The annual end-of-season NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon, held in Las Vegas, awarded 19 different individuals and companies for their outstanding efforts in the performance racing and NASCAR fields.

In recognition of her leadership and accomplishments as founder and chairwoman emeritus of the NASCAR Foundation, the late Betty Jane France was named the recipient of the 2016 Myers Brothers Award. The prestigious honor recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to stock car racing and is voted upon by the National Motorsports Press Association.

A philanthropist in support of children’s health causes, France started the NASCAR Foundation in 2006. Through her leadership and passion over the past decade, the NASCAR Foundation has raised more than $25 million and improved the lives of one million children across the country.
 
In 2011, the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Presented by Nationwide was created in her honor. Each year it is granted to a person who exhibits the unwavering commitment to philanthropic and community efforts that Betty Jane demonstrated throughout her life.
 
France, a longtime community leader in Daytona Beach, Florida, helped establish the “Speediatrics” children’s care units at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Homestead Hospital in Homestead, Florida, and NYU Langone Medical Center in New York.
 
In addition to her guidance of the NASCAR Foundation, she served as NASCAR executive vice president and assistant treasurer, helping her husband, former NASCAR President Bill France Jr., elevate the sanctioning body to America’s No. 1 form of motorsports.
 
France is the mother of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa France Kennedy.
 
The Myers Brothers Award – named after pioneer NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers – has been presented every year since 1958. Eighteen other awards were given out at the luncheon, acknowledging achievements ranging from marketing excellence to success on the track and skill in the garage.

Another award winner of the afternoon was team owner, entrepreneur and mechanical wizard Jack Roush, winner of the prestigious NASCAR Buddy Shuman Award. Established in 1957 in memory of Louis Grier “Buddy” Shuman, one of stock car racing’s most popular early drivers, the award has been sponsored for 60 consecutive years by Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ Champion brand of spark plugs, filters, wipers, batteries and other products. Federal-Mogul Motorparts is a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation.

Roush joins such racing luminaries as Bill France Sr., Richard Petty, Ken Squier, Chris Economaki and Rick Hendrick in receiving the award, which recognizes individuals and organizations that have helped shape professional stock car racing. Shuman was a beloved figured who raced in Grand National (now NASCAR’s Premier Series) events in the early 1950s and also served as NASCAR’s first technical inspector.

A native of Covington, Ky., Roush became interested in motorsports as an engineer at Ford Motor Company in the mid-1960s. He and racing partner Wayne Gapp had significant early success in drag racing’s Pro Stock class before Roush began developing road racing vehicles through a consulting deal with Ford. He leveraged his engineering skill and racing experience to establish Jack Roush Performance Engineering in 1976. Roush was a dominant force in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) road racing during the 1980s, winning more than 100 races and 24 national titles. He moved to NASCAR in 1988 with the launch of Roush Racing, a one-car Cup (now called Premier Series) team led by driver Mark Martin. Roush Racing won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, the organization announced a joint venture with Fenway Sports Group. The resulting organization, Roush Fenway Racing, now operates three teams apiece in NASCAR Premier Series and XFINITY Series competition.

“Jack is a true racing legend, with unprecedented success as a performance engineer, driver, entrepreneur, team owner, tactician and mentor,” said Michael Proud, vice president of marketing, Americas, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. “Perhaps his most impressive achievement, however, has been his ability to empower those around him – drivers, mechanics, engine builders, crew chiefs and engineers – to excel both on and off the track. The Roush brand is synonymous with race-winning performance.”
 
The complete list of Thursday’s award winners from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon:
 

1. NMPA Myers Brothers Award: Betty Jane France
2. Buddy Shuman Award: Jack Roush
3. NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award: Comcast XFINITY
4. Chevrolet Cross Flags Award: Tony Stewart
5. American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick
6. Coors Light Pole Award: Carl Edwards
7. Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race” Award: Kyle Busch
8. Goodyear NASCAR Series Champion Award: Jimmie Johnson
9. Ingersoll Rand Power Move Award: Dave Rogers, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Crew Chief
10. MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Scott Vester, Hendrick Engines No. 4 team
11. Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award: Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team
12. Mobil 1 Driver of the Year Award: Kyle Busch
13. MOOG Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Year Award: Alan Gustafson, crew chief No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team
14. Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award: Kyle Busch
15. Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
16. Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award: Chase Elliott
17. Champion Sponsor Award: Lowe’s
18. Champion Crew Chief Award: Chad Knaus
19.  Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Presented by Nationwide: Andy Hoffman

Thomas and Sharon Malloy were honored as “Citizens of the Year” during Chapman University’s 35th annual Chapman Celebrates gala event at the new Musco Center for the Arts. Malloy, president of Ed Pink Racing Engines, and his wife, Sharon, received the prestigious award for their support of initiatives and programs at Chapman.  

