The board of directors of Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. (TTC) has announced the promotion of Roy Bromfield to the president and chief executive officer position at Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.

In this role, Bromfield is responsible for all product categories of Toyo branded business in the US replacement market.

“We are proud to appoint Mr. Bromfield as our first American president & CEO of Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.,” said Takashi Shimizu, president of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd.  “Under Roy’s leadership, Toyo sales in the U.S. have grown dramatically, and TTC has become one of our most important global businesses. We have confidence in the team that Mr. Bromfield has built and the strategy that it is executing for continued growth.”

Bromfield joined Toyo in December 2012 and has been president and COO of TTC since January 2016. Prior to TTC, Bromfield was CEO of Q Tires, Inc. and held various sales and marketing positions at Michelin including vice president of North American Marketing and Sales, and president and CEO of Tire Centers, LLC.

Bromfield is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree and has a Masters degree in Business Administration from Emory University in Atlanta.

Bromfield will report to the TTC Board of Directors.

A six-time Indy 500 starter will be joined by a jet dragster team owner and a Pro Mod champion drag racer for a special presentation on opportunities for women in motorsports at the 2017 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis, Indiana.

IndyCar driver Pippa Mann, Elaine Larsen of Larsen Motorsports, and 2015 IHRA Pro Mod Champion Dina Parise have signed on for an hour-long program to discuss their careers, aspirations, challenges, triumphs, and continuing efforts to engage and raise awareness among young women interested in pursuing motorsports as a profession.    

Moderated by PRI Magazine editor Dan Schechner, this year’s “Opportunities for Women in Motorsports” seminar takes place from 8 to 9 a.m. on Friday, December 8, in an upstairs meeting room at the Indiana Convention Center, just prior to the second day of exhibits for the 30th annual PRI Show.

“PRI’s acclaimed ‘Women in Motorsports’ seminar brings together three of the most talented, accomplished and dedicated racing pros our industry has to offer,” Schechner said. “Now in its second year, this program promises to enlighten, entertain and inspire as we delve into some important topics that will resonate with a wide variety of Show attendees. Trust me, this is shaping up to be one powerful session you won’t want to miss!” 

Pippa Mann, who raises her own sponsorship to race each May, does the majority of her own marketing, which includes maintaining her online presence/social media marketing, sponsor activation, and brand building. She also works as an instructor at various performance driving/racing schools, and as a coach for private clients. Furthermore, Mann is heavily involved in helping young female racers at a grassroots level through the Team Empower Karting Team.

As president of Larsen Motorsports, Elaine Larsen has over two decades of racing experience to her credit.  Finding her home behind the wheel of a jet powered dragster, she “lives her life at full-throttle,” according to the STEAM ambassador, comic book creator and mentor—among her various roles.

“Giving young ladies an opportunity to get hands-on experience in the high-performance vehicles industry,” she said, “I work hard to inspire the next generation of motorsports professionals to have the guts to go for the glory!”

Dina Parise’s passion began with figure skating, not motorsports, as a touring performer with the famed “Ice Capades.” In her 30s, Parise found a new source of fulfillment: drag racing. Following a path that took her from Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School to IHRA Pro Mod Champion, Parise has never looked back; and she encourages others to do the same.

“Life is not a dress rehearsal,” said Parise. “In life, you get one ticket, and I’m using mine until it expires!”

This PRI-sponsored seminar (8 to 9 a.m. on Friday, December 8, upstairs at the ICC) is offered free of charge to registered Show attendees. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, however, as seating is strictly first-come, first-served. For more information or to register for the Show, visit www.pri2017.com.

NASCAR Cup teams will be required to run engines multiple races next year, according to a newly released rules bulletin.

Cup teams will have to use 13 short block engines (engine block, crankshaft, camshaft, connecting rods and pistons) for two full race weekends each next season.

Teams that are not considered full-time will not be permitted to compete in more than two consecutive points races without using a sealed short block engine that has been run in a preceding event.

NASCAR also announced that it will go to a single-engine rule for all Cup events. Previously, teams had been allowed to change engines between their qualifying race and the Daytona 500. That won't be permitted.

If a backup engine must be installed in either a primary vehicle or a backup vehicle during an event weekend, that vehicle will be required to start at the rear of the field.

