Motovicity Distribution, an automotive performance aftermarket distributor, is announcing the addition of Dinan to its line card.

Founded in 1979, Dinan has become one of North America’s premiere BMW tuners. In addition to tuning engines, the company develops, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive line of high-performance products and systems.

From the Signature series packages to the individual components that comprise them (brakes, exhaust, suspension, wheels, performance tuners and more), Dinan offers the means to make any BMW driving experience even more powerful, without having to sacrifice warranty coverage, or the civility one expects from a BMW.

“Motovicity is always working to ensure our customers have access to the best brands out there,” said Brett Kinsfather, Sales & Marketing Manager for Motovicity Distribution. “We are pleased with the addition of Dinan to our line card, and feel this is proof of our devotion to the needs of our growing customer base.”

“We, at Dinan, are very excited about partnering with Motovicity Distribution, to expand the distribution of Dinan performance products to their broad wholesale network,” said Jim Hodgman, Sales Manager for Dinan. “Motovicity Distribution won SEMA's 2013 WD of the Year and is one of the best two-step distributors in the industry! Their sales team is made up of professional and knowledge ASE certified automotive enthusiasts, and their well-earned reputation for helping the best builders, performance shops, and retailers in North America satisfy the demands of their customers, has us looking forward to watching this partnership grow.”

Dinan products are now available for wholesale purchase through Motovicity Distribution. For product inquiries, call 888.SPEED.16 to speak to a representative.

In less than two weeks the Prairie Dirt Classic will bring some of the best late model racing in the country to Fairbury, Illinois.

For 27 years, the Fairbury American Legion Speedway has carried out the “Classic” tradition for Illinois drivers, but the event has become a full-fledged national extravaganza in just the last few years.

Since 2013, Fairbury Track Director Matt Curl and his track officials have partnered with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series, putting all of the track regulars on a national stage with the best drivers around the country.

“We wanted to go to the highest level,” Curl said. “We came together with World Racing Group and the World of Outlaws and made a match made in heaven for our speedway. That gave us the opportunity to bring the best drivers in the nation to Fairbury, which our fans really wanted. They wanted that marquee event.”

The World of Outlaws has grown the event with dirt racing juggernauts such as three-time series champion Josh Richards and defending series champion Shane Clanton. With a thick series heritage—drivers who rekindled the series in 2004 and young-guns carrying on the legacy—the Outlaws have blended their grassroots traditions into Fairbury’s for the event.

“There’s a vibe with that event,” said World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Director Tim Christman. “The whole city gets involved in it. You go to some communities where you’re looked at as the bad guys, but at Fairbury, heck, people are sitting outside on their lawn, arms out ready to give you a hug. It’s great to be involved with a community like that and to see this event grow.”

The event embodies dirt racing’s strong upbringing. And it creates a must-see battle between David and Goliath. Christman said when the Outlaws take to the black Illinois bullring, they will find sturdy competition against the regulars.

Christman is proud to have Fairbury on the schedule July 29-30. Bringing a group of 15 full-time drivers to a $27,000-to-win show syncs with the Outlaw attitude – traveling to the biggest shows in the nation competing against regional favorites and hometown heroes for a hefty purse. The two-day event pays a strong $1,500 to start with full payout of $90,000 for the 100-lap feature event.

“We try to add value to the event,” said Christman. “It’s become an event that everyone wants to put on their schedule, and it fills me with a lot of pride to be a part of something like that.”

According to Christman, when he initially met with Curl and his staff several years ago, he could tell the event was struggling. But Curl adds that his staff puts “a lot of blood, sweat, time and effort” in making sure they get a great night of racing in for the fans. That paired with the immense fan support was enough to pull the trigger.

Curl is no newbie to the sport. His passion took off many years ago at that same speedway he now manages, when Curl, then nine-months old, gravitated towards the cars that were creating a powerful gust around the track with their high-powered motors. He was hooked.