Malloy is Owner/CEO of Trench Shoring Company, which over 40 years, he has grown from a small aluminum shoring business to one of the largest shoring companies in the west, with ten locations. Malloy credits much of the company’s recent expansion and success to the involvement of his children, Kevin (President), Bridgett (Vice President), Kelley (Vice President) and Ryan (Lake Forest location Branch Manager).  

Three of Malloy’s four grandchildren (three alumni, one current) are also Chapman University students.

Malloy is also well-known in the racing industry as president of Ed Pink Racing Engines. Ed Pink Racing Engines is an auto racing engine building, rebuilding, testing, design and development facilities and has been located at its Van Nuys, CA, facility since 1966.  

Malloy has supported education throughout his life. He and Sharon are regular contributors to Thomas’ alma maters, and have been honored with the naming of facilities on both campuses, including Malloy Hall, home to University of San Francisco’s school of Management.

Malloy joined the Board of Governors at Chapman University in 2007, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees, lending his expertise to the Real Estate, Building and Grounds Committees. Tom and Sharon have generously supported many Chapman initiatives and programs including American Celebration, the Leatherby Libraries and Doti Hall. Most recently, their generosity in helping to build Musco Center for the Arts was recognized with the naming of the three-level Thomas E. and Sharon Malloy Grand Lobby.

During the awards ceremony, a short video highlighted the Malloys’ contributions to Chapman University. The video featured heartfelt tributes from their family, business associates and leaders representing Thomas Malloy’s alma maters. Malloy was visibly moved by the tribute, noting, “We’re so honored to have children like that.”

Turn 14 Distribution, a performance parts distributor, has added Fuel Off-Road Wheels to its line card.

“The addition of Fuel Off-Road Wheels to our warehousing operations gives Turn 14 Distribution the ability to set our customers up for success. The company’s designs are sought-after by the off-road community,” said Kyle Shelley, Turn 14 Distribution’s Director of Sales.

“Fuel Off-Road Wheels offers a wide range of designs for many different applications. They are available in one-piece, two-piece, deep lip, forged, and dually wheels. The Fuel Off-Road brand’s identity is consistent with good looks, tough construction, and off-road performance.”

Fuel Off-Road manufactures advanced off-road wheels. Established in 2009 by MHT Luxury Alloys, Fuel Off-Road has said to have been capturing the attention of off-road enthusiasts with cutting edge designs, fitments and technological advancements.

From stock to lifted, dually to trophy truck, Fuel Off-Road offers a complete line of wheels for the off-road market today.

Speedway Children’s Charities officials have recently announced they have raised more than $3.1 million for children across the country this year.
 
The nonprofit organization will distribute $3,101,207.63 in grants to a record 448 charitable organizations and 800,000 children thanks to fundraising efforts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.
 
That total is an increase of more than $200,000 from last year’s mark.
 
Since 1982, Speedway Children’s Charities have raised nearly $49 million.
 
The grant money was raised by the Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks through fundraisers, including clay shoots, track events, holiday light displays, auctions for unique race experiences and more.
 
“Our impact is felt throughout the nation and none of it would be possible without the invaluable support of race fans and the tireless work from our volunteers who have helped make Speedway Children’s Charities into what it is today,” said Maj. Gen. Chuck Swannack, executive director of Speedway Children's Charities.
 
"On behalf of everyone at Speedway Children's Charities, I give sincere thanks to our many sponsors, donors and volunteers. Through everyone’s gracious assistance, Speedway Children’s Charities will help make the holiday season and beyond brighter for children in need.”
 

The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) announced that Summit Racing Equipment will continue their long-standing relationship with the IHRA by renewing their commitment to IHRA's sportsman racers through class racing and bracket racing programs.
 
The renewal of the partnership with Summit Racing Equipment also includes some updates to the existing sportsman programs. The Summit Pro-Am Tour will be replaced and move from a divisional based system to a national based points system in 2017. The change in structure will eliminate "divisions" and return to utilizing a national points based system that will improve a competitor's ability to pick and choose the races he or she wants to attend without having geographical constraints. Additionally, the Summit SuperSeries will feature an increased and expanded Summit World Finals purse.
 
