There's still time to join industry leaders as they gather to discuss and debate topics facing motorsports facilities at the annual Race Track Business Conference, held in conjunction with the 2017 PRI Trade Show.

The day-long program on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, in Rooms 201-203 of the Indiana Convention Center includes presentations and panels by racing professionals offering practical insights into complex issues.

Sign up to attend RTBC-2017 and learn about these topics and more:

 * Sports Tourism and Education
 * Fan Engagement
 * Sanction Risk Management
 * Sponsorship Data Analytics
 * Keynote: Jay Frye (President, IndyCar)
 * Esports
 * Ticketing Revenue
 * Video Technology
 * Legal Update
 * Media

There is a fee to attend the RTBC, which includes lunch and program materials. To register or for more information, visit www.racetrackbusinessconference.com or call 847/853-0294.

Attendees at the 30th Anniversary Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show will discover the latest in machining and trailer offerings as more than 100 manufacturers showcase and demonstrate their newest equipment in the Machinery Row and Trailer Exhibit areas. Taking place December 7-9, 2017, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, the industry’s premier motorsports trade show features everything race professionals need to succeed and compete.
 
Machinery Row features aisles filled with the latest shop machining equipment, cutters and abrasives, and fabricating equipment from leading manufacturers. Attendees will see firsthand how they can enhance their cutting, honing, surfacing, fabricating, and welding efforts through live demonstrations on actual race parts, and will be able to meet with vendors, ask questions, and share information. It’s a must-see for any professional race team, race engine builder, or race fabricator planning on making a machinery purchase or wishing to keep up with the latest machining trends.
 
Just outside the Convention Center doors, Georgia and Maryland streets and Capitol Avenue are lined with companies exhibiting their trailer, motorcoach, hauler, and toterhome lineups for some of the best side-by-side shopping of race trailers anywhere. The Trailer Exhibit areas make it possible to get an up-close look at the different transportation options, and easily compare available features and technology. Attendees can also meet with representatives of trailer companies in their booths inside the Convention Center before viewing the trailers outside.
 
To view the floor plans for Machinery Row and the Trailer Exhibit areas, as well as the entire PRI Show, log on to www.pri2017.com/floorplan.  
 
The 2017 PRI Trade Show will feature over 1,100 companies exhibiting in more than 3,400 booths and showcasing the latest developments in auto racing technology. Tens of thousands of buyers from all 50 states and 70 countries will be on hand to conduct business, network, and discover innovative solutions to boost their bottom lines and racing programs for 2018 and beyond.
 
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 4. Numerous conferences, seminars and other special events will provide unlimited business opportunities and invaluable insights on the latest technologies and how to apply them throughout the racing world.
 
To register for the 2017 PRI Trade Show, log on to www.pri2017.com/register.

PRI Trade Show exhibitor ProMedia Events (Booth 1632) has announced it is working with several major partners to produce the exclusive 50th Anniversary Cobra Jet Reunion at its NMCA All-American Nationals event at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, August 23-26, 2018.

Presented by TascaParts.com, this event is open to all Ford vehicles powered by the Cobra Jet engine combination. Cobra Jet vehicles, including Mustangs, Shelbys, Fairlanes, Cougars, Torinos, Cyclones/Montegos, and Rancheros (all tributes/replicas permitted), will invade the Buckeye State in celebration of their legacy, from 1968 to present, with activities that include a huge Cobra Jet car show, vintage and modern Cobra Jet drag racing, invited celebrities from the '60s to today, and a special Friday celebration dinner for vehicle owners, Cobra Jet royalty, sponsors, media, and fans.

For more, visit www.NMCAdigital.com and www.RacePagesDigital.com.

Série ACT, the Canadian touring series operating under the American-Canadian Tour, will contest a nine-race schedule at three different tracks next season.

Série ACT will kick off its 14th season on Sunday, May 20, by making its first of four visits to Autodrome St. Eustache. The four-tenths-mile oval is located just north of Montreal. The series will return to St. Eustache on July 7, Aug. 18 and Sept. 23.

Autodrome Montmagny, located in Montmagny, 45 minutes east of the Quebec city bridges, will host four races as well. The three-eighths-mile oval will host events on June 9, June 24, July 21 and Sept. 1.

