The Trans Am Race Company, LLC (TARC) has announced Tony Parella, by way of Parella Motorsports Holdings, has acquired a controlling interest in the TARC ownership group.

Parella reached an agreement to purchase the stake previously held by Mike Miller, who departs the ownership group that presents the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.  

Through his additional investment, Parella now controls the majority of TARC shares while David Jans, John Clagett and Simon Gregg retain minority ownership stakes.

Parella originally joined the ownership group in July 2016. In June of this year, he acquired—along with Mike Miller and David Jans—the company shares held by Jim Derhaag. Parella later purchased Millers' shares this month.

“Since joining the ownership group last year Tony has consistently expressed a desire to take Trans Am to the next level,” said John Clagett, President of The Trans Am Race Company. “Tony’s enthusiasm and love for our sport are unquestionable, and I look forward to working with him as we continue to build the Trans Am brand and competition platform to improve on the progress we’ve made since the creation of The Trans Am Race Company in 2012.”  

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli will take to the track next at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 7 of the 2017 Trans Am Championship on Saturday, August 12, 2017, for the First Energy Muscle Car Challenge and the First Energy Trans Am 100 alongside NASCAR Xfinity’s Mid-Ohio Challenge.

Northern Motorsports and Neighbourhood Event Park in Bonfield, Ontario, Canada has signed a multi-year sanctioning agreement with the International Hot Rod Association.

The 170-acre facility, under the leadership of Carl Lewis, Matt Leeman and Bill Kirkman, features an eighth-mile drag strip. There are plans to make the facility a year-round event park with snowmobile racing in the winter and other events like ATV and truck mud drags.

Locally, there is a big emphasis to get drag racing off the street and on the track. The IHRA fits into those plans by attracting a younger generation, while also appealing to the Sportsman racers through the Summit SuperSeries.

“Although the management teams have shifted throughout recent years, the goals have remained the same. Those goals align well with those of the IHRA in promoting a safe and fair environment in drag racing to those of Northern Ontario as part of the Summit Super Series,” said Division Director Jon O’Neal.

Matt Leeman, the track’s race director and general manager, likes the support offered by the IHRA and its focus on the grassroots, Sportsman racer.

“The IHRA’s Division Directors are a big selling point,” Leeman said. “They offer great guidance with track prep, how to structure the races. Following the IHRA rules, it makes the track more reputable as far running a proper drag strip. We are a track with mainly the grassroots racers and that works well with the IHRA programs.”

Toyo Tires has announced the start of the Toyo Tires “Climbkhana” sweepstakes. One winner will receive the Toyo Tires Climbkhana Experience, which includes two round-trip flights to Los Angeles, hotel accommodations and two tickets to meet Ken Block at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Sept. 24, in Los Angeles.

The winner and a guest will attend an exclusive event supported by Microsoft and Hoonigan at The Petersen to watch the world premiere of “Climbkhana,” an action-filled video starring Block piloting his “Hoonicorn RTR V2” Ford Mustang up Colorado’s 14,115-foot Pike’s Peak. The 1400-hp “Hoonicorn” relied on Toyo Proxes R888R tires to make the ascent up the winding mountain in the video.

The sweepstakes will end at 11:59 p.m. PST on Aug. 31. For official rules, entry information and a chance to win, go to Petersen.org/Climbkhana.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and Riverside Int’l Speedway officials announced the postponement of the previously rescheduled Bull Ring Outlaw Blitz to the 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season.

The Bull Ring Outlaw Blitz, originally scheduled to take place at the West Memphis, AR track in late-April, was rescheduled twice as the Midwest sustained record rainfall during the spring.

World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and track officials worked together to determine a rain date, ultimately moving the event to the 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season.

Advance ticket holders for the Bull Ring Blitz will still be able to use their tickets for the announced 2018 event.

In related news, The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series will return to Ransomville Speedway for the rescheduled Big “R” Outlaw Shootout presented by Budweiser on Oct. 16.

The Big “R” Outlaw Shootout, originally scheduled for July 23, was postponed due to rain that flooded the pit area at Ransomville Speedway just minutes before the event was scheduled to get underway.

Tickets for the makeup event at Ransomville Speedway can be purchased online. Fans who have already purchased tickets for the Big “R” Outlaw Shootout presented by Budweiser can bring their ticket stub or wristband for admittance to the makeup event on Oct. 16.

An engineering student from Uxbridge, Massachusetts has been awarded the career opportunity of a lifetime in Automotive and Formula One, as INFINITI announces Evan Sloan as the American winner of the INFINITI Engineering Academy 2017.
 
