The 65th consecutive season for the ARCA Racing Series is set as series officials released the 2017 schedule.

It includes 20 races across 13 states, including the returns of both Elko Speedway in Minnesota and Road America in Wisconsin. ARCA raced at the Elko short track 2012–2014 and once at the Road America road course in 2013.

“We are pleased to announce our full and complete 20-race, 2017 schedule,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “From superspeedways recognized as among the most famed tracks in the world, to historic short tracks, to mile dirt tracks and road course venues, the schedule highlights the long standing diversity of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. We’re especially pleased to welcome back to the schedule Elko Speedway and Road America.”

The series will kick off the campaign with the 54th running of the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, which precedes NASCAR’s Unlimited later that night. For the sixth consecutive year, the ARCA Racing Series will crown the Series champion at Kansas Speedway where ARCA’s race season concludes under the lights October 20.

In between Daytona and Kansas is one of the most diverse schedules in racing with race events on eight superspeedways, nine paved short tracks, two dirt tracks and one road course.

The series will race at conjunction event venues with all three of NASCAR’s top-tier divisions including Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Trucks, as well as the Verizon IndyCar Series, the USAC Silver Crown Series and the ARCA/CRA Super Series.

Prior to next season, series officials will celebrate the 2016 season one final time with the annual national championship awards banquet at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis Saturday, December 10, in conjunction with the PRI Trade Show.

2017 ARCA Racing Series Schedule

Feb. 18 – Daytona Int’l Speedway – Daytona Beach, Fla.

April 8 – Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville – Nashville, Tenn.

April 30 – Salem Speedway – Salem, Ind.

May 5 – Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Ala.

May 21 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio

June 3 – Elko Speedway – Elko, Minn.

June 9 – Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.

June 16 – Michigan Int’l Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.

June 23 – Madison Int’l Speedway – Oregon, Wis.

July 8 – Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa

July 21 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Clermont, Ind.

July 28 – Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.

Aug. 6 – Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.

Aug. 20 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Ill.

Aug. 27 – Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Sept. 4 – DuQuoin State Fairgrounds – DuQuoin, Ill.

Sept. 9 – Salem Speedway – Salem, Ind.

Sept. 14 – Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, Ill.

Sept. 22 – Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, Ky.

Oct. 20 – Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kan.

The new ownership of the Indianapolis Speedrome made the announcement that it is bringing on a long-time supporter of the historic facility to manage its operations.
  
Kevin Garrigus announced that he is naming Jonathan Byrd as the new president of the Indianapolis Speedrome. Byrd's new role as track president will see him working alongside the Garrigus family in the restoration of the southeast side institution.
  
"Jonathan came to me a few weeks ago, and we began a dialogue about the track," Garrigus said in his statement. "It was clear early on that we shared many of the same opinions on its potential. Jonathan presented to me a great vision of the future, and what he could bring to the table, which made his involvement a natural fit."
  
"I am extremely excited and humbled to have been given this opportunity that I have dreamed about for decades," Byrd said. "It has been a joy and a privilege to have had a role in the past. I have spent over 35 years of my life in love with the Speedrome, and other than family members, the Speedrome is the longest relationship of my life. People are supposed to remember your roots, where you came from. The Indianapolis Speedrome is where my roots are, and if it wasn't for this track, my family wouldn't be the track record holder at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; we wouldn't have won two USAC National Midget Championship; we wouldn't have been the first race team to accomplish the double of the 500 and 600 in the same day; we wouldn't have won two IndyCar races. So much of our history in racing is due to our championship involvement at the Speedrome years ago. Now, I am looking forward to putting more of my time and energy behind making the Indianapolis Speedrome great again, and I can't thank Kevin Garrigus and his family enough for the chance to live out this dream."
  
Byrd has been actively involved with the historic Indianapolis Speedrome, as a supporter, the marketing and advertising director, its concessionaire, and other numerous tasks asked of him. He has been the television voice of the World Figure 8 Network having served in that capacity since 2003, handling play-by-play duties for televised races including the World Figure 8 Championship. In the past, Speedrome fans have seen Jonathan take to the microphone at the race track in interviewing winners from Victory Lane, while also assisting Speedrome Hall of Fame announcer Kevin O'Neal from the booth both on race nights and on the Speedrome Live Radio Show.

