The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, Iowa announced the museum’s newest raffle, the “Australian Sprint Car Vacation.” The raffle winner will receive two round-trip airfares from the contiguous United States to Australia, seven nights lodging in a hotel and two tickets to all three nights of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool.

The winner of the raffle will be drawn during the 57th Annual 5–hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals on August 12, 2017. The winner need not be present to win.

“This should give the lucky winner plenty of time to take off work, get a passport and plan on attending the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool,” said the museum’s executive director, Bob Baker.

Should the winner not be able to attend the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool, there is also a $10,000 cash option in lieu of the vacation package.

“Australian Sprint Car Vacation” raffle tickets are available online at www.sprintcarvacation.com or at your favorite sprint car track across the country. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the non-profit museum at 1-800-874-4488.

For more information visit the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum’s website at www.sprintcarhof.com.

A panel of legendary drivers and top motorsports safety experts will again be featured at this year's "Racing Goes Safer" free driver safety seminar, presented by the Stand 21 Safety Foundation, which will take place on Saturday, April 8, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Long Beach Convention Center, Room 203 A&B.

The seminar is in conjunction with the 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach that takes place the weekend of April 7-9.

George Follmer, Lyn St. James and Jack Baldwin are among those on the panel, as well as IndyCar Medical Advisor Dr. Stephen Olvey. Baja 1000 champion and SCORE president Roger Norman will also present. 

Mike Hurst and Ed Becker, respectively representing the SFI and Snell Memorial Safety Foundations, will provide advice on driver equipment selection and how to avoid the increasing number of counterfeit products infiltrating the marketplace.

Rounding out the list of speakers will be Robert Calisi, a grass-roots racer with basic, no-cost, safety tips for racers.

The seminar will include detailed presentations by the speakers, with questions and follow-up discussion being encouraged. There will also be a networking break during the program.


Pre-registration is encouraged to help the organization's planning activity. The seminar is free with Long Beach track access. Visit www.racinggoessafer.org to register and for discounted Grand Prix of Long Beach tickets.

The 1.4-mile track has been revealed for the June 10-11 relocated Berlin ePrix, which has been moved from the Karl-Marx-Allee circuit to a redesigned version of the Tempelhof Airport location used in the inaugural FIA Formula E season.

The new-look track features 10 corners on the airport's apron section, running counter-clockwise as it did in the original layout, but re-profiled to complement the series' faster cars.

"For us as a German team with German partners… it is great news that we will have two home races this season," said ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Daniel Abt. "It's no secret that I loved the track around Karl-Marx-Allee a lot. But now that I have seen the new Tempelhof layout, I can't wait to get there."

Tickets for the 2017 Formula E Berlin ePrix are on sale now. Tickets will be honored for fans who bought tickets for the original Karl-Marx-Allee circuit.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of his record-setting fourth Indianapolis 500 win, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum will present a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit honoring auto racing icon A.J. Foyt, opening April 14.

A.J. Foyt: A Legendary Exhibition is a limited-run celebration that traces the superstar's rise from the dirt tracks of Texas to the pinnacle of auto racing history.

Nearly three dozen cars that Foyt drove in competition will be on display, including all four of his Indianapolis 500 winning machines: the 1961 Bowes Seal Fast Special, 1964 & 1967 Sheraton-Thompson Specials, and the 1977 Gilmore Coyote.

"Everyone knows that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is my favorite track and that people wouldn't know me if it weren't for the Indy 500, but to have the Museum put on this exhibit there, well I feel truly honored," said the legendary Foyt. "This exhibit will give people a chance to see my winning Indy cars but also some of the other race cars I drove and won in over the years."

In addition to several of Foyt's IndyCars, many incredible machines representing Foyt's career in NASCAR, USAC and road racing will be on display, many for the first time, and visitors will also have the chance to see rare memorabilia from Foyt's personal collection.

"Based on the stuff we shipped to Indy, I think the Museum has a lot of personal memorabilia and photos that their visitors will like seeing,” Foyt said. "I haven't seen some of the cars in many, many years so to be truthful, I'm looking forward to the exhibit too!"

A.J. Foyt: A Legendary Exhibition is presented by ABC Supply, with additional support from Chevrolet and Al-Fe Heat Treating. The exhibit runs until October 31.

Two teams of high school students qualified for the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Dual National Championship at the third HROT Engine Challenge event of the 2017 season. It was held at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas last weekend.

Nine teams from four different schools competed with hopes to qualify for the Dual National Championship held at the SEMA and PRI Show later this year.

Coming in at second place was Team BE-COOL (Jacksonville High School from Jacksonville, Arizona) with the qualifying time of 29:09.

First place went to team FEL-PRO (Tulsa Technology Center from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma). Their qualifying time was 22:32.

Two new schools participated in HROT for the first time. Pontotoc Tech Center from Ada, Oklahoma, had one team and Caddo Career & Tech Center out of Shreveport, Louisiana had three teams participate.

Each student that participates at the Dual National Championship later this year will have an opportunity to be awarded college scholarships somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000 total from five different colleges.

There will be two Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competitions held on Saturday, April 1, giving another group of teams a chance to qualify for the Dual National Championships. The west coast event will take place at the NMCA WEST Spring Nationals in Fontana, California and the Midwest event will take place at the Coker Tire Chattanooga Cruise-in.

