New for 2017, TORC: The Off-Road Championship fans can access television broadcasts of PRO UTV,  PRO Light, PRO 2 and PRO 4 racing via beIN SPORTS.

Expanding the network’s programming, beIN SPORTS has added TORC as a premier motorsports property on its network. The station will feature 26 weeks of 90-minute shows featuring all TORC racing rounds from the 2016 and 2017 seasons. To view the beIN SPORTS schedule visit: www.beinsports.com/us/tv-guide.

Programming began the week of June 21. Air times will be promoted throughout the season.
 
Shows will bring viewers behind the scenes for an all-access look at the series and its compelling personalities as the best drivers on dirt battle for the 2017 championship. TORC is said to be a perfect fit for beIN’s motorsports formula,“fast on two, dirty on four.”

Returning to the broadcast booth will be Robbie Floyd, along with decorated motocross and off-road racers Ricky Johnson and Grant Langston offering in-depth analysis and commentary. Kate Osborne will return to report from the pits.
 
beIN SPORTS can be accessed from a number of television providers including DISH, DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and more.

For the first time since 2005, Friday Nights Under the Lights will return to Evergreen Raceway in Drums, Pennsylvania beginning on Friday, June 30.

The speedway will host most of its 2017 scheduled events under the lights, sticking to three to four division shows on Friday nights with tickets set at $8 for adults.

Coming this Friday, a cone race format will set the stage for the Himmer Graphics Late Models, Barbush Automotive Street Stocks, Evan’s Roadhouse Four Cylinder and Wheel’s Bar & Grill Junior Four Cylinders and Strictly Stocks.

The cone format is basic, yet entertaining for the fans. It also gives drivers the chance to advance, if they take a risk. The entire field goes single file under yellow flags. At that time, a cone is placed in the middle of the start/finish line. Prior to coming to the cone, drivers must choose the line where they want to restart from (inside or outside). So, if the top three cars choose the inside and the fourth place driver chooses the outside, the fourth place driver will restart on the outside pole.

Big Wheel races will also take place at intermission this Friday. Children 12 years of age and younger are admitted into the grandstand area for free with a paying adult.

The pit gate opens at 5:30 p.m. with an entrance fee of $35. Practice will kick off at 6:30 p.m. and heat races will begin at 8 p.m. The grandstand gates will open at 6 p.m.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR.

For the second consecutive year, Lesa France Kennedy has been named to Adweek Magazine’s list of the “30 Most Powerful Women in Sports.”

Kennedy, CEO of International Speedway Corporation and Vice Chairperson of NASCAR, joins executives from the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Football League (NFL) among others.

The magazine emphasized Kennedy’s work with the recently completely $400 million Daytona Rising project and the ongoing nearly $200 million facility update at Phoenix Raceway.

“We compete with stick-and-ball sports properties and entertainment venue,” making it imperative to keep “the crown jewel of our sport polished,” Kennedy told the magazine.

Two years ago, Kennedy was also chosen as the 2015 Most Powerful Woman in Sports in a survey conducted by Forbes Magazine.

The Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda has extended its 2017 six-event schedule to seven to conclude at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, October 20-22.

This will be the first time that F4 US cars have appeared alongside the F1 cars as a supporting race which is a major boost for the FIA’s United States’ junior open-wheel series.

F4 US was previously scheduled to end its season with the FIA World Endurance Championship at COTA in September. That event will now serve as a prelude to the season championship in October.

The F4 US schedule will include one practice, one qualifying session and two races which will be held in between F1 practice and qualifying sessions.

The F4 US cars are powered by the Honda Civic Type-R engine, detuned to meet F4 specifications, which provides a reliable, powerful and economical motor to ensure affordable competition throughout the season.

The SCCA Pro series is part of worldwide FIA F4, using the USA manufactured Onroak Automotive Crawford F4-16 car equipped with four PZero Pirelli tires.

“This a huge accomplishment for SCCA Pro to get the final race of the F4 U.S. Championship race at the USA Grand Prix,” General Manager of Onroak Automotive North America Max Crawford said. “The FIA has promoted F4 as a stepping stone to Formula 1, and this is a great opportunity for the F4 drivers to race in front of the F1 teams.