As part of an emphasis on assisting in the development of the next generation of racers, Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda partners SCCA Pro Racing, Onroak Automotive North America Co. (formerly Crawford Composites) and Honda Performance Development will present the SuperKarts! USA S1 class champion an award package valued at nearly $18,000 during the SKUSA Supernats in Las Vegas from November 16–20.

The F4 U.S. Championship award package was designed to aid young competitors transitioning from karts to cars.

"The cost of the series and the cost of the car are key elements that the award package addresses for competitors to take that next step from karting to the F4 U.S. Championship," SCCA Pro Racing Vice President Steve Oseth said. "Providing financial assistance with these elements ensures bringing top karting talent into the F4 U.S. Championship."

The award package includes the following components:

• F4 U.S. Chassis Discount (provided by Onroak Automotive) - $3,500
• F4 U.S. Series Entry Fee Waiver (provided by SCCA Pro Racing) - $7,800 value
• F4 U.S. Engine Lease (provided by Honda Performance Development) - $6,600 value

These awards take immediate effect with the order of a Crawford FL15 F4 U.S. chassis, the signing of a Honda F4 U.S. engine lease agreement and a commitment to the full 2017 F4 U.S. Championship program, which consists of 18 total races at six venues.

"This awards package is another example of how HPD endeavors to support the grassroots racing community," said Jeff Barrow, Commercial Motorsports Manager. "Many of the great Honda racers got their starts in karting, and we see this as a natural bridge between the two series."

The Pro Stock Moto SKUSA S1 class is the pinnacle shifter-karting class in the SKUSA series, running a spec Honda CR125 engine, with drivers between 15–30 years old.

"SKUSA is pleased to have a cooperative alliance with SCCA Pro Racing and the F4 United States Championship," said Tom Kutscher, owner and CEO of SuperKarts! USA. "Both entities represent the premier organizations in their respective circles, and Superkarts! USA is pleased to provide the platform for young talent to flourish. For those interested in pursuing a career in motorsport, or those looking to continue in karting, we couldn't be more pleased."

The Coca-Cola JDX Racing F4 car will be on display under the Honda tent during the SKUSA SuperNats. Inaugural F4 U.S. champions Cameron Das and Kyle Kirkwood along with F4 driver Darren Keane will be available for questions and autographs at the booth throughout the week. Fans who have questions about the award, car, series or driver development can talk to a representative during the event or visit F4USChampionship.com for more information.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) Senior Director of Business Development Louis Gilmore names Mike Murphy the Senior Manager of Business Development. In addition, RIR President Dennis Bickmeier announces the promotions of Ryan Trapp to Manager of Digital Communications and Justin Johnson to Manager of Ticketing and Guest Services.

Murphy joins RIR after a six-year tenure in Minor League Baseball with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. In his role as Director of Corporate Sales, Murphy led the department to its first and third highest sales years in the organization’s history. This growth increased corporate sales revenue by 10 percent.

“Mike has a proven record of growing and managing corporate partnerships in our region,” said Gilmore. “He will be a great fit within our business development team as he continues his successful career at Richmond International Raceway.”

Prior to his tenure with the Flying Squirrels, Murphy was the Corporate Sales Director in the Athletics Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was responsible for selling game day programs and radio advertising for the men’s basketball team. He also assisted the Associate Athletic Director for Corporate Sales with management and implementation of sponsorship accounts.

A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, Murphy received his Bachelor of Arts in Sport Administration from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and his Masters of Education from the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. From 2003 to 2007, he was the long snapper for the UNC football team.

"I look forward to the new challenge of growing my career with Richmond International Raceway and the International Speedway Corporation family of tracks," Murphy said. "To be a part of the vision that Dennis Bickmeier and the team at RIR have for the future is a phenomenal opportunity. RIR is a huge part of the community and fabric of Richmond, so I am excited to continue to build and grow my personal and professional relationships within RVA." 
 