Visit HotRoddersOfTomorrow.com for more information and to see the complete results from this past weekend. For additional information in starting a team or sponsorship opportunities, contact Rodney Bingham at RBingham@hotroddersoftomorrow.com or call at 815-722-5460.

IndyCar has released new images of the universal aerodynamic bodywork kit that will be used by all competitors in 2018.

The computer-generated images are the next evolution of the car’s development process and provide more detail than concept sketches released in January.

IndyCar president Jay Frye said IndyCar is on target to begin testing the car by mid-summer. Verizon IndyCar Series teams will still choose between Chevrolet and Honda engines for competition next season, but all cars will be outfitted with the universal kit that covers the Dallara IR-12 chassis that has been used since the 2012 season.

As with the current aero kits provided through the end of this season, the universal car will come in two configurations: one for superspeedway ovals and the other for street courses, road courses and short ovals. The supplier of the universal kit has yet to be announced.  

A key component of the new car is for it to generate most of its downforce from underneath instead of on top. This will improve racing and passing opportunities by decreasing the turbulent air that the Indy car leaves in its wake.

IndyCar director of aerodynamic development Tino Belli added that simulations show the new car meets IndyCar’s aerodynamic targets, and additional safety enhancements include side impact structures in the sidepods and repositioned radiators to assist in reducing the severity of side impacts by crushing on impact.

Other noticeable features include a lower engine cover; turbocharger inlets are also moving to the inside of the radiator inlet ducts.

The rear wing and front wing main plane are also smaller, and the centerline wicker from the nose of the car to the cockpit is tapered. The rear wing in the road course/short oval configuration is lower and wider. The fins on the leading edge of the sidepods of the current car will be removed or minimized on the 2018 car.

Photo courtesy Schmidt Motorsports.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Sam Schmidt has been announced as part of Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame’s 2017 class alongside Floyd Mayweather, Butch Harmon, Overton Curtis and the Las Vegas Bowl.

“I’m truly honored to be recognized with this group of incredible athletes and organizations,” said Schmidt. “When you look at the other recipients over the past 21 years, it is truly a who’s who of Nevada sports and community leaders, all of whom I respect tremendously and several I call friends. I am proud that this award represents both accomplishments on the track and as a team owner, as well as a commitment to giving back to the local community, which has always been important to my family.”

In addition to co-heading up the Indianapolis-based Verizon IndyCar Series team, Schmidt’s recent endeavors include becoming the first individual to ever receive a semi-autonomous driver’s license, recently driving up to the top of Pikes Peak—an elevation of 14,115 feet.

Sam and the other four inductees will be honored on June 2 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

NMRA, NMCA and Race Part Solutions have announced a Racer Appreciation Happy Hour that will take place at Atlanta Dragway on Thursday, April 6, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

All NMRA and NMCA racers, family, crew, sponsors, media and vendors are invited to attend the event, complete with on-tapped beer, hot wings and pizza appetizers.

The NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Steeda Autosports takes place at the Atlanta Dragway over the weekend of April 6—9.

The Atlanta Dragway has recently been resurfaced by Kurt Johnson of Total Venue Concepts.

Motorsports veteran Dominic Blasco has been named the president and general manager of Cordova (Illinois) International Raceway.

Blasco takes over for retiring president Rod Wolter, who will remain on board as a consultant to the facility.

The track hosts several drag racing events, including the 64th annual World Series of Drag Racing, Street Racing Made Safe and rally cross competitions.

Previously, Blasco served as the director of operations at Memphis International Raceway for the past year. At Memphis, he oversaw events for the facility’s ¼-mile drag strip, ¾-mile oval speedway and 1.8-mile road course.

Blasco also has experience in owning tracks. He was a co-owner of Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove, Wisconsin, where he developed programs designed to provide a safe, quality facility. And in 2012, he and wife, Teri, became owner-operators of Sikeston (Missouri) Raceway, known today as Jeffers Motorsports Park. The pair made improvements to the concrete walls, the timing systems and the fire-safety systems. An emphasis was also placed on consistent track preparation.

For more information about the World Series of Drag Racing on August 25-27 and other CIR events, please go to www.racecir.com.

The following slate of candidates are vying for a seat on the SEMA Board of Directors:

Chair-elect Category (one open seat)
    •    Mitch Fogle, president and CEO, Lund International
    •    Tim Martin, vice president, K&N Engineering
Distributor/Retailer Category (one open seat)
    •    Greg Adler, CEO, Transamerican Auto Parts
    •    Brian Lounsberry, CEO, Motovicity Distribution
Manufacturers Category (one open seat)
    •    James Lawrence, CEO, Power Automedia
    •    Shahriar “Nick” Niakan, president and CEO, Advanced Flow Engineering Inc. (aFe Power)
    •    Dennis Weese, president, LINE-X

Voting will take place online May 10–24, 2017, and is open to current SEMA-member companies. Votes must be cast by each company’s primary contact. Details with ballots and links will be sent to the member company’s designated primary contact beginning April 28. Winners will be announced by May 30 and formally introduced at the SEMA Installation Gala on July 28.

For more information about the 2017 SEMA Board of Directors election, contact Susan Alfonso at 909-978-6671 or susana@sema.org.