"The sportsman racer, at every level, has been and will continue to be one of the most important components of the Summit Racing Equipment family," said Summit Motorsports and Events Manager Jim Greenleaf. "We are proud to support the men, women and kids who gather at their local IHRA track to participate in the Summit SuperSeries or travel throughout their region chasing a class racing championship.”
 
The new national class racing program will be called the Summit Sportsman National Championship and it will feature the same line-up of classes including: Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod and a class for Juniors. The Summit Sportsman National Championship will kick off in Immokalee, Florida (Immokalee Regional Raceway) in early February and conclude in West Salem, Ohio (Dragway 42) in late September. Complete details and dates for the new Summit Sportsman National Championship will be released soon.
 
In addition, the Summit Sportsman National Championship will boast a championship point fund that pays more than anything currently in the marketplace with $15,000 to win the national championship, $5,000 for second and $3,000 for third place in each of the seven primary classes. The Junior champion will win $2,000, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for the third place finisher in the national points chase. The event purses have also been improved to ensure the IHRA is extremely competitive in the market while still having an entry fee that is less than any other event of its type.
 
IHRA was the first organization to live stream the entire series of class racing events and in 2017 will build upon that platform by announcing a new media partnership with a major network provider. The new partnership will provide live stream coverage of each Summit Sportsman National Championship event in its entirety with an industry leading provider of sports content. This partnership will be announced shortly.
 
"Summit Racing Equipment is a mainstay of the IHRA family and we're excited to have them back and continue to support our sportsman racing programs," said IHRA Vice President Skooter Peaco. "Our sportsman racers are the backbone of our company and Summit helps us to grow those programs every year. In fact, we just finished our 15th season of the Summit SuperSeries and we are very proud of the fact that we have been able to grow that program into the largest of its kind in the sport. The IHRA just hosted the largest gathering of track champions in the history of drag racing during the Summit World Finals as 95% of all IHRA Summit SuperSeries tracks had their champions represented at Memphis International Raceway for the Summit SuperSeries World Championship. It was incredible to see almost every champion from every track we have racing against each other. It definitely reinforced the fact that the Summit SuperSeries is on target with our member tracks and our bracket racing members."

Two veteran businessmen within Speedway Motorsports, Inc. received promotions as Mike Burch was named chief strategy officer, while Braun Smith was promoted to vice president of national sales and marketing. The promotions were announced by Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith.

“Combined, these veteran executives bring more than 30 years of business experience to the table, and their promotions help position Speedway Motorsports at the forefront of business development well into the future,” Marcus Smith said. “We are fortunate to have such strong leadership within our company and I look forward to the contributions each will make as we continue to set the bar for excellence in entertainment.”

In his new role, Burch will develop, communicate and execute strategic plans and initiatives across all areas of the company and work with key business partners on growing mutually beneficial relationships.

Burch, who joined Speedway Motorsports in 2003 as director of business development, most recently served the role of senior vice president of national sales and marketing. He earned a master’s degree in sports management from Georgia Southern University before working with several NBA teams, including the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets.

Burch was named vice president of marketing for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets in 2000, a position he held until 2002. He then founded Upsell Sports, providing marketing and sales representation for several Charlotte area sports and entertainment properties, before joining Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

In his new role, Braun Smith will be responsible for national sponsorship sales efforts as well as Speedway Motorsports, Inc.’s overall corporate sponsorship revenue.

Smith joined Speedway Motorsports in 1999 as director for special projects at Texas Motor Speedway. In 2000, Smith moved to Charlotte, working in Speedway Motorsports’ zMAX Micro-lubricant subsidiary. During that time, Smith also worked as an account executive for the Performance Racing Network, a position he held until 2005.

After a brief stint as director of business development with SMI Properties in 2005, Smith was named general manager of Arena Racing at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006. He returned to Speedway Motorsports in 2008 to work in the national marketing and sales department.

NASCAR and Monster Energy announced on Thursday a multi-year agreement for the premier series entitlement as well as the prestigious annual NASCAR All-Star Race. Monster Energy, which will begin its tenure as naming rights partner on Jan. 1, 2017, will become only the third company to serve as the entitlement sponsor in NASCAR premier series history, following RJ Reynolds and Sprint/Nextel.
 
