SealMaster and Kalitta Motorsports have announced a contract extension for the 2017 season.

SealMaster, a source for pavement maintenance products and equipment, will continue as the primary sponsor on J.R. Todd’s Top Fuel dragster for the entire 24-race 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season schedule.

SealMaster will also be an associate backer on the Top Fuel dragsters driven by Doug Kalitta and Troy Coughlin, Jr. and the Toyota Camry Funny Cars of Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham.

SealMaster franchisees manufacture pavement sealer and distribute a full line of pavement maintenance products and equipment throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico. Franchisees serve contractors, public and private road maintenance departments, property managers and others charged with pavement maintenance and preservation.

They first signed with Kalitta Motorsports in the 2014 season as an associate sponsor on the Top Fuel dragsters driven by Kalitta and Todd. Last season, they expanded that relationship to the primary level for two races with Todd before becoming his title sponsor for the entire 2016 season.

Todd has taken the fan-favorite SealMaster scheme to his career-best season, with a new high in round wins and matching his rookie year total of four final round appearances. He gave SealMaster their first win as a primary sponsor with a victory at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals in July.

Todd clinched his third consecutive Countdown for the Championship appearance with a semifinal effort in Seattle and has ranked among the top eight drivers in the Top Fuel standings after every race this season.

“SealMaster has truly embraced this program and it has been great to see,” said Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Operations, Kalitta Motorsports. “Each week we welcome franchisees and their guests to the track and to see the joy on their face is awesome. SealMaster has become a big part of the Team Kalitta family and we look forward to this relationship continuing for many years to come.”


The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) will stage its final event of the season this weekend at Virginia Motorsports Park and among the awards at stake is $5700 in fuel credits posted by VP Racing Fuels, the Official Fuel of PDRA.  The awards include $1000 to the champion in each of the Pro automotive classes, $500 to Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster champions and $100 each to the Junior Dragster and Top Junior Dragster champion.
 
In addition to gift certificates in these amounts to be awarded at the end-of-year banquet, each class champion also will receive a VP Racing Fuels Championship jacket, according to Mark Ticen, VP’s Director of Race Fuel Sales. 

“It gives us great pleasure to provide these awards in recognition of the hard work and dedication required to achieve these championships,” Ticen said.
 
“We are very grateful to VP Racing Fuels for the support they’ve shown the PDRA and our racers over our three-year partnership,” stated PDRA Director of Marketing, Will Smith. “The fuel credits VP is providing to our champions is just one of the many reasons the company is the number one choice among many of our racers. We’ve already been collaborating on ideas for 2017, and I’m very excited about the future.”
 
“PDRA provides some of the most exciting and entertaining drag racing in the country,” Ticen added.  “These classes are extremely important to the future of the sport of drag racing and VP has supported the series from day one to help ensure it remains viable.”
 

The Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA has announced its 2017 event schedule, which features eight events at six different tracks.

The all-Porsche race series is operated by Competent Motorsport and will begins its 11th year of operation in 2017.

Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA entries grew to record numbers this year with the addition of the Silver class, which utilizes the Porsche Cayman ClubSport GT4. Both the Diamond and Platinum classes, which utilize 911 GT3 Cup machines.

The series will once again feature eight weekends of competition, with every event including doubleheaders for a total of 16 races. The Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA series will visit several of the same tracks as it did this year including Sonoma Raceway, Utah Motorsports Campus, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and Circuit of the Americas. New for 2017 are Thunderhill Raceway Park and Road America.

Thunderhill will host the season-opening event on April 14-16. The series most recently competed at the facility in 2011. The Road America event will mark the penultimate round of the 2017 championship on Sept. 22-24. The series last ran at the historic road course located in Elkhart Lake, Wis., in 2014.

The 2017 season will see two visits to Utah Motorsports Campus outside of Salt Lake City, Utah as well as two trips to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with the 2017 season-finale held at the Monterey, Calif., road course on October 13-15 in conjunction with the Pirelli World Challenge finale.

“We were thrilled with our 2016 season, and this is a great way to launch 2017 with this announcement,” said Competent Motorsport President Greg Franz.

