Roush Yates Engines and RKL eSolutions have entered into a new multi-year technology partnership.

RKL eSolutions provides business software and IT/Networking Solutions from coast to coast with several offices throughout the U.S. The company implemented the fast, simple and flexible Sage X3 ERP system at Roush Yates Engines, according to the engine builder.

“The expert team of RKL, in conjunction with Sage X3, were instrumental in advancing our visibility to manage our entire business. The integrated functionality of X3 enhanced the accountability of inventory and critical components,” said Mary Ann Mauldwin, chief operating officer of Roush Yates Engines. “Their team was able to customize a solution that worked well for our specific needs related to inventory management, purchasing and finance, while providing traceability of assembly and teardown operations.” 

“We had been looking for an ERP Software that could assist our dynamic business model for many years, the flexibility of Sage X3 and the ability for RKL eSolutions to understand our business was a winning combination,” said Todd English, vice president business development for Roush Yates Engines. “The Power of Sage X3 assists our constant dedication and desire to win at the highest level of motorsports. We look forward to working with Sage X3 and RKL eSolutions for many years to come.”

Their team is dedicated to building solutions that streamline the IT process and enhances the company’s productivity, according to Roush.

The owners of the 400 Thunder Drag Racing Series, the Australian Professional Drag Racing (APDR), have signed an agreement with the “Nitro Up North” event to expand the 400 Thunder Drag Racing Series at Hidden Valley Drag Strip.

This agreement is part of a movement to promote the sport of drag racing in Australia.
 
This means that both Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA-Australia) license holders can now compete together at all 400 Thunder Group One rounds in a single Championship Series at select tracks around Australia.
 
Discussions are also in the final stages with Calder Park Drag Racing and Adelaide Drag Race Promotions. Perth Motorplex and Alice Springs Inland Dragway are not too far behind in discussions.
 
The sanctioning body for each individual venue will remain unchanged, however an event license and complimentary tech inspections will be offered to those racers not holding that track’s sanctioning body license, as long as the racer holds a current license equivalent to the bracket entered.
 
The 400 Thunder Sportsman Series will be run at Sydney Dragway and Willowbank Raceway. The Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series will be run alongside the 400 Thunder Group One series at Hidden Valley Drag Strip, and additional tracks as the series expands.
 
The new 400 Thunder 2017/2018 Australian Championship Season will kick off next month at Darwin's magnificent Hidden Valley Drag Strip on July 21—22, which will also be the opening round of the 2017/2018 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.
 
All tracks running standalone 400 Thunder Sportsman Series events or Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series events will remain unaffected.
 
This announcement comes after extensive discussions by all parties and is believed to be the best direction for the sport of drag racing in Australia, according to APDR.
 
A full calendar will be released upon completion.

Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. welcomed Motul Oil to its speed and performance line card. The company is a market leader in OEM approved, high-performance engine oils/lubricants for European and various import applications, according to Keystone.

Motul Oil is a well-respected name within the motorsports community and has longtime partnerships with giants like Subaru, Toyota, Nissan and McLaren.

With a 160-year history rich in product innovation, Motul Oil is a leading figure in motorsports, developing and validating its products under the extreme conditions, according to Keystone.

“They have achieved mastery of their formulation, development and also production processes. We’re pleased to be offering Motul Oil to our customers,” said Daria Bryk, Marketing Manager at Keystone.

Keystone is one of the industry’s leading distributor and marketer of aftermarket automotive parts. For more information, visit the Keystone Automotive website.

The 2017 class of seven West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame inductees—Walker Evans, Michael Gaughan, Joe Leonard, Gene Price, Scott Pruett, Frank Secrist and Kenneth (Kenny) Takeuchi—will be inducted on June 22 at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California during Sonoma Raceway’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series/K&N Pro Series West weekend.

The organization's newest inductees touches virtually every corner of the motorsports universe from NASCAR and USAC stock cars, the Indianapolis 500, off-road, world endurance racing and California hardtop competition.

“Without a doubt, this is our most eclectic group of inductees,” said Ken Clapp, West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame chairman of the board. “The history of stock car racing comprises a variety of disciplines and can’t be confined to a single type of car, track or sanctioning body.”

Walker Evans
Evans, a first-year nominee, has won truck racing championships in a variety of disciplines: desert, Mickey Thompson Stadium Series and short course racing. The 78-year-old Riverside, California resident won the famed Baja 1000 nine times and was the first to win the grueling Mexican race overall in a truck. He competed as owner-driver for two seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (1995-96).

Michael Gaughan
Gaughan was elected to the hall with the Class of 2016 but, due to personal reasons, requested his induction be deferred until this June. The 74-year-old Las Vegas resident competed as an off-road racer for more than two decades, winning the 1966 Mint 400. Gaughan’s South Point Racing captured two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championships with son Brendan Gaughan and posted nine victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with his son and Steve Park.

