Nissan is set to become the first Japanese automotive brand to compete in the FIA Formula E Championship, joining the electric street racing series in season five.

Nissan joins an increasing number of car brands that are inking their name on the Formula E racing series, such as Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Jaguar and Mahindra.
 
The move to participate in Formula E provides Nissan with a global platform to spread the message of Nissan Intelligent Mobility—the company’s three-pillar strategy to re-define how its vehicles are driven, powered and integrated into society, according to a release from the company.
 
“To have a name like Nissan coming on board is a momentous day for the series. Not only is it great to welcome a new manufacturer to the Formula E family—it’s great to see our first Japanese manufacturer entering the frame, showing truly how global the electric revolution is,” Alejandro Agag, Founder & CEO of Formula E, said.

Officials of the Race Track Business Conference (RTBC) 2017 have released the agenda for its Dec. 6 gathering at the Indiana Convention Center, in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show.

With eight cutting-edge presentations from leading industry professionals, RTBC-2017 will provide attendees with an outstanding overview of the current status of motorsports—on and off the track.

Sessions covered include legal/risk management, fan engagement, motorsports tourism, data analytics, video technology, ticketing revenue, media, "Esports" and more.

The event will be held just prior and in conjunction with the PRI Trade Show, the centerpiece event of Race Industry Week 2017. PRI 2017 runs from Dec. 7–9 at the Indiana Convention Center. Featuring over 3000 booths of new racing technology, the PRI Show draws 40,000 buyers from across all 50 states and 70 countries.

The cost to attend RTBC-2017 is $250. This cost includes lunch and access to the PRI Trade Show. Additional information can be found at www.racetrackbusinessconference.com.

The CARS Tour announced the 2018 schedules for both the Super Late Model (SLM) Tour and the Late Model Stock Car (LMSC) Tour during a press conference at South Boston along with several incentive programs.

For the first time in CARS Tour history, the SLM and LMSC Tours will not run identical schedules, as the Late Model Stock Car Tour will run 12 races in 2018, while the Super Late Model Tour will only run nine races.

The CARS Tour will also venture to five new tracks in 2018. The LMSC Tour will make stops at Wake County Speedway, Ace Speedway, Carteret County Speedway and Kingsport Speedway for the first time while the SLM Tour will travel to Fairgrounds Speedway for the first time.

Changes to the purses in both divisions were also announced. The CARS LMSC Tour purse will be increased by 12 percent in 2018, with the average purse for each race being $32,450 (in comparison to the $28,875 spread out amongst a field of 28 drivers in 2017). A driver who wins a CARS LMSC Tour race in 2018 will earn $6000 instead of $5000, and any driver who starts a race will automatically earn $700.

Four races in the SLM Tour will award $10,000 to the winner of the event, which will be the races at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Anderson Motor Speedway, the Mid-Atlantic Classic, and a race that has yet to be announced for May 20, 2018.

The CARS Tour also announced the Touring Twelve program for the LMSC Tour, which is a loyalty program that will consist of twelve Late Model teams that plan to compete in every points event for the 2018 season, earning reduced entry fees, higher earnings after each race, discounted Hoosier tires and more.

2018 CARS Tour Schedule
March 3—Tri-County Speedway—Hudson, NC—Open Practice/SRI Performance Media Day
March 10—Tri-County Speedway—Hudson, NC—LMSC $10,000 to win
March 24—Myrtle Beach Speedway—Myrtle Beach, SC—SLM $10,000/LMSC
April 7—Fairgrounds Speedway—Nashville, TN—SLM w/CRA and SSS
April 7—Wake County Speedway—Raleigh, NC—LMSC
April 21—Mid-Atlantic Classic—Rougemont, NC—SLM $10,000/LMSC
May 5—Hickory Motor Speedway—Hickory, NC—SLM/LMSC
May 20—TBA—TBA—SLM $10,000/LMSC
June 9—Ace Speedway—Altamahaw, NC—LMSC
June 9—Anderson Motor Speedway—Williamston, SC—SLM w/SSS $10,000
June 23—Carteret County Speedway—Swansboro, NC—LMSC
July 14—Kingsport Speedway—Bloomingdale, TN—LMSC
August 4—Throwback 276—Hickory, NC—SLM/LMSC
Sept 8—Orange County Speedway—Rougemont, NC—SLM/LMSC
Oct 13—South Boston Speedway—South Boston, VA—SLM/LMSC