After a year absence from the calendar, Autodrome Chaudiere will return to the Série ACT schedule with an event on July 28.
 
“The drivers and spectators had asked for more events than we did in 2017. We listened,” said Marc Patrick Roy, the managing director for Série ACT. “Also, I am pleased to say that our schedule is harmonized with the ACT Late Model Tour. A driver, if he wanted to, could race in 18 events in 2018. But the planning work for 2018 is not finished. We need to complete our sponsorship deals and while we do that, we also continue to work on the possibility of having a 10th event on the schedule. More news will be released prior to the New Year as it becomes available.”

Jake Schmidtlein, the general manager for Heartland Park Topeka, has announced that the facility will be changing its name to Heartland Motorsports Park, effective immediately.

As part of the rebranding, the organization has also unveiled a new logo and redesign of its website.

“As we continue to grow and improve Heartland Motorsports Park we want our name and logo to emphasize our position as one of the premier motorsports facilities in the United States,” said Schmidtlein.

Heartland Park Topeka, first opened in 1989, features an NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile drag strip, four-level sponsor suite tower, a newly surfaced 2.5 -mile road course with four different configurations, a three-eighths-mile banked clay oval, a 22-acre asphalt pad for autocross and drifting events and a new motocross track.

The paddock area provides access to private garages, asphalt parking and access roads as well as grass parking and camping areas that can be utilized for car shows, swap meets and other large footprint events.

The 2018 season will mark the third year of ownership of the facility for Shelby LLC.

At its annual awards banquet, Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) President, Tim Bertrand, released the club’s 2018 schedule to the membership as he recapped the 2017 season. Thirteen combined NEMA/NEMA Lite shows, and four “Lites Only” shows highlight a season that brings NEMA back to many of its familiar, historic “haunts.”

“We plan to play off of the success that we had in the 2017 season, as a club. We had strong car counts in the 30-35 range every week, with a season-high of nearly 50 cars at the Boston Louie event,” said club President, Bertrand. “I see us only continuing to gain momentum for 2018. We’ve got a number of new teams coming into the Lite series, and continue to see our car counts improve with the NEMA division,” said Bertrand.

2018 Northeastern Midget Association Combined (NEMA & NEMA Lites) Schedule
April 7: Thompson Speedway (Lites Only)
May 5: New London-Waterford Speedbowl (NEMA & Lites)
May 19: Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. (Lites Only)
June 2: Wiscasset Speedway, Wiscasset, Me. (NEMA & Lites)
June 9: Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead, N.Y. (NEMA & Lites)
June 13: Thompson Speedway (Lites Only)
June 16: Star Speedway (Butch Walsh Memorial), Epping, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)
June 27: Seekonk Speedway (Boston Louie), Seekonk, Mass. (NEMA & Lites)
July 14: Monadnock Speedway (Scrivani Memorial), Winchester, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)
July 21: Star Speedway (Rifchin Memorial), Epping, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)
July 28: New London-Waterford Speedbowl (O’Brien Memorial) (Lites Only)
Aug. 8: Thompson Speedway (NEMA Only)
Aug. 11: New London-Waterford Speedbowl (Angelillo Memorial (NEMA & Lites)
Sept. 1: Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. (Lites Only)
Sept. 8: Wiscasset Speedway (Extra Distance Event), Wiscasset, Me. (NEMA & Lites)
Sept. 15: New London-Waterford Speedbowl (NEMA & Lites)
Oct. 13-14: Thompson Speedway (Shane Hammond Memorial) (NEMA Saturday, Lites Sunday)
Oct. 20-21: New London-Waterford Speedbowl (NEMA & Lites)

Get a glimpse of Brad Keselowski's Talladega race-winning Ford FR-9 engine, built by Roush Yates Engines, in Booth #1256 during the 2017 PRI Trade Show.

Starrett and Roush Yates are also offering booth visitors a chance to win a Nascar Racing Experience, or suite passes to the Daytona 500 or a Roush Yates Engines facility tour with pit passes for Charlotte Races. (More information here).

"We are thrilled to offer our hearty congratulations to Brad Keselowski for winning another Talladega Race, and are extremely proud that Roush Yates used Starrett precision measuring tools to build the high performance winning engine," said Jim Taylor, Vice President of Operations for Starrett.