Joe Leonard
Leonard, born in San Diego in 1932, excelled on two and four wheels. The first-time nominee won a trio of American Motorcyclist Association championships (1954, 1956-57) winning 27 races including the Daytona 200. After competing in NASCAR hardtops and supermodifieds in northern California, he moved to the U.S. Auto Club’s championship car circuit and won six times including the 1971 California 500 at the Ontario Motor Speedway. Leonard also won a pair of USAC stock car races in 1964 at the Springfield and DuQuoin, Illinois fairgrounds mile tracks.

Gene Price
Price, owner of Gene Price Racing in Parker, Arizona, won three NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championships among six consecutive top-five points finishes between 2009 and 2014. Greg Pursley won titles in 2011 and 2014 and Dylan Kwasniewski captured the 2013 championship – just eight points ahead of runner-up and teammate Pursley. Price’s team accounted for 26 K&N Pro victories, won twice in the NASCAR Elite Southwest Series and competed briefly in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Scott Pruett
Pruett, another first-time nominee, has won races in full-bodied cars, sports cars and Indianapolis-type cars. The 57-year-old Roseville, California resident won three SCCA Trans-Am titles (1987, 1994 and 2003) and a pair of IMSA GTO championships (1988-86). He won two CART events and was the 1989 Indianapolis 500 co-rookie of the year. His greatest success came in IMSA/GRAND-AM endurance racing with 45 victories – including five overall wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Pruett competed in 40 NASCAR premier series races with a best finish of second at Watkins Glen International in 2003.

Frank Secrist
Secrist, voted for induction in his second time on the ballot, won 1951-54 jalopy championships – then the top division – at Bakersfield (California) Speedway as well as the 1954-55 jalopy titles in Hanford, California. Born in 1929, the Oildale, California resident finished third in NASCAR State of California Sportsman stock standings in 1961 and won nine of 11 super modified races he entered in 1963. Secrist set track records in NASCAR Sportsman races at Daytona International Speedway in 1961-62 and competed in eight NASCAR premier series events winning one pole at the 1.4-mile Marchbanks Speedway in Hanford.

Kenneth (Kenny) Takeuchi
Takeuchi, a public address announcer and media relations director, became a familiar figure at racing throughout northern and central California from the late 1950s. The Fresno, California native began his career at the old Selma (California) Rodeo Grounds. When hardtop and supermodified racing blossomed a few years later, Takeuchi followed the three and four-night a week circuit to NASCAR tracks at Kearney Bowl, San Jose Speedway, Clovis Speedway and Altamont Speedway. He was among sport’s most visible figures, interviewing top competitors from trackside. The fifth media category inductee, Takeuchi remains active with several vintage racing organizations.

June’s induction ceremonies are open to the general public on a limited, space-available basis. Reservation information is available by emailing the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at jwentzel@phoenixraceway.com.

The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League is celebrating its 25th anniversary of giving youngsters a start in the sport in a controlled environment. The program was officially launched at the NHRA Summernationals in 1992 and remains the gold standard upon which all youth-oriented racing programs are judged, according to the NHRA.

The league offers kids ages 5-17 a chance to race half-scale dragsters in a controlled environment at many of NHRA's 130 member tracks throughout the United States and in Canada.

The cars that Jr. Drag Racing League competitors race are called Jr. Dragsters and are half-scale versions of Top Fuel dragsters. Using a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine, a Jr. Dragster can go as fast as 85 mph and as quick as 7.90 seconds in an eighth-mile, though younger age groups are restricted to slower times/speeds.

For more information on the program, visit the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League website, or its official Facebook page.

The Speedway Motors Tulsa Shootout will return to the Tulsa Expo Raceway inside the River Spirit Expo Center for its 33rd edition Dec. 28—31.

The opening day of racing on Dec. 28 will start at 9 a.m. with practice for classes, followed by heat races in the evening. Start time is tentative for 5 p.m. and can change depending on how long it takes to run all teams through hot-lap sessions.

The 33rd edition of the Speedway Motors Tulsa Shootout will see an adjustment to the class lineup as the 1200cc non-wing mini sprints were removed from the lineup. Winged mini sprints will remain, however.

Other classes of competition include A-Class wing, non-wing and restricted, outlaw wing and non-wing ECOtec midgets and junior sprints for a total of eight divisions.

Early entries for the 33rd Speedway Motors Tulsa Shootout can be filed beginning Sept. 26. For more information, visit the Tulsa Shootout website.

The Canadian Grand Prix is staying on the Formula One schedule through 2029.

