees, visit here.

Valvoline Inc., a worldwide supplier of branded lubricants and automotive services, announced Wyatt Alexander of Ellsworth, Maine, as the grand prize winner of its Fast Track to Fame contest.

The program, which was launched nationwide in February in support of grassroots racing, invited amateur racers of all backgrounds and experience levels to participate and celebrate the passion and pursuit of excellence that drives grassroots culture.

The contest operated in two rounds, with the second round controlled exclusively by public voting. Valvoline received over 800 driver entries and thousands of user votes throughout the program.

Alexander is a third-generation mechanic and race car driver with aspirations of racing professionally. In the meantime, the 18-year-old is enrolled full-time at UNC Charlotte studying mechanical engineering while he works part-time for two race teams. 

"I'm living the dream, but I'm constantly on the go. It's a balance of doing anything I can to be the next young gun, but also knowing that I need to focus on school," said Alexander. "With this opportunity from Valvoline, I want to put a couple other big races on our schedule to get my name out there. It's pretty simple: just do more racing."

In addition to the overall Fast Track to Fame winner, three runners-up—Morgan Ward of Watertown, South Dakota, Jonathan McKennedy of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and John Baker of French Lick, Indiana—will receive incremental prizes including cash and Valvoline products.

Valvoline noted the opportunity was made possible by sponsors including Speedway Motors, One on One Brand, iRacing and TSMGI.

For more on the winner Wyatt Alexander, visit here.

Badlands Motor Speedway, the dirt track located in Brandon, South Dakota, will go up for auction September 15.

The minimum bid for the 3/8-mile track is $3.15 million, with a “buy now” price of $9.45 million set to expire a week before the auction. The Badlands Motor Speedway website also details deposits, owner financing, facility tours and more.

Chuck Brennan purchased the track in 2015, changed the name from Huset’s Speedway to Badlands, and completed upgrades to the facility.

The track had previously reported a noise ordinance from the county, stating the speedway had lost its grandfathered exemption letting it operate.

Speedway officials, however, published the letter the track received rescinding the past noise ordinance notice.

The Miami City Commission will meet next week to vote on a contract for the proposed Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, according to Autosport.

The Commission previously voted to authorize the city manager to negotiate a contract with F1 organizers regarding the proposed October 2019 event.

This negotiation will be discussed at the upcoming Miami City Commission meeting, which is set for July 26.

A legal notice details that, in addition to the initial 10-year agreement covering 11 races, there is an option to extend the contract an additional 10 years.

A majority four of five commissioners must vote in favor of the contract in order for the race to be approved. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has voiced his support of the event in the past, will not get a vote.

Miami residents and businesses both supporting or objecting the race will be able to be heard at the meeting.

The USAC P1 Insurance National Midgets will race in the memory of Jason Leffler on October 21, at Wayne County Speedway as the fifth running of the Jason Leffler Memorial joins the series schedule.

The event will be the final series’ race this season before heading west for California to round out the year. The event will offer appearance points toward this year’s USAC P1 Insurance National Midget standings.

The one-eighth-mile dirt oval has been home to the event since 2013, with such winners as Zach Daum, Daryn Pittman, Bryan Clauson and Brady Bacon, who returns as the reigning winner of the Leffler Memorial.

Wayne County Speedway owner Doug Stringer is teaming up with new track promoter Jeremy Sneed and USAC to orchestrate the event.

“I am beyond thrilled to announce the addition of a premier event such as the ‘Jason Leffler Memorial’ to the 2018 schedule,” Sneed said. “USAC is a premier series and the national midget division always puts on an outstanding show everywhere they travel, and we’ve seen that every time they’ve come to Wayne County.”

In the late 1990s, Leffler made tracks big and small his personal playground as he raced to three consecutive midget titles and 19 career USAC National Midget feature wins in some of the most prestigious races, including the Belleville Midget Nationals, Hut Hundred, Copper World Classic, Summer Sizzle, Turkey Night Grand Prix and the Night Before the 500 between 1997 and ’05.

INDYCAR and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca announced that the historic Northern California road course with deep Indy car roots will return to the schedule in 2019.

The three-year agreement, approved today by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors overseeing the operation of the facility, calls for Laguna Seca to be the host site of the final race of the 2019 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Next year’s race weekend will be Sept. 20-22. The remainder of the series schedule will be announced later.

Laguna Seca held Indy car races annually from 1983-2004. The 2.238-mile permanent road course near Monterey, California, was the site of the season finale from 1989-96.

Mark Miles, president and CEO of Hulman & Company, which owns INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, praised the agreement that returns Indy car racing to the track.

“I can’t imagine a more attractive destination location for INDYCAR’s season finale,” Miles said. “Monterey is a place people want to be, and we will bring all of our guests. I think it’s a great choice for us.”

With Season 4 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship coming to a conclusion in New York City, officials from the all-electric racing series have crowned a new drivers' and team champion, among many supplemental honors, during its end of the season award ceremony, detailed below.

