Alaska Raceway Park roared to life on Labor Day of 1964 as Polar Dragway.

The historic venue in Palmer, Alaska, embarks on a new era on Saturday. Racing will officially commence on the recently completed oval track as NASCAR comes to Alaska.

The visual spectacle of racing beneath 6,398-foot Pioneer Peak and in view of the Knik Glacier is unique for racers and fans alike, and the track with its glorious view in multiple directions is recognized by race fans worldwide. The site is at 63 feet elevation above sea level, offering excellent air density for racing.

Back in 1964, Governor Bill Egan cut the ribbon and thousands of fans cheered on the first 40 cars to drag race down the track. The only International Hot Rod Association sanctioned track in Alaska, ARP is a family business, run since 1998 by Earl and Karen Lackey, both in their mid-70s. The track is co-owned with their daughter, Michelle Lackey Maynor, who serves as Track Manager and Race Director.

Alaska joins Virginia's Dominion Raceway, Wisconsin's Spring Lake Speedway, and Eastboud Speedway in Canada's Newfouland and Labrador, as new tracks in 2016 under the NASCAR Whelen All-AMerican Series banner.

It's been a long road for Alaska, with a plenty of labor and love put into making oval track racing at the facility a reality.

Prior to the most recent expansion, Top End, Inc., and the Lackeys have funded major drag strip improvements and renovations since the 1990s:  environmental cleanup, new entrances, bleachers, sound systems, building roofs, remodeling of the main building, gift shop, firefighting and track-cleaning equipment, staging area paving, pit paving, computerized timing system, new track bed and surface with a 300-foot heated concrete launch pad, and purchase of surrounding 182 acres to make the park permanent and add parking—in the process rejuvenating what was a flagging passion to a sport that is now growing yearly.

In 2016, the most major improvement of all is now a reality:  a .333-mile asphalt oval, becoming a NASCAR Home Track in February 2016 in the Whelen All-American Series. This expansion and its attendant blood, sweat, and tears created a bona fide motorsports complex, the only of its kind in Alaska and remarkable for a state a fifth the size of the contiguous 48 states, with a population of less than 750,000.

The new track greatly expands racing opportunities for youth and adults in Alaska, and racers with nowhere else to race after a local grandfathered oval closed in 2012 are ecstatic to once again have a racing venue they are calling "amazing!" They love how smooth and fast it is proving to be. There is plenty of room to maneuver the race car, with good speeds for the size. It’s a perfectly sized track for community weekly series racing, to accommodate all sorts of cars.

The Lackeys are working hard to make racing affordable for local racers and attract as many participants as possible.

The oval track is constructed on the site of a dirt oval on ARP property operated in the early 1980s and is below ground level so spectators won’t miss a second of the action. Following the Tesoro Inaugural Oval Debut on Saturday, there will be an additional nine oval race days in the 2016 season throughout the summer, with spectator capacity over 1500.

Kevin Nevalainen, the Director of Weekly Racing Operations at NASCAR, flew up from Daytona, Florida, this past winter to discuss with ARP owners their vision and plans. A day-long discussion and contract-signing resulted in a successful ARP sanction announcement at Daytona Speedweeks.

Architected by Earl Lackey and Dana Pruhs of Pruhs Construction, the talking phase of the asphalt oval track idea first took hold five years ago, but the local assembly would not modify the ARP permit to include the oval. Earl was persistent and succeeded in gaining approval in summer 2014.

With construction activities limited in the winter due to frozen ground and load limits on local roads, active construction began in 2014 and the project took 18 months. In fact, last-minute finishing touches are being worked on as of this writing, right up until the debut race on June 4.

Alaska Land Clearing crew made way for the track in fall of 2014, then Pruhs Construction leveled off the cleared space in spring of 2015. They sculpted in the track dimensions, processing material on site to use for foundation strength. After installing the foundation, they cut in the pit area and the parking area for the fans. After everything was sculpted in, Soper’s Concrete, headed by drag racer Monte Soper, poured the concrete footings where they had been surveyed in. Carson Construction poured the concrete walls on those footings. After curing, the Pruhs crew back-filled.