Hart Marx Advisors, a consulting firm serving the automotive and heavy-duty industries in the mergers and acquisitions arena, has further expanded its coast-to-coast reach with a new office location in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

“We felt it was important for Hart Marx Advisors to establish a location in the heart of the automotive and commercial vehicle supplier industries as we continue to expand services,” said Devin Hart, managing partner and industry veteran. “The move enables us to serve our clients across multiple time zones and for all channels of the OEM and aftermarket.”

The new office space, located at 43700 Woodward Ave., Suite 106, spans 2800 square feet and will house Hart Marx Advisors alongside sister company Marx Group, a full-service marketing communications agency specializing in the automotive and trucking industries.

Hart Marx Advisors currently operates offices in California and Florida with advisory board members located in the U.K. and throughout North America.

Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. will acquire Warn Industries, Inc., the designer, manufacturer and marketer of performance vehicle equipment and accessories, as announced by Keystone owners LKQ Corporation.

Warn, wholly owned by Dover Corporation, holds over 130 patents and offers a product line of truck, Jeep and other off-road accessories.

“Warn’s leadership position and premium iconic brand offer our Specialty Products Group the ability to drive our long-term strategy of growing our core markets and developing viable points of entry into adjacent markets,” said Bill Rogers, Vice President and General Manager of Keystone. “LKQ and Warn will be committed to the [continuous] delivery of great value to our customers and to [grow] our combined businesses to higher levels.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Aeromotive Inc. has announced a new management position with the addition of Jeff Stacy as the company’s vice president.

Stacy has banked a total of six years with the manufacturer, starting with the company in 2004 after an 11-year career with Automotive Performance Wholesalers (APW) in Kansas City.

Stacy later went on to work for Fragola Performance Systems/ FK Rod Ends as President of Sales & Marketing, as well as at R&R Marketing Consultants, Inc. as a Sales Director, before rejoining the Aeromotive team earlier this month as a sales manager.

Stacy will report directly to President Steve Matusek and is working from the company’s headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas.

“[Jeff’s] extensive industry knowledge, years of experience and his innate understanding of Aeromotive’s business culture will serve him well as he takes on this new leadership position,” Aeromotive President Steve Matusek said.

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE), a marketer and promoter of sports and live entertainment experiences, announced the promotion of Louis F. Partenza to President and Chief Executive Officer.
 
Partenza joined IRGSE as the Chief Financial Officer in June 2015 and has served as interim CEO since May 2017.
 
"I am honored and excited to assume the role of President and CEO," said Partenza. "I look forward to working with the Board to grow the IRGSE family of companies and continue to drive our industry presence and deliver greater value to our customers, fans and sponsors."
 
During his career, he has helped lead a diverse set of companies on strategy, operations and finance and has a significant background in executive leadership within the sports industry.
 
Prior to joining IRGSE, Partenza was the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the NHL's Florida Panthers, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment and the BB&T Center.

IRGSE’s portfolio includes the motorsports facilities of Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR), Memphis International Raceway (MIR), Maryland International Raceway (MDIR) and Cordova International Raceway (CIR). The company also owns and operates the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), International Drag Bike League (IDBL) and Palm Beach Driving Club (PBDC).

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) and Mazda have jointly announced that the Mazda Miata Heritage Cup championship will return for a second season in 2018.

The competing vehicles are first generation 1.6 to 1.8-liter spec Miatas (1990 to 1997 vintage) and will compete in a six-race points championship. An additional non-championship event will be held at the October 5–7 "Slaying the Dragon" Hill Climb in Robbinsville, N.C.