2017 Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA Schedule
Date – Venue – Location
April 14-16 – Thunderhill Raceway Park – Willows, Calif.
May 19-21 – Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.
June 2-4 – Utah Motorsports Campus – Tooele, Utah
July 28-30 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, Calif.
Aug. 10-13 – Utah Motorsports Campus – Tooele, Utah
Sept. 1-3 – Circuit of the Americas – Austin, Texas
Sept. 22-24 – Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Oct. 13-15 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, Calif.

The dragster builds for the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Summit SuperSeries Top and Junior Dragster champions would not be possible without the support of their year-long partners. In addition to the several they have featured over the course of the year, the IHRA would like to thank WELD Racing, ATI Performance Products, MSD Performance and Auto Meter for their contributions to the grand prizes and the program.

WELD Racing began their relationship with the IHRA at the start of the 2016 season and has been instrumental in supporting the national and sportsman program throughout the year. The official wheel partner offered a class bonus program at select events and contributed the wheels to the two custom build dragsters being presented to the champions at the Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway. Whether it’s hard core off road, on the track, or on the street, WELD wheels have unleashed the performance potential of all types of machines for nearly 50 years.

A winning ride requires lots of data. Auto Meter has provided the gauges for this year’s prize dragsters. Auto Meter has been a longtime supporter of the sportsman program and has been contributing to the grand prize dragster builds since its inception. Auto Meter has been driven to provide performance enthusiasts with the information they need to win. They've revolutionized the way that racers and vehicle builders think about instrumentation and vehicle electronics for more than 50 years.

ATI Performance Products is a major supporter of various drag race series including the IHRA and posts cash contingency awards covering ATI’s Transmissions and Treemaster Converters. In addition, ATI teamed up with the IHRA to provide the super damper to the Top championship dragster build this season. ATI is an award-winning company that manufactures a multitude of high performance parts including Competition Transmissions, Treemaster Converters, Super Dampers, Compu-Flow Valve Bodies, Flexplates and Adapter Kits as well as a wide variety of performance enhancing internal components.

IHRA sponsor partner MSD Performance supplied the power grid ignition, HVC-2 coil, pro billet distributor and crank trigger to the Summit SuperSeries grand prize Top dragster. They have contributed to the IHRA championship dragster build since the sportsman prize program started. Founded in 1970, MSD is one of the most recognized industry names in ignition system products, EFI products and high performance parts. The company designs, develops, tests and assembles its entire line of ignition boxes, crank triggers, distributors, EFI systems, transmission controllers, spark plugs, coils, spark plug wires, and other performance parts.

The IHRA would like to thank all of their 2016 sponsors for the continued support of the national and sportsman programs this season!

International motorsport brand, and reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Andretti Autosport has named industry leader Jody Bennett as the new Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for the growing family of race teams.

“I’m truly excited to welcome Jody to the Andretti family of race teams,” said company Chairman and CEO Michael Andretti. “Jody has an impressive resume with valuable industry experience and accomplishments. As the team continues to grow globally, I have no doubt that she will be a strong asset to the Andretti brand both within and outside of the motorsport industry.”

With over 20 years of industry experience, Bennett will oversee client services, marketing, sponsorship activation, licensing and partner strategy. Her extensive experience in the sports marketing field includes work on behalf of internationally recognized brands such as Honda, IBM, FedEx, and Target, overseeing day-to-day client services and marketing strategies.

In September, SportsBusiness Journal recognized Bennett as a Game Changer, an award that honors women who are spearheading key initiatives and contributing to the success of the sports business industry in multiple ways.

“Michael and his company continue to push the envelope both on and off the racetrack,” said Bennett. “I’m excited to be working with so many great people and representing a well-respected brand such as Andretti.”

Bennett joined Andretti after serving as the vice president of operations for CHARGE, formerly known as U/S Sports Advisors, a national sports and entertainment agency.

Prior to joining CHARGE, the Iowa University graduate spent nearly three years as senior vice president at Aquarius Sports & Entertainment in the Washington, D.C., metro area. During which time, Aquarius was twice named to Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest growing in America, and was recognized as one of the leading sports event and experiential marketing firms in the country by SportsBusiness Journal.

Before joining Aquarius, Bennett founded Velocity Sports & Entertainment, now Team Epic. As founder and Director of Marketing for Velocity Sports & Entertainment she oversaw multi-million-dollar marketing budgets and was instrumental in developing Velocity’s long-standing relationship with FedEx. Bennett was responsible for managing all aspects of the naming rights for FedExField in Washington, DC., serving as a key liaison between the shipping company and the Washington Redskins, as well as the NFL.  

