The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum has announced that it has been awarded grants by the RPM Foundation and the Indianapolis 500 Oldtimer's Club to fully fund an internship position in the Museum's restoration department.

The $7,000 grant from RPM, plus a $5,000 grant from the Oldtimer's Club, have made possible the hiring of IMS Museum 2018 summer intern Nicholas Martakis, a student at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis) and native of Valparaiso, Indiana.

Martakis is pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in mechanical engineering and motorsports engineering.
 
Not only is Martakis adding an extra set of hands during a busy summer schedule for the IMS Museum's full-time restoration team, but he's earning invaluable technical and practical experience, working on some of the racing industry's most iconic vehicles.
 
Martakis was instrumental in preparing the Museum's vintage touring cars for the IPL 500 Festival Parade, in which the cars were used to carry the Indianapolis 500 drivers and their families. He also recently prepared the No. 20 STP Lotus 56/4 "wedge" turbine, which Art Pollard drove to a 13th-place finish in the 1968 "500," for a trip to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
 
"We're extremely grateful for this opportunity to partner with the RPM Foundation, AAT and the Oldtimer's Club, as this grant and Nick's internship is helping our organizations achieve mutual goals," IMS Museum Executive Director Betsy Smith said. "Our restoration team is proud to support Nick's passion and efforts to learn and uphold the art of auto restoration. His dedication and that of students like him will ensure the longevity of historic automobiles for years to come."

Full-service marketing communications agency Marx Group has promoted Gloria Moreno to digital technology manager.

Moreno joined Marx Group in 2006 with a focus on digital marketing. Throughout her career at Marx Group, Moreno has been involved in the design and development of client websites, led successful social media campaigns, and launched dozens of digital advertising campaigns.

More recently, Moreno has guided the digital team to optimize content and tracking to target specific audiences with expertise in SEO, content development, email marketing and analytics.
 
In her new role, Moreno will continue to work on web development and integrated digital strategies with a special focus on SEO and PPC. Moreno will also play a significant role in Marx Group’s analytics and performance analysis services, to help clients understand the full range of their paid, owned, and earned media to grow their audience and more effectively measure ROI.

“As digital marketing continues to play a more pervasive role within the B2B segment, Marx Group is providing a wide range of digital expertise to our clients, in large part due to Gloria’s experience and capabilities,” Marx Group President/CEO and Creative Director Frank Buscemi said.

Moreno earned a bachelor of science from San Jose State University and a master’s degree in Advertising from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
 
For more information, visit marxgrp.com.

ProMedia Events has announced it is adding the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series to the 13th annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing at Route 66 Raceway (Joliet, Illinois) set for July 26–29, 2018.

Hailed as one of the largest street-legal shootouts of the year, NMCA officials will be hosting two index categories: The ProForm Rumble & LME Street King and the Chevrolet Performance Street Car Challenge.

"The Chicago-area has long been a hotbed for LS/LT performance with awesome shops and enthusiasts. Now they have three categories to enter with their LS/LT-powered street or race car,”  NMCA Event Director, General Manager Rollie Miller said.

The Chevrolet Performance Street Car Challenge offers a casual atmosphere where enthusiasts can hang out at the pavilion and legally drag race their LS or modern LT-powered vehicles. Cash prizes are given out to average ET winners in the 9-, 10-, 11-, 12, 13-, 14-, and 15-second zones, along with an overall winner and overall runner-up.

ProForm Rumble is reserved for LS/LT/LLT V-6 powered vehicles slower than 11.00 and that do not use a transbrake or bracket racing style electronics. LME Street King is designed to showcase vehicles that are quicker than 11.00 and transbrakes are legal. Both categories allow a chassis from any OE manufacturer as long as it is powered by an LS/LT/LLT engine platform.

All class winners will enjoy a celebration in the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.

For more information, visit here.

Formula 1 and Spa Grand Prix reached an agreement for the Belgian Grand Prix to remain on the F1 calendar until at least 2021.

The first Belgian Grand Prix took place at Spa-Francorchamps in 1950. Back then, the circuit was a 14km road course winding through the villages of Burnenville, Malmedy and Stavelot and featuring the legendary Masta Kink. Following safety concerns, the track was revised for 1983, shrinking down to 7km.

"Formula 1 was born in Europe and the future of this sport needs to maintain its solid roots, while expanding globally and Spa-Francorchamps is part of that fantastic history. We are particularly pleased that the new agreement is an improvement on the previous one, for Formula 1 and for our partner Spa Grand Prix, so that fans attending this race will enjoy a truly unforgettable experience,” F1 Director of Promoters and Business Relations Chloe Targett-Adams said.

The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix will take place on August 24-26.

(Photo courtesy of Formula 1).

Motovicity Distribution has announced Jason Shatrowskas will fill the newly created role of vice president of purchasing.

“We’re excited to have yet another proven industry veteran like Jason join our team,” Motovicity CEO Brian Lounsberry said. “We know he will excel at leading our brand and category strategies, as well as build valuable relationships with our brand partners.”