Also, NASCAR's rules bulletin stated that if a backup vehicle must be used at any time during an event weekend, the vehicle will be required to start at the rear of the field.

GC Cooling, maker of high-performance automotive cooling fans, has entered a partnership with FLUIDYNE High Performance (FHP) for the sales and distribution of GC Cooling products for race applications. Through the arrangement, FLUIDYNE will offer GC Cooling fans as an extension of the company's lines of high performance radiators, oil coolers and related accessories. 
     


For extreme high-performance applications, GC Cooling's BMF (Big Motor Fan) series creates some of the biggest airflow on the market. Design features of the powerful yet slim fan include an extra flat shroud that produces 2,469 CFM to meet virtually any cooling requirement. The BMF and other GC Cooling fans are made to fit the highly aerodynamic front-ends of racing and other performance vehicles.
       


"Our company is proud to partner with FLUIDYNE," said Bob Folkestad, president of GC Cooling. "Our Italian cooling fans for extreme racing and high-performance applications are an ideal fit for their high-quality endurance applications."
      


Gary Johnson, owner of FLUIDYNE, added, "I'm impressed with the technology of GC Cooling fans and believe we have gained a technology partner through our new national sales and distribution arrangement. This partnership is a growth opportunity for FHP that involves access to highly engineered fans that our NASCAR, motorsports and other high-performance customers will greatly appreciate."

Denver, North Carolina-based TJ’s Motorsports Warehouse has rebranded as SRI Dirt & Drag. The company also recently debuted an upgraded showroom and sales counter.

“We purchased TJ’s in May of 2015, and our acquisition of the company was the first domino to fall with our foray into the performance parts business,” said Greg Fornelli, owner of the shop as well as Stock Car Steel & Aluminum, SRI Supplies, and SRI Performance, per The Shop. “Since then, we have acquired the chassis parts division of CV Products and Roush Yates Performance Products. We’ve merged those companies into one, which we’re calling SRI Performance. In order to create some cohesion with the other companies branded with the SRI name, we thought the best move, going forward, was to incorporate TJ’s under that umbrella. We’re calling it SRI Dirt & Drag, as it will specialize in serving the dirt racing and drag racing worlds.”

SRI Dirt & Drag was founded as Tommy Johnson’s Motorsports Warehouse in 1979.

“We respect what Tommy has done for the racing community, and also what he has done to create something special here at SRI Dirt & Drag,” Fornelli said. “Although the name has changed, we remain confident that we can still use his original vision to be a by-racers, for-racers company.”

The company continues to sell performance parts out of its Denver warehouse. In addition, SRI Dirt & Drag travels to dirt tracks in North and South Carolina, supplying race teams that may need to buy extra parts or purchase tires.

SRI Dirt & Drag will carry brands such as Allstar Performance, Five Star Bodies, Weld Wheels, Tiger Rearends, Draco Springs, Hoosier Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Impact Racing among others.

The father-and-son duo of Ian Dawson and Simon Dawson, announced the launch of Dawson Racing, a division of the D3 brand.

In addition, they further announced that Hasbro will join them for the creation of the D3+Transformers Racing Team for 2018 and beyond.

The team will field a new 2018 Le Mans Prototype 2 class car in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series as part of a three-year program commencing next season.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with D3 and the Dawson family to be part of this exciting racing program,” said Tom Warner, senior vice president, Transformers franchise.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to be more than meets the eye and connect Transformers with families and fans of all ages,” Warner added. “We are excited to team up with a first-class racing team and series with a brand that has a natural fit for cars and fans of all ages.”

“From the minute we met the Hasbro people, we knew this was the partner we were looking for to introduce D3 to the world through their immensely popular Transformers line,” said Ian Dawson, CEO of D3. “I have been working on giving new opportunities to young drivers and engineers who are looking for a way to progress their talents in motorsport and with Simon’s commercial awareness and interest in the business we developed a vision.”

“We sought to bring a franchise entertainment brand like Transformers into the primary position so we could create a stable, long-term platform for others to collaborate with, and we could not have secured a better company than Hasbro to bring real family values to the sport at the highest level,” Dawson added. “We know this is going to be an exciting, competitive and fun partnership for all involved. Every kid out there is going to want to go the races to see the Transformers race cars and to be a part of the support programs we plan to create at each venue.”