The province of Quebec announced a five-year extension with the circuit on Friday. The race had been on the schedule through 2024.

The announcement said the province would invest $28 million ($20.8 million U.S.) in the event. Among the improvements are new paddocks, which are expected to be built by 2019.

Canadian officials say the race is one of the biggest tourism draws in Montreal, including an estimated 30,000 visitors from the United States alone.

For more information, visit the Formula One website.

Vic Edelbrock Jr., one of the guiding lights of the aftermarket, past president and board member of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and head of the Edelbrock Company for nearly 60 years, has passed away.

Edelbrock company officials confirmed his passing late Friday evening.

“It’s with deep sadness that we announce the untimely death of our visionary and leader Vic Edelbrock Jr.,” company officials said in a statement. “Vic passed away this evening from complications following a recent cold. His passing was peaceful and in the company of his closest friends and family. The Edelbrock Fun Team sends their deepest condolences to his family and will always hold him in our hearts.”

Vic Jr. was born into racing royalty as the son of Vic Edelbrock Sr., one of the founders of hot rodding and the aftermarket for speed equipment who started Edelbrock LLC in 1938. After his father’s passing in 1962, the then 26-year-old Vic Jr. took over the reigns of the family company.

Through his finely tuned business, marketing and sales abilities, he built his father’s company to over $100 million in annual sales throughout the 2000s.

With the environmental restrictions and pollution control components in the early 1970s killing performance, Vic Jr. started changing the way things were run—marketing his induction systems as improving clean air without losing performance and even building his own testing dyno to back his claims.

Vic Jr. later served as president of the Specialty Equipment Market Ass’n (SEMA) from 1971 to 1974 and was a member of the SEMA Board of Directors for decades thereafter.

Each year Rev Racing seeks high-quality applicants representing diverse backgrounds and develop them into successful NASCAR drivers. Started by Max Siegel in 2009, Rev Racing also manages a youth racing initiative for kids 8-14 who want to compete in the INEX Legend cars.

Through a several week evaluation process, youth drivers were chosen this year by recommendation, historical success and overall driving performance.

“As it remains a goal of ours to focus on the growth and development of both our academy-style program and youth participants, we want to connect with these drivers as early as possible,” said Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “The sooner we can start providing the proper guidance to these individuals, the more prepared they are to grow into a different series.”

This year, Rev Racing will offer a Legend car ride to two new-comers, Isabella Robusto and Nicholas Sanchez.

Robusto, from Fort Mill, South Carolina, began racing the go-karts in club races at Carolina Motorsports Park. Robusto had immediate success, with several podium finishes. As she gained experience she began racing go-karts at other local tracks and eventually in numerous national series’ like USPKS, WKA, Florida Winter Tour and the F-Series.

While Robusto maintains a full karting competition schedule, she is very excited to get back on track in her Legend Car for Summer Shootout 2017.

Sanchez, from Miami, Florida, had a love of car racing from the age of 5 when he went to his first NASCAR Truck race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. By the age of twelve, he began kart racing in his hometown of Miami. Over the last 3.5 years, he has raced on multiple national circuits including, Rok Cup USA and The Florida Winter Tour.

Both drivers will compete in the 2017 Summer Shootout, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Shootout will begin June 12 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

For more information on both drivers, visit the Rev Racing website here.

Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Rev Racing operates the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, which is the industry’s leading developmental program for ethnic minorities, women drivers and pit crew members. For more information about Rev Racing visit revracing.net.

Evergreen Raceway (PA) recently announced its “Fantastic Four Hours of Evergreen,” an enduro event that will be the longest in track history.

Each registered car in the series will consist of a four-member team and each will be mandated to take a turn at the wheel during the event slated to take place on Saturday, November 11. In order for the four-hour non-points paying show to take place, a minimum of 50 four-cylinder enduro teams must be pre-registered by October 15.
 
With the exception of having a mandatory fire extinguisher in the driver’s compartment of the car, the event will follow the regular Evergreen Raceway enduro rules.
 
There will be four drivers per team/car. Each driver will compete for one hour. A mandatory red flag will be thrown at every hour on the dot for a mandatory driver change, car and/or tire repair and refueling, all of which will take place on the race track exactly where the cars stopped under red. Each hourly red flag break will be timed at 15 minutes. It is recommended that each team uses a hand truck or wagon to transport tools, tires and fuel containers onto the race track.
 
Pre-registration will be up on the speedway website at a later date. For more information on the event, including the payout list, visit the Evergreen Raceway website.
 
Evergreen Raceway is located minutes from Hazleton, PA, in between routes 93 and 309. For more information regarding Evergreen Raceway visit www.evergreenracewaypark.com.