Shatrowskas brings more than 18 years of automotive aftermarket experience with a background in purchasing, merchandising, category management, and vendor relations.

The addition of Shatrowskas for the recently created vice president of purchasing position is said to continue Lounsberry’s strategic initiative to strengthen the company’s executive leadership team, which recently included the addition of CFO Peter Martz, CIO Greg Atkins and vice president of sales & marketing Rob Weir.

Race tire manufacturer Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. has announced its recent ISO 9001:2015 certification for its quality management system. Hoosier Racing Tire was assessed by American Management Technology, Inc. and conformed to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards for the design, manufacture and distribution of racing tires and rubber components.
 
The ISO 9000 family of certification contains some of the best-known standards and covers various aspects of quality management. The ISO 9001:2015 standard is based on several quality management principles, including customer focus, leadership and continuous improvement.

Hoosier Racing recently expanded its Plymouth, Indiana, manufacturing plant to include Hoosier Custom Manufacturing, bringing custom mixing, calendering and tire engineering capacity to the market. 

The Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame Class of 2018 inductees have been announced by the raceway’s Hall of Fame Committee. Those being inducted are Roger Arndt, Bob Brooks, Larry Cahill, the Chadd family (consisting of Noel, Dean and Mike Chadd), Mike Fisher and Terry McCarl.

The Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame was established in 1979 and there are currently 192 inductees. The annual induction banquet will be held at noon, Saturday, June 23, in the Dyer-Hudson Hall in Knoxville, Iowa.

Current Hall of Fame members and guests will be able to enjoy a picnic style lunch for $5 per person.

Those interested in purchasing tickets may call the ticket office at 641/842-5431. For a complete list of inductees along with short biographies, visit the Knoxville Raceway website here.

INDYCAR and chassis manufacturer Dallara will offer Verizon IndyCar Series teams the opportunity to add front downforce to cars for the final superspeedway oval race on the 2018 schedule, the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.

A front wing extension (seen above) has been developed that is intended to increase front downforce by at least three percent while ensuring adequate aerodynamic stability. Teams will have the flexibility to use the extension as they see fit, creating adjustability on both sides of the front wing.

The extension is optional for Pocono and may be used asymmetrically. The balancing tool is a result of driver and team feedback from last month’s Indianapolis 500.

Extension bolts to the trailing edge of the wing attach through existing holes. Dallara is also providing an optional wicker to fit the extension.

The ABC Supply 500 race weekend is Aug. 18–19 at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.

(Image courtesy of INDYCAR).

Following several weeks of formal discussions, Red Bull and Honda reached an agreement to join forces for the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 seasons, taking them up to the end of the current engine regulations. The team will continue to race under the full name of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.

“We have been impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and by the scope of their ambition, which matches our own,” Team Principal Christian Horner said.

The move marks the first time Honda will supply more than one team since the Japanese manufacturer returned to F1 in 2015 with McLaren.

Honda has been building up its UK facility in Milton Keynes to house a second operation for several years and can supply both Red Bull and Toro Rosso from 2019.

As part of the deal, Red Bull and Toro Rosso will run identical specification power units.

“Having two teams means we can access twice as much data as previously,” President & Representative Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Takahiro Hachigo said.

Red Bull’s decision to work with Honda ends a 12-season relationship with Renault, which has yielded 57 victories, four drivers’ and four constructors’ championships.

“We would like to thank Renault for the past 12 years, a period during which we experienced some incredible moments together. We have sometimes had our differences but Renault has always worked tirelessly and to the best of its ability to provide us with a competitive power unit,” Horner said.

“That is still the case today and we would like to thank the Renault team, and particularly the guys in our garage at every race, for their unstinting commitment and we look forward to ending our partnership on a high come the end of this season.

"Our focus for the rest of this year is still very much on delivering the best results possible in the 2018 championship and we wish Renault Sport all the best for the future.”

Renault will now supply just two teams—their works operation and McLaren—in 2019, with Mercedes and Ferrari each having two customers apiece in addition to their factory teams.

Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, the official high-performance driving school of Dodge//SRT, announced that professional driver and instructor Tim Rose has been appointed as the School’s general manager.

Prior to the new role, Rose managed the School’s IMSA Program, supported sponsor and vendor relations and procured new business opportunities.

Rose began instructing at the Bondurant School in 2007, having previously worked as a lead instructor and driver with the Skip Barber Racing School and the Penske/Marlboro Racing School programs. Since 2014, he has been the lead driver/manager of the IMSA Bondurant Safety Car and Hot Lap programs at all sanctioned IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races in North America, which includes the Rolex24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans races.

He also served as the lead instructor/race director for the Bondurant Masters Race Series, as well as the new Bondurant Championship Race Series for young aspiring future IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar drivers.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see our team members, like Tim, grow within the Bondurant organization,” Company Vice President Jason Bondurant said.

Rose’s prolific racing resume includes Formula Fords, Formula Renault, the SCCA Formula 2000 Pro Series, the IMSA Zerex Saab Pro Series, and the IMSA Star Formula Mazda Pro Series, and includes many racing platforms from GTS sports cars to IROC stock cars.