Earl created a preliminary electrical grid and started laying electrical into the property. Pruhs followed with a compacted base/leveling course over the sculpted track and the pit area, then sculpted and leveled off the infield in order to put top soil down.  At that point it was late fall and time to wrap.  The freeze/thaw cycle over the winter allowed the 2015 work to settle.  Over the winter Earl, facility manager Pete Mattison, and crew got the track grandstands up, built a ticket booth, concession stands, spotters’ tower, race director’s tower, and tech inspection building.

As soon as the ground was thawed, AAA Fence installed the fence behind the barrier wall all around the track.  With funding for emulsion from Tesoro, Pruhs paved the track and watered it to cool it down for three days. Straight stretches of the oval are 3 degrees; corners are progressive from 4, 8, to 11 degrees—11 is about as steep of banking as can get in Alaska without special paving gear. There are two lanes to race. Asphalt is in two lifts: 1 ½” with coarse aggregate rock for structural. The last 1 ½” was fine asphalt mixed with small rock to make it smooth. The oval is about 1800 feet around; straight stretches are 400 feet and 50 feet wide; the curves are 158-foot inside radius and 80 feet wide.

Top soil was spread for the infield, followed by hydro-seeding for grass. Pruhs then striped the track and added start and finish lines.  The scoreboard went up, and the lap counter system was installed.

The Lackeys have put everything on the line for this exciting expansion, and construction has been a family and racing community effort.  Lackey sons John and Jim have pitched in during the construction process, and Pete, the facility manager, has been an indispensable and tireless coordinator and builder of the track’s necessary elements, such as the tower, grandstand, spotter’s deck, gift shop, concessions building, and tech station. The scoreboard and leaderboard came from Daktronics and were installed by DG Signs. Facility EMT John Akers worked under Pete’s guidance from November 2015, when the bleachers arrived from Florida on three semi-trailers.

Technology implemented in support of the new oval includes a state-of-the-art LED electronic timing system, the transponders to activate the timing system, and the raceceiver system which the drivers will be able to hear race director instructions. A new Matanuska Telephone Association fiber optic internet and phone feed helps the facility upgrade to incorporate technologies previously unavailable to the drag strip due to old electrical infrastructure and slow internet service.

Pete works with our I.T. volunteer, Cory Ricks, and uses a Xirrus WiFi Inspector software to plan track-wide frequencies for UHF radios, point-of-sale devices, Daktronics equipment on the scoreboard, wireless microphones, wi-fi access points, and spectator access to MyLaps SpeedHive.

NGK Spark Plugs (USA) Inc. has announced the appointment of Yoshitaka Narita to the position of president and CEO of NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc.

Narita returns to NGK Spark Plugs (USA) with a wealth of experience, serving in different capacities in the U.S. and overseas. He served as general manager of finance and administration at NGK Spark Plug Europe GmbH for eight years, then moved to the position of chief financial officer of NGK Spark Plugs (USA) Inc. for six years.

Narita most recently served as corporate officer, corporate administration group, and also general manager of finance and accounting at NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. in Japan, where his career began in 1982.

“I am happy to join the management team at NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc. as we go forward with a new phase of our business plan,” said Narita. “Our hope is to strengthen our customer relations and achieve the enhancement of our mutual success and prosperity. NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. and its global affiliated companies have been working very hard to serve and meet all customers’ demands and expectations under its trustful brand names of NGK Spark Plugs and NTK Oxygen Sensors. We are excited to celebrate 50 years of NGK Spark Plugs doing business in the United States together with all of our customers.”

King Engine Bearings has received its fourth consecutive Supplier Quality Award from Jasper Engines and Transmissions. Jasper is one of North America’s largest remanufacturers of gasoline and diesel powertrain components. King Engine Bearings has been a leading supplier to Jasper since 1988, providing engine bearings for all makes and models of engines in Jasper’s remanufactured engine program.

In 2012, King received Jasper’s Outstanding Service award. Now, for the third consecutive year, King has earned Jasper’s Overall Quality award. The company joins an elite group of only two other companies to receive the Overall Quality award for 2015.

“Our goal at King is to exceed our customers’ quality standards on a consistent basis,” said Limor Neeman Karpatkin, vice president of sales and marketing at King Engine Bearings. “To be recognized for our quality and be awarded as a top performer for the fourth year in a row is both humbling and very gratifying.”

