COMP Performance Group has named Matt Patrick as its new director of Product Development. Patrick is a business-focused engineer with a career that includes successful stints in product management, research and development and mechanical engineering.

Patrick has been with COMP Performance Group for over 21 years and has a degree in Automotive Engineering Technology from the University of Minnesota at Mankato.

In the new role, Patrick will work directly with Dave Henninger (Research and Development/Testing Manager) and Cindy Bullion (PDG Operations Manager), to lead the restructured Product Development Group, a team dedicated solely to innovation and quicker “concept to competition” time for next-generation products, says CPG.

In related news, COMP Performance Group has announced that Brad Loden has joined the organization in the role of outside sales representative. Loden has 26 years of industry experience and will work as a territory sales and race support representative, along with providing valuable product development insight from the field to the newly formed CPG Product Development Group.

A long-time racer, Loden has worked for prominent performance automotive manufacturers in the past. Most recently, he was in sales with CV Products and Roush Yates Racing Engines.

For more information, visit CPGNation.com.

Officials from NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway have announced that the UNOH 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and Bush's Beans 150 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event will move from Wednesday, August 15, to Thursday, August 16, in 2018.

The schedule change packages three consecutive nights of under-the-lights racing during the August 16–18 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race week.



The Bush's Beans 150 will kick off Thursday's action with a 6:30 p.m. starting time. The UNOH 200 Camping World Truck Series race will be held Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and televised on FOX.

Qualifying for both events will take place earlier that afternoon, with the Modified Tour at 3:15 p.m. and Truck Series at 4:35 p.m., respectively.

Thursday's racing serves as the lead-in to the Xfinity Series Food City 300. This race will take the green flag Friday night to set the stage for Saturday's tradition-rich Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, a 500-lap Monster Energy Cup Series event under the lights that has showcased some of the most intense on-track battles in NASCAR history. 



Details regarding all supporting events surrounding the date change will be announced at a later date.

Motovicity Distribution has added BLOX Racing’s line of performance aftermarket parts to its line card.

Founded in 2003, BLOX is said to have established a foothold in the mport and sport compact marketplace and developed a reputation as a high quality, aftermarket parts manufacturer.

BLOX Racing’s performance products are showcased in custom cars, showcased at race events such as Never Lift Half Mile and Speed Ring, and utilized in different forms of motorsports, such as drag racing, road racing, and drifting.

BLOX Racing products are now available for wholesale purchase through Motovicity Distribution. For product inquiries, call 888.SPEED.16 or visit Motovicity.com.

Ahead of the 2018 Qatar Airways Paris E-Prix, some of the racers competing in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will get behind the wheel of electric karts alongside Billy Monger to raise funds and awareness for disabled, aspiring drivers looking to make it into motorsports.

Monger — who lost both his legs in an accident last year — wasn’t able to attend last year’s event due to his injuries. Since then the young British driver has made a remarkable recovery and will participate in the race using a specially modified kart.

Taking place at the RKC karting track outside of Paris on April 25, the race has been organized by current championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne with the support of the newly-established FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission and its President Nathalie McGloin.

The funds raised will be donated to the charity UK-based Spinal Track, which gives disabled drivers an avenue back into racing. The charity also gives disabled drivers the opportunity to experience their first-ever track or rally days in bespoke cars.

Monger is looking to offer his expertise to other disabled drivers through instructing at events, as he makes plans to gain his ARDS license.

“I’d love to give back to the motorsport community and this is a great way to do this. It’ll be a great experience for me, as I plan the next stage of my career to instruct other racing drivers in single-seaters and saloon cars — once I have my ARDS instructors license,” Monger said.

To donate to or support the Spinal Track cause, visit here.

Ford Performance will roll out a new Mustang Funny Car body for NHRA competition in 2019.

Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, made the announcement Wednesday as part of a week-long Mustang birthday celebration.

Ford Performance engineers and designers are said to be utilizing many of the same technical tools and resources employed in the NASCAR and IMSA Ford GT programs to create a body that emphasizes aerodynamic efficiency.