“We are delighted to have the new D3+Transformer Racing team coming to IMSA in 2018 and beyond,” said Scott Atherton, president of IMSA. “This team introduces a new sponsor to our sport that has a natural fit and growing demographic, kids asking parents to bring them to races, which we are seeing more and more. We welcome Hasbro and D3 to the Prototype field of the WeatherTech Championship. Not only will this team be popular with the kids but the adults as well, especially for the Transformers promotional activities they plan to activate surrounding our races.”

When the FIA and ACO announced major changes to the FIA WEC calendar last week, it also revealed a renewed direction that the LMP1 division will take until 2020.

Despite speculation as to whether the IMSA DPi formula would come into play, LMP1 hybrids and non-hybrids will form a single LMP1 division that allows for manufacturer involvement in either camp.

Additionally, the parameters for LMP1 chassis have been relaxed, effectively allowing LMP2 cars to be re-engineered to meet LMP1 regulations, and house any engine that fits into the rulebook.

It's a similar solution to DPi in some senses, although there's a key difference: LMP2 and LMP1 cars will be separate, with a similar performance gap to the current rule-set, and a clear divide between the Pro and Pro/Am formula, with Bronze-graded drivers unable to compete at the top level.

It creates an interesting set of questions about the future of hybrid and non-hybrid competition at that level, starting with whether or not LMP2 will suffer a max exodus of teams wanting to use modified versions of their current machinery in LMP1; whether the other LMP1 constructors—like Ginetta and Dallara—can still therefore sell cars; and, importantly, how it affects the factories, who will have to decide whether the extra budget required to go hybrid racing holds the same value that it has for the past few years.

Having celebrated the triumph of its new champion Kyle Kaiser and his team Juncos Racing Monday night in New York, the Indy Lights series quickly turned its attention to 2018 by commissioning important engine upgrades and new performance monitoring plans.

Despite seven different drivers sharing 16 race victories this year, questions of engine parity arose, and with a few lingering reliability concerns, Andersen Promotions, which runs the Mazda Road To Indy, and its partners at Advanced Engine Research—responsible for the stout 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder Lights engine—set a few initiatives in motion.

"There were some peripheral problems we've dealt with in the past like replacing the alternator vendors to fix issues there, and together with AER, we're changing wastegate vendors and they've readily agreed to upgrade all of the cars before the end of the year," Dan Andersen said.

"In addition, we're upgrading the turbocharger, going to a different manufacturer with a greater product. Those will all be changed before next season. We also had two electronic boost management box issues, so we've implemented a more frequent service and inspection schedule and we'll be relocating them in the car to a position that's cooler in the engine compartment."

The topic of engine parity is always a touchy subject when spec units are involved. Andersen met with all of the Indy Lights team owners and managers during last weekend's season finale at Watkins Glen to address the toughest topic he faces: engine equality.

"The biggest issue all season is the perception that the engines aren't equal," he confirmed. "We have an engine down-on-power rule where a competitor can file a claim, post a $5000 fee, we ship the engine back to AER in England, dyno it, and if it's out of range – and we're talking single-digit variance for all motors – they'll get a new motor and their money back.

"If it's within spec, they get the engine sent back to them and forfeit the $5,000. We had six or seven claims this season, only one turned out to be down on power. Nevertheless, we still have this perception."

Indy Lights race director Tony Cotman, who oversaw the creation of the Dallara IL15-AER package, was tasked with adding a new monitoring system to quash any concerns of parity going forward.

"We'll be monitoring cars with torque sensors in every session as we go forward," Cotman said. "We're still developing the process, but we're going to have at least six sensors, if not more, to go on the cars of our choosing and we will be rigorously checking the data to search for any variances. And teams, if they have a genuine reason to ask for it, can come and request to have one placed on a car to determine if there's an issue. This step is to remove any doubt."

Positive reaction to the changes were found throughout the paddock, starting with Brian Belardi, whose two-car Belardi Racing team earned four victories with Santi Urrutia and Aaron Telitz, and scored the Teams' championship despite suffering some mid-season engine problems.

"It's a thumbs up from me; they're going in the right direction," he told RACER. "The engine question is a tough thing to deal with when talking with potential drivers. There's two we spoke with last weekend and that was the first questions they had. I'm happy with what I could tell them about the changes that are coming, and the series is doing the right thing."

