Champion Oil, a manufacturer of specialty lubricants for the performance and racing markets, announced that Behrent’s Performance Warehouse in Florida, New York now offers Champion Racing Oils, Lubricants and Specialty Products.
 
“It is extremely important for Champion to identify a racing & performance business that shares the same goals and has the ability to provide racers and enthusiasts with first class service and product support,” said Karl Dedolph, Director of the Racing and Performance Division for Champion. “Behrent’s clearly fits the stringent criteria we identified to distribute our products, especially in the oval track market.”
 
Behrent's Speed Center, Inc. first began in 1972 when now president Harry W. Behrent Jr. opened a speed and tire shop aimed at the general automotive market. Then, in 1975 at the age of 31, with a desire to drive dirt stock cars, Harry changed his focus to the specialized oval track market. In 1982, the oval track specialty parts business began.
 
With the experience gained through driving racing cars and a knowledgeable staff, Behrent's Speed Center, Inc. had become a recognized business in the oval track racing industry. Today, now known as Behrent's Performance Warehouse, Behrent's provides services and parts worldwide to the automotive racing industry.
 
For more information on Behrent's Performance Warehouse, visit www.behrents.com.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) announced it has partnered with the Indiana Donor Network to promote organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation through its Driven2SaveLives campaign. The goal is to educate race fans on donation and to encourage them to register their donation decisions through the campaign.

Indiana Donor Network, which oversees and coordinates organ, tissue and eye donation across the state, launched Driven2SaveLives in April 2016 with IndyCar driver Stefan Wilson to promote donation and transplantation awareness around the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. At the time, the campaign honored Stefan's late brother, IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, who died in August 2015 from injuries he sustained in a race crash and saved five lives as an organ donor.

"When we launched Driven2SaveLives last year, we wanted to show the hope and healing that donation provides families, and in turn, we hoped to inspire race fans to become registered donors like the Wilson brothers," said Kellie Hanner, president and chief executive officer at Indiana Donor Network. "Then we lost another racing hero in Bryan Clauson, and his family approached us to help spread donation awareness and to encourage donation registration more broadly within motorsports."

Bryan Clauson, a versatile and beloved driver best known for his talent and achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, died in August 2016 following a race accident. As a registered donor, he went on to save five lives as an organ donor and continues to heal the lives of others as a tissue donor. In January 2017, Indiana Donor Network partnered with Clauson-Marshall Racing and expanded Driven2SaveLives into dirt track racing in honor of Clauson.

"Driven2SaveLives has worked tirelessly to promote donation and transplantation within motorsports since it was formed after the tragic passing of Justin Wilson," said J. Douglas Boles, IMS president. "The need for donors was magnified even further after we lost Bryan Clauson last summer. Both Justin and Bryan were incredible people who always connected with fans and selflessly gave of themselves as donors, and we hope fans will honor their memory and join drivers from so many series by supporting this vital campaign and registering as a donor."

IMS and Indiana Donor Network together will promote donation and transplantation awareness starting this weekend, at the INDYCAR Grand Prix, through next year's Indianapolis 500. Race fans can expect to see the Driven2SaveLives campaign - signage, videos, advertising, social media and more - at all IMS events in between. A special Bryan Clauson tribute is also in the works for the 100th lap of this year's Indianapolis 500.

The easiest way for race fans to register their decisions to become registered donors is to visit Driven2SaveLives.org. The campaign's website feeds into Donate Life America's national registry, which means fans, no matter where they live in the United States, can register their donation decisions there.

FACTS:
• More than 118,000 people nationwide are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants.
          ◦  Over 1,300 of these people are in Indiana alone.
• In the U.S., another person is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
• Each day, 22 people on average in the U.S. die because a donated organ wasn't made available in time.
• One organ donor can save the lives of as many as eight people.
• One tissue donor can heal the lives of approximately 75 people.
• Approximately 90 percent of Americans support organ donation, yet only 50 percent are registered.
• You can register to become an organ, tissue and eye donor at www.driven2savelives.org.

FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN:
• Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat:@Driven2Save
• YouTube:Driven2SaveLives
• Hashtag:#Driven2SaveLives
• Website:Driven2SaveLives.org

Racing in Seymour will begin May 28.

Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars has reached an agreement with the Outagamie County Fair Association to promote a Sunday night racing program at the renamed Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, Wisconsin, during the 2017 season.

The weekly Sunday night racing program will feature familiar divisions including IMCA-sanctioned modifieds, sport mods, stock cars, and sport fours, along with street stocks.

The 2017 season is set to begin Sunday, May 28 and continue through Sunday, Sept. 3.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. with the grandstand opening at 5 p.m. and racing set to begin at 6 p.m.

Grandstand admission will be $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and over, $5 for students 12-15 and free for children 11 and under.

Additional information on the 2017 EWSC racing season at the Outagamie Speedway will be available soon at www.outagamiespeedway.com.

The 15th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance returns to the historic Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Father’s Day weekend, June 15-17.

For three days, the reunion salutes America’s hot rod legends with quarter-mile nostalgia drag racing, classic cars and hot rods, vintage auto parts and memorabilia swap meet and a “huge” vendor midway.
 
The reunion kicks off with a pre-event on Wednesday, June 14 with a Cruise In at the National Corvette Museum located at 350 Corvette Dr. in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Cruise In is from 4-8 p.m. Arrive early and tour the Corvette Museum which is open until 5.
 
The gates open on the 15th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance on June 15 as the thousands of hot rods, street rods and customs will flow into Beech Bend Raceway for the Axalta Show N’ Shine. Entry for the Show N’ Shine is $75 for classics and street rods and includes both driver and a guest for all three days. A single day admission is also available for $25.

Quarter-mile nostalgia drag racing will also commence on Thursday and is heavily featured during the weekend. Hot Heads Qualifying, Eliminations and Saturday’s Final Rounds ensure three days of action as more than 10 nostalgia racing classes, including Top Fuel and Funny Cars, will compete for titles and bragging rights.
 
Those in attendance will be able to see the vehicles up close alongside other period racing cars as they will be on display all weekend in Memory Lane. A special jet dragster run is also scheduled.
 
The Holley National Hot Rod Reunion concludes on Saturday with the long-standing tradition of the Cacklefest, which features dozens of historic nitro burning race cars, many of them being push started in the time-honored tradition of early drag racing.
 
Tickets for the 15th annual Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased before June 1 at a discount price of $65 for a three-day pass or $25 for a single day. Children 15 and under are free with a paid adult. AAA members can save even more by presenting their membership card at checkout. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.nhramuseum.org and click on ‘Reunions’ or call 1 (800) 884-6472.
 
The Hot Rod Reunions are produced by and benefit the NHRA Motorsports Museum, a 501c (3) non-profit institution located in Pomona, California. The Museum’s mission is to celebrate the impact of motorsports on American culture. The Museum collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets the vehicles, stories and artifacts that represent America’s affection for, and the influence of, automotive speed and style in all its forms.

Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. announced the addition of a new manufacturer to its line of automotive components. Yukon Gear & Axle products are now available for purchase through Keystone distribution.

Yukon Gear & Axle offers products for traction, rear axles, ring and pinion sets and more. Based in Everett, Washington, its products have diesel, drag, off-road and other racing applications.

Keystone has more than 165,000 unique stocking SKUs and is a distributor and marketer of specialty automotive equipment and accessories in North America.

Photo of Ward Crozier Sr. courtesy Paved Track Digest.

The racing industry lost two track promoter legends over the weekend.

Thomas M. Curley
Longtime Thunder Road Speedbowl co-owner and promoter Thomas M. Curley passed away on Friday due to complications from a lengthy illness. Curley was 73 years old.

Born May 10, 1943, Curley was involved in local and regional auto racing for most of his adult life. After spending considerable time at Thunder Road as a spectator and driver in the 1960s, he became the NASCAR Northeast regional director in 1978, and a year later created the NASCAR North Tour. He and Thunder Road founder Ken Squier then acquired the track in 1982.

After leaving NASCAR, Curley created the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) sanctioning body in 1986. Among his many accomplishments, he helped relaunch the famed Flying Tiger division that has competed since 1982 and created the ACT Late Model rules package used at Thunder Road and numerous other tracks.

