WC Vision, producer of the Pirelli World Challenge, has announced its racing schedule for the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge Championships.

For 2018, the Pirelli World Challenge season will host at least 11 weekends throughout North America, including traditional venues like the Streets of St. Petersburg, Circuit Of The Americas (COTA), Streets of Long Beach, VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), Lime Rock Park, Road America and Utah Motorsports Campus.

In addition, two PWC weekends are set in July and September with dates and sites to be announced soon.

“After the success of this year’s Pirelli World Challenge SprintX and Sprint formats, several additional venues have inquired about hosting PWC races in 2018,” said Greg Gill, president and CEO of WC Vision. “We are excited to be back at most of our traditional tracks and dates but I think you might also see some other venues added to the PWC schedule. We are still in negotiations with additional sites and I will have more information soon.”

The complete class participation for each PWC weekend will be announced in the coming weeks as GT single-driver sprint events will continue to run in conjunction with the Verizon IndyCar Series weekends. The IndyCar Series venues are being determined for the Sprint races but currently include St. Petersburg (March 9-11), Long Beach (April 13-15) and Road America (June 22-24). All except Long Beach will be doubleheader weekends.

In the five PWC headliner races, COTA (March 24-26), VIR (April 27-29), Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (May 18-20), Lime Rock Park (May 25-26) and Utah Motorsports Campus (Aug. 10-12) feature all seven racing divisions.

The Pirelli World Challenge finale again will take place at legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Oct. 19-21. Working in conjunction with the popular European-based SRO Blancpain GT Series, the SRO Motorsports Group Intercontinental GT Challenge will include an eight-hour GT endurance contest with GT3 and GT4 machines and the Touring Car final doubleheader weekend.

For more, visit www.world-challenge.com.

Sonoma Raceway President and General Manager Steve Page recently testified before a key Congressional subcommittee, urging members to continue to allow street vehicles to be modified and converted for motorsports competition. Page joined a panel of experts to discuss “Big Relief for Small Business: Legislation Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Small Manufacturers and Other Job Creators.”   

Page testified on behalf of H.R. 350, the “Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2017” (RPM Act), which clarifies that under the Clean Air Act, it has always been legal to modify a street vehicle into a race car used exclusively at the track.

In his testimony to the subcommittee, Page said that the majority of the vehicles competing on his track began their lives as assembly-line vehicles that have been modified for the track. “These are cars, trucks and motorcycles that have given up their license plates and arrive and depart our facility on trailers.”

Page also cited an analysis conducted by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board that measured the regional economic impact of a single vintage race weekend at their facility to be nearly $2 million. He added that this activity takes place at Sonoma Raceway, and at hundreds of other tracks across the country, on a regular basis. The industry as a whole employs thousands nationwide and contributes billions to the nation’s economy each year.

“The EPA now defines a majority of our customers as law-breakers,” Page said. “Given the agency’s policy, a clarification to the law is absolutely needed. The RPM Act simply makes clear that converting a motor vehicle into a dedicated race vehicle does not violate the law. Further, it restores the original intent of the Clean Air Act that the law applies to motor vehicles used on our roads and highways and not to race vehicles.”

Countering opposition claims that the bill creates a loophole, Page noted that the bill does not reduce EPA’s authority to enforce against illegal parts on street vehicles.   

In Page’s home state of California, which owns the strictest emissions laws in the country, state law and regulations specifically allow for motor vehicles to be modified for use exclusively in motorsports competition.

For more information, visit www.saveourracecars.com.

Fulton Speedway will return to its roots beginning in 2018 as DIRTcar 358 Modifieds will become the headline class at the speedway.

The track hosted 358-modified racing exclusively from its dirt debut in 1979 until 2000 when Big Blocks became the headline division.

Fulton Speedway will join Utica-Rome Speedway as Central New York DIRTcar 358-Modified race tracks. Big Block Racing will remain a weekly fixture at Brewerton Speedway.


“With the explosion of the DIRTcar Sportsman class we need to give racers a way to broaden their horizons”, said Brewerton Speedway and Fulton Speedway track owner John Wight. “With the cost of a big block engine being cost-prohibitive for many teams, an alternative has to be used for the future of the sport.”


To see the rules package for the DIRTcar 358 Modified division click here www.dirtcarump.com/rules/358-modified-rules/.


The new DIRTcar W-16 engine package that has raced with success the past few years can provide racers a viable small block option in addition to the Brodix aluminum headed engine combinations that are offered.

Veteran NASCAR crew chief Slugger Labbe has a new job.

Labbe announced on The Morning Drive on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he has joined Toyota Racing and Toyota Racing Development as Manager of Teams and Vehicles Support.

Labbe's duties will be stretch across all forms of Toyota's racing involvement including NASCAR, NHRA drag racing, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, USAC, Rally Series and several other series.

Labbe's duties will include technical support to Toyota teams across all the various motorsports series it supports.

Labbe left Richard Childress Racing as crew chief for the #3 NASCAR Cup Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon on May 22. Labbe had been a Cup crew chief with RCR since 2010. He initially worked with Paul Menard, who won the 2011 Brickyard 400 with Labbe as crew chief. He had been with Dillon since midway through the 2015 season.

In 500 starts as a Cup crew chief, Labbe has five victories, also winning three times with Michael Waltrip and once with Jeremy Mayfield.

Desoto Speedway (Bradenton, Florida) officials have announced that Andy and Lyn Breedlove will take over the promoting duties of the facility effective immediately.