Murphy resides in Richmond with his wife Sarah.

Ryan Trapp, who joined RIR in 2013, oversees the digital communications for the organization, including rir.com, the mobile app, and the ideation and creation of all videos. Trapp is also integral in the strategic support of media and public relations initiatives as part of the communications department.

Justin Johnson manages RIR’s group sales, military hospitality program, college outreach efforts, and group tailgate. He also manages the organization’s new Ticket Sales Associate Program, which will allow local college students and recent graduates to get their first experience with ticket sales. Johnson has been with RIR since 2014.

“Ryan and Justin have proven their ability and desire to take our organization to the next level,” said Bickmeier. “These merit promotions will allow each of them to continue to grow their professional careers and have an even greater impact on RIR’s future.”

The Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center was the site of the annual Oswego Speedway Awards Banquet and Mitchell’s Speedway Press Hall of Fame inductions.

Michael Barnes and Dave Cliff were honored as track champions and six Oswego pioneers joined the Hall of Fame.

Special award presentations started the evening off with Mark Kapuscinski, of the Oswego Speedway Safety Crew, receiving the Ed Clark Spirit Award. Tony Mancuso was honored with the Oswego Speedway Recognition Award for his multi-facted duties — from IT to ticketing to the scoreboard done during the season.

The Lois Matczak Woman of the Year Award went to Kim Enders for her years of dedication to her son Dave Gruel’s racing efforts, and in addition, to her assistance with brother Pat Abold and nephew Jeff’s racing team and the sport in general.

The Hall of Fame inductions began with driver Tim Gareau, who began his asphalt racing career at the Oswego Speedway in the early 1990s, becoming one of the original competitors in the Limited Supermodified (SBS) division. He won six features in that class before moving on to the Supermodified in 1995 where he earned him Rookie of the Year honors. Gareau closed out his last season in 2006 after garnering a track championship (2004), 13 feature wins and 67 top fives.

Wayne Landon of Hastings, Mich., was inducted to recognize and pay homage to the many drivers and owners who made the 10 hour trek from Michigan to compete at Oswego in the fledgling supermodified division. He first appeared in 1962 driving the Ehman No. 27. His lone feature win came in 1966. He is probably best known locally for this association with the Steve Gioia Sr. No. 9. Landon’s weekly competition ended with the 1971 season. He made a few Classic attempts after that in the Billy Law car, up until 1977. Landon would continue his racing out in the Midwest for a number more years in a sprint car.

Car builders Dan Dennie and Ray Hedger were equally honored for their contributions to the SBS division. Dennie also drove his own supermodified for several years before getting into SBS car building. He was instrumental in the building of the “Storm Chassis” and the FFB chassis born in 2002, a collaboration between Dennie and the late Tony White. FFB chassis’ have won more than 100 features over the years. Dennie has become a legend in the small block community as one of the pioneers of that division.

Ray Hedger was also honored as one whose racing career spans decades beginning with work on his dad Hugh’s dirt flathead in 1957. Ray built his first race car, an asphalt modified, in 1975. He spent several years owning and crewing the 33 modified for Dick Clark and then brother Randy. He was one of the original car builders for the limited supermodified division and the Hedger chassis have accumulated over 100 feature wins to date, plus ten championships. His biggest numbers came with Russ Brown who won 21 features, five championships and three SBS Classics to date.

On the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SBS division Joe Marotta, who became the voice of the group on its inception, was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his 25 years of support of the division.

Norm Patrick of Gater Racing News, which was a major supporter of local auto racing from the time that the paper was founded in 1965 by Dave Wright and incorporated in 1969 by the Patrick family. Over the years the paper was a huge supporter of Oswego Speedway racing and the association continued until the paper’s closing in 2014.

The Jake’s Automotive SBS Car Owner of the Year began the driver-owner awards with Four Sevens Motorsports owner Denise Merrill Bond receiving the honors in that division. The Jake’s Automotive Car Owner of the Year was announced as Gary Syrell, owner of the Syrell Racing No. 68, which was driven to the championship this year by Michael Barnes.

