The Hamilton County Fair in Webster City, Iowa, has inked an agreement with TTMM Promotions, LLC, of Webster City to operate weekly and special event promotions at the historic Hamilton County Speedway.

TTMM Promotions is operated by Todd and Janet Staley of Webster City. The Staleys have been involved with the Hamilton County Speedway since 1974 when Todd, who lived near by the track, worked the back of the water truck for promoter Don Cryder. Todd Staley worked for several promoters throughout his life including John Allison, Butch Weber, Bill Rice and the late Howard Mellinger, doing everything from track maintenance to head flagman.

Under the new agreement, TTMM Promotions will take over the weekly racing event promotions of the Hamilton County Speedway and will partner with the Hamilton County Fair for five nights of events during the annual Hamilton County Fair, July 25-29.

In addition to a solid schedule of events, this season will feature one of the area’s most generous weekly payouts for racers and a points fund awarding drivers at year’s end that will reward them handsomely for their hard work throughout the season.

Webster City husband and wife Brad and Sarah Ratcliff will share the General Manager duties for the track, and will be in charge of the operations of the speedway for the weekly racing program.

Opening night for the 2018 season is scheduled for Saturday, April 21 with the regular season finale on Saturday, Aug. 25, before wrapping up the schedule with the return of the Fall Futurity on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29.

The complete 2018 schedule of events will be revealed shortly.

For more information, visit www.hamiltoncospeedway.com.

MAHLE Aftermarket has announced MAHLE Performance rings, a new brand and a further step in the strategy of MAHLE Aftermarket to offer all performance products in a specialized product category.

MAHLE Performance rings have been available through Farmington Hills, Michigan-based MAHLE Aftermarket Inc., and are now offered in a new performance package, making it easier for MAHLE customers to stock and sell the line, according to the company. The part numbers will not change and coverage continues to grow.

According to MAHLE, SAE9254 steel is the base material for most compression rings, allowing HVOF coatings and PVD coatings to be applied as the application requires. This also enables MAHLE to offer advanced designed second rings from this same steel.

“MAHLE has had the good fortune to have longstanding relationships with top racers to help develop this line,” says Jon Douglas, President of MAHLE Aftermarket North America. “We work closely with our MAHLE plants on product advancements and just as closely with top racers and performance engine builders so they can take advantage of the products we make.“

Added Douglas: “Piston rings are a core MAHLE product globally. The shift in branding to where we offer a ’MAHLE Performance piston ring’ is a component of the overall MAHLE Performance line of engine parts as a means of demonstrating our commitment to the racing and performance industry.”

For more information on MAHLE Aftermarket Inc., visit www.mahle-aftermarket.com.

On Volusia Speedway Park’s 50th anniversary, the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” has received a major facelift over the winter months. And when DIRTcar Nationals kicks off on February 6, racers and fans alike will benefit from over $300,000 of upgrades geared toward keeping them safe.

The bulk of the work done at Volusia Speedway Park went into securing the track’s perimeter with over 1200 feet of new catch fence, concrete retaining wall and guardrail.

Immediately following last year’s DIRTcar Nationals—in light of the unprecedented incidents that involved a pair of Sprint Cars clearing the existing catch fence in the pit area—speedway officials began exploring enhancements to provide a higher level of protection for both drivers and spectators.

“We have never before seen what we saw last year at the speedway,” said DIRTcar Racing President Tom Deery. “Everyone agreed that it required action, and we’ve certainly delivered. We’re excited to kick off the new season with the highest level of protection we have ever provided.”

The renovation project began with replacing 850 feet of guardrail from turn 1 to turn 2 with a new 46-inch high concrete retaining wall at the track’s edge. Built into the concrete wall sits a 17-foot catch fence with a two-foot kick out along the top. The new fence is comprised of two-by-four welded steel fence mesh and backed by a one-inch hex mesh with an additional half-inch square mesh along the bottom 30 inches. The entire fence is reinforced with steel cables running horizontally across the fence in 24- to 30-inch intervals.

Continuing the project into turns 3 and 4, a length of 386 feet of steel guardrail has been replaced or rebuilt. New posts have been embedded every six feet for added support. Atop the 60-inch guardrail (consisting of five 12-inch steel bands) sits another 12-foot catch fence.

In addition to the measures taken to increase safety, visitors will notice new signage throughout the facility. A retro look and feel celebrates 50 years of racing at the Barberville, Florida, racetrack, while helping race fans and competitors better navigate the area.