The award is determined by joint nominating efforts between Jasper sourcing and quality teams in key areas such as supplier scorecard results, corrective action requests, warranties, quality control first-piece history and quality issue resolution.

* Braking Ground: A tip of the cappello to Italian brake manufacturer Brembo over a recent—and successful—“first pour” at the company’s new cast-iron foundry in Homer, Michigan.

The brake systems innovator and longtime PRI Trade Show exhibitor christened this latest addition to its worldwide network of foundries during a test-run of sorts in late April, where furnaces were charged and molten raw material deposited into molds to ensure all facility functions were tip-top. And they were, according to company officials, opening the door to a ramp-up in production that was just getting underway at press time; the 266,000-square-foot facility is expected to be fully operational in 2017.

But the pour also represented a real commitment to North America, which a spokesman called “the top geographic market for Brembo worldwide,” as well as the local economy. That’s because operations tied to the foundry will create 250 jobs on site and at the company’s nearby Plymouth, Michigan, offices. For a US manufacturing industry that’s taken its share of gut punches in recent years, Brembo’s investment sure provides a much-needed, and appreciated, shot in the arm.

* Classy Tribute: When it comes to displays of raw emotion, racing tends to produce more than a few. Surviving a 500-lap endurance test, a four-second quarter-mile or a bruising off-road desert rumble generally has that effect on folks. But it’s those unexpected moments—far from the finish line, the cameras, the crowds and competition—that often provide the most impactful impressions.

One I won’t soon forget took place at—of all places—a press conference in the midst of last year’s PRI Trade Show. That seemingly ordinary presser by WELD became anything but when company president and CEO Norm Young climbed on stage and presented NHRA Top Fuel driver Clay Millican with a not-yet-released DM58 UTV race wheel to be manufactured and named in honor of Millican’s 22-year-old son Dalton, who had perished in a motorcycle accident just four months earlier.

The room fell silent as Millican, overcome briefly, spoke so eloquently of his child, their bond, and why everyone in the room should be sure to tell the important people in their lives how much they care for them, “because things can change in an instant, and you may never get another chance to let them know.”

While WELD released the DM58 for production earlier this year, another fitting tribute was announced not long ago when Stringer Performance and the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) unveiled the Dalton Millican Scholarship Fund to benefit students in the university’s College of Applied Technologies, Automotive/High Performance Degree Program. The annual scholarship will award $2500 toward the cost of a full academic year, and it is open to incoming freshmen as well as current program enrollees.

“Donna and I were surprised and very gracious that UNOH came to us and asked if they could create this scholarship to help carry on other peoples’ passion for motorsports, like Dalton had,” Millican said. “It’s going to change someone’s life, and that is such a true gift.” Donations to the Dalton Millican Scholarship Fund can be mailed to The University of Northwestern Ohio, Attn: Stephen Farmer–VP Development, 1441 N. Cable Rd., Lima, OH 45805.

* Career Track: Most teenagers have no idea what they want to be when they grow up. But thanks to Oswego Speedway PR Director Dan Kapuscinski, a few dozen students at Fulton Junior High recently received some valuable schooling in effective public relations and promotions as part of the upstate New York academy’s Career Day.

Kapuscinski, whose fifth season at the speedway began last month, was among more than a dozen community professionals invited by Fulton administrators to share their background and experiences, and explain how lessons from the classroom can be applied to the “real world.”

Of his objective, Kapuscinski told a local newspaper, “My main goal was to stress to the students that pretty much any hobby they may enjoy, or passion they may have, needs good PR, promotion and marketing to support it. With today’s advances in technology and social media, some of our younger generations are already public relations pros—they just may not know it yet.”

BorgWarner is expanding its North American REMAN turbocharger line to include turbochargers of all brands. REMAN—or remanufactured—turbochargers combine the quality of a new original turbocharger with the competitiveness of a remanufactured system. They are professionally restored with new production validated parts on BorgWarner series assembly lines to meet the same high-quality performance standards as new turbochargers. All BorgWarner REMAN turbochargers are backed by a 12-month unlimited mileage warranty.
 