As a visionary business leader, Bennett has developed and launched several businesses. The Illinois-native was instrumental in the launch of Protocol International, Inc. where she served as Director, Project Operations. There, she managed and handled logistics and consulted on international protocol handling over 300 visits and delegations from around the world.

The avid cyclist, and sponsored athlete also launched and operated Freshbikes/Conte’s Bicycles, an exclusive bicycle sales and service business in Washington, DC. She has completed Race Across America (RAAM), bicycling across the United States in seven and a half days. She is also a member of Team Sticky Fingers cycling team, which was the USA Cycling Club of the year in 2014.

When she’s not at work or on the bike, she loves to ski, kayak, travel, read and mentor college students. Bennett has also served as a volunteer for Search and Rescue, conducting search operations for missing persons and aircraft and rescue operations in the wilderness.

The clay is set, and a promoter is finally on-board as the Greater Cumberland Raceway set in Cumberland, Maryland, is set to have cars racing on the track in April 2017.

Cars will hit the dirt track for a practice race on April 8, with the first official race set for the next weekend.

After years of disappointing seasons and talks of shutting the speedway down, with the help of the county, Todd Brode turned passion into action, and is now the new promoter.

"This is just something I am passionate about. I have no experience but with the support of everybody I have, and I have a great group of people behind me. I think we could pull this off," said Todd Brode, new promoter of the Greater Cumberland Raceway.

County officials said they couldn't be happier to see racing return.

"People driving from 40 to 50 to 60 miles to come to races here, chances are they are going to buy gasoline here. They are going to stop and buy a meal here," said Bill Valentine, Allegany County Commissioner. "It’s a great form of entertainment and it is also a great form of advertisement. Those cars can't be on the track unless there are a lot of names on the side of it."

Residents are working to create fundraisers and volunteering to help restore the track.
The county has made a deal with the promoter for 16 races with the potential for more next year.

"I just want it to continue for generations on," said Brode. "I just want for people to come out and give them something to do, bring their kids out to do it and race some day."

A fundraiser race car show and swap meet event is set for this Saturday on Bedford Road in Cumberland.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino today issued a stipulation of dismissal in the case of plaintiffs Scott Bloomquist, Gregg Satterlee, Jimmy Owens, and Ricky Thornton vs World Racing Group and subsidiary DIRTcar Racing, Eldora Speedway, and its owner Tony Stewart regarding suspension following tire analysis after Eldora Speedway's Dirt Late Model Dream.

Drivers will be allowed to return to competition with payment of the fine and fees imposed, following a request for reinstatement of their suspended DIRTcar membership.

"We're happy this is over," said DIRTcar Racing COO Tom Deery. "It is a waste of resources that should have been invested in the sport rather than damaging it and polarizing fans."

The attorney for the five plaintiffs and their team owners, R&W Motorsports, LLC, W.G. Satterlee & Sons, Inc., Best Performance Motorsports and J.R. Motorsports, LLC, filed a voluntary motion for dismissal on Monday.

Brandon Sheppard, among the five drivers originally involved, voluntarily withdrew from the case on September 9, 2016.

The New York law firms of Lester Schwab Katz & Dwyer, LLP and Ahmuty, Demers and McManus represented DIRTcar Racing, Eldora and Stewart in the Northern District of New York. Counsel from IceMiller, LLP (Indianapolis) and Apollo Sports & Entertainment Group Law (Charlotte) complemented the team.

On June 20, 2016 DIRTcar Racing officials disqualified five competitors following failed post-race inspections at the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway.

Tire samples collected from the #B5 driven by BSheppard, #22 driven by Satterlee, #20 driven by Owens, #33X driven by Thornton and #0 driven by Bloomquist and tested by an independent laboratory did not meet established benchmarks in a chemical analysis. A total of 32 samples were taken throughout the weekend, June 9, 10 and 11, from participants.

All five competitors were found to be in violation of rule 15.11-G and were fined in accordance with rule 11.1.

Rule 15.11-G.) Chemical alterations, vulcanizing, tire softening, defacing and/or altering the face of the tire lettering and/or tire stamping will not be permitted. Chemicals or tire softening is not permitted at any time. Tires may be inspected at any time. Any violation with any tire presented for competition may result in immediate disqualification from the events and/or other penalties including but not limited to; loss of money, fine, loss of points and/or suspension.

