The Performance Racing Industry and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum have teamed up to bring dozens of race industry professionals together for the annual PRI Knoxville Industry Luncheon, set to take place Friday, August 11 from 11 a.m.– 1 p.m.

The PRI Knoxville Industry Luncheon, taking place on the second floor of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, is an event to thank those that have helped the sport of sprint car racing flourish and grow over the last few years.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Jillian Terrio at jilliant@performanceracing.com or 949/499-5413.

Beginning in 2019, Porsche will compete with a factory team in the Formula E Championship.

As a result, the company has announced it will end its involvement in the LMP1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of the 2017 season.

At the same time, Porsche will continue to focus its attention on international GT racing, campaigning the 911 RSR in the GT class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The World Endurance Championship is known for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in addition to the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and other long-distance endurance classics.

This realignment of motorsport activities for Porsche stems from the direction set out for the company in Porsche Strategy 2025, which will see Porsche develop a combination of pure GT vehicles and fully electric sports cars, such as the first fully electric Porsche model, based upon the Mission E concept car.

After four highly successful years, including three victories in a row at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and World Championship titles in both the team and driver classifications in 2015 and 2016, Porsche will be leaving the LMP1 class.

Nevertheless, the factory team from Weissach wants to defend the back-to-back World Championship titles one more time. The 2017 season ends on November 18 in Bahrain.

Formula E—the world’s first purely electric racing series—was launched on September 13, 2014. The International Automobile Federation, or FIA, which is also responsible for Formula 1, has organized the series to make a statement in favor of electromobility and to get more young people excited about motorsport. Unlike most other racing series, the Formula E season begins in the fall and ends in summer. The race venues are specially designed street courses in the heart of major cities worldwide, meaning the sport travels to the spectators and not the other way around.

Montgomery Raceway Park Promoter Randy Folk introduced VP Racing Fuels as the Official Fuel of The Million Dollar Drag Race, scheduled October 19–22 at Montgomery Raceway Park in Montgomery, Alabama.

As part of its sponsorship, VP Fuels will provide trackside fuel service throughout the event.
 
Celebrating its 22nd consecutive year, The Million offers racers across the country an opportunity to compete for life-changing payouts. Through the efforts of Folk and his daughter, Jennifer, The Million Dollar Drag Race has shown continued growth over the last two decades and now features more than 300 entries in the prestigious main Million event. Over 600 racers are said to be competing in the three companion races, which pay $25,000 as the top prize each day.
 
“We’re pleased to be able to support the Million Dollar Drag Race as its Official Fuel,” said Mark Ticen, VP’s Senior Director of Race Fuel Sales. “This sponsorship is in keeping with VP’s longstanding support of bracket racers and we couldn’t ask for better partners than Randy and Jennifer in our efforts to continue growing the sport of drag racing.”
 
The Million Dollar Drag Race, scheduled October 19–22 at Montgomery Raceway Park has no gate admission, meaning everyone gets into the event for free. Wednesday will also feature a free Test and Tune event from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and following will be the “Race to the Million” 64-car shootout.

For more information, contact themilliononline@gmail.com, call Randy @ 941/812-7482, or Jennifer @ 941/773-7530.

Richmond Raceway has announced the promotion of Megan Hazzard to Director of Events.

Hazzard, who has served at the track for eight years, will take on leadership in managing the overall business of the Richmond Raceway Complex. This includes the sales and operations of the Complex as well as coordinating with various other departments to develop the Complex’s business.

In addition to overseeing the Richmond Raceway Complex, Hazzard will continue to provide support on NASCAR race weekends. The Complex operations staff will now report to Hazzard as the business segment is under her management.

Richmond also promoted two members of the current staff to new roles. Suzanne Longest has been promoted to Operations Business Manager. She will be responsible for running the day-to-day and race event operations, including budget and vendor management. She will also assist the Complex team on capital projects, training, and expanding the concert business.

Tyler Timblin has moved from the Ticketing & Guest Services unit to the Corporate Sales department. Timblin, who started his time at Richmond as a Ticket Sales Associate, has been promoted to a Corporate Sales Executive. His primary responsibility is selling premium seating opportunities to local and regional businesses for our NASCAR race weekends. He is a native of Midlothian, V.A., and graduate of Lynchburg College with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.

Richmond Raceway also welcomed three new members to the staff in recent months. Ray Smith was hired as the Senior Manager of Marketing and Fan Development, Darryle Bajomo joined the Richmond team in May as the Manager of Consumer Marketing, and Vaughan Crittenden became a member of the Richmond staff during the spring race weekend as the Manager of Communications.

Race fans up and down the Atlantic seaboard will have the rare opportunity to keep up with the action in both Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model divisions this weekend.

It all starts on Saturday night when the PASS South Super Late Models contest a 150-lap event at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, North Carolina. On Sunday afternoon, the PASS North stars will be in action at the legendary Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine.

After struggling through rainouts at Concord Speedway and Southern National, PASS South will see its first action this weekend since May.

On Sunday, PASS North will be back in action for the final race at Oxford Plains Speedway prior to the 44th annual Oxford 250, a race that pays in excess of $25,000 to win. The battle for the PASS North championship could not get much tighter with the top-six drivers in the standings separated by 82 points.

For more information, visit www.proallstarsseries.com.

Alberto Bombassei, Brembo chairman and president, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame at Detroit’s Cobo Center in late July.


Along with industry luminaries Ed Welburn and Jack Roush, Bombassei took his place among the most honored automotive industrialists from around the world.