Andretti Autosport COO Rob Edwards, who has played a major role in developing Indy Lights talent, applauded the news.

"It's a great series in terms of talent, and I think the biggest difficulty teams have is – real or perceived – that the engine program is a concern, so I salute Dan Andersen and Tony Cotman and AER for addressing them head on," he said.

"The needs to make some changes with the engine ancillaries is a great call, and the addition of torque sensors to make the data readily available when issues come up is what we need. It's being proactive and I think the series will continue to attract the best drivers from America and Europe and elsewhere to come and compete where their talent will shine through."

Upon considering reaction to the recent announcement of a reduction in the length of the 14th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals finale to 80 laps from 100, Knoxville Raceway and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials have agreed to reinstate the feature event to its traditional distance of 100 circuits when it is contested on September 16.
 
The initial 20-lap cut in race distance was made in an effort to ensure the crown jewel's $40,000 top prize would not be decided by drivers running out of fuel, which can be an issue in a 100-lap race on the high-speed, half-mile oval. Knoxville Raceway and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials went back to the century grind, however, because the race had been advertised as a 100-lapper and that is what the event's many advance ticket buyers are expecting.
 
In order to take fuel mileage out of the race's equation, the 100-lap main event will be red-flagged for a fuel stop for all teams to top off their cars' tanks on the first caution flag between laps 20 and 40. If a caution flag does not fly during that stretch, the race will be stopped on lap 40 to allow teams to refuel.
 
The 14th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals–Presented by Casey's General Store will take place Thursday–Saturday, September 14–16, 2017.

After much discussion and deliberation, Utica-Rome Speedway is turning back the clock to help improve the future of stock car racing at the storied Route 5 dirt oval.

Owners Bill and Kim Shea have decided it is time to make a change to the weekly Sunday night program, so next year’s headline division will be the DIRTcar 358-Modifieds.

According to Tuesday’s press release, the change is being made in conjunction with the move by Fulton Speedway, another Central New York dirt track that has a long history of sanctioning weekly racing for small block Modifieds.

Utica-Rome Speedway was a DIRTcar 358-Modified track in 1986 and then again from 1999-2004 before allowing big block Modifieds to compete.

The decision was made after Fulton Speedway promoter John Wight and Bill and Kim Shea looked at the rising cost for race teams to field a competitive big block Modified as well as the growing popularity of the Sportsman division.

“I’ve owned cars and the difference between owning a competitive big block and small block is staggering,” Bill Shea said. “The big blocks are just getting too expensive. We think the switch to small blocks will help save teams some money and also bring in some new blood to the division. We’ve seen car counts throughout Central New York drop because guys just can’t afford it anymore. We hope this will help bring them back.”

Since the inception of the “crate” engine in the Sportsman ranks, the car counts in that division have continued to grow.

“We’ve had nearly 100 different Sportsman teams compete with us at Utica-Rome this year,” Bill Shea said. “There are several teams that want to make the jump up to the Modifieds but they simply can’t do it because of the economics. By switching to the small blocks, we are giving them an opportunity to move up and be competitive.”

As part of Super DIRT Week XLVI, the DIRTcar 358-Modified series returns to Utica-Rome Tuesday, October 3. The DIRTcar Sportsman and the Cole Cup for 360 Sprints are also part of that program, and racing begins at 7 p.m.

Rain this past Sunday forced the final points night racing to be cancelled, so Matt Sheppard (Modifieds), Matt Janczuk (Sportsman) and Mike Welch (Pro Stocks) are this year’s Utica-Rome Speedway champions.

It’s the third straight track title for Sheppard, and his fourth overall. He had seven wins and finished in the top five in 10 of 11 races, and finished 60 points ahead of runner-up Pat Ward. Janczuk also captured his fourth track title. The Durhamville driver won only one feature, but he had 10 top-five finishes in 12 races and beat out Rome’s Chris Mackey for the title. Welch had five Pro Stock wins and he won the points race over Shane Henderson and Jim Normoyle, the 2008 champion from Salisbury Center.

This Sunday, Sept. 10, Utica-Rome Speedway is hosting the highest-paying Sportsman event of the season. The Ultimate Sportsman Showdown pays $5,000-to-win and $500 to start. The pit gates open at 1 p.m., the grandstands open at 2:30 p.m., and racing begins at 4 p.m.