For more information on Volusia Speedway Park, visit www.VSPRacing.com.

Roush Yates Engines has announced that it has reached an extension agreement with longtime partner MAHLE Aftermarket Inc., building on a 14-year relationship.

“MAHLE has been with us since the beginning,” said Doug Yates, President & CEO, Roush Yates Engines. “We have collaborated on numerous projects over the past 14 years, developing the best products and results in the industry. MAHLE always strives to be the best in the industry making them a very valuable partner to Roush Yates Engines.”

The alliance between Roush Yates Engines and MAHLE was formed in 2004. Since then, MAHLE has been a vital contributor to the design and development of all Roush Yates Engines’ products.

Today, MAHLE products are an integral part of the Ford FR9 V8 NASCAR race engine, twin-turbo Ford EcoBoost V6 and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 road race engine, as well as the Roush Yates Engines RY45 V8 purpose-built engine, according to Roush officials.

MAHLE parts were essential in powering key Roush Yates Engines' wins last year in NASCAR and Road Racing, including the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona with the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team of Joey Hand, Dirk Müller and Sébastien Bourdais, says Roush officials.

Holley has announced that the LS Fest West (May 4–6) event preregistration is now open. This second-annual event was introduced in 2017 to go along with the popular Holley LS Fest set in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Slated for May 4–6 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, the three days will be broken into the following segments of racing: drag racing, drifting, autocross, show-and-shine, 3S Challenge, dyno challenge, off-road challenge, road course challenge, poker run and the Grand Champion, CHP Magazine High-Noon Shootout & Fastest Vette competitions.

The QA1 Autocross, Baer Brakes 3S Challenge and the Grand Champion competitions are each limited to the first 150 cars, so racers are encouraged to pre-register online.

Continuing for the second year are the Racepak Road Course Challenge and Off-Road Challenge events. The road course is set on the Las Vegas Speedway, while the Off-Road Challenge offers four different classes of truck and buggy racing.

The LS Fest West event website is currently up to date with all available information on the west coast event at this time, with Holley LS Fest (Bowling Green, KY) registration slated to go live later in the year.

Irwindale Speedway officials have announced that the Agoura Hills-based racer and business owner Tim Huddleston, along with Bob Bruncati and the Justice Brothers, will continue to produce Thursday Night Thunder on the drag strip and Weekly Racing Series events on the Half-Mile Speedway beginning February 1.

Officials announced in August 2017 that the "The Fastest Half Mile West of The Mississippi” and event facility in Irwindale, California, had set the final date of operation as January 31, 2018.

"We are excited to keep the amazing events of the past and bring new exciting shows to the families and fans that have joined us over the years," Tim Huddleston said. "Jim Cohan and 211 Entertainment were instrumental in this transition and I'm thankful they kept the track running the last five years."

Weekly Racing Series will take the green flag on March 10 with a full season schedule. The facility also remains available for studio and private rental. Stay tuned for additional announcements in coming weeks.

Thursday Night Thunder opens February 1 at 5 p.m. (Gates open at 4 p.m.). The first 500 attendees will receive a special promotional gift to “celebrate a new beginning,” say officials.

Irwindale Event Center includes Irwindale Speedway (banked, paved 1/3- and 1/2-mile oval tracks) and Irwindale Dragstrip (1/8-mile drag strip sanctioned by the NHRA).

CV Products announced its plans to appoint Motor State Distributing as the master distributor of its proprietary brands, including CV Racing Products, Xceldyne, X2 and XTS Timing Systems. 

“It was important that we found someone to satisfy the engine builders and racers needs on product lines we will no longer distribute effective Feb. 7. The Motor State team will do an excellent job to ensure our customers receive quality service and products. Our mutual goal is to take care of our loyal customers' needs,” President and CEO of CV Products Consolidated Steve Lineberger said.

CV will continue operations from its campus in Thomasville, North Carolina, with a keen focus on supplying quality manufacturing capabilities and engine-related products to the performance racing community, say officials.

Motor State Distributing, located in Watervliet, Michigan, services the racing and performance industry around the world.

CV and Motor State both agree that these respective programs will satisfy a common goal to provide continuous innovative product selection with superior customer service support, according to officials.

Five NASCAR icons—two drivers, a crew chief/owner, an engine builder/owner and a broadcaster—were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, during an induction ceremony held in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates make up the ninth class of The NASCAR Hall of Fame, which now holds 45 inductees.

