Sebring International Raceway has announced the hiring of Kim Albritton as the Director of Finance. A native of Sebring with extensive background in finance and accounting, Albritton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.

“Kim Albritton possesses all the attributes we want in a Finance Director,” said Sebring Raceway President and General Manager Wayne Estes. “She brings a wealth of finance and accounting expertise, business management experience inside and outside Highlands County, and deep hometown roots. She loves Sebring and is determined to see it grow.”

After working for the CPA firm of Coopers & Lybrand, Albritton joined Waste Management and over the course of eight years was promoted through three Controller roles, including an expat assignment in Florence, Italy. Following that she was the Controller for the Growers Container Cooperative and Region Controller for Equity Residential Properties. She rejoined the waste industry and for the next 15 years was with Republic Services as Division Controller and Corporate Director of Business Systems where in addition to accounting she had responsibility for multiple high-profile finance and business system conversions to support several mergers and acquisitions.

While at the University of Central Florida she was on the President’s Leadership Council. Albritton was President of the Atlanta Alumni Chapter and on the UCF Alumni Board for 10 years.

Albritton has chaired multiple large fundraisers for the Junior League and is a member of the Women’s Council of the National Waste & Recycling Association. She remained active in the Pi Beta Phi Sorority alumni that hosted the national convention in Atlanta and also served as Treasurer for the Sorority’s Housing Corporation for the UCF chapter. She currently volunteers for the Sebring Historical Society.

S. B. International, Inc. (SBI) of  Nashville, Tennessee, announced the appointment of Tom DeBlasis as Vice President of Sales, effective July 15, 2016.
 
DeBlasis’ 40 years of automotive aftermarket experience involved sales and sales management roles with Cloyes, SBI, K-Line, and Hastings. He comes back to SBI with responsibility for sales worldwide.
 
S. B. International is a global supplier of valvetrain and cylinder head components for auto, light to heavy-duty diesel truck, tractor, marine, performance, motorcycle, and power generation engines.

Kasey Coler, a sports marketing professional, has been named NHRA vice president of marketing & brand strategy, it was announced today by NHRA President Peter Clifford.
              
Coler will join NHRA’s leadership team and play a key role in leading consumer marketing strategy and overall brand development efforts for the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body.
              
In the newly created position, Coler will develop and oversee the NHRA’s overall brand strategy, including communicating the strategy to internal and external audiences, all aimed to build lasting emotional connections with customers and fans.
              
“We think Kasey’s experience is an ideal fit for NHRA and I am confident that his extensive marketing and branding background will strengthen and sustain our strategic initiative to grow the sport,” Clifford said. “Kasey has a track record of success and is known as a marketer who combines strategic thinking and solid program implementation. With Kasey’s experience NHRA will continue to gain traction among the elite sports in the country.”
              
Since 2014, Coler has been a part of the senior management team of the Professional Bull Riders, most recently holding the title of senior vice president of marketing. Prior to that he worked for Indy Car during a seven year stint where he ultimately was vice president of marketing. For the first five years of his career Coler held several roles in the marketing department at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
              
“I'm looking forward to the challenge of elevating NHRA’s marketing programs within the world of motorsports and the broader mainstream sports landscape,” Coler said. “There's been tremendous buzz throughout the industry surrounding NHRA's resurgence during the past year and I’m thrilled to be in a position to make an impact on its future.”

It was revealed Sunday that Tony George replaced his mother, Mari Hulman-George, as chairman of the board of Hulman & Company, which owns and operates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Verizon IndyCar series, but the founder of the Indy Racing League is not back in charge of open wheel racing.

George was officially named chairman in March.

George's new title was revealed when he was introduced to give the command to start engines at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400, and it was confirmed to RACER.com by Mark Miles.

"The board decided it was time to transition the chairmanship from Mari to Tony and Mari is now chairman emeritus," said Miles, the president and CEO of Hulman & Company and president of the IndyCar Series. "This has no effect on management, policies or strategies. The board has worked hard the past two years to have a clear strategy and that isn't changing."

Hulman-George, the only child of IMS savior Tony Hulman, has been in failing health for several months. George, her 56-year-old son, had been the president of IMS from 1990-2004 and president of Hulman & Company and IndyCar CEO until being forced out of power in 2009 by his sisters.

The lone grandson of Tony Hulman, George resigned from the Hulman & Company board in 2009 but returned in March 2013. He serves as a director along with sisters Josie George, Nancy George and Kathy George-Conforti and their mother. Jack Snyder, Andre Lacy, Mitch Daniels, John Akerman, Jim Morris, Mike Smith and Miles are also on the board.

