Team Penske and Siemens, a global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, have entered into a new technical partnership.

Under the multi-year agreement, Siemens will help enhance Team Penske’s performance with full access to a wide variety of software products to enable advanced digital design and simulations. Team Penske race teams will utilize Siemens’ software across their computer-aided design (CAD), engineering, simulation and machining platforms to create a digital twin of their race cars, which can help engineers simulate engine configurations, innovate new parts and predict race results in real-time.

Siemens’ PLM tools allow Team Penske to keep large amounts of data organized and accessible for review by anyone within the team. It also enables engineers to iterate through design concepts with the digital twin to arrive at near-optimum solutions within a high-intensity, short timeframe environment.

Siemens’ PLM tools are also said to allow Team Penske to analyze thousands of electronic data streams full of on-track performance information, and apply changes to the race car’s digital twin. These changes are then reviewed for performance and durability in a virtual environment, which allows low-cost, high fidelity simulation of the results.

The partnership will also include Siemens as an associate sponsor on the Team Penske cars competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR XFINITY Series, the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Siemens branding will be featured on all Team Penske Indy cars and on the uniforms worn by Team Penske drivers and teams competing in NASCAR.

Registration is now open for the 2018 CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals, presented by Holley/MSD, at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Friday and Saturday, July 20-21, 2018.

The yearly event will include the return of Real Street Eliminator, an expanded two-day CAR CRAFT Midnight Drags, and popular events with daily drag racing, autocross, freestyle burnouts, dyno, and more.
 
“We are excited to return to Beech Bend Raceway Park for the CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals presented by Holley/MSD,” CAR CRAFT Editor John McGann said. “The addition of more drag racing to the schedule will cement this show as one of the must-see events of the season. Add to that the wild burnout contest and fast autocross action, and the Summer Nationals is a full-immersion experience for the horsepower junkie.”
 
CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals is one of the country’s premier gathering of street machines and muscle cars that showcases more than 1,500 performance cars and is expected to attract upwards of 20,000 enthusiasts from across the country.

Performance sponsors and vendors mingle with enthusiasts along the automotive midway, while burnout contests, drag racing, dyno pulls, drift, and autocross challenges let the hardcore fans put their vehicles to the ultimate test.

For more information or to register for the 2018 CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals, presented by Holley/MSD, visit here.

The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) has strengthened its presence throughout North America with the recent signings of four new race tracks, located as far south as Arkansas and as far north as Alberta, Canada.

A common theme in joining the IHRA has been the commitment to grassroots, sportsman racing through the IHRA Summit SuperSeries as Tim Cunningham, general manager of Beacon Dragway, Paducah, Kentucky, explained.

“It’s a wonderful program,” Cunningham said. “IHRA is more keyed to the work all week, and then go race on the weekend type guy. Not everybody can be a John Force. We’re well pleased with our program for the bracket series.”

Other tracks which have come on board include Crossville Dragway, located right off Interstate 40 in Tennessee, Prescott Raceway in Arkansas and Pat’s Auto Supply Motorsports Park, Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada, which is run by the North Peace Bracket Racing Association.

Visit IHRA.com for a list of IHRA member tracks and links to different IHRA-sanctioned facilities both in North America and internationally.

American-Canadian Tour (ACT) officials have announced the 2018 Summer Showdown Series which features three $5,000-to-win events as part of the ACT Late Model Tour schedule.

The ACT Summer Showdown Series will be held at three different tracks in three New England states. The Summer Showdown Series kicks off with the Oxford 150 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, May 20. The $5,000-to-win event is part of an ACT/PASS doubleheader at the 3/8-mile oval.

The second event in the Summer Showdown Series will be the Waterford 150 at Connecticut’s New London–Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday, June 16. For the final event, the series will head to Barre, VT’s Thunder Road Speedbowl on Sunday, September 2, for the Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic 200.

In addition to the $5,000 winner’s purse, ACT has also posted a $5,000 bonus if anyone can win all three Summer Showdown Series events. In all, a driver would earn a total of $20,000 by sweeping the series.

