World champions, record-holders and several popular drag race cars highlight the lineup for the 65th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing, set to be held August 24–26 at Cordova International Raceway in Illinois.

Three-time NHRA Top Fuel World Champion Larry Dixon and IHRA and NHRA Funny Car and Top Fuel World Champion Del Worsham highlight the lineup for this year’s event.

Dom Lagana, who made the fastest IHRA pass in history in 2013, will bring his Top Fuel dragster to the world’s longest continually running drag-racing event, while IHRA and NHRA veterans Jack Wyatt and Dale Creasy have also entered cars.

General admission tickets for The O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing start at $30 for Friday, $40 Saturday and $15 Sunday. Tickets for children ages 6-12 are $10 for Friday, $10 for Saturday, and $5 Sunday. A three-day “Super Pass” ticket for the entire weekend is $75 for adults and $20 for children 6-12.

Discounted admission tickets to The O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing are available for fans to purchase starting Thursday, July 12, at all 5,097 O’Reilly Auto Parts stores throughout the country.

“We have an impressive lineup that will be sure to thrill fans during the 65th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing,” Cordova International Raceway President Dominic Blasco said. “These names are synonymous in the drag racing community and sure to put on an exciting show.”

Four popular Nostalgia Funny Cars will be on hand with entries from John Lawson, Joe Hass, the Crop Duster and Iowa Punisher. Other Nostalgia entries include 16 Nostalgia Gassers, eight Nostalgia Pro Stocks, the Chicagoland Super Stocks, two front engine dragsters, and a pair of legendary Fuel Altered machines — Ron Hope’s Rat Trap and Dave Hough’s Nanook.

The thrilling jet cars will also be on hand highlighted by entries from the Larsen Family with two jet dragsters, Scott Holdridge’s 50 Caliber jet dragster, Danny Sullivan in his Chicago Rush jet car and Danny Crownhart in the Jet Bandit.

Rounding out the lineup will be two Fuel Altered cars, 10 Pro Mods, the Chevy Rebellion wheel-stander and the Kamper Korner R.V. bracket series.

For more information on The O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing visit racecir.com or call 309/654-2110 to purchase tickets.

Nominations are now open for SEMA’s prestigious industry awards set to be presented at the Industry Awards Banquet at the SEMA Show. All SEMA members are invited to nominate individuals and companies who have made a significant impact on the specialty-equipment market.

The 2018 SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet takes place Thursday, November 1, from 7–10 p.m., at the Westgate Garden Patio & Paradise Event Center in Las Vegas.

The awards that are currently open for nominations include:

Manufacturer of the Year: The SEMA Manufacturer of the Year Award has been established to honor a manufacturer for their outstanding contribution to the industry during the past 12 months corresponding with the SEMA fiscal year, July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.

Person of the Year: The SEMA Person of the Year Award was established in 1969 to honor individuals for their outstanding contributions to the association and the automotive aftermarket as a whole. During the selection process, the task force takes into consideration the nominees’ service beyond their normal job functions over the past year. Full criteria are available on the SEMA Awards webpage, along with a listing of past honorees.

Rep Agency of the Year: The SEMA Rep Agency of the Year Award honors a manufacturers’ rep agency for its contribution to the industry for the past 12 months. Considerations include product-line knowledge, communication of critical information between supplier and the client network, updated catalogs, databases and price sheets and continuous training and education programs.

Warehouse Distributor of the Year: The SEMA Warehouse Distributor of the Year Award recognizes a warehouse distributor that operates with the integrity and business practices that set the company apart as an industry leader. Over the last year, the ideal candidate will have been involved in industry events, serviced and communicated with suppliers and resellers with excellence and provided development opportunities for clients and staff.

GEN-III Innovator of the Year: SEMA is also seeking nominations to recognize young innovators who exhibit the same pioneering spirit as the original industry founders, and whose work is changing the way the automotive aftermarket does business. He or she may have been the first to act on a new trend, invented an original product or devised and implemented ideas that better suit the current marketplace. Qualifying nominees must be younger than 40 as of December 31, 2018.

Nominations are currently being accepted on the SEMA website here. For questions regarding the SEMA Awards program, contact Lindsay Bianco at lindsayb@sema.org or 909/978-6692.

The American Rally Association (ARA) has announced a finalized version of its Side-By-Side (SXS) rule set. The updated rules will supersede the preliminary rules posted in April.

ARA had previously discussed bringing Side-By-Sides and UTVs to national-level rally competition since its inception and, in November of last year, made the commitment to see them on ARA stage roads in 2018. Supporting ARA in that endeavor is Textron Offroad, one of the country's top Side-By-Side manufacturers.

The 2018 Side-By-Side rules outline general build guidelines for competitors and also define build requirements for the Pro Stock and Pro Modified SXS classes. These two classes are analogous to the open and limited classes in cars, with Pro Stock limiting the amount of allowed modification to a vehicle and Pro Modified allowing more customization.