"Wow" Moment of the Year Award
While the first award of the night may be new for this season, it's a fitting category for Formula E. The ‘wow moment of the year’ award is given for a jaw-dropping moment, a real glimpse of perfection, or something that just won’t be forgotten in a long time.
Winner: Daniel Abt's home victory in Berlin

FANBOOST Award
Next up is the FANBOOST award—a prize that rewards the most interactive drivers among fans and in turn, fans vote to give them that precious boost of energy during the second stint of the race.
Winner: Sebastien Buemi

Modis Engineer of the Year Award
As a new partner for this season, Modis, one of the global leaders in professional IT, engineering and life science solutions, has created an award this season to reward the work done behind the scenes to an imperative member of the team who supports the electric revolution.
Winner: Leo Thomas, Racing Director, Techeetah Formula E

Mahindra Rise Award

Last year Mahindra Racing gave out an award to celebrate an unsung hero of Formula E, and this year is no different.
Winner: Manolo Ortiz Tallo

Best Social Media Activation Award
Formula E continues to make an impact with younger audiences. With the teams and drivers within the ABB FIA Formula E Championship also coming up with captivating and engaging content, bridging the gap between drivers and their fans, it makes sense to celebrate their efforts.
Winner: DS Virgin Racing

Teams' Championship Award
After the German manufacturers' season got off to a dismal start with technical difficulties and breakdowns, no one—not even the Team Principal himself—would have thought the team would be taking home the trophy for the teams' championship here in New York City.
Winner: Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

Drivers' Championship Award
With a total of four wins and six podiums over the course of the season, Techeetah's Jean-Eric Vergne clinched the drivers' championship title one race early here in New York City, finishing the season with 198 points to his name. "It's by far the highlight of my career - clearly. No question about it," said the Frenchman.
Winner: Jean-Eric Vergne

MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. has launched a new online catalog. The website provides quick access to the entire MAHLE Aftermarket product offering including Asian, European and domestic applications in North America for both light and heavy-duty parts in the MAHLE Original and Clevite brands.

The MAHLE Aftermarket online catalog allows for searching by vehicle, engine or product by entering a part number, competitor interchange, year/make/model etc. in the search box. The design is responsive, so the contents automatically adjust to fit the screen of a laptop, phone or tablet, according to MAHLE Aftermarket.

The new product and coverage data are updated monthly. Users can save their vehicle or engine searches in their favorites. The online catalog provides coverage for millions of vehicle applications, reaching back to the 1930s.

“We pride ourselves on using technology to make our products more accessible to the end user,” MAHLE Aftermarket North America General Manager Jon Douglas said. “The new MAHLE Aftermarket online catalog allows users to quickly and easily find the MAHLE products they need for every application they choose.”

Pirelli World Challenge President and CEO Greg Gill presented teams with the expanded 2019 program and race formats, as announced by the SRO Motorsports Group.

The three major PWC series will continue in 2019, with GT World Challenge, GTS World Challenge and TC World Challenge all remaining pivotal to the organization as it enters its 30th year.

What’s more, the addition of two new regional series—GT4 America East and GT4 America West—will combine the growing popularity of the GT4 category with the appetite for road racing in the US.

The enhanced programs, detailed below, were formed by an extensive survey that drew opinions from the paddock, prospective drivers and teams, and sponsors. The changes presented will strengthen Pirelli World Challenge’s status as a leading GT production-based road racing series in North America by drawing on the successful format used by SRO Motorsports Group in Europe and Asia, and retaining the key elements that have made PWC a success for three decades, according to a company release.

The 2019 Pirelli World Challenge schedule reflects feedback received from the teams. SRO Founder and CEO Stephane Ratel will announce the full calendar (including the California 8-Hour event, the North American Round of the Intercontinental GT Series) during the annual press conference at the Total 24 Hours of Spa on Friday, July 27.

GT Pirelli World Challenge
The GT Pirelli World Challenge will compete at a number of North America’s premier road racing venues in 2019. The refocused seven-race schedule will draw on the best of the current calendar while also adding a new exciting finale.

GT Pirelli World Challenge will also adopt a new race format extended to 90 minutes that differs from the one used in GTS Pirelli World Challenge. Grids will consist solely of GT3 cars, each featuring two-driver pairings. Events will be reduced to a maximum of three days, offering drivers more time behind the wheel and less time away from home and business.

GTS Pirelli World Challenge
GTS Pirelli World Challenge will continue the tradition of the PWC as a one-driver sprint competition. A 50-minute format will be retained, with drivers up to "Gold" classification eligible to compete in the series. Next to the overall podium, "Silver" and "Bronze" drivers will be awarded with separate podiums.

The 2019 calendar is set to feature eight race weekends. A number of these will be shared with Pirelli GT World Challenge, including the season finale.

TC Pirelli World Challenge
The success of the TCR class will be built upon in 2019 with an expansion to seven race weekends, while the customer sport nature of the three TC classes—TCR, TC and TCA—will be enforced.

SRO Motorsports Group and WC Vision want to give the TC categories a chance to flourish with a distinctive identity and marketing.

GT4 America: New East and West Regional Series
The recent global success of the GT4 format, combined with the need for a more regional, cost-effective offering, has led to the creation of two new series for 2019.

GT4 America East and GT4 America West will provide time-efficient options for teams and drivers based on both sides of the US, each consisting of five race weekends. They will use the SprintX format and be reserved for two-driver Pro-Am (silver/bronze) and Am (bronze/bronze) lineups. Each region will award its own title, with no overall championship available.

Meyer Shank Racing will field the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 for the rest of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after originally planning to only contest in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC).

After opening the season with a TPNAEC win at Daytona, scoring a class win at the Detroit Grand Prix for the second year running with a demonstrative 1-2 team finish, and then racing to another TPNAEC round win at Watkins Glen, the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 currently holds second in the IMSA GTD class championship.

Meyer Shank Racing will now compete with two full season entries for the remainder of the season as the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 joins the No. 93 Acura NSX GT3 entry at Lime Rock Park, Road America, VIR, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta.

Mike Shank, who recently concluded an agreement that saw the team take on a new name and co-owner with Jim Meyer, has made the commitment to race all the way to the end of the season. The team has also grown its competition program in 2018 to include a select schedule of Verizon IndyCar events.

The Meyer Shank Racing squad will be competing the next three weekends starting with the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock set for July 20–21, followed by the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 27–29, and ending with the next round of IMSA competition heading to Road America on August 3–5.