A pioneer of the sport, Red Byron won the first NASCAR race at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1948. That year, he went on to win NASCAR’s first season championship in the NASCAR Modified division. The next season, Byron won NASCAR’s first Strictly Stock title—the precursor to today’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

In the 1990s, Ray Evernham guided Jeff Gordon to three championships in four seasons (1995, ’97, ’98). The pair collected a series-high 47 wins in the 1990s, taking the checkered flag in two Daytona 500s (1997, ’99). A skilled innovator, Evernham’s ‘Rainbow Warriors’ pit crew revolutionized the modern pit stop. He won 13 times as an owner and led the return of Dodge back to NASCAR in the 2000s.

Ron Hornaday boasts a record four Truck Series championships and won 51 races. He also tops the series annals with 158 top-five finishes. In 2009, Hornaday won five straight races, a feat matched by only two other drivers in NASCAR national series history.

Ken Squier is best known for calling the 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS, providing the play-by-play for the first live flag-to-flag coverage of “The Great American Race” – a moniker he coined. Following that event, Squier called races on CBS and TBS until 1997 before shifting to the studio as a host for NASCAR broadcasts until 2000. He founded MRN Radio in 1970.

A dual-threat, Robert Yates provided the engines that powered Bobby Allison to his 1983 championship and Richard Petty to his 200th win. He launched Robert Yates Racing in the 1980s. As an owner, he won three Daytona 500s and the 1999 premier series championship with Dale Jarrett. Overall, his team claimed 57 victories. Yates passed away last October from cancer.

In addition to the five inductees, honored as the fourth recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR was Jim France.

Before the Induction Ceremony, trailblazing motorsports journalist Norma ‘Dusty’ Brandel was awarded the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

For more complete biographies, including starts, wins and pole stats (when applicable), visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame website here.

The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) inducted eight persons into the SCCA Hall of Fame Saturday evening during the Awards Banquet that closed the 2018 SCCA National Convention.

The 2018 Hall of Fame class includes William C. Bradshaw, Peter Cunningham, Janet Guthrie, August Pabst, Dave Stremming and Loren Pearson, Bob Sharp and Dr. Dick Thompson.

These current inductees join 75 others in the Hall of Fame as those who have positioned the building blocks that elevated SCCA’s stature in the motorsports world for more than 70 years.

For short biographies on each of the eight inductees, visit here. SCCA Inducts Eight To HoF, Announces TT Nationals

During the 2018 SCCA National Convention, the SCCA also unveiled a new Time Trial Nationals event that joins the ranks of the National Championship Runoffs, Solo Nationals, RallyCross National Championship and Unites States Road Rally Challenge.

Scheduled to take place Sept. 28–30 at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Time Trial (TT) Nationals will open with a full day of track lapping sessions for testing and practice, or can be used for participants to earn their TT novice license permit.

The second day of TT Nationals will open with 20-minute seeding sessions followed by a traditional time attack.

For the final day of TT Nationals, each competitor will have multiple chances to put down their best time on the shortened segments of track.

For more information, including the list of those partnering with the SCCA for the TT Nationals, visit here.

The World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Late Model Series officials have updated the 2018 schedule with new additions to its 30th commemorative anniversary season.
 
"Our goal for 2018 was to develop a diverse schedule that covers a large geographic area in effort to serve dirt Late Model fans across the country," said Series Director Matt Curl. "With the addition of tracks, alongside a few updates to our schedule, we feel as though we have delivered."
 
The Outlaws will return to Lavonia (GA) Speedway for the first time since 2014 on May 3. This $10,000-to-win event will kick off a now three-day weekend through the South that includes Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC on May 4 and the much-anticipated Billy Clanton Classic on the unique gray gumbo of Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA on May 5.
 
Headlining the middle of June will be back-to-back nights in New York followed by a single night in Ohio. The previously scheduled event on Thursday, June 14 shifts to Stateline Speedway in Jamestown, NY followed by Ransomville Speedway on June 15 and Wayne County Speedway on June 16. The Series visit to Stateline Speedway will be their first return since 2013 when Series veteran Shane Clanton stole the checkers from a sixth place starting position.
 
The Series will make three stops in the state of Iowa between July and August, including the return of Dubuque Speedway for the first time since 2005 on July 6, Davenport Speedway on July 24, and Farley Speedway on Aug. 6.

To view the complete 2018 WoO LM schedule, visit here.