Last year, the 2016 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix broke COTA records with more than 269,000 people from all around the world in attendance, setting the stage for F4 US drivers to compete in front of their largest live audience to date.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his version of a final act—a five-month campaign called JR Nation Appreci88ion. It will start this weekend at Daytona and carry through the end of the 2017 season, his last as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver.

The Appreci88ion campaign will create opportunities in social media, at-track activation, fan engagement, industry participation and philanthropy to celebrate Earnhardt Jr.’s historic career while offering gestures of gratitude to everyone who made the ride possible.

“My expectations were very low when I started racing—I just wanted to pay my bills,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “If I could pay bills and make a living by racing, that was a win.

“Now some 18 years later, I look at what became of it, and I just feel grateful. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of so many people, especially fans. So as I visit tracks for the last time in this role, that is my motivation. I’m going to drive as hard as I can for the people who made an 18-year Cup career possible.”

Daytona International Speedway will mark the first stop of the JR Nation Appreci88ion Tour, which is home to many Earnhardt Jr. career highlights, including two Daytona 500 trophies (2004, 2014), four total Cup wins, seven non-points Cup victories and six NASCAR Xfinity Series wins.

JR Nation Appreci88ion will have a heavy presence on social media with the #Appreci88ion hashtag and digital engagement opportunities throughout the five-month campaign. Earnhardt Jr. will release weekly videos recollecting memories and milestones achieved at each of the specific racing venues.

JR Motorsports is the management company and racing operation for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Impact Racing, Inc. and its associated brands (MasterCraft Safety and MasterCraft Defense) have been wholly acquired by the Italian-based Sparco. Daily operations and manufacturing, sales and customer service, as well as the management structure and staffing of Impact, will be consistent in all locations, with former owner Robbie Pierce remaining in a consulting role.

Sparco was founded in 1977 by two young drivers with a desire to improve racing safety. In 2009, Aldino Bellazzini became the majority stakeholder and Chairman and immediately began implementing numerous technical advancements resulting in Sparco receiving ISO/TS16949:09 quality certification in 2010.

“I am excited for the future of Sparco and Impact,” Bellazzini said. “There are many similarities between our companies and I am confident this will be beneficial to the customers, distributors and employees of both organizations.”

Previously, Sparco employed 800 team members in five facilities located on three continents. The addition of Impact to the Sparco family adds 80 US-based production specialists, as well as strategically located customer sales and service representatives in California, Indiana and North Carolina.

“Our employees are our greatest asset, and Sparco recognizes that," former Impact owner Pierce said. "Since I purchased MasterCraft Safety in 1999 my goal has always been to build this company into an American equivalent of Sparco. To have that very company validate my efforts through their acquisition of both the Impact and MasterCraft brands and have the brands continue is a tremendous endorsement of our talented and hardworking employees. I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished over the years."

The addition of Impact Racing and its 45,000-square foot Indiana facility strengthens Sparco’s position in America’s heartland and adds “Made in the USA” capabilities to its portfolio.

While the Impact and MasterCraft brands and their associated mainstay of products will continue under the respective brand names, the primary benefit is the influx of technology available through Sparco’s innovative research and development department, particularly with regards to carbon fiber safety products. Expect Impact’s product line to expand with new offerings coming online for the 2018 season.

Headquartered in Volpiano, Turin, Italy, Sparco’s line of exclusive safety products are distributed worldwide and can be found on top-tier teams such as McLaren’s Formula 1 and Team Peugeot’s Dakar efforts as well as renowned drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Stephane Peterhansel and this year’s Indianapolis 500 champion, Takuma Sato.

Circle Sport/The Motorsports Group has named Eddie Pardue as the new crew chief of the No. 33 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Pardue, the former competition director for Red Horse Racing, was recently announced head of engineering for Circle Sport/TMG. Pat Tryson, who most recently served as crew chief for the team, has been released from the organization.