NASCAR and Chevrolet announced the launch of the second annual NASCAR Chevrolet Diversity Scholarship Contest during a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Through this initiative, NASCAR and Chevrolet continue their longstanding commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education and promoting opportunities for college students pursuing technology related careers.
 
The contest challenges students to identify a technology or innovation within NASCAR and explain how STEM professionals came to its design in 90-second videos submitted on www.chevy.nascardiversity.com. Four winners will receive a total of $20,000 in scholarships and a VIP experience at Texas Motor Speedway during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on November 6, 2016.
 
In what has quickly become an important component of NASCAR’s diversity and inclusion platform, the scholarship program helps both organizations attract young, diverse talent to the world of motorsports.
 
“STEM professionals are invaluable to our sport,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. "We’re proud to partner again with Chevrolet in supporting talented students who we hope one day will play an important role in our industry.”
 
Video submissions will be judged on technical accuracy, creativity and production quality. Examples of science and technology in NASCAR include, but are not limited to: track banking and construction, race car design, SAFER barrier walls, drafting, gas mileage, tire wear, ethanol fuel, pit road officiating and solar energy.
 
Ken Barrett, Chief Diversity Officer for General Motors, announced the scholarship contest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
"At General Motors, diversity is our strength and we seek unique perspectives to infuse new ideas into all we do - keeping us on the cutting edge of technological innovation," said Barrett. "Attracting and employing the best and brightest STEM talent from around the world places GM and Chevy in the position to win in the marketplace and the race track."
 
Winners will be awarded a scholarship and an exclusive, behind-the-scenes race experience in Texas, including a tour of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage, pace car rides and meet-and-greets with Team Chevy drivers and Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Program Manager, Alba Colon.
 
“We’re thrilled to once again offer this scholarship opportunity for talented students,” said Colon. “NASCAR is such an innovative sport and this is a great way to get students excited about science and technology.”
 
To be eligible for the contest, students must be currently enrolled, at least part-time, in an accredited college or university within the United States, be between the ages of 18 and 25 at the time of entry and submit a YouTube link through the scholarship website. The deadline to enter is October 15, 2016.
 
For more information on the NASCAR Chevrolet Diversity Scholarship Contest, please visit www.chevy.nascardiversity.com.

Motovicity Distribution, an automotive performance aftermarket distributor, announced the winner of its Duttweiler Performance LS3 Motor presented by ARP.

The lucky winner is James Kang, who said, “I received an e-mail saying I was the potential winner, so I knew it wasn’t absolute.” Kang was later called by a Motovicity representative letting him know he was the grand prize winner. “I go to Vegas more than the ordinary person, but to win something like this that is valued at $20,000 is just unbelievable!” Kang added.

“It’s really cool to hear that the engine went to someone new to the LS,” said Ken Duttweiler, builder and tuner of the custom engine. “This engine really turned out great, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of ARP & Motovicity.”

James said that while he has more experience with Honda engines, he looks forward to the possibilities this LS3 will bring him. He does not have a vehicle to put this in just yet, but plans to start looking soon in hopes of finding the perfect chassis for this build.

Nico Rosberg has signed a new deal to remain in Formula 1 with Mercedes.

Rosberg was due to be out of contract with the F1 team at the end of this season, but has now agreed a fresh two-year deal to keep him at Brackley until the end of 2018. Mercedes posted a video clip on social media of Rosberg signing the contract, followed by Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff. Rosberg then clenched his fist and gave a thumbs-up sign. 


Mercedes also posted the message "it is done" on its Twitter feed.

"Nico has been a core member of the Silver Arrows since the team returned to the sport in 2010 and has played a crucial role in the team's success in that time," a statement from Mercedes added.

Come the conclusion of the new deal Rosberg will have spent nine years with Mercedes after joining them in 2010, with all of his 19 victories to date coming with the team.

The Verizon IndyCar Series isn’t ready to confirm its solution or timeline for enhanced cockpit safety, but all signs point to aeroscreens and 2018.

IndyCar competition president Jay Frye has been vocal about the series' intentions to introduce some form of device that will reduce the likelihood of helmet strikes, and told RACER in June that no decision had been made on whether a halo or aeroscreen would be used, or when either unit would appear.

However, Frye now believes that there is doubt over whether the halo can be adapted to work on ovals.