Having been selected from thousands of entries and beating nine other finalists from around the country in an action-packed event at Microsoft Headquarters, 21-year-old Evan Sloan will move to the UK in October for a career opportunity of a lifetime, complete with travel, accommodation, access to an INFINITI company car, a salary and the possibility to work alongside world-leading engineers at the cutting edge of the automotive and motorsport industries.
 
Sloan, who is a mechanical engineering student at the California Institute of Technology, will spend six months working at Renault Formula One Team’s Technical Center in the UK (Enstone) and six months working at INFINITI’s European Technical Center (Cranfield). He will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between Renault Sport Formula One Team and INFINITI.
 
“It’s an incredible opportunity and I’m really looking forward to contributing to the INFINITI Motor Company and the Renault Formula One team. I can’t wait to be a part of it,” Sloan said of his win.
 
The INFINITI Engineering Academy, now in its fourth year, is a one-of-a-kind global search for the world’s best up-and-coming engineers. For 2017, seven placements are available with one winner chosen each from Asia-Pacific, Canada, China, Europe (incl. Russia), Mexico, United Arab Emirates and the US, to work with INFINITI and Renault Sport Formula One Team. The 2017 edition of the Academy attracted over 12,000 registrations from 41 different countries, setting a new record with a near-threefold increase on last year.
 
For more information on the INFINITI Engineering Academy, visit academy.infiniti.com.

Southern Modified Racing Series officials have made a change in the schedule for the balance of the season.

The Sept. 2 series race at Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C., has been canceled. A new season finale has been added at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C., on Saturday, Oct. 21.

The season finale will be a 75-lap race with no pit stop – an all-out race for the final series checkered flag of the season and it will crown the series champion. Teams will have an optional test day on Friday, Oct. 20th. The race will share the spotlight with the Pro All Star Series South super late models.

The Southern Modified Racing Series raced at Orange County on March 25 with Brandon Ward getting the victory. Ward finds himself in a torrid point battle. He is 10 points ahead of Bobby Measmer Jr. and Jeremy Gerstner, who are tied for second.

NASCAR and ExxonMobil announced the renewal of a long-standing partnership that will continue to designate the Mobil 1 brand as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR.”

According to NASCAR, the continued partnership with the sanctioning body is increasingly beneficial to the Mobil 1 brand.

NASCAR cited a recent study from Turnkey sports and entertainment found that at the end of the 2016 race season, the number of NASCAR race fans identifying Mobil 1 as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR” was at a three year high, increasing steadily among avid and casual NASCAR fans each year since the end of the 2014 season.

The proportion of avid NASCAR fans stating they would be more likely to purchase a product from an Official NASCAR Partner has also increased 13 percent over the same period.

According to a recent independent study from Simmons Research, NASCAR fans are 30 percent more likely than non-fans to add or change motor oil themselves or have another household member do so, as reported by NASCAR.

For more information, visit the NASCAR website here.

Making its second acquisition for 2017, National Performance Warehouse Companies (NPW) has announced its purchase of the 57-year-old Warehouse West. The deal is projected to close on August 25.

With this acquisition, NPW will have 14 total locations in the US and Canada, with four on the West Coast.

Warehouse West—first opened in 1960—is a cornerstone in the specialty marketplace in the Pacific Northwest, with the inventory and knowledgeable staff to service performance retailers. Brad Blue purchased Warehouse West in 1994 after working for the company since 1976 and has built the business with a focus on the performance market.

“We have a model for acquisitions that we have disclosed. Warehouse West is another good example of how our model works for us in blanketing the US and Canada with distribution centers near major population centers and in a one-day reach by small package carriers. Brad Blue has built a business with many synergies which will easily meld into NPW,” Larry Pacey, president and CEO of NPW, said.

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and VP Racing Fuels, Inc. has announced a long-term partnership extension for VP to continue fueling cars in the IMSA-sanctioned events.

The partnership first began in 2014. As the Official Fuel Provider of IMSA, VP will continue to fuel every IMSA-sanctioned series based in the US, including the WeatherTech Championship, IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

VP Racing Fuels has included IMSA-specific branding in selected consumer products sold at major retailers over the past several years. Those efforts will be expanded, and IMSA also will receive increased exposure through VP’s growing list of gas stations and quick-lube locations.

As part of the extended partnership, VP also will continue to provide the VP Racing Fuels Front-Runner Awards for competitors in both the WeatherTech Championship and Continental Tire Challenge. The award uses a point system to recognize the car that leads the most laps in its class in each race, with the leading point-getters earning fuel credits in presentations at midseason and year-end.

The Motorsports Industry Association (MIA) has recently announced they will be expanding its headquarters into larger premises at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire (England).

The trade association has also recently opened offices throughout China and the United States.

Starting August 7, 2017, the MIA can be reached at the following address:

Motorsport Industry Association (MIA)
The Apex on 10th Street
Stoneleigh Park
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
CV8 2LG