Pardue will be atop of the pit box starting Saturday, calling shots for Jeffrey Earnhardt in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

“I am excited to be part of the Circle Sport/The Motorsports Group organization,” said Pardue. “I am looking forward to working with this group to help improve and grow the team and the on-track activity, starting with this weekend at Daytona Int’l Speedway.”

“Eddie brings a lot of experience and knowledge to the team through his years of success in NASCAR. This is a great step in the right direction to improving our teams competition,” said team owner Curtis Key.

Dr. Peter Mertens, Alejandro Agag and Prof. Dr. Peter Gutzmer courtesy of Schaeffler.

During the German home round of Team ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport in Berlin (June 10/11), Schaeffler and Audi agreed on an extensive cooperation in the development of the powertrain for the next three generations of the Formula E race car. Schaeffler Chief Technology Officer Prof. Peter Gutzmer and Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development AUDI AG, signed a three-year agreement in Berlin-Tempelhof.

In the light of AUDI AG entering the series with a factory-backed commitment as of the fourth season beginning in fall of 2017, Schaeffler and the Ingolstadt-based premium brand on the occasion of the race weekend in Berlin sealed a three-year technology cooperation up to and including the 2019/2020 season. The partnership will include joint work on the electric motor, suspension and power electronics for the powertrain.

The basic concept for the next-generation powertrain of the Formula E race car has been finalized and some of its components are already being tested. Behind the scenes, Schaeffler and Audi have been working together in Formula E in some areas before. Now, the official signing of the agreement elevates this existing active partnership to a higher level with a long-term focus.

“We are delighted to now have sealed for the next three years this increasingly closer partnership that we have been actively engaged in with Audi in Formula E for quite some time. Just like we have been innovatively cooperating with Audi for many decades both in motorsport and, of course, in the development and manufacturing of components for production cars, I am sure that both partners are going to give their best to this joint effort and will continue the success story of ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport which is already an impressive one,” Schaeffler’s Chief Technology Officer Prof. Peter Gutzmer said.

Registration and spectator tickets are now available for the 2017 Chevrolet Performance Car Craft Summer Nationals, Presented by Holley/MSD, July 21—23 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This will be the first year the popular annual automotive event will be held in Bowling Green.

Chevrolet Performance Car Craft Summer Nationals is one of the country’s premier gathering of street machines and muscle cars that showcases more than 2500 performance cars and attracts upward of 25,000 enthusiasts from across the country over the course of three days.

The 2017 Chevrolet Performance Car Craft Summer Nationals will include autocross, drift showcase, a Dyno Challenge, as well as the Undiscovered Builders’ Invitational and Pro Builders’ Shootout.

Midnight drags, drag racing challenges, a burnout competition and the professionally judged and awarded Show-‘N’-Shine Competition will also take place. Enthusiasts will also have the chance to meet Car Craft editors and photographers on site.

"There is no event quite like the Chevrolet Performance Car Craft Summer Nationals and it’s an event that my team always looks forward to,” said Craig Shantz, Manager, Chevrolet Performance Shows/Events and Specialty Vehicle Builds.

What began with the construction of a new track 15 months ago is nearing reality at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. The venue's inaugural GEICO Off Road Shootout on a brand new track just one month away.

Tickets are currently on sale for the July 21-23 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event, which will usher in a form of racing rarely seen in the Midwest as the top off-road short-course drivers in the world tackle Lucas Oil's new, purpose-built track, just over one mile in length.

Classes in action will include Pro 4, Pro 2, Pro Lite, Pro Buggy, Production 1000 UTV and Mod Karts. Lucas Oil Speedway's General Manager Dan Robinson said workers have been making constant progress on the facility with the covered grandstand going up over the last few weeks.

"The off-road track is really going to be something to see with side-by-side action and high-flying jumps," Robinson said. “Off-road racing is mostly associated with the West Coast and the desert, so this is unlike anything in this part of the country in motorsports, and we're eager to debut it in just one month."

Construction of the Lucas Oil Speedway Off Road track, which is approximately 6000 feet in length with eight left-hand turns, began in the spring of 2016.

It joins a vast complex that includes the dirt track, "Lake Lucas," and a slick track.

For complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket info and the 2017 racing schedule, visit LucasOilSpeedway.com.