NASCAR today announced several leadership promotions across its marketing and media operations.

Jill Gregory has been promoted to executive vice president & chief marketing officer. Gregory oversees all NASCAR marketing operations and reports directly into NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve Phelps.

Gregory played a role in the development of key industry marketing platforms, including the refreshing of the NASCAR brand and associated marks and logos. Gregory will be the head of NASCAR’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office.

Pete Jung has been promoted to vice president, brand marketing. Jung is responsible for all brand and consumer marketing efforts. Jung joined NASCAR in 2014 and reports into Gregory at the Charlotte office.
 
Brian Herbst has been promoted to vice president, global media strategy and distribution. Herbst, who first joined NASCAR in 2005, is responsible for continuing to develop new media distribution opportunities and digital content partnerships. Herbst will also be based in Charlotte.

In related news, NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway announced the format and competition package for the May 19 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.

For the first time, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series cars will implement the competition package used in last season’s successful NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Each car will be fitted with aero ducts, a six-inch-high spoiler with two 12-inch ears, a restrictor plate and the 2014 style splitter, which is intended to create a unique aerodynamic effect.

Joey Ciechanowski takes over this season as the promoter of his hometown track, Buena Vista Raceway.

The 3/8-mile dirt oval in Alta has been in operation for over half a century and regularly runs IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts.

New dirt was added to the racing surface last fall.

“We want to have a smooth race track. A good track speaks for itself. That will be our primary focus year in and year out,” Ciechanowski said. “We may add VIP seating and will move the lights. That will be a work in progress.”

For the schedule of events in 2018, visit here.

Bell Racing USA has announced the opening of a new Bell Helmets outlet located at the Indy Pro Shop on Main Street in Speedway, Indiana.

The new shop, located in downtown Speedway, is said to be within walking distance of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Complete with an office, showroom and custom shop, the Speedway location of Bell Helmets will be open to the public. A grand opening celebration took place on Tuesday afternoon.

“Speedway is excited to welcome Bell Racing to the Main Street area,” Speedway Town Manager Jacob Blasdel said. “Their commitments to innovation and racing excellence makes Bell a natural fit for Speedway, and we look forward to seeing them grow and succeed in their new home in the racing capital of the world.”

(Photo courtesy of Bell Racing USA.)

The grand opening event for the new Bryan Clauson Suite Tower took place this morning at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, Iowa.

The six-story tower overlooking Knoxville Raceway honors the late racer Bryan Clauson, who lost his life in a midget car accident in Kansas in 2016.

The tower features an open-air pavilion with twelve new suites overlooking the raceway. The sixth floor will feature an observatory roof for suite holders to watch the racing from a bird’s-eye view.

Speakers at the event were National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director Bob Baker, Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch, Marion County Fair Association President Larry Cummings, Knoxville Raceway Race Director John McCoy, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Board President Steve Van Wyk, and past Board President Jeff Savage.

People close to Clauson also spoke at the event, including longtime friends Richard and Jennifer Marshall and the Clauson family.

Auto parts maker Tenneco is set to buy Icahn Enterprises’ Federal-Mogul in a deal said to be worth $5.4 billion in cash and Tenneco stocks.

Tenneco will separate Federal-Mogul into two independent, publicly traded companies, Federal-Mogul Motorparts and Federal-Mogul Powertrain.

Each will work alongside Tenneco’s complementary businesses, Tenneco Ride Performance and Tenneco Clean Air.

“This is a landmark day for Tenneco with an acquisition that will transform the company by creating two strong leading global companies, each in an excellent position to capture opportunities unique to their respective markets,” Tenneco CEO Brian Kesseler said.

The deal is set to be completed in the second half of the year.

Icahn, lead by Carl C. Icahn, first took majority control of Federal-Mogul in 2008.

Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI), the manufacturer of Hot Shot’s Secret brand fuel and oil additives, has announced the addition of Brian Merz as the company’s director of National Account Sales.  

Merz previously served as senior key account manager for Idemitsu Lubricants America, in Cleveland, Ohio, prior to joining LSI. With two decades of experience in strategic planning, new business development and sales management, he has worked for lubrication industry companies including Shell Oil Products and Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, both as the senior national account manager.

Merz reports directly to LSI President Chris Gabrelcik and will work remotely from Cleveland, Ohio.

“We were very fortunate to find Brian and add him to the team. His outstanding relationships with the major retailers developed over the last twenty years promoting and supporting products similar to ours made him a perfect fit for this key senior position,” LSI President Chris Gabrelcik said.

With its new Gen2 car hitting the streets at the end of the year, the motorsports governing body FIA has confirmed the full list of manufacturers that will homologate powertrains from Formula E’s sixth season.

Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are set to join the list of automotive brands, showing their commitment to not just the electric street racing series but also the electric technology for the road, says Formula E.

"Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are both brands with long and decorated histories in motorsport, and the level of all of the 11 manufacturers that will take to the track from 2019–20 is very high," FIA President Jean Todt said.