The Jake’s Automotive SBS Crew of the Year award went to the Bruce Racing No. 22 team, while the 2016 Jake’s Automotive Supermodified Crew of the Year title was presented to the Abold Racing team members, many of which who started with the Abold snowmobile racing operation decades ago.

The Turning Stone Favorite Driver, as voted on by the fans, went to Michael Barnes for yet another year.

The Pathfinder SBS top 15 were next to be receive their plaques from Pathfinder Bank’s Jim Dowd, listed in order: Dave Cliff, Mike Bond, Mike Bruce, Jack Patrick, Anthony Losurdo, Camden Proud, Kreig Heroth, Dalton Doyle, Jesse Bearup and Scott Shafer. Cliff, who won his first championship by a mere 22 points, thanked his car owner Tim Barbeau and his crew for all their support.

Kevin Schutt, of Novelis, took a minute to acknowledge that Novelis, in their 12th season backing the supermodified division is now gotten into providing aluminum for the automotive community.

The top 15 Novelis supermodified drivers, in order were Michael Barnes, David Gruel, Otto Sitterly, Michael Muldoon, Jeff Abold, Dave Danzer, Pat Lavery, Kody Graham, Aric Iosue and Brandon Bellinger.

Barnes, who won his first championship in a two-way late season title race by less than 10 points over his boyhood friend and race compatriot Dave Gruel.

“I’ve been coming here since I was 3-4 years old and want to thank the Torreses for improving the track,” Barnes said. “Congratulations to Dave Cliff and Tim Barbeau on their achievement. I started racing with David Gruel when we were only 6-7 years old. There could be no better guy than to have this battle with than Dave. He’s always been a clean driver. He will be a champion someday too.”

Barnes continued by thanking the Syrells, the crew, the wives, his finance, the many of owners he has driven for over the years. A special tribute was made to his dad and mom.

“I couldn’t have done this all these years without my friend and mechanic, my dad.”

Novelis, in a surprise presentation gave car owners Gary, Brenda and Eric Syrell, each a championship jackets.

The Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) honored Paul Van Woensel at the SEMA Show with its 2016 Pioneer of the Year award.

The Pioneer Award is voted on by active PWA board of directors in recognition of outstanding contributions to the automotive aftermarket distribution system and in appreciation of conscientious dedication to the industry.

Van Woensel, president of Denver-based Engine & Performance Warehouse Inc., has a great passion for the automotive aftermarket business. He has labored to be a good steward of the industry and contributed significant time and effort to the furtherance of our industry’s goals, according to PWA.


During his entire career, Van Woensel has been a well-recognized and an active industry participant and supporter. He has served on behalf of numerous industry associations including the PWA Board of Directors.

“The Pioneer award is a very special honor given to the industry leaders who built PWA and the automotive distribution system,” said Tracie Nunez, president of PWA. “Paul represents what a true leader is and PWA is fortunate he continues to serve PWA’s membership.”


“Thanks to PWA and its members,” Van Woensel said. “An award is always more special when it comes from your peers.” 


Castrol Raceway, in Edmonton, Alta., has joined the NHRA Member Track Network within the Northwest Division, NHRA’s Division 6, which features tracks from Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Saskatchewan, and Washington.

The multipurpose facility features a three-eighths mile clay oval opened in 1991, and in 1992 the track opened the quarter-mile dragstrip, and in 2013 a 15-turn road course was added to the site.

The dragstrip runs a wide-ranging schedule of events including weekly points racing, Jr. Drag racing programs, motorcycle racing and specialty events from the end of April through October.  

"We are very excited to have Edmonton back within the NHRA family,” said Matt Levonas, NHRA Division 6 director. “Edmonton has a great group of racers and a long history in the sport as being a hot bed of drag racing.”

"We had some good meetings with the NHRA, including Graham Light," said Rob Reeves, Castrol Raceway President.  "We got a lot of feedback from the racers in this area about the NHRA being a better fit. Overall we're pretty excited about where this will eventually lead us. We will be showcasing the NHRA sportsman classes while continuing to feature professional classes including Nostalgia Funny Cars and Pro Mods."