All five drivers were disqualified from the event, including the loss of all purse money and championship points earned during the event, fined $1,000 and penalized 1,000 DIRTcar Late Model points for the 2016 season. The total penalty, including loss of money, fine and the cost of the tire analysis was $19,630 for Sheppard, $4,655 for Satterlee, $7,630 for Owens, $10,930 for Thornton and $6,105 for Bloomquist.

Each was also placed under a three-month suspension from all DIRTcar sanctioned events, but this was delayed by their appeals.

On June 29, 2016, the World Racing Group Commission upheld the penalties issued. The three-member panel heard appeals in Indianapolis, and after deliberation, panel members agreed that the collection and testing of the samples followed accepted protocols and the samples did not meet accepted benchmarks.

As stated in the rule book, DIRTcar members in good standing can request a final appeal be heard by the World Racing Group Commission Commissioner Potestas. The five plaintiffs pursued this option.

On July 23, 2016, World Racing Group Commission Chairman Potestas, motorsports executive John Darby, again upheld the penalties issued by DIRTcar Racing.

Darby interviewed all five competitors, DIRTcar Racing Officials, and visited the testing facility to inspect the testing procedure.

In an effort to promote consistency for the length of suspensions, Darby decided that the final suspension should be defined by weeks, not months as prescribed in the original penalty. The original three-month suspension became a 12-week suspension from all DIRTcar sanctioned events, including World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series competition. The suspensions commenced on June 21, 2016 and concluded on Sept. 13, 2016.

During an event with team owners, drivers, local dignitaries and media at the InterContinental Presidente Hotel in Mexico City, NASCAR announced plans to strengthen its presence in Mexico for years to come with a full slate of races in 2017 and beyond. Also announced was a multi-year agreement with Old World Industries (OWI) to make Peak title sponsor of the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, only the third title sponsor in series history.

Additionally, Peak becomes an Official NASCAR Partner along with other key brands such as BlueDEF.
 
“The NASCAR Peak Mexico Series is a place where young drivers are honing their skills and competing for a championship against the toughest competition in Latin America,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “The series drives interest in stock car racing in Mexico, while cultivating talented drivers and pit crew members aspiring to compete at the NASCAR national series level.”
 
The NASCAR Peak Mexico Series will make its return with an exhibition race on Dec. 3-4 in Mexico City. Celebrating its 10th season, the series will officially get underway in 2017, with a full championship schedule that will be announced at a later date.
 
The NASCAR Peak Mexico Series has previously helped develop some of NASCAR’s best young drivers, including Daniel Suárez, who is the first Mexican-born driver to capture Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors; win a NASCAR national series race; lead a national series in points; and compete in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase for a championship – which he is currently pursuing. Furthermore, the continued development of young Mexican drivers, like reigning NASCAR Peak Mexico Series Champion Ruben Garcia Jr., exemplifies the wealth of talent competing throughout the series.
 
“I am extremely proud to be a Mexican driver competing against the best young drivers making a name for themselves in the NASCAR XFINITY Series,” said Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. “I am lucky to have had the support of NASCAR’s developmental programs along the way – including the NASCAR Mexico Series. I am excited to see that other talented Latin American drivers will continue to have similar opportunities for many years to come.”
 
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to develop young talent and engage our passionate fan base in Mexico,” said Lou Garate, vice president, partnership marketing, NASCAR. “Peak is a world-class brand and its three decades of experience in motorsports will help elevate NASCAR-sanctioned racing in Mexico.”
 
Old World Industries’ Pesk, BlueDEF and Hurculiner brands have a storied history in motorsports. Peak held race entitlements in NASCAR throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In 2016, Peak sponsored Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 Chevrolet, including two primary races and a season-long associate sponsorship. Peak is also the title sponsor of NASCAR’s eSports partner, iRacing.com, which has helped produce current NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series points leader, William Byron.
 
“Old World Industries products have been a recognized part of the racing industry for decades, and we’re proud to help bring NASCAR to the passionate fans in Mexico and the U.S. for years to come,” said Bryan Emrich, chief marketing officer at Old World Industries. “Whether in the garage or on the track, we’ll continue to deliver quality products that auto enthusiasts can count on.”
 