The Breedlove group will be known as Race Track Management, LLC. The three-eighths-mile oval that was built in the 1970s will reopen on Sept. 30 with street stocks, mini stocks, strictly stocks and more to be announced at a later date.

Breedlove has eight races scheduled for this fall. The full schedule will be announced shortly.

The 2018 season will open Jan. 20, with the Icebreaker 125. Also in 2018, the facility is going to try to seal the pavement for a better grip on the high-banked oval.

Race Track Management will also schedule bands and entertainment for every night of racing.

Richmond Raceway and International Speedway Corporation held a groundbreaking ceremony for Richmond Raceway Reimagined, a $30 million infield redevelopment project.

The new infield will offer a variety of enhanced amenities for fans, teams, sponsors and other stakeholders to the iconic Richmond infield. Fan access is the focus of the Reimagined project, which will showcase new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garages with a fan-viewing walkway.

The official groundbreaking ceremony was held on the front stretch at the edge of the infield near turn one.

The new modernized infield will also include fan viewing of the inspection stations, new interactive fan engagement areas, an 80-person club experience with rooftop access that will overlook victory lane and two new garage suites with a view into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garages.

Victory lane will also get a transformation and move locations in order to be more visible to race fans. The new victory lane will be near turn one and moved closer to the grandstands.

A new media center will be built to include expanded space, broadcast booths, a conference room and hospitality space. Additional amenities and enhancements include a new vehicle crossover gate on the backstretch, a relocated tram route delivering fans closer to the front door of the track, a new pedestrian tunnel, 80 new consumer RV spaces, and infield drainage improvements.

The last groundbreaking in the Richmond infield was held on Feb. 21, 1988, when the track was redeveloped into the three-fourths-mile D-shaped oval.

For more on Richmond Raceway Reimagined, visit here.

Simpson Performance Products Inc. will officially take over as the US importer and seller for Stilo helmets beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

Simpson acquired Stilo S.r.l., the premier Italian auto racing helmet manufacturer in October of 2015. With the acquisition, Simpson also acquired the existing Stilo/HMS Motorsport agreement which expires at the end of this year. Simpson is a leader in personal racing safety products with a sales and service staff and dealer network unmatched in motorsports.

Simpson is currently offering Stilo helmets and accessories, purchased from HMS Motorsports, at all Simpson retail showrooms and trackside sales venues. Simpson customer service for Stilo helmets is located at the Simpson location in Mooresville, N.C., a key geographical area for teams and drivers.

Stilo helmets are manufactured at the Stilo headquarters in Italy.

Mitch McCarter has entered into a lease agreement with Volunteer Speedway track owners Joe and Phyllis Loven to promote races at the Bulls Gap dirt track for the 2018 season and beyond.


The Gatlinburg businessman, along with his wife Tanya, and sons Pierce and Mark, took over operations at the 4/10-mile oval in February and immediately enhanced the calendar with a 19-race schedule. With the increased number of races and a car count over 100 recently at “The Scorcher,” the 44th season of racing has been deemed a success.


Besides more weekly dates, he has been aggressive in bringing in new events. He is currently in negotiations with the Lucas Oil Late Model Series and World of Outlaws Late Models to host the two largest dirt late model series next season.


McCarter has owned 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour for the past six years. The Sevier County track averaged 25 races per year under his ownership. But, the 411 Motor Speedway lacks the facilities to host the major series like Volunteer Speedway.


There are four more nights of racing scheduled this season at Bulls Gap. There is a five-division program on Sept. 16 with two races in October and the season finale scheduled for Nov. 4.

Yamaha Motor Corp. revealed the R1 Dirt Track Concept Car Wednesday afternoon at Eagle Raceway.

The R1DT concept is a tube chassis, purpose-built race car powered by a fuel-injected inline four-cylinder engine from Yamaha’s R1S production motorcycle. The car is designed to be low maintenance, low cost to the racer with vehicles purchased at Yamaha outlets and transported directly to the race track.

While the R1DT is a concept car, Yamaha officials hope to make a production version of the R1DT, but only if it meets the high standards of performance, quality and reliability.

Wednesday’s event—held under the supervision of veteran sprint car driver Cory Kruseman—saw media members, Yamaha officials and other invited guests put the R1DT to the test.

Yamaha has yet to set a price for the new racing vehicle, but officials stressed that they understand retail price is critical to the success of the project. There is also no timetable for the R1DT to hit the market.

The University of Racing, creators of vintage racing memorabilia and diecast cars, will present the 2nd Annual Dinner With Legends event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 5.  

This fan friendly event will feature some of the greatest drivers, crew chiefs and engine builders in NASCAR history together on one stage. The lineup of legendary names have collectively won over 650 Cup races and 12 Cup Championships.

Those scheduled to attend include Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Waddell Wilson, Dave Marcis, Ned Jarrett and Leonard Wood.
 
The University of Racing also announced a “special treat” for this year, as the event will be hosted by third-generation driver Kyle Petty.
 
The evening features the opportunity to mingle with these legends in a casual relaxed atmosphere. Ticket prices are set at $125 which includes:
 
-Your choice of (1) of the 22 University of Racing diecast cars (up to a $95 value, picked up at event)
-World class cuisine presented by the Speedway Club
-Participation in a driver Q&A session
-The chance to get autographs and photos with featured guests
-Door prizes
 
With a limited number of seats available secure tickets by calling the Speedway Club at 704/455-3216 and tell them you want to have “Dinner with Legends.”