This will mark the first new body for Mustang in Funny Car since 2009, reinforcing a commitment Ford made to the sport when it officially returned this season with driver Bob Tasca III.

Ford has won 238 overall events in Funny Car and 16 championships in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

The new Mustang Funny Car is in the early stages of development, and after approval by the NHRA, will be shown to the public late this year. It will make its competition debut at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., next February.

In related news, Ford also announced the return of the Mustang Cobra Jet to the drag strip as its “most powerful and quickest factory version yet.”

Plans call for the Mustang Cobra Jet to be capable of a quarter-mile pass in the mid-eight-second range, with top-end speeds of 150 mph.

Final 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet ordering and product specifications will be released this summer. The car is designed to be legal for NHRA drag racing, along with several National Mustang Racers Association and National Muscle Car Association classes.

IMG, which manages the World and European Rallycross championships, will be managing the upstart Americas Rallycross Championship. Competition begins later this year.

The move comes after the Red Bull Global Rallycross series announced a rule change that is said to have outlawed the Supercar class and promoted the GRC Lites class to its top attraction, with the new name “Gold” class.

This changed was said to have left Supercar teams without a place to race. Enter IMG’s four-race schedule, which will open in Great Britain as part of the World Rallycross event at Silverstone in May.

The series will also tag team with WRX at Quebec’s Trois-Rivieres event Aug. 4-5 and at Circuit of The Americas on a date in July to be announced. The fourth event hasn’t been announced.

The series will also include an ARX2 class for Supercar Lites machines.

While plans are still coming together for the series, Andretti Rallycross, Subaru Rally Team USA, Hoonigan Racing and Loenbro Motorsports have confirmed plans to compete in the Americas Rallycross Championship.

The France Family, along with Jim France, will be honored on June 28 by the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) with the 2018 Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports.

The 2018 award will be the fifth presented by the IMRRC. Chip Ganassi was the inaugural recipient in 2014. Richard Petty and Roger Penske were honorees in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Mario Andretti was cited in 2017.

From NASCAR founder William H.G. "Big Bill" France to his sons William C. France and James C. France to third-generation leaders Brian Z. France and Lesa France Kennedy, the family's expertise is apparent.
 
James C. "Jim" France is now the patriarch, continuing the legacy of leadership as chairman of both the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). He also serves as a vice chairman of NASCAR.
 
Brian France is NASCAR's chairman and CEO, having followed his father in those roles starting in 2003. Lesa France Kennedy is the CEO of ISC and Vice Chairperson of NASCAR. And Lesa's son, Ben Kennedy, has recently joined the family business as the new general manager of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Previously, he was a successful racer himself, competing in both trucks and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
 
All four have added to the legacy of "Big Bill" France, who founded NASCAR in 1948 and Daytona International Speedway in 1959.
 
Jim France and family will receive the Argetsinger Award at a gala dinner presented by Sahlen's, NASCAR, ISC, Watkins Glen International (WGI) and IMSA. The dinner, which is open to the public, will be at the internationally renowned Corning Museum of Glass in nearby Corning, N.Y.

For more information, or to reserve a seat, visit here. 

Dirt track racing will return to McKean County Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania this summer as new promoters have taken over the newly-named McKean County Family Raceway.

Previously known as McKean County Fair Raceway, the one-third mile dirt oval is now run by a group of promoters named Full Circle Productions, LLC.

Full Circle was formed earlier this year by seven members which include Cecil and Phyllis Gallup, Mark and Krystin Schweikart, Larry and Shirley Bigley, and William Bigley.

“When we found out nobody was going to lease the raceway for the 2018 season, we decided that with our extensive racing interactions and passions for racing, to step forward," Shirley Bigley told The Bradford Era.

McKean County Fair Raceway has posted its 2018 schedule, and can be found here.

Ford has announced Mustang is coming to the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series for the first time in 2019, beginning at Daytona in February.

“We’re combining America’s favorite sports car with America’s top stock car racing series,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Mustang always has been about affordable performance, which can be traced to innovations we’ve made competing in racing, like NASCAR. Mustang is a perfect fit for our racing heritage today and tomorrow.”