Unbeknownst to him, Curl would eventually do the unthinkable at a track he called home at a very young age, transforming it into a three-time UMP DIRTcar Track of the Year. Now the track’s race director—from an official and crew member—Curl has created the ultimate fan experience and revitalized the Prairie Dirt Classic.

Curl is ready to include everyone in his passion, which he calls the “backbone of the speedway’s success.” There will be overflow camping around the speedway as he projects yet another standing-room only crowd.

In a three-year span, the speedway has seen steady growth. The last two years, the event has sold out of reserve camping, sections of reserved seating have been quickly claimed, and the event has become a standing room only frenzy. As for the driver roster, car counts have exceeded 60, and Curl expects this year’s lineup to be no different.

“We’re expecting the biggest crowd we’ve ever had at Fairbury,” Curl said. “That is what propels us. It’s always been a very good Midwestern race with a lot of tradition and values – homegrown stuff. But now, it’s a national race. I’m proud of it.”

A university student from the United States has been awarded the career opportunity of a lifetime in Formula One, as Caitlin Bunt is confirmed as the US winner of the INFINITI Engineering Academy.
 
Beating nine other finalists from around the United States, an intense shootout event at Infiniti’s US Headquarters in Nashville saw 24-year-old Bunt from Rockford, Illinois, become the first ever female winner of the Academy.
 
Bunt will spend six months working at the Formula One team’s headquarters in Enstone and six months working at INFINITI’s European Technical Center in Cranfield. With F1 Technology more relevant to the automotive industry than ever, she will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between the Renault Sport Formula One Team and INFINITI.
 
The INFINITI Engineering Academy, now in its third year, is a one-of-a-kind global search for the world’s best up-and-coming engineers. For 2016 seven placements have been made available, with one winner chosen from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe incl. Russia, United Arab Emirates, China and Asia–Pacific.
 
This unique automotive-to-motorsport training program for brilliant young engineers, possible thanks to INFINITI’s Technical Partnership with the Renault Sport Formula One Team, has attracted 4108 registrations from 44 different countries. A number of previous winners have gone on to secure full-time careers in the automotive and motorsport industries.
 
After a series of interviews, 10 US finalists were invited to attend the selection event in Nashville. They were put through their paces in a structured assessment day by a panel of judges from INFINITI and Renault Sport Racing.
 
Commenting on her win, Bunt said: “I’m ecstatic! I’m still processing it all; it is pretty surreal. I’m so excited for the opportunities ahead and the chance to work with Infiniti and Renault Sport Racing. It has always been a dream of mine to work at the pinnacle of motorsport.
 
“I wouldn’t be an engineer without the influence of my Dad. I got my first experiences in Motorsport working with him. I know he’ll be proud and that all of my family will be so excited to hear this news!”
 
Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, INFINITI Motorsport, commented: “The extraordinary level of interest in this year’s INFINITI Engineering Academy has been absolutely fantastic. Students have seen the accomplishments of our Academies graduates, who have gone on to forge successful careers in the automotive industry. This has meant that more students than ever want to use the Academy to gain vital engineering experience and launch their own careers as Caitlin will now have the chance to do.
 
“With F1 becoming more and more relevant to the automotive industry and an increased focus of the placements this year being on the road car development, we are training a new generation of engineers who will play a key role in the crossover between the two industries,” concluded Volpe.
 
Winners Details:
 
Name: Caitlin Bunt
Age: 24
University: Kettering University, Michigan (Undergraduate Degree) and Oxford Brookes University, UK (Master’s Degree)
From: Rockford, Illinois
Biggest positive impact in life: My parents, but particularly my Dad who has been a huge influence in my move towards a career in engineering
Most looking forward to about living/working in the UK: The chance to explore all of the historic cities
Greatest strength: I think my communication skills serve me well and helped me to win the Academy

Danny Thompson's goal of achieving a new Land Speed Record for piston-driven vehicles continues with Challenger 2. The car originally built by Danny's father, the late Mickey Thompson, in 1968 had been set aside but never forgotten, and was restored for a new run for the LSR on the Bonneville Salt Flats by his son and his small band of craftsmen. The Challenger 2 team has been thwarted by weather issues the past two years, but its quest is set to continue at Bonneville's "Speed Weeks" next month. Here's an update from Danny on improvements made to the car for this year's runs.