“We think this will be a win for both teams and fans,” ACT Co-Owner Cris Michaud said. “It gives everybody something extra to race for even if they’re not in the championship hunt. That added intensity means more exciting action for the fans. And if someone wins the first two events, then who wouldn’t want to be at Thunder Road on Labor Day weekend to see if they can pull off the sweep?”

Each event in the series will also award points toward the 2018 ACT Late Model Tour championship. The ACT season opener will come to the grid at Lee USA Speedway on Sunday, April 15, with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150.

Stan Lester, founder of FASTRAK Companies International, will become the new director of operations of the Marietta, OH-based American Motor Racing Association (AMRA) sanctioning body for the 2018 season.

AMRA announced changes might be made to the schedule after Lester meets with track operators and teams. One possibility is adding an open wheel modified touring race at each of the AMRA-sanctioned tracks.

“Adding the open wheel modified touring races is the only thing I want to do different in 2018,” Lester said. “I want to reiterate that we aren’t here to make wholesale changes, but to listen, learn, and help this season.”

AMRA also announced drivers would be able to obtain weekly points when they come compete with the ULTIMATE Mid-Ohio Valley Super Late Model Series, a partnership that was solidified earlier this year.

The addition of FASKTRAK’s Lester means that AMRA members are now able to receive $100,000 in participant accident medical insurance through Mutual of Omaha.

For more information, contact Stan Lester at 706/567-6037 or sl@fastrakracing.com.

(Photo courtesy of Nikon Metrology).

Roush Yates Engines of Mooresville, North Carolina, and Nikon Metrology of Brighton, Michigan, announced a multi-year technical partnership program.

With the new agreement, Nikon will provide precision equipment and metrology solutions to the engine builder.

“We are very excited to be partnering with one of the most respected engine builders in the motorsports industry,” Nikon Metrology Marketing and Communications Manager Andy Stults said. “Roush Yates Engines provide the highest performance and most reliable engines for teams at the racetrack, as their winning record proves.”

Nikon’s LC15Dx laser scanner provides a 3D visualization of dimensional quality using color mapping. Nikon’s ESP3 technology also maintains accuracy, speed and data quality by adapting the laser settings in real-time, which is said to improve efficiency and part quality data accuracy.

The iNEXIV vision system was also added to the Roush Yates Engines lineup of inspection equipment. This CNC video measuring system is ideal for both large and tall mechanical parts and uneven surfaces, in addition to providing a broader XYZ measurement range, which is said to be suitable for analyzing complex geometry engine components.

“These advanced capabilities allow our team the ability to measure and analyze a larger array of parts, each with varying geometry and materials, with a single piece of equipment,” Roush Yates Engines Quality Manager Chad Johnson said.

(Photo of Rick Wetherbee, left, and Michael Newcome, right, courtesy of Crossville Dragway).

Crossville Dragway, a 1/8-mile track in Crossville, Tennessee, has been purchased by Michael Newcome and Rick Wetherbee earlier this month.

Officials have posted a partial racing schedule for the 2018 season to its website, with a full racing schedule to come at a later date. The track is set to host a number of special events, including heads up racing, bracket racing and a points series.

With plans to upgrade the facility throughout the year, officials also announced that previous race director Charlie Paterson would return for bracket racing events this year.

Newcome and Wetherbee’s family members will also work at the track, filling various roles.

Visit here for Crossville Dragway’s current 2018 schedule, and check back for updates.

Track officials also announced they are hiring experienced workers for the track. Contact the Crossville at info@crossvilledragway.com or 931/210-6607 for more information.

Ford Performance announced the new Bob Glidden “85/10” Award, which will be presented to the Ford drag racer who best epitomizes the grit and determination of the hall of fame racer during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, each December.

Legendary drag racer Bob Glidden was known for a lot of things—his 85 NHRA victories, 10 NHRA championships, 122 final round appearances and nine US Nationals titles.