As an Official NASCAR Partner, race fans will see the NASCAR bar mark on select Peak products.
 
The Round of 12 elimination race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the Alabama 500, will take place at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN.

UPDATE: The race has been postponed to Friday night due to weather.

The logjam at the top of the USAC National Midget standings is sure to create added excitement at Thursday night’s Jason Leffler Memorial race at Wayne County Speedway, not to mention the $20,000 winner’s share of the purse, which will provide the biggest payday for a USAC National Midget Series feature winner this year.

Co-sanctioned by POWRi, Thursday’s race is the fourth since Leffler, the three-time USAC National Midget champion, perished in a 2013 sprint car race in New Jersey.

Track owner Doug Stringer has not only created a more competitive atmosphere for this year’s race with the new date, but has also sweetened the pot for race fans attending with their own pot of gold.

One lucky fan will have an opportunity to win $50,000. A bin with 100 envelopes will be assembled, one containing the $50,000 prize, among other prizes. If the winning driver, who selects first, does not draw the $50,000 prize, then it becomes some lucky fan’s opportunity to try to draw the lucky $50,000 envelope.

On the race track, drivers will vie for valuable points toward the USAC championships. The top four USAC drivers are separated by just 77 points, with only Thursday’s race and the Nov. 24 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura, Calif.. remaining on the calendar.

Spencer Bayston leads teammate Tanner Thorson by just nine points in the latest USAC standings, with Chad Boat 40 points behind the leader and Brady Bacon 77 behind.

The new race date has allowed drivers from other racing series to compete, which will see USAC graduates Kyle Larson, Rico Abreu and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. return for another crack at winning the race as well as 2013 World of Outlaws champion Daryn Pittman and newly-crowned ARCA champion Chase Briscoe.

Each year, a portion of the proceeds from the Leffler Memorial Auction and the Leffler Memorial Race are donated to the Charlie Dean Leffler Discretionary Trust for Jason’s son Charlie. The Jason Leffler Memorial Auction will take place Wednesday.

Mike Curb will try to become USAC’s all-time winningest National car owner Thursday. He has tied Wilke Racers/Leader Cards at the top with 136 total USAC National wins and a victory Thursday would be Curb’s first in the Leffler Memorial.

The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team includes the top two in USAC’s National points (Bayston and Thorson), plus drivers Carson Macedo (USAC’s 2016 Indiana Midget Champ), Ryan Robinson and Holly Shelton, plus NASCAR vets Larson and Abreu, who will return for this special event.

ExxonMobil and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) have signed a new multi-year agreement for Mobil 1, a leading synthetic motor oil brand, to serve as the “Official Motor Oil of SCCA.”

The agreement includes an expanded racer contingency program with exclusive discounts on Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Racing oils available to the SCCA’s 67,000 members.

The new agreement will enhance ExxonMobil’s support of racers at all levels of SCCA competition, while expanding the company’s global motorsports presence and leadership. In recent years the SCCA has managed a rapidly-growing membership base that participates in more than 2,000 events annually.

Each year, Mobil 1 premium street and racing motor oils have continued to increase their market share in the series, now reaching a level that is more than double its closest competitor.

In addition to the benefit of SCCA’s focus on driver education, innovative experiential programs and youth-focused initiatives, the wide-variety of vehicles competing in and supporting the series provides an everyday showcase of the technology of Mobil 1 in various extremes.

This includes the latest turbocharged engines entering SCCA competition for which Mobil 1 motor oil is specially formulated to offer exceptional protection from the extreme heat that turbochargers generate – which can be about twice that of non-turbo engines.

“Since 2010, the Mobil 1 team has shared our club’s values of passion, vision and competitive spirit, as well as enthusiasm about cars and motorsport,” said Eric Prill, chief operations officer at SCCA.

Mobil 1 motor oil provides a full line of race-proven products for both street- and track-use including: motor oils, gear lubes, greases, hydraulic oils and oil filters.

Specifically for racing, Mobil 1 Racing oils are track-use only products available in 0W-30 and 0W-50 viscosities and include fully synthetic, race-proven technology engineered to deliver maximum performance and protection for a variety of race conditions.

For more information about the Mobil 1 Racing line of products, including distributor availability, please visit www.mobil1racing.com/upgrade.