Economists, in case you haven't noticed, tend to get things wrong a lot. Anticipating this, they like to end their formulations with a particular latin phrase—ceteris paribus—that basically says, "Hey, if this thing doesn't work out, my numbers weren't wrong, the world was wrong." The literal translation, roughly speaking, is "all else unchanged," and it's actually a great way to go about building a fast racecar.

If you only make one change in-between runs, it's easy to isolate the precise effects of that change. By taking this slow and steady approach, you're able to avoid the classic mistake of fixing something that isn't broken, and you don't end up with the racing equivalent of New Coke.

But, here's the thing: We've been rained out for two years in a row, and we've had a lot of extra time on our hands. So we ended up making five major changes and some other minor ones. Is this the most conservative approach? Absolutely not. But what can I say? No one has ever accused me of behaving like an economist. Here's the rundown on what's different for the Challenger 2 in 2016:

Clutch Package

This was the only mandatory change. The original clutch layout didn't allow for enough free-play travel in the candlesticks. Each run caused them to wear slightly, which eventually resulted in the blowout we experienced on our 419mph back-up pass. If you're trying to picture the problem, imagine only letting the clutch of a road car halfway out while slamming your other foot down hard on the accelerator. You'll definitely go forward, but there's going to be a lot of heat, and probably a burnout. We fixed the problem by repeatedly re-machining the original parts, eventually removing a total of 0.625 thousandths of material. This increased clearance should prevent component rub going forward.

Gear Ratios

Unlike a lot of the other cars that race Bonneville, the Challenger 2 runs dry blocks. Their optimal power band is somewhere between 5300-5600rpm. Last year, when we exited the final speed trap at 424mph, our computers measured both engines at closer to 4700rpm. We've modified the gear ratios in order to boost this number. This should result in faster overall acceleration, which is absolutely essential on a fixed length course, because we only have so long to get up to our maximum speed.

The Shocks

We didn't experience any problems with excessive lift last year, but it remains my biggest safety concern. The Challenger 2's shocks are custom made for us by King, and we worked with them to change the rebound control to keep the front end sucked down as much as possible. This was more of a fine-tune, but it also gave me a chance to add a blow-over light to the cockpit. What's that? A potentiometer monitors the position of the shocks and tells our RacePak data systems what changes are occurring to the car in terms of ride height in real time. If that number increases past a certain threshold while the car is going over 300mph, a bright red light on the dash will start flashing, letting me know to cut the engines (and hang on).

Bodywork

It's hard to see unless you know where to look, but the Challenger 2 now has wings. Or winglets at least. We're talking inches rather than feet. Two small front canards, one of either side of the nose, should provide additional downforce to the front of the car.

For the rear, we've added an undertray. This will create a zone of negative pressure, helping to evacuate mixed-up air from the sides of the car. Why is that necessary? The exhaust from our headers is confusing the airflow in that area a bit more than our aerodynamicist, Tim Gibson, would like. This should address the problem.

Finally, we added some reverse louvers to the bodywork in order to expel more of the internal heat generated by the engines. It was getting pretty warm in there, and we didn't want to risk damage to the electronics.

Fuel

We increased the percentage of nitromethane in the blend being fed to the engines by 5%. That means we're now running 80%. Vroom vroom.

That's where things currently stand in terms of the car as we pack up for Speed Week. There are some other changes of course, including replacement of all the decals with hand-lettered artwork from Dennis Jones. Listed below this post you'll find the scheduled dates for the Bonneville season. We'll share more here as we get closer, but in the meantime you can follow us on basically all forms of social media with our crew handle, thompsonlsr.