Expect to see Side-By-Sides on ARA stage roads at Idaho Rally International, just outside Boise, Idaho, on September 15–16, and at the Tour de Forest Rally, coming to Shelton, Washington, on October 6–7.
 
To view the finalized ARA Side-By-Side rules, visit the American Rally Association website here.

Control of NASCAR is not for sale, according to a recent report by Forbes.

Reuters first broke news in early May that the France family, the majority owners of the US stock car racing series, are exploring the sale of the racing entity.

Several sources close to the matter, however, report that while the majority stake is not for sale, NASCAR is looking for minority partners.

The France family currently holds the majority stock beyond the publicly traded NASCAR stock. The family also has ties to the International Speedway Corporation (ISC), which owns 13 of the tracks that NASCAR regularly visits throughout the year.

NASCAR was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. in Daytona Beach, Florida, following a meeting with influential stock car racing representatives. France was the head of NASCAR until retiring in 1972. His son Bill France Jr. took the reins until his retirement in 2000 following a cancer diagnosis.

The France family has remained in control of NASCAR since, with France’s grandson Brian France currently serving as CEO. Other members of the France family include Jim France, the chairman of the International Speedway Corp., and Lesa Kennedy, the CEO of the International Speedway Corp.

The Bertil Roos Racing School (BRRS) has announced the Bertil Roos Winter Race Series with an eight-race schedule over four doubleheader weekends from October 2018 through February 2019.

The series features the same race format of the Bertil Roos Summer Series. The series champion will win $10,000 in BRRS credits, while second place receives $5,000 in credits and third place receives $2,500 in credits.

A driver must be a graduate of Bertil Roos Racing School’s 5-day road-racing school or have a similar experience in order to race. Spots are limited.

The new series will feature the newly re-engineered R/T 2000 Formula car, which features a five-speed sequential gearbox and a 135-horsepower, fuel injected, 4-cylinder engine.

The season kicks off October 6 and 7 at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) in Jupiter, Florida. Palm Beach International Raceway, which features a state-of-the-art 2.2-mile road course, will host the next four rounds of the series with races on December 3-4, 2018, and January 18-19, 2019.

The series then shifts to the challenging 2.27-mile road course Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina, for the final two rounds on February 23-24, 2019.

For more information and to sign up for the series, visit RaceNow.com or call 800/722-3369.

The second annual Throwback 276, the largest event for the CARS Response Energy Tour, will expand to two days this year.

Currently set for August 3–4 at Hickory Motor Speedway, the event commemorates short track racing’s history with races and activities planned for Friday and Saturday.

Kicking off with practice sessions for Late Model Stocks and Super Late Models, Limited Late Models will take the track at 7:30 p.m. for a feature acting like a championship points race. The winner will decide whether to keep the winnings of the $4,000 plus purse or be guaranteed to start the CARS Late Model Stock race the next night.

Friday night continues with the Richard’s Painting Pit Stop Competition, which will pay $1,000 to the team with the quickest pit stop and concludes with a concert.

Saturday will see the Late Model Stock and Super Late Model qualifying features. A Fan Fest will allow fans to meet drivers and see the various throwback car schemes up close. Fans will also get their chance to take home some prize money with the top three “Best Dressed Throwback” fans receiving $150 (1st), $75 (2nd), and $25 (3rd) for their historical attire efforts.

Tickets for the Throwback 276 weekend are now on sale at carsracingtour.com by clicking the advertisement banner located on the right side of the page.

The North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) will honor Dale Earnhardt Jr. at its 13th annual North Carolina Motorsports Industry Awards Ceremony presented by Fifth Third Bank on January 29, 2019. Earnhardt Jr. will receive the Achievement in Motorsports Tribute Award for his impact on racing and his native state.

Previous recipients of the Tribute Award are Earnhardt’s late father Dale Earnhardt, Benny Parsons, Richard Petty, Richard Childress, Junior Johnson, O. Bruton Smith, H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, Ned Jarrett and family, Mike Helton, Jeff Gordon, Roger Penske and Jack Roush.

Retiring from full-time competition at the conclusion of the 2017 season, Earnhardt Jr. amassed impressive stats — winning 26 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races, two NASCAR Xfinity Series titles and 15 most popular driver awards. As owner and co-owner, he has claimed a total of four Xfinity Series championships (2004, 2005, 2014, 2017).

Earnhardt, a third-generation driver, has been a tremendous advocate for auto racing and specifically NASCAR, amassing 5.2 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. He has appeared on Forbes magazine “Most Influential Athletes” list, BusinessWeek named him to its top 100 influential people in sports and ESPN has ranked him as the most famous auto racing driver in the world.

In addition to his on-track accomplishments, Earnhardt Jr. continues to make positive impacts in his community through The Dale Jr. Foundation, raising more than $4.2 million to benefit communities, schools and underprivileged individuals since its inception in 2007, on top of many other charitable works.

Earnhardt currently appears weekly on NBCSN’s NASCAR America and his new show, Dale Jr. Download. He will be a fixture in race commentary when NBC takes over the NASCAR television schedule on July 1.

