Four students were recognized for their accomplishment in technology and innovation as NASCAR and Chevrolet announced the winners of the third annual NASCAR Chevrolet Diversity Scholarship Contest Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
 
Four undergraduate students from across the country were awarded a total of $20,000 in scholarships and treated to a VIP experience at Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the AAA Texas 500. The winners were recognized during a press conference prior to the race.
 
The contest challenged students to identify a technology or innovation within NASCAR, then explain how Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) professionals came to its design in 90-second videos. Video submissions were judged on technical accuracy, creativity and production quality.
 
Cindy Yen, a sophomore at the University of Southern California, from Santa Monica, California, earned first place and a $10,000 scholarship.
 
University of Notre Dame freshman Weston Dell, from Frankfort, Illinois, won $5,000. University of Houston student Nima Desai from Houston, Texas, and Broward College freshman Nicole Forero, from Coral Springs, Florida, were awarded third and fourth place, respectively, earning $2,500 scholarships each.
 
"NASCAR is proud to work with Chevrolet and continue our longstanding commitment to STEM education by recognizing these tremendous students,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. "These four students were recognized from an outstanding pool of candidates, and it’s a testament to the continued engagement of students in the pursuit of science and technology careers in our sport.”
 
Before taking in the AAA Texas 500, the students had the chance to meet with 2017 NASCAR playoff drivers Jamie McMurray of Chip Ganassi Racing and Ryan Newman with Richard Childress Racing. Newman graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree.

The VIP experience also included pace car rides, garage and pit road tour, and a meet-and-greet with Chevrolet’s Monster Energy NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Program Manager Alba Colon.

Best in the Desert, the largest off-road race series in North America, announced that Scot Harden has joined the organization as Business Development/Marketing Director. Harden is an AMA Hall of Fame off-road desert racer, industry marketing executive and owner of Harden Offroad, a power sports consulting business.

The move is in response to the growth in entries and sponsors' engagement Best in the Desert has experienced over the past three years, according to the series.

“We are very fortunate as an organization to have so many highly regarded sponsors supporting our series. It’s a testament to the shared vision my father, Casey Folks created from the start for Best in the Desert and the companies who have partnered with us,” commented Daryl Folks co-owner of Best in the Desert.

Harden will work with Best in the Desert co-owner Bryan Folks and other key staff including Operations Mgr. Donald Jackson and Event Coordinator Liz Marshall to develop the marketing programs and initiatives to drive the business forward in the coming years.

Best in the Desert recently announced its 2018 “The American Off-Road Racing Series” event calendar kicking off with the GMZ UTV Winternationals Casey Folks Parker 250 Presented by Polaris on January 5th-6th, 2018 followed by seven other classic off-road events throughout 2018.

Teams competing in NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway in 2018 will utilize the same aerodynamic package that debuted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this season.

The move is one of the tweaks to the 2018 rules package released Wednesday to teams competing in the series.

The 2017 Indy-specific package included a taller rear spoiler, use of a restrictor plate (7/8th-inch) and aero ducts (similar to brake duct openings) in an attempt to lessen the aerodynamic advantage enjoyed by the lead car at the 2.5-mile track.

The XFINITY Series is scheduled to compete at Pocono on June 2, Michigan on June 9 and Indianapolis on Sept. 8 next season.

Other highlights to the ’18 package, several of which were announced previously, include:
• Flange-fit composite body — optional at all tracks except superspeedways

• Common flat splitter

• Use of same common radiator approved for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

• Reduction of brake cooling hoses, fans

• Single transmission rule enforced at all tracks except road courses

• Splitter height set at 4 inches at all venues, including superspeedways

On the safety front, the mandatory rollout of the enhanced vehicle chassis (EVC) has been changed to 2019 (new chassis required to certify with EVC beginning Nov. 20, 2017); and Incident Data Recorders will be vehicle powered next season. IDRs are currently powered by separate batteries.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) has announced the addition of Carbotech Performance Brake products to the competition brake offerings available from HPD to Honda Racing Line members.

Carbotech joins existing HPD partners Pagid and Wilwood in providing brake products to Honda and Acura racers.  

Focused primarily in the Touring Car categories, these partnerships feature applications for Honda Civics, Fits, and Accords, as well as many Acura models, in addition to series-specific brake products.

Carbotech and HPD have initially collaborated on the new line of Civic racing brake pads. Future plans for the partnership include affordable and effective brake parts for additional Honda and Acura models.

“We’re committed to providing the best Honda and Acura racing products to our Racing Line customers, and our in-house Honda Racing engineers ensure that they are developed, tested, and supported more extensively than any other available products,” said Jeff Barrow, Manager, HPD Commercial Motorsports. “We’re pleased to expand our offerings to Racing Line members to include these new and current brake products.”

Evergreen Speedway's historic 3/8-mile race track has been resurfaced for the first time in decades. The project is part of owners Doug and Traci Hobbs' plan to revive the facility.

"Since we took over the track in March of 2011, we’ve had a series of one-year, three-year and five-year projects. The 3/8 track has been on that list from the beginning. To accomplish a complete restoration project of the entire track has taken a lot of time, money and effort to do a top-notch job,” Doug Hobbs said.

The 3/8-mile track is one of the seven at the Evergreen Speedway, the only NASCAR facility in Washington.

“Tourism is vital to our cities and Snohomish County, of which Evergreen Speedway plays a major role. Special thanks to the Snohomish County Tourism Promotion Area who helped in part with support funds for this very expensive project,” Hobbs said.