2016 Bonneville Dates:

• SCTA Speed Week, Aug. 13-19
• USFRA World of Speed, Sept. 10-13
• Mike Cook's Shootout, Sept. 15-20
• SCTA World Finals, Sept. 27-30

The Imola management has signed an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to run the Italian GP from 2017, but the plans can only go ahead if the country's national sporting authority gives its approval.

However, Automobile Club d'Italia president Angelo Sticchi Damiani has continued to support Monza's case, despite the venue's financial problems.

While Imola has signed its side of the deal, Ecclestone can't do so until the ACI formally approves the switch.

Representatives of Imola were at the British GP to meet with Ecclestone and further their case to hold the race.

One possible scenario could be an alternating deal, in the same way that Hockenheim and the Nurburgring shared the German GP, although Imola—which hosted the Italian GP on one previous occasion in 1980—is also happy to go it alone.

"Bernie knows that we are available," Formula Imola president Uberto Selvatico Estense told Motorsport.com.

"And he sent us a proposal that we signed and sent back to him. We will be very happy to have F1 back in Imola. Our main effort is to achieve this kind of result.

"It just depends on Angelo Sticchi Damiani. I think it's a political issue. We have an agreement with Bernie, and we only need the approval of the national sporting authority. If in the future there is not an Italian GP, it is only the problem of Mr Sticchi Damiani, who didn't allow this agreement."

Selvatico Estense says Imola also has the backing of the regional government: "Stefano Bonaccini, the president of the region Emilia-Romagna, is supporting us.

"He is a very pragmatic man and he said if you have the contract, Bernie is happy and the national sporting authority approves this agreement, we support you."

Imola is keen to have an answer so that it can get on with preparations.

"I think we don't have too much time to decide. We are going on with the work, also without an answer from Mr. Sticchi Damaini.

"I think we have until December, maximum. I think it's the limit, but the best thing will be before so we have one year to promote the race."

Selvatico Estense insists that Imola is in good financial health, and says that the venue continues to be upgraded in preparation for the possible return of F1 for the first time since the 2006 San Marino GP.

"We restructured the company several years ago, and now we're running the company in a good position. We are in a good status. We closed the last three balance sheets positive, with a good result, so we think we are in a strong position to ask for the GP.

"We think that in Imola we can have a great success with spectators. We are building up new facilities, we are building up a new press room, we are completing the project of Hermann Tilke that began in 2006. Right now we are moving the medical centre and building up a new one. We are doing a lot."

The expected pace increase of the 2017 World Rally Cars could be pegged back by the tire specification the faster machinery will require.

There have been concerns over the speeds next year's significant increase in power will bring, but that is forcing Michelin and DMACK into a redesign of their World Rally Championship tires.

DMACK managing director Dick Cormack said the extra power would mean much higher tire wear, and the changes required to ensure adequate longevity will reduce grip and limit speeds.

"Michelin and us are aware there will be a significant increase in the level of wear, particularly on gravel," Cormack told Autosport.

"That means a compound and possibly even a pattern change to deal with that.

"If we increase the tread width, that will give the tire more life, but at the same time you really need to reduce the gap between the tread blocks and inevitably that's going to reduce the grip."

Cormack believes the revised tires will make life even harder for the championship leader running first on the road.

"On a clean line the drivers will still get compound grip," he said, "but for the driver first on the road, it looks like there could be even less grip next year."

The prospect of limiting drivers to a single set of tires for each day of a WRC round to save costs has also been discussed, but Cormack was not in favor.

"There's a difference between the endurance side of this sport and world championship rallying," he said.

"The WRC is about going as fast as you can on every stage and running one set per day would really compromise that.

"These cars cost £450,000 each and the topic of conversations is about saving £250 on a tire—it doesn't seem to make sense."

NHRA has announced that the angle of the headers on Funny Cars would become standardized starting with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, outside of Denver, Colorado. This process of angling the headers on Funny Car engines has done more to advance the performance of the class than any other performance process.

NHRA’s tech department determined the process needed limits.