“I was very honored and moved last evening to become a member of the esteemed Automotive Hall of Fame,” said Bombassei. “Seeing my name alongside much respected and admired automotive contributors makes me particularly happy and strengthens my sense of duty toward our business – the car industry.


“It comes naturally to me thinking that this prestigious recognition is somehow a confirmation of the great passion for cars I have always had, ever since dreaming of driving my father’s car when I was a young boy. Such passion has grown with time thanks to the many cars that have marked my history and enthusiasm for the driving experience.

“As of today Brembo has won over 300 world championships in the different racing categories and I can assure you that we are not stopping here. For Brembo, competition is an essential laboratory for transferring our technology over time to our customers for their road applications. From ‘Racing to the Road’ is one of my favorite mottos, and believe me, that’s what’s happening every day at Brembo.”

The new Knoxville Raceway mobile app update is now available for download on both iPhone and Android phones.


The update comes just two weeks before the start of the 2017 Knoxville Nationals August 9–12 and will be the exclusive location for live "points as they run" updates throughout each night of the event.


The app has not only been redesigned for a better user experience, but the technology behind the app has also been upgraded. Version 3.0 has new and exciting features to enhance the race fan experience and improve the way the track communicates with its fans. For the first time, the Knoxville Raceway app will include push notifications. These alerts will be sent directly to users with breaking news, results, sponsor offers, appearances, ticket information and more.


The live results pages have been redesigned to be more user-friendly as well. Not only are the updates coming much faster on race night, but car classes have been broken into their own tabs which reduce the amount of scrolling that was previously required. The live results will still feature race lineups, live action blogging, and the finishing order of each race.


The Knoxville Raceway mobile app was one of the first motorsports apps on the market in 2012 and certainly the first dirt track racing mobile app.


Future updates are planned, according to the company, as they continue to integrate systems at the race track to give fans a taste of the action, whether sitting in the grandstands or tuning-in live from halfway around the world.


The new Knoxville App can be downloaded from Google Play (Android) or the App Store (Apple).

Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show guests are invited to experience a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) as part of PRI’s exclusive Day at the Speedway.   


PRI 2017 attendees and exhibitors can take part in this one-of-a-kind outing on Wednesday, December 6, where they will be treated to a comprehensive tour of the race track, including visits to notable IMS landmarks that are typically open only to officials, drivers and teams during events such as the timing-and-scoring suite in the Pagoda, the media center, victory podium, Gasoline Alley garage area, and the world-famous "Yard of Bricks" at the start/finish line. 


Guests also will be treated to a ride around the famed 2.5-mile IMS oval, and given full access to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum, home to the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy and more than 75 display vehicles, including the Marmon Wasp, which won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. 


“Day at the Speedway is a bucket-list experience for any race fan,” said PRI’s Christen D’Alessandro. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kiss the bricks, stand on the podium and tour the track, like so many legendary drivers of the past and present.”


Now in its 5th year, the Day at the Speedway is a favorite of attendees who arrive in Indianapolis ahead of the annual PRI Show, which takes place December 7–9 at the Indiana Convention Center.It’s among the dozens of motorsports-related conferences, seminars and special events—in and around the Convention Center—in the days leading up to and including the PRI Show.


“The tour was great; it was very interesting, very historical, and intriguing to see how old the speedway is and that it's still being used,” said 2016 Day at the Speedway attendee Chris Younger of Mooresville South Iredell Economic Development Corporation in Mooresville, North Carolina. “I loved being out on the track itself with the bricks, the finish line, and being on the podium. And going through the museum and seeing some of the old cars was pretty great, too.”


Cost for the program is $60, which includes lunch and transportation to and from the Speedway, with shuttle pick-up and drop-off located at the Indiana Convention Center’s Maryland Street entrance. For more information or to reserve a spot, visit www.pri2017.com or call 949/499-5413. 


Phoenix Raceway is engaged in naming-rights talks as the ISC-owned track is in the midst of a $178M renovation that is slated for completion late next year. Sources said that the track has been looking at selling naming rights as part of "moving into a new era," according to Sports Business Journal.

Track President Bryan Sperber in a statement said, "From the moment we announced the project in January, we've had tremendous response from new and existing partners. This transformation of our venue into a world class entertainment facility has unlocked a myriad of opportunities, including unique branding platforms, new events, breakthrough technology, and even naming rights for the facility. We are fully engaged in discussions with partners on all of those fronts and are confident that we are progressing toward being in a position to reveal our plans in the near future."

The move would make Phoenix Raceway the second track that hosts a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race to have a brand attached to the facility’s name, if the track ends up selling the naming rights, with the other being fellow ISC venue Auto Club Speedway.

Other Cup-level tracks, such as SMI-owned Charlotte Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway, previously had naming-rights deals, but those deals expired in recent years and were not renewed. Phoenix hosts two Cup races a year, as well as a Verizon IndyCar Series race.

Goodson Tools & Supplies for Engine Builders recently launched a new website design. Complete with featured items, catalogs and an easy-to-navigate menu, the website also allows users to buy products directly from the site.

“The purpose of the new website design is to improve the user experience. Our goal is to load pages faster and provide larger, more detailed product images than ever before,” Goodson Advertising Manager Janet Tapp said.

The new site can be found at www.goodson.com.

Goodson Tools & Supplies, located in Winona, Minnesota, is the manufacturer of cylinder head parts, cleaning, assembly and safety, short block rebuilding, crankshaft and flywheel grinding, brake service tooling, measuring tools and more.