One of the biggest changes for drivers will be the progressive banking on the 3/8-mile track. The banking is now evenly progressive with the increase from 10 degrees to 12 degrees in the middle of the turns.

Drivers will get their first view of the track this upcoming weekend as Evergreen Drift will have an open event Saturday. There will be an open Super Late Model tire and test session Saturday Night. On Sunday, an autocross event will take to the new surface.

The Southern Conference schedule has been finalized for the 2018 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour.

A total of four weekends, eight races in all, make up the schedule with one event in February, March, April and May.

All but one race weekend in the Southern Conference schedule are two-day events. The exception is the conference’s opening event at Circuit of The Americas, which has been moved up on the schedule this year by more than a full month.

A few Southern Conference events may be named Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour dates at a later time.

The calendar below is subject to change, but the schedule is currently comprised of the following:
– Feb. 2-4: Circuit of The Americas; Austin, Texas
– March 3-4: NOLA Motorsports Park; Avondale, La.
(Dual Southeast Conf./Southern Conf. Event)
– April 7-8: Hallett Motor Racing Circuit; Jennings, Okla.
(Dual Southern Conf./Mid-States Conf. Event)
– May 26-27: Motor Speedway Resort Houston; Angleton, Texas

Schedules for the remaining SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Conferences will be published as they are finalized. Again this year, both the U.S. Majors Tour and Hoosier Super Tour serve as pathways to the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs being held at Sonoma Raceway in California.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway (West Haven, VT) officials have announced a return to Sunday night racing in 2018 as the historic Vermont stock car racing facility undergoes the process of having its half-mile track converted from asphalt surface to natural clay.

“Devil’s Bowl has traditionally been a Sunday-night track, but lifestyles and priorities have changed so much that we really wanted to dig deep and see if Sunday was still manageable,” Devil’s Bowl Speedway promoter Mike Bruno said. “There was support for Saturday, but ultimately Sunday will be the best fit for the majority. However, we feel a responsibility to get everyone home at a decent hour in time for the Monday work day, and we will make a big effort to get our shows done in three hours or less.”

The decision to race on Sundays was reached after gathering information from more than 120 race teams and analyzing more than 1,500 responses from an online public survey of fans.

Among the time-saving plans are rotating schedules throughout the season, the elimination of heat races in exchange for extra-distance feature events, and a rotation of occasional off-weeks for select classes. In addition, a new format for victory lane ceremonies is expected to save up to 20 minutes each show.

The full season schedule and rule books will be announced at a later date.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway, located on Route 22A in West Haven, marks its eighth consecutive year hosting weekly racing under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner.

Driving 101, which operates the NASCAR Racing Experience, Richard Petty Driving Experience and Mario Andretti Racing Experience, announced it will consolidate the organizations and its operations to deliver the ultimate on-track fan experience at racetracks around the country.

Together, these three brands will create an even more powerful one, with more than 150 race cars, featuring open wheel and stock cars, and permanent locations throughout the country.

With the consolidation, NASCAR Racing Experience, Richard Petty Driving Experience and Mario Andretti Racing Experience will now be able to offer its customers more dates at more of the nation’s premier speedways.

The program will expand to Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a full-time operation offering 200 days a year with the addition of Mario Andretti Racing Experience and their fleet of full size, Indy-style race cars.

In addition, the consolidated experience will run at 19 nationwide speedways for NASCAR Racing Experience as well as expand to 15 nationwide speedways for Mario Andretti Racing Experience.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has announced Ford Performance will help fuel Bob Tasca III’s Mustang Funny Car for the 2018 NHRA drag racing season through the company’s investments in aerodynamics engineering, including racing and production vehicle wind tunnels.

Ford and its selected brands will sponsor Bob Tasca III and Tasca Racing for the entire season as the primary sponsor for 16 races, and as a co-sponsor, the rest of the season, building on the company’s legacy of drag racing that dates back to the start of the sport.

“The Tasca family has always been a pioneer in racing, and a leader in Ford vehicle and parts sales for many decades,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “This partnership will only serve to strengthen that legacy.”

During his decade as an NHRA Funny Car competitor, Tasca has four race wins, 11 finals appearances and qualified for the Countdown to the Championship three times. His career-best ET is 3.892 and his career best speed is 326.56 mph.

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns to premiere racing facilities for the 17th consecutive year in the upcoming 2018 season.

The season kicks off at Orlando Speed World Dragway, in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 23-24. During the year the series will feature doubleheader events at Heartland Park Topeka, Mission Raceway Park, Texas Motorplex and Rocky Mountain Raceways.

The series will also feature two stops at Woodburn Dragstrip in Woodburn, Ore. and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the season will conclude on Nov. 1-4.

The upcoming 2018 schedule will feature 44 divisional events with a minimum of six in each of the seven divisions. There will also be 26 regional events featuring the 260-mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes.

“The competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is intense at tracks across the country and showcases the racers during the course of a busy season,” said NHRA president Peter Clifford. “The Lucas family has long been a staunch proponent of the NHRA, the sportsman racers, and we appreciate their dedication.”

“We are pleased to once again express our support of the competitors across the country in the series,” said Morgan Lucas, senior vice president of sales and marketing of Lucas Oil. “Sportsman competitors are one of the keys to the success of NHRA drag racing and we look forward to the coming season.”

Bonus programs available to competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series include the $100,000 JEGS Allstars. Individual divisions will also have additional bonus programs available to racers.