"Trucking fleet, agricultural and construction equipment operators demand durability and component availability. BorgWarner REMAN turbochargers are an economical solution that helps owners get the most for their investment," said Frédéric Lissalde, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Turbo Systems. "Over one million turbochargers around the world have been revitalized through our REMAN program, offering cost-conscious customers a high-quality alternative to a new turbocharger. Remanufacturing also contributes to a significant reduction in landfill waste and requires less energy and natural resources than producing brand new units."

BorgWarner's REMAN process involves completely disassembling the unit, replacing damaged or worn parts with new OEM-qualified parts, reconditioning serviceable parts using proven cleaning technologies, re-assembling the turbocharger on the most advanced assembly lines in the world, and high-speed core rebalancing of the  turbocharger rotating assembly. Advanced testing procedures confirm high quality.

A broad range of REMAN turbochargers with first-class aftermarket service support is available from local BorgWarner distributors. For more information, visit www.turbodriven.com.

The World Rally Championship looks set for significant change, with up to 13 new or returning events vying for calendar slots.

Abu Dhabi, Canada, Chile, Croatia, India, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Russia and Turkey are reported to be at various stages of readiness to run a candidate or even full WRC round.

FIA president Jean Todt is pushing for a more global calendar, having expressed concern at the Eurocentric schedule.

"This is a world championship and our calendar needs to better reflect that," said Todt.

The 2016 WRC calendar has 10 events in Europe and four elsewhere, including this year's return to China.

Autosport reports substantial changes to the line-up are possible as early as next season.

"There's real pressure on rallies now," said one source. "These countries are serious and they're coming with a very strong proposition. For example, we're missing a really rough rally in the style of the Acropolis or Cyprus—but Turkey fits that bill very well.

"The proposal from them is away from Istanbul and all the hassle that brought and back to Antalya; at the right time of the year, this could be a great rough-road rally."

FIA rally director Jarmo Mahonen admitted such demand did bring its own headache.

"We have committed to the manufacturers to keep the calendar at 14 rallies," Mahonen told Autosport, "so simply increasing the number of rallies each season isn't an option. But we have to do something. If we stay [with the current rallies] then nothing will ever change. How do you value 60 years of experience compared to somebody else who will pay more? It's a difficult balance."

Though Jordan's bid for a WRC return has royal backing, it is believed to be a long shot for a calendar place.

Jordan's Prince Feisal Al-Hussein said: "Motorsport has a rich tradition here in Jordan from the legacy of King Hussein. King Abdullah is also keen on motorsport and we work as a team to promote the sport.

"We are surrounded, here in Jordan, by war and political problems, but we want to see sport thrive in the region. We are keen for the WRC to return and want to see what the promoter requires for this to progress."

Plans for an exhibition IndyCar street race in Beijing have been scrapped for this year.

"We are not going to be racing in China despite the fact there was strong interest there," IndyCar president Mark Milessaid. "Here we are on June 1 and all the arrangements aren't in place, so we don't feel comfortable adding an event to the calendar when we're not confident it can go on without a hitch."

Miles added that IndyCar still hopes to have points-paying international races early in the schedule. The series has not raced internationally since Brazil fell off the calendar after 2013.

"Our focus remains on finding up to two international races that we could run between the Super Bowl and St. Pete that would count in the championship if we can find the right arrangements," he said.

In early May, Miles said in a statement that IndyCar had participated in discussions regarding a non-championship event in the Fengtai District of Beijing that would occur in October. But he cautioned that "a number of important issues must be resolved before such an event can be added to the schedule.

"IndyCar is pleased with the amount of interest in China and the substantial effort that has been made to try and make this proposed event a reality," the statement continued.

The series had planned to race in the coastal city of Qingdao in August of 2012, only for the event to be cancelled two months out due to problems with the promoters. China emerged as a candidate in early March.

Miles said in February that the series was hoping to run a non-points overseas race immediately after the season finale at Sonoma, with Beijing emerging as the leading candidate in early March.

The Board of Directors of the Short Track Auto Racing Series, LLC have unanimously approved the dissolution of STARS for various reasons at a Board of Directors meeting held on May 31.

The Board cited that STARS was unable to reach an agreement with the Grundy County Fair Board on a viable contract for this season, the loss of sponsors and health issues with some of the management team were all contributing factors.

