VP Racing Fuels announced it has been named the Official Fuel of the Mid-West Pro Mod Racing Series. The all 1/8-mile drag racing series competes in events in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas.

“At VP we’ve always strived to have the best fuels out there and when you look at these racers in the Mid-West Pro Mod Series, especially the nitrous Pro Mods, these racers need top-grade fuels in order to run right and go fast,” said Jason Rueckert, VP Racing Fuels Midwest Regional Manager. “These high-profile relationships also allow us to promote our brand to enthusiasts and general consumers. The products we have for them were built with the same dedication and attention to quality and performance as our race fuel products.”

In addition to providing a full menu of race fuels for series competitors, VP’s Lane Choice traction compound is used by a large number of series tracks to provide the racing surface needed for the high horsepower Pro Mods.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s nitrous like my cars or blowers or turbos, these engines can be pretty finicky and anything you can do to make them more predictable will only help,” said series owner and competitor Keith Haney. “Having a company like VP Racing Fuels, with all their research and testing behind them, come on board as our official fuel supplier will help everyone to be more consistent with their tune-ups. And in drag racing consistency is everything.”

Robert Reed, who has been associated with the three-eighths-mile clay oval at Cortez, Colorado, in one capacity or another since day one, has taken over as the new promoter at Montezuma County Fairgrounds Speedway.

Six Friday-Saturday doubleheaders are on the schedule this season for IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and IMCA SportMods.

Complementing the schedule at Aztec Speedway in New Mexico are May 18-19, June 29-30, July 13-14, July 27-28, Aug. 24-25 and Sept. 14-15 dates at Cortez.

“We worked on this schedule so anybody in this area is going to be able to race four times a month,” said Reed. “The racing surface at Cortez has always been slick and we’ll prep the track the way it was done in the 1980s.”

A catwalk will be constructed between turns one and two, and work on spectator grandstands is planned before opening night.

Reed was runner-up in Colorado Stock Car state point standings last year and is a veteran of the Modified, Hobby and SportMod ranks as well, so he’s already very familiar with IMCA rules and procedures.

“I like that every class has its own set of rules in black and white. I’ve seen tracks get away from IMCA in the past and the first thing that goes is the cars. The cars are going to be there with IMCA,” he said. “I’m 100 percent IMCA and always have been. It’s structured and it’s proven.”

The first IMCA events were held at Montezuma County in 1991; Hobby Stocks were last sanctioned there in 2014.

Montezuma County Fairgrounds Speedway is part of IMCA’s Larry Shaw Race Cars Western Region, Stock Cars the EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region and Hobby Stocks the Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region.

Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) have announced that Motorsports Safety Group will be hosting the first in a series of scheduled Safety Seminars Saturday, April 21 at Salem Speedway.

Dr. Jason Cormier, founder of Motorsports Safety Group and a top neurosurgeon, will present a 30-minute session at the southern Indiana Salem half-mile oval, immediately following the day's Driver/Spotter meeting. The Seminar, scheduled for 10:45 a.m., will include general health and wellness material specifically related to race drivers and crew members.

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 Sunday’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 will follow.

“I still race professionally, so my goal is to provide safety tips to drivers, pit crew and loyal fans that come out every weekend,” said Cormier. “While the sport has dangers, we can take precautions to provide a measure of safety.” 

The Salem seminar will be the first of four scheduled meetings with Motorsports Safety Group. Additional Safety Seminars are tentatively scheduled in conjunction with the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway the weekend of May 19-20; Thursday, May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Thursday, June 28 at Chicagoland Speedway.
 
For more information, visit motorsportssafetygroup.com.

Dragstrip Memories will be returning to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum after a year’s hiatus and will be presenting what’s said to be the most extensive collection of historic drag racing cars and memorabilia in Canada.

Along with the Paton Top Fuel Dragster and the Northern Warrior Jet Dragster, the show will feature other jet-powered vehicles, front-engined dragsters, Pro Modifieds, several period Gassers, and a gaggle of Stockers and Super Stockers.

There will also be club displays at the show from the Hamilton-based Road Runners and Rod Masters plus the East London Timing Association. There will be well in access of 50 performance race cars for viewing.

There will be several nostalgic car club displays, a host of vendors, and a scale model display featuring all kinds of classes of drag cars in a miniature replica of the former Dragway Park. There will also be movies and videos of drag racing, photos, magazines, and automotive art.

This year’s show will be held Sunday, April 15, with doors open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, Hamilton, Ontario.

American-Canadian Tour officials have announced that Série ACT promoter Marc-Patrick Roy will no longer be associated with the organization.

Roy had been in charge of Série ACT operations since early 2017 and had also worked as an official at select ACT Late Model Tour events in the United States.

ACT co-owner Cris Michaud cited differences regarding the direction of the Quebec-based Late Model series as the reason behind Roy’s departure.

