The daughter of Thermo-Tec founders Jim and Donna White, Chrissy Gilmore returned to the heat and sound management products company where she started at a very young age, having held various positions in the packaging, shipping & receiving and accounting departments— this time as CEO.
 
“I have watched my parents build this business and this industry,” Gilmore said. “This year marks our 30th anniversary and a new beginning.”
 
Thermo-Tec is known for its range of heat and sound management solutions, like the new Armor line which the company will release this spring. All the company’s products are made in the US.
 
Gilmore returns to Ohio from Grants Pass, Oregon, with her husband and two children. She will immediately begin working with her brother Jeremy to bring a new approach to marketing and advertising, as well as expanding the Thermo-Tec product line.
 
“We are looking forward to new business ventures and working as a team with long-time employees to have another awesome 30 years, where we continue to grow and make waves in the automotive world,” Gilmore said.
 
Prior to returning to Thermo-Tec, Gilmore spent time with the United States Postal Service as a rural carrier associate, local union steward and on-the-job training instructor.
 
“We are extremely excited to have Chrissy back on board with Thermo-Tec,” said Nick Helms, Sales Manager of Thermo-Tec. “Her knowledge of the industry and passion for success will prove to be a great addition to the team. She has already proven to be an excellent leader and a well-driven CEO.”

Since 1987, Thermo-Tec has offered exhaust insulating and heat protection technology. Thermo-Tec manufactures more than 130 products that either control heat dissipation or reflect heat away from parts and components in what is said to be an unlimited number of potential uses.

Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. has announced the company has added GRID Off Road, Plombco, Revolution Supply, HUF North America, Intellitronix and JW Speaker to its selection of inventory.

GRID Off Road brings a line of uniquely styled off-road wheels, and the additions of Plombco, Revolution Supply and HUF North America provide customers with diverse options within the wheel accessory category. JW Speaker provides Jeep lighting while Intellitronix delivers digital gauges for vehicle specific and universal applications.

“Our team remains committed to helping both parties expand their businesses so that, collectively, we all push the aftermarket forward,” said Larry Montante, Vice President of Category Management. “We’re excited about these new partnerships, which are highly reputable additions to our existing line card.”

Keystone has more than 165,000 unique stocking SKUs and is said to continue to expand its footprint to meet the ever-growing needs of its customer base. For more information, visit www.keystoneautomotive.com.

Lernerville Speedway dropped the green flag last Friday night to usher in its 50th season of racing.

The Tomson family, who bought the track in May 2015, replaced World Racing Group as owners. The family has made some additional changes to the track's management. Most notably, Father Tim Tomson, pastor of St. Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church in McKees Rocks, has replaced Gary Risch Jr. as the promoter and general manager.

“I learned that racing fans and racers are the salt of the Earth,” Tomson said. “I also learned, by viewing the kids involved in racing, that they don't have time to get into trouble because they are in the garage helping on the cars or at the track working on the cars with their families. We also learned that racing is just one big extended family.”

Tomson also said physical improvements have been made to the facility and the track.

Three hundred bleacher seats have been fixed, a French drain has been installed to help prevent water from leeching onto the racing surface, more clay has been put on the track and safety improvements have been made to the barrier in Turn 4.

“It really is the simple things that you can improve on to help make things, and life, better,” Tomson said. “This really is a great deal for family entertainment. For about $50, a family of four can come and enjoy themselves.”

Making racing more family-friendly has been a constant refrain since the purchase of the track, and the Tomsons continue to adjust things to attract as many families as possible, according to Tomson.

“For the kids, we have brought back the Kid's Club. We will also have the Monster Trucks at the track this season,” Tomson said. “Last year, we had the tractor pull show. Kids under 10 are still free to get in, and in August we will have a go-kart display to help introduce kids to racing.”

Lernerville has balanced its weekly racing series with bigger shows such as the World of Outlaws. It also is the only track in America to run the big three divisions each week — 410 Sprint Cars, Late Models and V-8 Modifieds.

In the span of 10 seasons, the three-day World of Outlaws Firecracker 100 for Late Models has turned into a major event and maintains its spot in the middle of the schedule, June 22-24. The first two nights are highlighted by $6000-to-win features and the final night's main event will pay $30,000 to win.

While the Firecracker 100 has staked its claim as the track's signature event, there are other big-name shows that help balance the schedule.