But one of the things the Ford racing icon was best known for was his work ethic - the grit and determination of he and his Glidden Family Racing team that made he, his wife Etta, and sons Bill and Rusty, legends in the sport of drag racing.

The new award to be presented by Ford Performance Parts comes just a few months after the drag racing legend passed away at the age of 73.

The “85/10” symbolizes Glidden’s Pro Stock victories and championships in NHRA competition during his career.

“Bob Glidden represented a great era in the sport of drag racing,” said Edsel B. Ford II, member, Ford Motor Company board of directors. “And that era featured hard-working racers who often had nothing but a great desire to succeed. Bob was a former Ford dealership mechanic from a small town in Indiana who, along with his wife and sons, took the family racing and through sheer determination, innovation and hard work, changed the face of Pro Stock racing.

“Even with all the wins and records, Bob never forgot his Indiana roots, and the grit and determination it took for him to succeed. He was a Ford racing legend, and we will always be grateful for the way he represented us in the sport.”

A distinguished panel of experts, including Glidden’s son Bill and Race Series leaders, will review Ford drag racers each year, with final nominees announced at the SEMA Show in November, and an award winner selected and announced at the PRI Show in December.

Mountain Creek Speedway, a 1/7-mile oval dirt track in Catawba, North Carolina, will be promoting the Clash at the Creek for Outlaw Karts during NASCAR Speedweeks in Charlotte this May.

The Clash at the Creek at Mountain Creek Speedway, located just outside of Mooresville, N.C., will be held May 20-21. The event features a $2,000-to-win main event for open cars as well as $150 guaranteed for feature starters. There will also be a $500-to-win intermediate feature.

Mountain Creek Speedway has been in operation for approximately 40 years as primarily a private, club-based facility hosting various flat kart events. This year promoter Adam Stewart wants to help grow the track’s presence in the region, which ran a partial schedule last fall and plans to run a full karting schedule in 2018.

“[Mountain Creek Speedway] is a 1/7-mile, v-shaped oval. It’s more of a drivers track—not a ‘cookie cutter’ one—because it is more in the hands of the driver as it’s not just a perfect oval. We’re almost like Richmond [Raceway]. This year we invested heavily into it, including putting up a new wall,” Stewart told PRI.

“The biggest thing we promote is that people get lap times, we don’t rush it,” Stewart continued. “But it’s also all about the kids. We are focused on the kids' classes, keeping them safe, but most importantly letting them learn to race.”

The Clash at the Creek will feature support division competition on May 20 for beginners and box stock teams with the opportunity for open practice by intermediate and open drivers. The schedule on May 21 is feature-contest oriented, with practice and qualifications for opens and intermediates followed by heats, consolation races and features. The race’s format will use traditional time trials and heats, with the top racers from each qualifying heat advancing to Monday night’s feature.

The event will be broadcast online via www.pitrow.tv.

Once open, online entries will be accepted for the event at a further date. Visit here for more information.

American-Canadian Tour (ACT) officials have announced plans to test the Chevrolet CT350 GM 602 crate engine in select events during the 2018 racing season in order to evaluate it for future use in ACT competition.

A car using the 350-horsepower GM 602 power plant will enter several ACT Late Model Tour events during the first part of the season. The testing will be performed by a team that does not typically compete on the Tour.

“This is mainly about exploring our engine options moving forward,” ACT co-owner Cris Michaud said. “It could lead to the 602 becoming an approved option. It could also lead to nothing. But you need good data in order to make those decisions. The best way to get that data is to have the engine on the track during ACT racing conditions.”

The GM 602 is one of numerous crate racing engines offered by Chevrolet. Their engines are used by tracks and touring series throughout the US.

In related news, ACT’s sister tour Serie ACT has announced the Quebec-based Late Model series will compete during the GP3R schedule on August 10–12, 2018, sharing the weekend with the NASCAR Pinty Series.

The 1.53-mile temporary street circuit is made up of 10 turns. This will be the first time the American-Canadian Tour Late Models competed on a road course in its 27-year history.

The highlight of the weekend will take place Sunday, August 12, and will feature 41 laps.