“We appreciate Marc-Patrick Roy’s efforts over the past year both for Série ACT and for Northeast late model racing as a whole,” Michaud said. “However, we decided recently that it was in the best interests of the parties involved to go our separate ways. We still believe in the importance of having an ACT presence in Quebec and are currently working to ensure that it remains there.”

The series is currently scheduled to open its 2018 campaign at Autodrome Chaudiere on Saturday, June 2.

Marx Group, a full-service marketing communications agency, has announced the promotion of Samantha Young to associate creative director & digital marketing manager. 

Young joined Marx Group in 2015. In 2016, she led a complete redesign of the Marx Group brand and guided all of the agency’s external marketing. Young is said to have been critical in driving the design of brand elements and designing websites for several of the company’s OE and aftermarket clients since joining Marx Group.

In her new role, Young will continue to lead marketing initiatives for Marx Group and its clients, with an increased focus on SEO, SEM and UI design and web development, while taking an expanded leadership role in design for advertising, branding and content development.

For more information, visit www.marxgrp.com.

Madison Heights, Michigan-based Motovicity Distribution recently announced a series of facility renovations and infrastructure-based improvements to improve internal staff cohesion and quality of service.

By investing in its personnel and the environment in which they work, Motovicity aims to utilize globally recognized, proactive business practices to improve quality of service, employee retention and, ultimately, the internal spirit of its brand, according to company officials.

“We recognize the need to invest in our people because we truly believe that their satisfaction is just as important as our customers,” said Brian Lounsberry, CEO of Motovicity. “We know that when you provide your staff with the tools they need to grow, they will ultimately provide the best service to our customers and clientele. We’re hard at work building and developing a culture that places success at the forefront for our team.”
 
“I envisioned creating a space for our employees that reflects who we are and the spirit of our business. Our new facilities will mirror the fun, energetic atmosphere of our workplace in a functional, strategic manner that will inherently aid us in our ability to provide quality service to our customers,” Lounsberry added. “At Motovicity, we’re aiming to create a new foundation that will facilitate growth within the auto parts industry while giving us the physical space we will need to grow our supply chain and shipping operations.”

The company has implemented an updated, modern aesthetic and new multi-use workspaces that are expected to pave the way for improved workplace efficiency. The renovations are a piece of a larger roadmap Motovicity has developed to overcome industry-wide challenges including unstable fill rates, ever-changing consumer demand and unpredictable supplier lead times.

The renovation is complemented by additional improvements to digital infrastructure and branding, including a revamped website and the newly implemented Blue Ridge supply chain program.

Power Automedia has announced recent growth to its editorial department after its acquisition of Xceleration Media.

Shawn Brereton, an avid hot-rod enthusiast and automotive journalist, has joined the team as editorial director. Brereton will oversee several Power Automedia digital magazines, including Street Muscle, OneDirt, Chevy Hardcore, Turnology and Rod Authority.

Elizabeth Puckett joins the team as senior associate editor of Power & Performance.

Power Automedia’s newly re-acquired dirt-track-racing magazine, OneDirt, will be lead by Group Editor Bobby Kimbrough.

The new editor of Rod Authority will be Corvette Online editor Dave Cruikshank.

SEMA has invited SEMA-member companies to connect with legislative officials and voice their concerns on issues that matter most to their businesses during the 2018 SEMA Washington Rally, Wednesday, May 16.

The event is an opportunity for the automotive specialty-equipment industry to educate Congressional representatives on issues such as the RPM Act, emerging automotive technologies, infrastructure spending, job creation, affordable health care and counterfeit products.

Held for the first time in 1996, the SEMA Washington Rally includes SEMA-member companies meeting face-to-face with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. SEMA members will be briefed by staff in advance of the meetings and connect with elected officials on issues that matter most to the $42-billion industry.

“One-on-one meetings with legislators is one of the most effective ways to impact lawmakers who are making decisions that affect SEMA-member businesses,” said Daniel Ingber, SEMA chief corporate counsel. “The SEMA Washington Rally helps lawmakers hear from constituents and informs them about the issues that are most important to our industry.”

In addition to meetings with legislators, participating SEMA members will take part in an exclusive lunch on Capitol Hill, tours of iconic attractions in Washington, D.C., and a fun outing to the New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals baseball game.

SEMA members interested in participating should contact Christian Robinson at christianr@sema.org or visit www.sema.org/dcrally.

Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) has announced that Jim Meyer has joined the organization as co-owner with Mike Shank.

MSR fields teams in both IMSA and IndyCar.

“Since day one of this team, it has just been my wife [MaryBeth] and I... and I hadn’t set out to take on a partner. But when I met Jim, it was clear how a structure like this could help the team grow in the long term,” Shank said.

The organization has a multi-year program in place to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series starting with six events in the 2018 season. Meyer Shank Racing will debut under the new team banner in the Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar event on April 13–15 and will continue the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course event May 4–6.

For more information, visit here.