"F1 came out and said they were doing the Halo; I don't think that is a great application for us," he told RACER. "The banking we have on ovals is different, and everything is just a little bit different for our cars and where we race."

With IndyCar apparently committed to creating a custom Aeroscreen solution for the Dallara DW12, the next questions involve where it would be used, and the most probable timeline to test, finalize, and mass produce the item to outfit dozens of primary and backup cars.

The series initially targeted the start of the 2017 season for the introduction of cockpit protection, but multiple sources have said aeroscreens are unlikely to appear before 2018. Next year has not been written off altogether, but with the growing possibility of more than one device being implemented - one for ovals, and a slightly different model for road and street courses - multiple development cycles would be required.

IndyCar is expected to gradually announce a number of safety and technology initiatives in the coming weeks and months, and as a result, Frye declined to confirm the aeroscreen as the series' choice, or the anticipated 2018 introduction, saying only that the series will take as much time as it needs to create a solution that will meet the requirements of its drivers before they appear in competition.

"The most important part of it is how it affects the driver and the safety of the driver, that is the key," he said. "We are exploring the best solution, and you can't put a date on that. It just depends on the timing of when it's ready. You're looking at the drivers' sightlines and how it affects things from inside the car. You're looking at how it affects the aerodynamics of the car.

"Once you've figured out what is the best for the driver, and it has the right safety elements to it, then how does it affect other pieces of the car? It's more than just one thing we're dealing with, and making sure it's right and it works with the rest of the car is where a lot of time is spent in development. When our competition department and our partners and our teams agree everything's ready, then we will go ahead with it."

Top single-seater constructor Dallara has revealed the full package of updates as the current Formula 3 car enters the last three years of its service.

The current-generation car, which was first used in 2012, will continue until the end of '19. Dallara has been tasked with a list of safety and performance improvements to be included in an update kit introduced for use in the European and Japanese championships in 2017.

Talking about the safety modifications, F3 project manager Jos Claes said that there will be extra zylon protection around the front of the monocoque, a lowered nose, wheel tethers that can cope with a force of 4-6kJ and an extra carbon fiber "hat" structure within the rollhoop for head protection.

The lowered nose theoretically means there is less chance of a car going airborne if it clips the rear tire of the car in front, while teams have already been using the 'hat' in the wake of Gustavo Menezes's aerial crash at Spa last year, when the American's rollhoop broke.

On performance, Dallara is introducing a larger front wing with 3D endplates in a bid to make downforce more consistent and increase overtaking.

"We are trying to bring in the concept where the car can stay closer to the car ahead," said Claes. "This changes the flow of air to go around the wheels and improve aero stability."

A longer diffuser, starting from 600mm ahead of the rear axle instead of the current 280mm, should make the cars faster. Because this would bring the balance of the car forward, an extra rear-wing profile will be introduced. Claes added that this is the biggest facelift yet for the current F3 car.

"We have to try to always improve safety," said the Belgian. "We are now using the same car for eight years, and safety levels improve, so it's good that when we have new ideas we can implement them.

"And, it's also good when we can make Formula 3 cars faster, because no category below us is making their cars go slower!"

Volkswagen will finalize the specification of its Polo R for the World Rally Championship's 2017 rules revamp by the end of this month.

The German firm has just concluded its latest round of testing with the new car and technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison said it was now in the final development phase.

"Everything has to be with the FIA for homologation for November 1," Demaison said. "After that, we cannot change anything; the only thing that will change is if the FIA is not happy with something.

"The final validation process is the end of this month, the specification will be frozen at the start of September, then we start building nine chassis – three for Monte, three for Sweden and three spares – at the start of December."

VW is currently testing chassis 35 and 36, while the 37th planned Polo R WRC will be Sebastien Ogier's entry car for the opening round of next year's championship.

The team's preparations for 2017 have been hindered by testing regulations that only allow 42 days of running because the car is an evolution of the current model and not a completely new machine.

"This is the reason why we are doing all of this year's pre-event tests with the 2017 car," said Demaison. "For sure, this penalizes us this year – we saw that a little bit in Poland. All the time, the drivers are coming to me and saying 'I want to test the 2016 car, 'but I say to them: 'No, I am a bastard and you know it!'

"I have to tell them this otherwise it will be so much more difficult for us next year. It's more important for us to focus on 2017. This year there aren't so many runners and at the moment what we have is just about enough, but next year it's going to be more [competitive] and we have to be ready."