Tony Stewart's All Star Sprints will be at Lernerville on May 5. The World of Outlaws Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXVI is July 18. WoO Sprint Commonwealth Clash was not on the schedule last season but it returns Sept. 23.

The Monster Truck show is May 20, and the U.S.A. East Truck and Tractor Pull event is Aug. 27. The final night of points racing for the weekly shows is Aug. 26. Bus races are scheduled for June 6, and Sept. 9. Autumn-Motive Fest is Sept. 16.

The season will conclude Oct. 12-14 with the ninth annual DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede with nine divisions taking part.

NASCAR again has upped its level of medical commitment and response, working in conjunction with American Medical Response to announce that Dr. Angela Fiege will serve as the newly appointed NASCAR/AMR Safety Team Medical Director.


The Indianapolis-based doctor has served as a physician medical consultant in NASCAR for the past two years, supporting both the infield care centers and on-track response at all NASCAR-sponsored race events. Her new role will include collaboration with NASCAR Medical Liaisons and NASCAR Consulting Physicians in addition to guiding the services provided by AMR.


In February, NASCAR announced it was partnering with AMR to expand its capabilities of medical support and enhance on-track incident response—Fiege's new position is another component of that agreement. Drivers had previously asked for a physician who traveled to the majority of most race weekends as a way to develop familiarity.


A lifelong motorsports fan, Fiege said she is enthusiastic about developing her new role and enhancing the sport's medical program. She has been trackside at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a decade working with both NASCAR and open-wheel drivers. She was even awarded this year's "Above and Beyond Award" for her work presenting lectures on driver and crew safety at NASCAR's annual summits.


"The great thing about this job is that it is an open book waiting to be written," Fiege told NASCAR.com. "I've had the good fortune to get to know a lot of good people along the way. And I think collectively, we'll work to make this something I hope that people who do other forms of motorsport will look to NASCAR and say, 'That was great, let's implement some of their ideas in how we manage our drivers as well.'"


Fiege began her career as a paramedic and then became a nurse before serving 20 years as a flight nurse for Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. She then got her medical doctor degree and has managed emergency care at the hospital for the past 12 years.


Part of Fiege's impressive credentialing is that she is board certified in both emergency medicine and neurocritical care.


Not only will Fiege oversee the at-track medical response, she also hopes to develop a broader health and fitness program for not only NASCAR's star drivers but their family members and teammates as well.


AWE Tuning, a performance parts retailer and distributor, announced the continued growth of its executive team with the placement of its new director of engineering, Brian Vinson.

Vinson will be leading all new product development while also overseeing the AWE Tuning research and development teams, encompassing the mechanical engineering, industrial design and prototyping functions.

Vinson’s role prior to joining AWE Tuning was as the engineering manager at Air Lift Performance, where he was responsible for all engineering activities related to Air Lift’s performance air suspension products. Prior to Air Lift Performance, Vinson held positions within Bridgestone-Firestone as a senior engineer and as development lead for its Praxis Air Suspension products, which followed a role at Chrysler as its senior truck vehicle dynamics engineer.

Vinson holds his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Detroit. He is relocating from Howell, Michigan, to AWE Tuning’s Horsham, Pennsylvania, headquarters.

National Auto Sport Association (NASA) officials announced that registration for the 12th annual NASA Championships, which holds both a Western and Eastern States Championships in October, is now open.

The 2017 NASA Western States Championship presented by Toyo Tires begins with a visit to Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA on October 5-8, 2017. 

The NASA Eastern States Championship presented by Toyo Tires is set in Sebring, FL at the Sebring International Raceway on October 19-22, 2017.

Racing entry fees begin at $649 through May 31, wherein prices rise until registration closes. Time trial entry fees begin at $449 for the Western States and $499 for the Eastern States through August 21, where prices also rise after the deadline.

For more information, visit the links below.

2017 Western States Championship Registration: www.nasaproracing.com/events/2590. 2017 Eastern States Championship Registration: www.nasaproracing.com/events/2591.

Crossville Dragway officials in Tennessee has announced the track has secured Michael Dalton, Brian Bourke and Mike Tabors to manage the 2017 racing program.

Dalton will hold the position of general manager while Tabors will be the track manager. Bourke will be the chief operations officer/marketing director for the facility.

Currently, the schedule is not set yet for the entire 2017 season but the race track will open for its first Test-N-Tune on May 5 and 6.