In a memo issued to teams on July 12, NHRA's tech department said, "Effective immediately the minimum header angle will be 32 degrees. Additionally, there will be a maximum header pipe O.D. of 2.75 inches, as well as the I.D. must remain constant beginning 8 inches below the header flange to the exit of the header (i.e. stepdown headers not permitted).

"We will continue to evaluate header angles with possibly making additional rule changes for 2017. If additional rule changes are made, we will communicate these change(s) prior to the end of the 2016 season."

A source close to the situation said the NHRA's decision was made in the name of safety, because of the ill-handling characteristics of the cars since the laid back headers became more common, as well as the potential continued cost of development.

The decision has been met with mixed reactions from some of the teams affected.

Driver Jack Beckman, whose team is credited with initiating the laid back header movement last season in Sonoma, California, said the NHRA's edict will not affect the Infinite Hero team.

“We are OK with it,” Beckman said. “We’ve kind of evolved to where our pipes are and I would imagine there’s another team out there that has them at 32 degrees. The problem is the more you sweep them back, the more you start toasting the side of the body. If you look at the staging lanes, there are a lot of ugly looking Funny Cars when you look at them up close because they all have bubbles and blisters on them with the swept back headers.

"Basically, what they’ve done (the swept back headers) is they’ve knocked about .08 of a second off what these cars are capable of running."

The performance gains of the Funny Cars were so significant the performance gap between the dragsters and funny cars had narrowed from two-and-half tenths of a second to two-tenths and less at most races.

Matt Hagan, Beckman's teammate, isn't a fan of the rule change in midseason.

“We all have combinations we’re working on and I think there were some people raising hell about it and that’s fine, everybody has their own opinion,” Hagan said. “At the end of day, you probably shouldn’t screw with everybody’s combination unless it’s a safety issue. They knew about these things last year in Sonoma, so don’t change things in the middle of the year when everybody is beating on a combination and getting ready for the Countdown.

"That’s probably the problem I have with it. But, it’s like anything, I just get paid to do a job and keep my mouth shut and show up and drive a race car. I love to see the Funny Cars go fast and I love to see the sport grow, and at the end of the day it’s not a safety issue there was no reason for them to change it.”

On May 20, 2016, Hagan had a historic run during qualifying in the Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park when he set both ends of the national record with a 3.862-second run at 335.57 mph.

Hagan's speed was the fastest of any Funny Car or Top Fuel dragster in NHRA history on the current 1,000-foot track, and the fastest a Funny Car has ever gone at the end of a quarter-mile.

"I hate rules as much as the next guy does," added second-generation Funny Car racer Chad Head. "Nitro racing in the very sense is supposed to be unlimited. This rule allows everyone to continue running what they have been all this year. It looks like the NHRA did their homework, and talked to the crew chiefs. They made a rule where no one has to throw anything away."

Beckman said he understands the NHRA's intention by passing down the edict.

"I think NHRA’s intention was to see what’s out there and say OK no more than this," Beckman said. "I think a couple of the teams have complained that’s hard to keep up with the bigger-funded teams that can come up with the trick of the week header. The other thing it has made the cars a little more prone to wheel stand and it has made them a little bit more difficult to drive. I understand their move here.

"You hate to be handcuffed and you love to have the advantage of ingenuity, but if you look at it the rules are so stringent for fuel cars with injector openings, blower opening, fuel width, there are so many things that are restricted on these cars already that you know what tapping off the header wars, it is still going to be just as exciting, we will find the performance somewhere else.”

As part of a multi-year agreement, VP Racing Fuels has acquired title partnership for the largest indoor stock car race in 34 years, the VP Racing Fuels Gateway Dirt Nationals. VP Racing Fuels will also be the Official Fuel of the Gateway Dirt Nationals and the exclusive trackside fuel service provider.

The Gateway Dirt Nationals has quickly become one of the must see events in all of short track racing with over 400 competitors registered, representing more than 30 states and Canada for the event scheduled December 15–17 at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. VP Racing Fuels has a long history of promoting its quality products through sponsorships of myriad race series and race teams, but aligning with a marquee event like the Gateway Dirt Nationals represents a new direction for its marketing efforts.