This event is among the scores of drivers and racing industry VIPs that will be at the 2017 PRI Trade Show taking place Thursday, December 7, through Saturday, December 9, in Indianapolis, Indiana. To see a complete list of the PRI Guest Appearances, visit here.

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE), a promoter of sports and live entertainment experiences, announced today that Mike Dunn has been named senior consultant for the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).
 
An accomplished figure in drag racing, Dunn served as IHRA President from Feb. 2016 until moving to this new position. The change allows him to pursue other interests outside of the sport while continuing to serve as a trusted advisor to IHRA management and officials with the sanctioning body recently re-affirming its commitment to grassroots, Sportsman racing.
 
The son of legendary racer "Big Jim" Dunn, the Southern California native is one of only four drivers to win 10 or more races in both Top Fuel dragsters and Nitro Funny Cars. After retiring as a driver with 22 national-event victories in 2002, Dunn served as a drag racing analyst for the ESPN family of networks for 15 years including his time with IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship last season.
 
"After so many years of following 20-some races per year as a driver and then in television, this new opportunity gives me some time to look at different projects that I'm interested in, some with the IHRA and some outside of racing," Dunn said. "I thank IRGSE for giving me the opportunity to be IHRA President for two years and to remain as a consultant for the IHRA and IRG properties while I pursue some other opportunities."
 
"With his varied experience in the sport as a driver, mechanic, team owner, television analyst and executive, Mike provides the IHRA with a unique insight into the sport," IRGSE CEO Lou Partenza said. "We wish him well in his pursuit of new endeavors, but we also are happy that he has agreed to remain a valuable member of the IRGSE team."

Julian Maha, a Birmingham physician and founder of an organization that works to improve the lives of children with autism, was announced as the winner of The NASCAR Foundation’s Seventh Annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Presented by Nationwide on Thursday night, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at Wynn Las Vegas.

Maha, from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, was chosen via an online fan vote conducted on NASCAR.com. He is the award-winning founder of KultureCity, the cutting-edge organization that also seeks to educate society regarding the inclusion of autistic children. In addition to the award, KultureCity received a $100,000 donation from the foundation, NASCAR’s charitable arm.

The award honors the philanthropic ideals and vision of the late Betty Jane France, who started The NASCAR Foundation in 2006. It is annually presented to a NASCAR fan who embodies those ideals through their own service in the community.

KultureCity — which has been named a Top-10 Non-Profit by Microsoft and the Top Non-Profit in Alabama — estimates that under Maha’s leadership, the organization has impacted the lives of more than 100,000 autistic children.

Maha also is a proud NASCAR fan as he lives just a short drive from Talladega Superspeedway, according to NASCAR.

This year’s three award finalists’ (Shannon Goldwater, Tammy Richardson and Chante Gonzalez Vido) charities each received $25,000 from The NASCAR Foundation.

American-Canadian Tour (ACT) officials have announced a 10-event schedule for the ACT Late Model Tour.

As has been custom in recent years, the season is scheduled to open with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. on Sunday, April 15. The series will then head to Vermont’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl on Sunday, April 29 for the 20th Community Bank 150.

Thunder Road is one of three tracks that will host two ACT Late Model Tour events in 2018. ACT will return to Thunder Road on Sunday, Sept. 2 for the 40th Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic 200.

Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway will hold a pair of 150-lap ACT events, which will be the third and eighth events on the schedule. The first event is scheduled for Sunday, May 20, while the second event will be run on Saturday, Aug. 25 as part of Oxford 250 Weekend.

New Hampshire’s Speedway 51 will be the third track to hold two ACT events next season. The Caron Fabrication 151 will be held on Saturday, June 2 followed by the J.P. Sicard Inc. & Kingdom Gravel 151 on Saturday, July 14.

2018 ACT Late Model Tour Schedule
April 15 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H.
April 29 – Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, Vt.
May 20 – Oxford Plains Speedway – Oxford, Maine
June 2 – Speedway 51 – Groveton, N.H.
June 16 – New London-Waterford Speedbowl – Waterford, Conn.
July 14 – Speedway 51 – Groveton, N.H.
Aug. 4 – White Mountain Motorsports Park – North Woodstock, N.H.
Aug. 25 – Oxford Plains Speedway – Oxford, Maine
Sept. 2 – Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl – Barre, Vt.
Oct. 13 – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, Conn.