Curley’s stewardship was driven by the philosophy of making racing more exciting for the fans and more affordable for the racers. This commitment extended to all divisions, and his “ladder system” for weekly racing became known throughout the country. Many racers who came up through his system went on to both regional and national prominence, and he also made the track a popular destination for the nation’s top racing stars.

Racing Promotion Monthly named Curley the North American Promoter of the Year in 2004 in recognition of his efforts. He also received the Lowes Motor Speedway National Short Track Promoter of the Year Award in 2003 and the Trackside Magazine Promoter of the Year Award in 1992. Curley was inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.

Though his health had declined in recent years, Curley continued to be a presence at Thunder Road. He and Squier had recently completed the sale of the track prior to his passing. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Ward Crozier Sr.
Racer and promoter Ward Crozier Sr. also passed away on Friday, May 5. Crozier was 79 years old and resided in Leighton with his wife of 56 years, Dottie.

Crozier raced on both dirt and asphalt from the 1960s and into the 2000s but was most known for his exploits as a track promoter at Harmony, Nazareth and Mahoning Valley Speedways.

In 1987, Ward and Dottie Crozier went to work reopening Mahoning Valley Speedway, a 1/4-mile oval, that had been sitting dormant for 10 years. After installing grandstands, a concrete outside wall and a number of other upgrades, the track successfully held its first race with a packed house and full pit area.

The pair of promoters even donated proceeds from a race in the first season to the family of a child who was fighting the battle against cancer.

Although Crozier sold his shares in 1993, he remained a fixture at the track every year since. His son, Ward Jr., daughter, Betty Christman, son-in-law Barry Christman Sr., son-in-law Rich Pursell and grandson Barry Christman, Jr. are all racers at the track.

The viewing for Ward Crozier Sr. will take place on Tuesday, May 9 at the Reichel Funeral Home in Northampton, Pennsylvania.

A brand new addition is in the works for racing at Oswego Speedway and the particulars of this addition will be quite unique to “The Steel Palace.”

In a combined effort with Supermodified car builder John Colloca, track owners John and Eric Torrese have put plans in place over the past several months to develop a prototype 350 Supermodified for testing at the track, which is now complete at Colloca’s Oswego-based shop.

The Torreses hope to build a class specifically for the 350 Supers. Novelis Supermodified and the Pathfinder Bank SBS divisions currently race at the track today.

350 Supermodifieds were last on the race track at Oswego in 2013 when a handful of New England region cars appeared for testing, running sub-18 second times. While the expectation is to see something similar with the Oswego-style 350 Super, there is a small difference between the two cars.

“This is a 350 Supermodified with a 602 crate engine that has cast iron heads,” said John Colloca. “There is a Chevy distributor in there. Very similar to what they run out east, almost the exact same thing, however, their engine is a 604 and what we have in this car is a 602.”

2017 will be a big test for the 350 Supermodifieds along with the speedway to see what comes of the in-depth track time for this freshly re-done machine.

“2017 is going to be a learning experience,” Torrese stated. “I hope that by somewhere in July we hopefully have it figured out and, from there, make up a rulebook and go forward with this as a class in the future. There are cars sitting in garages not being touched right now that we think could be a part of a 350 Supermodified division at Oswego. It's an inexpensive way to get into the sport. We hope the fans like it, we hope people support it, and hopefully, everyone will be as excited as we are.”

Oswego Speedway will be back in action this Saturday, May 6 for the speedway’s annual open testing sessions from 1-5pm. Main grandstand gates will be open and free to the public.

Official racing action at the speedway begins on Saturday, May 13 featuring the speedway’s 67th consecutive Opening Day presented by Mitchell’s Speedway Press and highlighted by the Race of Champions Modified Richie Evans Memorial 61 as well as kick-off events for the Novelis Supermodifieds and Pathfinder Bank SBS.

For more information on Oswego Speedway visit www.oswegospeedway.com or www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.

Motovicity Distribution announced it will move its popular Speed Ring event (Sept. 30-Oct.1) to the M1 Concourse near downtown Detroit. Last year, the event was held at the Auto Club Speedway in California.

Nestled amongst the Motor City’s exclusive private garage community, the new 1.5-mile circuit will lend itself to a series of time attack battles. And with official classes being announced soon, competitors will be able to begin prepping to win the numerous cash payouts for podium finishes.