The track will also host the RTDS4 event in July and is aiming to post a detailed race program by the end of May.

Track officials are planning facility improvements throughout the year and a race program with special events. The facility will also be able to sell race fuel to racers in the future, according to officials.

Tabors has an extensive history, not only in racing but also as a business owner. He has lived in Monterey, TN, for 57 years. Tabors started racing at Crossville Dragway when he was 18 years old and over the years has built a lot of great relationships with racers near and far.
 
Dalton is the owner of RLC Motorsports out of Cookeville, TN. His life has been influenced by racing and he has a passion for the sport and its future, according to Crossville Dragway officials. Dalton brought and worked the biggest diesel racing event to Tennessee a few years ago (RTDS).

Bourke has spent many years as a business owner, marketing director and managing a multitude of different projects. He started racing at the age of 14 and has been involved in motorsports ever since.

For more information, contact Tabors at Mtabors@crossvilledragway.com, Dalton at Mdalton@crossvilledragway.com or Bourke at Brian@crossvilledragway.com.

VP Racing Fuels announced the appointment of Donato Bonacquisto as Director of Marketing. Bonacquisto will be responsible for advertising, sponsorships, event management and public relations in support of all VP business divisions including Race Fuel, Branding and Consumer Products. 

Bonacquisto comes to VP from Hankook Tire America where, as Motorsports and Events Manager, he promoted the Hankook Tire brand in the U.S. market across a mix of professional and amateur motorsports initiatives and top-level events in the consumer, aftermarket and commercial sectors.

Prior to that, he held management positions at multiple NASCAR Cup Series teams in both marketing and business development capacities, in addition to tenures with JHE Production Group managing elements of the Sprint title sponsorship with NASCAR and SPEED Channel as Event Marketing Manager. 

Bonacquisto has also held roles in the automotive industry producing media/press launches at APEX Performance and managing luxury brands including Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Aston Martin and Bentley.
 
Bonacquisto began his career in motorsports competing in SCCA events and continues to pursue racing as a hobby.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) will run a new class to the series— X275— at the 2017 New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire from June 2-4.

The program is slated to run on Friday with a qualifying run being made in the morning and three rounds of eliminations happening in conjunction with the professional qualifying sessions that day.

Torrey Browne, head of the New England X275 contingent and John Sears, an active promoter of the series, came up with an interesting format for the program. A team of five New England-based X275 competitors assembled by Browne will be pitted against five out-of-region racers put together by Sears.

New Unity Raceway (ME) track owner George Fernald Jr. said the 1/3-mile asphalt oval will be dug up in order to transform it into a dirt track beginning next season.

“The track is in bad shape and needs to be repaved,” explained Fernald to Bangor Daily News. “And after buying the place, I don’t have $200,000 to repave it.”

Fernald estimated that it will cost him “less than $20,000” to turn it into a dirt track.

“All the dirt and clay is right there. I’ll just have to buy a grader, roller and a water truck,” said Fernald. “There is going to be a lot of maintenance. We’re going to have to work on it two or three days a week in order to race on it.”

He also noted that by transforming it into a dirt track, “we’ll also be able to fix the drainage” among other new improvements to include new fencing and restrooms, jacking up the grandstand, building a small drag strip in the center of the infield so they can have lawn mower-tractor races, adding a mud run for trucks in the lower parking lot and providing a campground.

Dirt track racing is extremely popular in other parts of the country with National Speedway Directory reporting that there are over 700 tracks in the United States. However, there aren’t any listed in New England.

Fernald said he would be interested in bringing a regional dirt-track race to Unity. There were dirt tracks in Greenville, Skowhegan and Unity Plantation but they are no longer in operation.

The dirt track will mean an end to the Late Model class with the Street Stocks being elevated to the top class, he said.

The first racing weekend will be held on Sunday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. The other dates are Sunday, June 25; Friday, July 7; Sunday, Aug. 13; Sunday, Sept. 10; Sunday, Sept. 24, and the Long John Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21 and 22.

All of the racing will begin at 1:30 p.m. with the exception of the July 7 card which starts at 7:30 p.m.

The classes include Late Models, Wildcats or Street Stocks, Keystone 6 Shooters (6-cylinder cars), Flyin’ 4’s (four-cylinder cars), Caged Enduros and regular Enduros.