As an NHRA-sanctioned track, the facility will be eligible to offer racers a variety of NHRA racing opportunities, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, NHRA Jr. Street and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. 

Additionally, the track has the opportunity to host NHRA’s specialty events including the National DRAGSTER Challenge, NHRA Summit King of the Track, and NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Challenge, where racers compete for the coveted Wally trophy.

Following its 24 Hours of Le Mans triumph last June, Ford is pulling out all the stops in quest of class victory in another twice-around-the-clock endurance classic, with the American manufacturer planning a four-car Ford GT effort for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Sportscar365 has learned that Ford Chip Ganassi Racing is preparing to enter all four of its cars in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener on Jan. 28-29, in what would mark the team’s biggest single-class, single-race effort in North America.

While a formal commitment or announcement has not yet been made, it’s understood preparations are underway, with the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship cars expected to be shipped to the U.S. following next weekend’s season finale in Bahrain for pre-race preparations.

Drivers from the team’s WEC program, plus some potential Ganassi NASCAR and IndyCar drivers, are expected to complete the four-car lineup in the GT Le Mans class.

When reached by Sportscar365, Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak didn’t confirm or deny the presence of a likely increased effort for Daytona.

“Our Ford team is completely focused on the remaining WEC schedule and are extremely proud and happy with our Ford GT performance worldwide,” Pericak told Sportscar365.

The Multimatic-built Ford GT made its competition debut in this year’s Rolex 24 and since went on to claim three WeatherTech Championship class victories, all with the No. 67 car of Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais.

Its UK-based, Multimatic-run branch has also tasted success in the car’s first year, with class wins in the two recent WEC rounds at Fuji and Shanghai, both with Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell.

Ford’s expected increased effort for Daytona will come as significant boost to the GTLM class, which will again see factory or works-backed efforts from BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and defending champions Corvette Racing.

If you follow NASCAR closely, you know that one of the areas teams have tried to get an advantage in is rear suspension, specifically working to build in rear aerodynamic sideforce, to help cars turn better through the corners.

In a somewhat unusual move, NASCAR announced a rules change that go into place this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, site of the penultimate racing weekend of the season, according to Fox Sports.

The sanctioning body sent out a tech bulletin pertaining to Section 20.14.2.I-1 Truck Trailing Arms of the Sprint Cup rule book.

The bulletin, which pertains to both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series reads as follows:

“Truck trailing arm mounting slugs may be used to locate the truck trailing arms on the truck trailing arm mounting brackets.

“If used, truck trailing arm mounting slugs slots must be perpendicular to the slots on the truck trailing arm mounting brackets.”

A NASCAR spokesman said the new changes were designed to keep teams from getting an advantage in rear yaw or sideforce, and that the changes would be part of the 2017 rules package.

Advanced Structural Alloys (ASA), which manufactures race wheels for various applications and markets, off-road wheels for different race classes, and other products among its portfolio, has been sold to a group of private investors in a management buyout led by ASA Chief Executive Officer Rob Melsness.

Based in Oxnard, California, ASA is a fully integrated, high-end contract maker of rotary forged and spun aluminum products for the automotive aftermarket, military vehicle, aerospace and natural gas container markets.

Western Reserve Partners LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to ASA. The transaction was led by Director Matt Mueller, Western Reserve’s Automotive Industry practice leader, who was supported by Analyst Brandon Carnovale.

“Advanced Structural Alloys is an amazing company. It combines strong product development with sophisticated manufacturing processes and a talented team of employees to design and deliver world-class products to its customers. Many innovations in the end markets the company serves have been as a direct result of ASA’s unparalleled capabilities,” said Mueller. “It was a pleasure working with ASA, Crosse Partners and HCAP Partners on this transaction, and I look forward to watching the company’s future growth and success under Rob Melsness and his investor group.”  

For more information on ASA, visit www.advancedstructuralalloys.com.