“It was clear to me this year that the Miata drivers were all about prepping their cars to car show quality, but also racing them hard. The Mazda Miata Heritage Cup is working exactly as we hoped by opening vintage racing to young drivers with a price point more affordable than just about any category of serious auto racing,” said Tony Parella, SVRA President and CEO.

Parella, who competed in the April SVRA Miata race at Auto Club Speedway, stresses how racy and fun the Miatas are. He also notes that numerous vintage garages across America offer aspiring drivers car rental and crew service agreements as low as $2,000 for a weekend.

The six-race Heritage Cup championship will take place at Savannah's Roebling Road (February 16–18), Road Atlanta (March 28–31), Auto Club Speedway (April 27–29), Road America (May 17–20), Mid-Ohio (June 21–24), and Virginia International Raceway (20–23).

The Miata races were well received by SVRA racers in 2017. The Mid-Ohio and VIR events had more than 20 entries and SVRA officials expect even larger fields in 2018.

Longtime Indianapolis 500 car entrant Rolla Vollstedt, perhaps best remembered for bringing Janet Guthrie to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1976 as the first female to be entered for the Indianapolis 500, died Sunday in Portland, Oregon. He was 99.

Vollstedt was a high-profile member of the board of directors for the United States Auto Club (USAC) who served as USAC’s car entrant representative from the late 1960s until the 1980s.

Although he had fielded a National Championship car (now Indy car) in some late-season dirt track events with driver Len Sutton in 1955 and ‘56, it was not until the summer of 1963 that Vollstedt first brought a car to Indianapolis. This was one of the first American-built rear-engine cars to house a normally aspirated Offenhauser engine, and with Sutton driving in summer tire tests, it kept exceeding the official track record, eventually flirting with an unofficial 155-mph run in March 1964.

Sutton qualified the car for the 1964 Indy 500 and was running fourth when a magneto failed after 140 laps.

After a dozen years of fielding drivers like Billy Foster, Cale Yarborough, Dick Simon, Tom Bigelow, Arnie Knepper, Larry Dickson, Denny Zimmerman and others, Vollstedt made headlines in 1976 by providing a car for Guthrie.

Although mechanical issues forced the team to withdraw the car before Guthrie could make a qualifying attempt, the following year she qualified with the 18th-fastest speed overall and the fastest of the entire final weekend. Guthrie managed only 27 laps of the race before a timing gear broke, but history was made.

For more on the colorful, ground-breaking car owner, visit the IndyCar website here.

Racing historian Melissa Bleier and digital development pioneer Michael Verlatti Jr. have been named to the board of directors of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Bleier, who resides in Port Costa, Calif., explored the heritage of short tracks and speedways and their impact on America’s cultural landscape in her 2009 master’s thesis, “Don’t They Just Turn Left?”

She has published numerous articles, is author of her blog and was a speaker at the 2010 annual conference of the North American Society for Sport History.

Bleier currently has two book projects underway: a biography of Harold Brasington, builder of Darlington Raceway in South Carolina and a history of west coast racing as defined by the career of Ken Clapp, a retired NASCAR senior executive who oversaw 19 race tracks and presented in excess of 5,000 single-day events in a 50-year career and chair of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Verlatti Jr. is a native of San Francisco now residing in Charlotte, N.C. His father, Mike Verlatti, served for many years as a NASCAR official and holds membership on the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame’s board.

Following a hands-on career as a NASCAR official, Verlatti Jr. founded Traction Event Labs, which delivers event technology and activation to partners and consumers in the racing industry.

Verlatti Jr. worked with partners to design the nation’s largest mobile screen with tailored video content, a widget wall and interactive games for The Sprint Unlimited Experience that accompanied NASCAR’s premier racing series.

Traction has provided digital services to NASCAR, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Sprint and created a custom app that streamlined presentation of NASCAR’s business-to-business events.