“Our experience with event sponsorship has been primarily at the product level, but when we saw the opportunity to partner with the Gateway Dirt Nationals as the title sponsor, we couldn’t pass it up,“ said Chris Wall, Chief Marketing Officer for VP Racing Fuels. “It’s a perfect platform not only to promote our race fuels but our newer product lines. There’s already been extraordinary positive buzz about this event and we look forward to working with Cody and his team to keep it growing for many years to come.”

The Gateway Dirt Nationals founder and promoter Cody Sommer added, “This partnership marks a big milestone for this event. Having the support of a company like VP for multiple years is going to allow us to work on things that add value for the fans and competitors. It is not often you find partners that have such a similar vision right out of the box and that is what we have with this relationship with VP thanks to Chris and Steve.”

In addition to naming rights and exclusive trackside fuel sales, VP will engage in on-site activation promoting its product lines for general consumers including VP Madditives and VP Small Engine Fuels as well as its growing roster of VP-branded gas stations, all of which will add even more excitement to an already mega event.

Baer Brake Systems, an internationally known performance brake manufacturer, announces the addition of Chris Thomson, who will be handling sales/business development.

Thomson has over 40 years of experience in the performance aftermarket, and has been involved with companies such as K&N, Airaid, Flowtech, Mr. Gasket and Holley Performance.

For additional information you can contact Thomson at 602-233-1411 ext 7105 or email ChrisTh@Baer.com.  Also please visit www.Baer.com

NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week will move from the unfinished Central New York Raceway Park to Oswego Speedway on October 5-9.

The move was announced Thursday afternoon by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and later confirmed by DIRTcar Racing CEO Brian Carter.

“The plan is to hold Super DIRT Week at the Oswego Speedway,” said Cuomo Thursday afternoon.

Oswego, a historic paved, half-mile track 35 miles north of Syracuse, will be covered with dirt for the first time since 1952 to accommodate the NAPA 300 and all of the week’s events and festivities.

In addition to assisting with the three-week process of covering the track with some 9,600 cubic yards of clay, the State of New York and DIRTcar are also making improvements to the grandstands and camping facilities at Oswego. The investment in the speedway will not only benefit NAPA Super DIRT Week but future use of the facility, including Oswego’s Budweiser International Classic, the third largest motorsports event in New York behind only the NASCAR weekend at Watkins Glen Internatioinal and Super DIRT Week.

“With support from Governor Cuomo, the State of New York, and incredible fans and sponsors, we are excited to write a new chapter in the history of Racing’s Biggest Party,” said Carter. “We’ve developed a great relationship with John Torrese and his team over the past several months, and Super DIRT Week is going to be a lot of fun at Oswego this year.”

Following the demolition of the New York State Fairgrounds ‘Moody Mile,’ which had been the home of NAPA Super DIRT Week since its inception, an agreement was struck between DIRTcar Racing and the State of New York to keep the annual event in New York for the next 10 years. As part of the agreement, Super DIRT Week was committed to the Central New York Raceway Park under the condition that the facility be fully completed. Committed to keeping the event in New York, the state agreed to assist in moving the event to Oswego if needed and is putting that plan in action in recognition of the importance of motorsport to the State of New York.

“While we are disappointed CNYRP will not yet be ready for 2016, we understand the challenges of building a new facility,” Carter said. “Glenn Donnelly’s vision for CNYRP will be an incredible addition to the racing landscape in Central New York when complete.”

The format and schedule for NAPA Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway will remain the same as previous years with on-track action every day from Oct. 5-9 at Oswego, including a return of Friday Night Lights. Other municipalities will get in on the action with traditional nighttime events slated for Weedsport Speedway on Oct. 5; Brewerton Speedway in Central Square, N.Y., on Oct. 6; and the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series will be racing at Fulton (N.Y.) Speedway on Oct. 8.