Mustang has competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2011, winning championships in all but one season. It has taken Team Penske to four owner’s championships in the last five years and carried Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to consecutive driver’s championships in 2011 and 2012.

This will be Ford’s fourth different Cup model in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present), following Thunderbird, Taurus and Fusion.

Ford has six organizations and 13 teams in its NASCAR lineup, including Wood Brothers Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Go Fas Racing.

Mustang is still going through initial testing and will be formally submitted to NASCAR for approval this summer. A public unveiling of the finished product will follow after approval.

The first series points race for Mustang will be the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, 2019.

Last Thursday’s RRDC Evening with Johnny Rutherford presented by Firestone was held in front of a capacity crowd of auto racing dignitaries, corporate executives and champion race car drivers.

The three-time Indy 500 champion was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club prior to the running of the 44th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

In the audience were representatives from the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis 500, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, Pirelli World Challenge and a number of historic Trans-Am drivers, who raced on the streets of Long Beach for the first time over the weekend.

It was the RRDC’s 10th consecutive annual banquet honoring auto racing’s most influential leaders. Previous honorees were Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, George Follmer and Emerson Fittipaldi. Hall, Andretti and Follmer were in the audience to help recognize the newest member of this elite group.

Gurney, who would have turned 87 Friday, died earlier this year. A special tribute video, narrated by television commentator Bob Varsha, was shown commemorating the American racing legend’s remarkable legacy in the sport.

On hand to celebrate Rutherford’s short-track heritage were Ken Schrader, Ron Tripp, Kevin Olson and Jeff Haywood, as well as Don Prudhomme of NHRA fame.

Rutherford’s path through his extraordinary career was captured in a short video written and voiced by Sam Posey. Another congratulatory video, from McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown, showed Brown standing in front of the McLaren M16 that Rutherford drove to his 1974 Indianapolis 500 win, on display at McLaren’s headquarters in Woking, Surrey, England. RRDC President Bobby Rahal then “interrogated” Rutherford on his legendary achievements in the style of “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Rahal covered the gamut of Rutherford’s career, from his early days racing modified stock cars in 1959, his USAC championship era, plus his time racing sports cars in the ’70s. Among other marques, he competed in a Ferrari, a Corvette, and a Porsche 934 for Dick Barbour Racing, and scored a second-place finish at the 1978 Daytona 24-Hour in a Porsche 935.

“Johnny is the consummate professional, a hell of a race car driver, but more of a gentleman, and a tremendous ambassador for the sport of motor racing,” said Rahal. “The guy is just first class in everything he’s done. He was very public and he respected all of us drivers. He really was a complete package, so it’s great that we were able to recognize him tonight.”

“It’s a genuine thrill,” said Rutherford about being honored by the RRDC. “I never would have thought that I would have risen in the ranks to earn this. I’m just a guy from Texas that wanted to drive race cars, on the dirt mostly back then, so it was different. But I enjoyed my road racing, and I’m thrilled to death to be considered for this honor.”

“He is so deserving to be recognized among the racers here,” said Andretti. “He’s had a fabulous career. He is very versatile and is just one of the good guys in our sport. Not just because of his record but also as a friend. Johnny is one of us, for sure, big time. He’s a racer.”

Featured on the patio during the cocktail reception sponsored by American Honda were the Offenhauser-powered Silnes/Meskowski chassis, from the Malloy Foundation, in which Rutherford made his Championship Car debut in 1962, the McLaren M16E in which he finished second at the Indy 500 in ’75, and his Indy 500-winning Chaparral 2K from 1980. The McLaren and Chaparral were on loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

An original painting by artist Randy Owens depicting Rutherford’s third Indianapolis 500 win in 1980 in the Chaparral 2K, nicknamed the “Yellow Submarine,” was presented to Rutherford by Owens. A giclee print of the painting, signed by champion drivers and other racing legends attending the dinner, along with a 25-foot-long backdrop of the painting, were included in a silent auction.