In May, Earnhardt and his wife Amy welcomed daughter Isla Rose Earnhardt.

The North Carolina Motorsports Industry Awards Ceremony will also honor companies and other entities that have had a positive impact on motorsports during the year at the Jan. 29 event. Individual tickets will go on sale September 1. Sponsorships and other opportunities available by contacting NCMA, 704/455-5606.

(Image courtesy of NCMA.)

Mooresville, North Carolina’s Roush Yates Engines (RYE) announced that it has reached a multi-year partnership extension agreement with Convergent Science.

Convergent Science, one of the industry leaders in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) located in Madison, Wisconsin, has been a technical partner of RYE since 2016.

The pair has celebrated 57 wins and 56 pole positions together, made possible in part with the foundation that Convergent Science and RYE built over the past two years. In addition, the 2018 season has started out with 19 wins and 16 poles to date.

“In the highly competitive world of NASCAR racing we continually search for competitive advantages,” President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines Doug Yates said. “Our partnership with Convergent Science is a key to our performance on the track. With the use of their cutting-edge CONVERGE CFD software and analysis tools we can simulate designs faster than ever before, giving us the data to make better decisions quicker.”

The CONVERGE CFD software combines simulated fluid flow analysis with advanced automated meshing capabilities in one product, which is said to make it ideal for product development and advanced testing.

Using CONVERGE software helps RYE make decisions that have a significant impact on the cost and time requirements for actual physical testing. Multiple part designs can be compared and evaluated against each other in a virtual environment, reducing the number of necessary tests and associated expenses.

Dana Incorporated and Hydro-Québec announced a joint-venture partnership in which TM4 Inc., a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, will become Dana's source for electric motors, power inverters and control systems. As part of this agreement, Dana will become a majority shareholder of TM4 for approximately $127 million while Hydro-Québec will maintain a 45 percent interest in the business entity.

TM4 designs and manufactures motors, power inverters and control systems for electric vehicles, offering a complementary portfolio to Dana's electric gearboxes and thermal-management technologies for batteries, motors and inverters. The transaction establishes Dana as the only supplier with full e-Drive design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

TM4 was founded in 1998 by Hydro-Québec, reportedly Canada's largest electricity producer and one of the world's largest hydroelectric power producers. TM4 operates a technology and advanced manufacturing facility in Boucherville, Québec. TM4's current management team and 130 employees will remain in place.

Dana is one of the leaders in highly engineered solutions for improving the efficiency, performance and sustainability of powered vehicles and machinery.

This transaction also further strengthens Dana's position in China, the world's fastest-growing market for electric vehicles. TM4 and Prestolite Electric Beijing Limited have a 50/50 joint venture in China, called Prestolite E-Propulsion Systems Limited, which offers electric mobility solutions throughout China and the ASEAN region.

"We are excited to welcome TM4 into Dana's global family and to be partnering with Hydro-Québec, a leader in the generation of energy that fully comprehends the 'megatrends' surrounding energy efficiency and the rapidly developing electrification infrastructure requirements around the globe," Dana President and CEO Jim Kamsickas said.

Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) announced that the Motorsports Safety Group (MSG) would be hosting the fourth in a series of scheduled safety seminars on Thursday, June 28, at Chicagoland Speedway.

Dr. Jason Cormier, the founder of Motorsports Safety Group and one of the country’s leading neurosurgeons, has invited his colleague Dr. Immanuel I.Turner to deliver a brief presentation on “the response of the heart to competitive stock car racing.”

Dr. Turner will present a thirty-minute session at the 1.5-mile oval, immediately following the day’s driver/spotter meeting. The seminar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m., will include material specifically related to strategies designed to combat some of the changes and effects stock car racing has on the human heart.

Dr. Turner is a member of the Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery Unit at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital/Memorial Regional Hospital, Hollywood, Florida.

Attendance for all entered drivers is required, and the seminar is open to all licensed participants. Crew chiefs and car owners are encouraged to attend. Practice and qualifying activities for Thursday’s Scott 150 will follow.

“Knowledge is a key asset to good health and safety,” Cormier said. “While the sport has dangers, we can take precautions to provide a measure of safety.”

Through Cormier’s work with race car drivers, he has found that very few have the desire to alter their racing styles, so preventative measures are best taken before the racing begins.

The Chicagoland seminar will be the fourth and final presentation of scheduled meetings with Motorsports Safety Group at tracks in 2018. Officials will release information in the following months regarding educational seminars at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in December.

Dr. Cormier formed the Motorsports Safety Group to create a means by which to promote health, wellness and preventative practices within the sport of auto racing. Dr. Cormier crafted this strategic partnership with the ARCA Safety Initiative Program to form a “Motorsports Healthcare Education Plan,” a high profile, interactive activation designed to reach millions of race fans throughout the country. The Motorsports Safety Group’s support of the ARCA Safety Initiative was announced at the PRI Trade Show in December of 2016.