"We continue to exceed all of the initial expectations set out when we started this journey just four years ago. If you had said to me then that we would be in double figures in terms of recognizable names in the world of motorsport, biggest road car manufacturers and automotive brands—I would have said you were crazy. But this is the reality now," Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said.

The two additions for season six will have a two-year homologation period until the next cycle begins for the 2021–22 ABB FIA Formula E Championship.

The full listing of manufacturers for season six is as follows:

    •    Audi Sport
    •    BMW AG
    •    DS Automobiles
    •    Jaguar Land Rover
    •    Mahindra Racing
    •    Mercedes-Benz
    •    NextEV NIO
    •    Nissan
    •    Penske Autosport
    •    Porsche AG
    •    Venturi Automobiles

NASCAR and Monster Energy have signed an agreement that will extend the entitlement sponsorship of NASCAR’s premier series. The extension keeps NASCAR and Monster Energy partners through 2019. As part of the deal, the brand also continues as the Official Energy Drink of NASCAR.  

“NASCAR and Monster Energy enjoyed a productive first year and both parties have benefited significantly from the partnership,” NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve Phelps said. “Monster Energy successfully utilized our sport as a platform to elevate its brand and drive business, while introducing NASCAR to new audiences. With this renewal, we look forward to building upon our early success.”
 
“Over the past year, NASCAR’s passionate and brand loyal fan base embraced Monster Energy and we are excited to be able to continue to build on and strengthen that momentum through 2019,” Monster Beverage Chairman and CEO Rodney Sacks said. “Racing is in our DNA and extending this partnership further establishes Monster Energy’s prominence in motorsports.”
 
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Trailer exhibitors at the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show will now be able to show off their product lineups alongside their booths in the new indoor exhibit area at Lucas Oil Stadium. The new area provides exhibitors a larger space to showcase their products and is contiguous to the Indiana Convention Center.

The new Trailer Exhibits at Lucas Oil Stadium will feature some of the best side-by-side shopping of race trailers, motorcoaches, haulers, and toterhomes anywhere during the three-day trade-only event (December 6-8). Attendees can get an up-close look at the different transportation options indoors and easily compare available features and technology while meeting with representatives of the companies in their booths.

"Trailers are essential in the racing industry, and moving the segment at the PRI Show indoors to the Lucas Oil Exhibit Area is part of our goal to provide the best possible venue to conduct business," said PRI Trade Show Director Karin Davidson. "The new indoor trailer exhibit area will be located at the end of the Lucas Oil Stadium corridor, on the lower level, and will give companies more space than ever before to display their products."

Manufacturers have expressed excitement about the new opportunity to display their trailers next to their booths in an indoor setting, especially with the current state of the market segment.

"Grassroots and recreational racing has increased, and I'm excited because that’s the core of our business," said Look Trailers/Pace American President Matt Arnold. "The PRI Show and new Lucas Oil Exhibit Area will enable us to connect with the grassroots racing market and make it possible to show off our latest products to them. I look forward to the increase in traffic that this new indoor exhibit area will create for us."

The 2018 PRI Trade Show will feature over 1,100 companies exhibiting in more than 3,300 booths, showcasing the latest developments in auto racing technology. Tens of thousands of buyers from all 50 states and 70 countries will be on hand in Indianapolis for the three biggest business days in racing.

In addition, the days leading up to and including the PRI Show, which have come to be known as Race Industry Week, will offer a range of motorsports-related activities in and around the Indiana Convention Center beginning on Monday, December 3. Numerous conferences, seminars and other special events will offer unlimited business opportunities and provide invaluable insight on the latest technologies and how to apply them throughout the racing world.

To learn more about the 2018 PRI Show or to reserve exhibit space, log on to www.pri2018.com or call 949/499-5413.

Seven schools from Texas and Oklahoma fielding nine teams competed at The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge’s fourth event of the season at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas.

Five teams qualified for the Dual National Championship held later this year at the SEMA Show (October 30 – November 2 in Las Vegas) and PRI Trade Show (December 6 – 8 in Indianapolis).

To qualify for the Dual National Championship, a team must finish disassembling and reassembling a small-block Chevrolet engine in less than 33 minutes (including penalties).

First place went to Team Custom Automotive Network (CAN), pictured above, of Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center from Choctaw, Oklahoma, with a time of 19:36.

Hereford High School out of Hereford, Texas, had two teams participate and both qualified. In second place came Team Proform with a time of 27:40, and fourth place went to Team Vibrant Performance with a time of 30:46.

Third-place went to Team COMP Cams of Pontotoc Tech Center in Ada, Texas, with a time of 29:14.

Fifth-place went to a first-time participant, Team PRW of J.W. Nixon High School in Laredo, Texas, with a time of 32:05.

Visit HotRoddersOfTomorrow.com for more information and to see the complete results of the event.