“This decision was not an easy decision to make and we are saddened that STARS will not be part of the 2016 season in this area.  We want to thank all of our sponsors, team owners, competitors in all divisions, our track help, and our fans for their support in the past five years,” the organization said in a statement.

STARS sanctioned asphalt midget racing mainly at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill.

One of the most valuable concepts I've gained personally from the racing industry is the profound meaning of "race ready." Over 25 years ago, before I entered the racing industry through PRI, I would have provided a glib definition to "race ready." But, it's not just a statement about preparedness. That's too mild. It's about a coiled kind of energy. It's about a 24/7 experience. It's about winning in an event where there are 10, 20, 30 or more others capable of winning, and also race ready. It's more than dreaming...it's dreaming with a hard deadline to making it all real. It's savvy individuals who are certain there's not one more thing to do before the race starts. Everything that can be done has been done. Often, impossible things have been accomplished. There's no way to ask for more time. There are no excuses that are going to mean anything to anybody.

If you can incorporate the concept of "race ready" into your life, you will enjoy some wonderful moments that make for great memories, and in which you can take pride. You may still experience anxiety, but the determination to successfully manage time, people and assets can provide a steely confidence at the end of every day that your very best is being employed.

In putting on an event the size of the PRI Trade Show, the concept of "race ready" is our guiding light. The doors to the exhibit aisles open at 9 a.m., Thursday, December 8, 2016, and you can bet the PRI team won't be hanging signs, vacuuming the hallways, looking for the right key, or other last-minute activities at 8:59 a.m. that morning. Our commitment every year is to be race ready. When exhibitors arrive to work their booth or buyers arrive to shop the latest in hardcore racing products, we're proud to show off an Indiana Convention Center repurposed specifically for racing's premier business event. We started working on the 2016 PRI Trade Show literally on the airplanes bringing us home from last year's Show, as we wrote down our notes, and completed conversations on where we can improve.

So far, you should know we're off to a great start. We had a fairly spectacular response from exhibiting companies returning for the 2016 PRI Show. We've already signed up a terrific slate of seminar speakers. By the time you get the June issue, we'll be settling on the graphic presentation of this year's PRI Trade Show. The advertisements for the Show have all been designed, and we've completed our media buy schedule. And we're open right now for attendee registration and hotel reservations. We're on the throttle. Once again, we'll be using time strategically to be race ready this December when the doors open to PRI 2016.

To register online and receive your PRI Trade Show credentials in the mail, go to www.pri2016.com/attendeereg. You'll also find information and a link there to complete your hotel accommodations for the Show.

Performance Racing Industry presented nearly $60,000 in donations to the Victory Junction camp for seriously ill children during PRI’s recent VIP Industry Reception at Red Rocks Cafe in Huntersville, North Carolina.
 
Funds totaling $59,910 were given to Victory Junction’s Nicole Connor by PRI’s John Kilroy and Judy Kean as part of the publishing and events company’s annual gathering for race industry professionals held mid-week between last month’s NASCAR All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. 
 
Attending this year’s festive—and jam-packed—event hosted by PRI were representatives from G-FORCE Racing Gear, Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR, Driven Racing Oil, DC Electronics, Heintz Performance, BK Motorsports, CV Products, NCMA, SRI Performance, Roush Yates, Hendrick Motorsports, XRP, Jesel, FLUIDYNE, PFC Brakes, IMSA, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, KOOKS Headers and Exhaust, and Doug Herbert’s B.R.A.K.E.S., among others.
 
The record-breaking fundraising effort came by way of last year’s Sunnen Engine Charity Sweepstakes held in conjunction with the 2015 PRI Trade Show. As in previous years, the raffle’s grand prize was a 1200 horsepower Reher-Morrison drag race engine with parts donated by several leading manufacturers. For 2016, the grand prize engine will be built by Nick Ferri of Patterson Elite Performance.
 
Founded by NASCAR’s Petty family in honor of their son, Adam, Victory Junction provides a unique camping experience for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Located in Randleman, North Carolina, it offers a life-changing camp experience in a medically-sound environment at no cost to campers or their family. For more information on Victory Junction, visit www.victoryjunction.org.
 
View the photo gallery below for memorable images from PRI’s 2016 VIP Industry Reception.