“2016 proved to be a wildly successful proof of concept,” said Brett Kinsfather, Motovicity VP of Sales and Marketing. “As planning for year two began, everything aligned perfectly to bring the Speed Ring home to Detroit and we couldn’t be happier. I’m looking forward to all the exciting announcements we’ll be making thanks to this hometown advantage.”

Stay on top of the latest Speed Ring developments by visiting www.TheSpeedRing.com or www.facebook.com/thespeedring. 

GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar will receive one of the industry's highest honors and be inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame.

The new members will be recognized as part of the festivities during the SEMA Installation Gala on Friday, July 28, 2017, at the Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. They represent an accomplished group of leaders who have shaped and inspired the automotive specialty-equipment market.
 
GiGi Carleton

Many in the industry are familiar with Robert E. Petersen, the 1981 SEMA Hall of Fame inductee who is responsible for launching many of the largest and most successful automotive magazine titles, such as Motor Trend and Hot Rod. What few people realize is that, for nearly 50 years, Carleton worked side-by-side with Petersen and his wife, as the trio went on to create the Petersen empire. Today, Carleton serves as the president of the Robert E. Petersen Foundation, where she is committed to and responsible for carrying on Petersen’s legacy in the automotive industry and philanthropic activities.
 
Doug Evans

Doug Evans has an impressive career in the automotive industry, having spent more than 30 years as a senior executive at various publishing houses. It is, however, his leadership and activism that distinguish him from many others. As the current SEMA Chairman of the Board, Evans guides the association on initiatives focused on youth outreach and legislation. He’s also served as chairman of the Save the Salt Coalition, is an advisor to the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer and volunteers as a judge for the SEMA Launch Pad competition.

Barry Meguiar

Barry Meguiar is the president of the car care company that was founded by his grandfather in 1901. With a passion for cars, Meguiar grew the company to attract mainstream consumers. Through fun, family-oriented car shows and the launch of “Car Crazy” TV, Meguiar’s signature smile and infectious excitement for vehicles spread across the country. In addition to being one of the earliest exhibitors of the SEMA Show, Meguiar gave viewers a taste of the trade-only Show by filming “Car Crazy” TV from the annual event. Meguiar interviewed iconic Showgoers and is responsible for spreading the “Car Crazy” bug throughout the world.

For additional details about the SEMA Hall of Fame and the inductees over the years, visit www.semahof.com. For more information about the SEMA Installation Gala, visit www.sema.org/gala.

Royal Purple Synthetic Oil, the official oil of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, announced it will title all six rounds of competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12 and 13 in support of the Lupus Foundation of America.
 
“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Mazda Road to Indy and look forward to helping young talent outperform the competition as they journey through major milestones in their careers, while also being able to help raise funds in the fight against lupus,” said Davey Hamilton, Director of Sponsorships at Royal Purple Synthetic Oil. “The color purple represents lupus awareness and this is a perfect partnership for the Royal Purple brand.”
 
May is Lupus Awareness Month, and Royal Purple Synthetic Oil and the Mazda Road to Indy have joined forces to help bring attention to this mysterious chronic autoimmune disease which sees 16,000 new cases reported each year.

All 50-plus cars across the three series will carry a decal in support of the Lupus Foundation of America, and a special hashtag – #RaceToEndLupus – will be utilized throughout the event. Fans can show their support by donating on behalf of their favorite drivers via a special page on the national Lupus Foundation website.
 
Belardi Auto Racing, spearheaded by team owner Brian Belardi and team manager John Brunner, has been a staunch supporter of the Lupus Foundation of America.
 
“When close friends of our team, Emilee Hunt and Addie, were diagnosed with Lupus [in 2014], we decided to put the Lupus Foundation of America decals on our Indy Lights cars to help raise awareness each May,” said Brunner.
 
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America will open with a test day for all three series on Thursday, May 11, followed by a pair of races for each level on May 12 and 13.

As a preamble to the event, highlights from the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil “Slickest Pour Race” held at Barber Motorsports Park with a handful of drivers in the Mazda Road to Indy will be distributed on social media as a teaser for the weekend.
 
Live streaming of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America will be available on indycar.com, on the Road to Indy TV App and Xbox One. Saturday’s Indy Lights race will air on NBCSN on May 21.