As part of the agreement, the brand also becomes the Official Energy Drink of NASCAR.
 
“Monster Energy is a brand built on excitement and enthusiasm, qualities that align with NASCAR,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. “This sponsorship position is the most unique in all of sports and entertainment, and we are thrilled to have a partner that will help us further elevate the series. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough search, one that resulted in the right partner at this important time in our sport’s history.”
 
NASCAR premier series races long have said to been a bucket-list destination for sports fans throughout the country. As part of the agreement, Monster Energy will engage with fans in creative, innovative ways at all race tracks where the premier series will race, according to a press release from NASCAR.
 
“Monster Energy has an established and versatile history in motorsports, and we’re thrilled to take this historic next step,” said Rodney Sacks, Monster Beverage Chairman and CEO. “We feel strongly that our brand is a perfect fit for this sport and its star athletes. We look forward to interacting with the millions of passionate NASCAR fans week-in, week out.”
 

Customers of VP Racing Fuels will enjoy a whole new user experience when they visit its newly redesigned website at www.VPRacingFuels.com, according to Chris Wall, Chief Marketing Officer for VP Racing Fuels. 

“Between our 70+ blends of race fuel and the new product lines we’ve launched in the last several years, customers sometimes had difficulty finding the product information they were looking for,” Wall said. “Our new platform is clearly segmented between product lines and applications so it will be easy for customers to zero in on the most appropriate VP product to meet their needs, whether it’s race fuel for their dirt bike, a small engine fuel for their chain saw or a fuel system cleaner for their street car.“
 
“While the site allows virtually all of VP’s products to be purchased online, a Dealer Locator feature will help customers find the nearest retail location for each of VP’s product categories as well as VP-branded gas stations,” Wall added. “The relevant documentation frequently required by racers and engine builders such as fuel specs and SDS forms will be easy to find as well.”
 
“As in the past, we’ll post breaking news on the site regarding new products, race results and industry news,” Wall continued. “The site also features numerous videos containing product information, tutorials, company background and action sequences, with many in both English and Spanish.”
 
“We encourage our customers to visit our new website, check out the new features and let us know what they think,” concluded Wall.  “The new design is a quantum leap forward, but we’ll always be open to improvements.”

Emuge Corp., a manufacturer of high performance taps, drills, end mills and other rotary tools, announced it has established a partnership with CNC Software, Inc., developers of the Mastercam CAD/CAM software.

Both companies will share technical data and best practices on machining applications and programs, participate in joint seminars and training events at each other’s technology centers, and collaborate to develop and promote advanced, high productivity machining solutions for North American manufacturing professionals.

“We are very pleased to partner with Mastercam and see the relationship as an excellent way to further enhance our metal cutting solutions for customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Mastercam has an outstanding reputation across the industry for providing leading CAD/CAM solutions for the latest machining technology, which aligns well with our customer base and approach,” said Bob Hellinger, President of Emuge Corp.

“We are excited to establish a partnership with Emuge who, like CNC Software, has consistently provided innovative, industry-leading solutions for manufacturers. We are looking forward to working together, leveraging our extensive resources and expertise to offer the very latest technology for our customers,” said Meghan West, President of CNC Software, Inc.

Emuge and Mastercam are planning upcoming training and seminar events for 2017. Customers will be notified and information on events will also be posted on their respective websites.

Turn 14 Distribution, a performance parts distribution company, has introduced MAHLE Motorsports to augment its extensive lineup of available engine parts.

“The MAHLE Motorsports line is well-respected within the performance industry for its high quality. Turn 14 Distribution is proud to offer these products to our customers,” said Kyle Shelley, Turn 14 Distribution’s Director of Sales.

“MAHLE Motorsports continuously invests in product development and new manufacturing techniques, and their research and development efforts in the racing market translates into improved products for the performance enthusiast. We are excited to add these products to our line card, and offer them to our customers.”

Widely recognized as one of the technology leaders amongst the top race series in North America and abroad, MAHLE Motorsports North America is said to bring cutting edge technology to sportsman and professional racers alike.

MAHLE Motorsports has been in business for over 90 years— from the invention of the first aluminum piston to advanced design and machining processes being used today. MAHLE’s light-weight, low-drag, design specific forgings are said to be machined with close attention given to ring groove quality, tolerances and consistency. All MAHLE Motorsports pistons are dual or triple coated, for protection and maintaining consistent performance over the life of the engine.