Stewart-Haas Racing, winners of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships and 30 point-paying races, will campaign Ford Fusions beginning in 2017. The four-car team will compete with Ford engines prepared by Roush Yates Engines.

"I am proud of our association with Chevrolet as they helped build our organization into the team it is today," said Tony Stewart, co-owner, Stewart-Haas Racing. "This new partnership with Ford allows us to strengthen our position in the sport and ensure the long-term stability and success for everyone who is a part of Stewart-Haas Racing."

"Motorsports is an extremely challenging environment where in order to maintain success you have to constantly innovate. It’s true in NASCAR and it’s true in business," said Gene Haas, co-owner, Stewart-Haas Racing. "We’ve enjoyed great success with Chevrolet, but this opportunity with Ford allows us to evolve while continuing to compete at the highest levels of the sport."

"From the very beginning of Stewart-Haas Racing we have fostered an environment of competitiveness, performance, teamwork and family," said Brett Frood, team president. "This future partnership enables us to continue delivering across these silos and exceed our commitments to our fans, partners and employees."

Formula 1 bosses have unveiled a new set of bodywork changes for the 2017 season, which are set to result in faster and more dramatic-looking cars.

As revealed on Tuesday, new rules will dictate cars will be three seconds per lap faster, with teams granted an extension of the cut-off date to April 30 to finalize the plan.

Under the proposals, the front tires will increase from 245mm to 305mm in width, with the rears widening 80mm to 405mm.

F1 considers removing fuel capacity limit

The overall width of the car will increase from 1400mm to 1600mm while there will be a reduced exclusion zone allowing for larger bargeboards.

The suspension track will be increased from 1800mm to 2000m and the front wing span will grow to 1800mm.

The size of the rear wing will change, with the width up from 750mm to 950mm but the height decreasing by 150mm.

To accommodate the changes, the weight limit of the car has increased 20kg to 722kg, plus the weight of the tires, which is tabled at an estimated 5kg.

"New bodywork regulations have been adopted to create more exciting cars, delivering additional downforce to increase speeds and lower lap times," said the FIA in a statement.

"The FIA, teams and official tyre supplier will continue discussions on the best solution for testing of the new tires required as part of the regulations."

Cockpit head protection is also set to be introduced to protect drivers from debris from next season. The FIA said stakeholders are working to "make this a reality," marking out the halo concept as the preferred option. However, the governing body said other options such as transparent cockpit protection will continue to be evaluated.

With regards finding a way forward with the cost, performance, noise and supply of power units, the FIA said "significant" progress has been made. Further work is planned with the FIA saying it aims to reach an agreement by April 30.

The F1 Commission has decided to introduce a Driver of the Day award in a bid to increase driver engagement. TV viewers will be asked to vote during a grand prix, with the winner announced as part of the broadcast after the race, where the driver will receive some form of prize.

As also outlined on Tuesday, a dramatic overhaul of qualifying has been confirmed by the FIA.

FULL LIST OF CHANGES TABLED BY FIA

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE), a global leader in marketing and promoting of sports and live entertainment experiences, has named Pilson Communications, Inc. (PCI) as its consulting company for future television and digital agreements. The newly aligned partnership will focus on the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), the International Drag Bike League (IDBL) and the oldest continuously running drag racing event in the country, the World Series of Drag Racing.

IRGSE, a TPG portfolio company, recruited PCI due to their worldwide experience and credibility in sports television, media and marketing negotiations. The PCI client base includes such notables as the NFL, NBA, NCAA, NASCAR, the Rose Bowl, the International Olympic Committee and numerous others. Former two-term CBS president, Neal Pilson, is the founder and president of the consulting company.

In two terms as President of CBS Sports, Pilson was responsible for negotiating broadcast agreements for all of CBS's major sports franchises including the NFL, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, The Masters, college football and basketball, and he handled the acquisition of domestic television rights for the Olympic Winter Games. During his tenure, the CBS production unit won major Emmy Awards for coverage of the Final Four, NFL Football, Major League Baseball, the Daytona 500 and other events, as well as a George Foster Peabody Award for The Masters. In December 1994, the International Olympic Committee awarded Pilson the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by that organization. Before joining CBS, Pilson was in private law practice in New York and served as an executive at both Metromedia, Inc. and the William Morris Agency, Inc.

"Pilson Communications, Inc. and Neal Pilson are the right fit for the future of the IHRA, IDBL, and IRGSE," remarked Chris Lencheski, IRGSE Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO. "Their portfolio and Mr. Pilson's experience in the sports television industry will enable IRGSE to take things to the next level and bring awareness to our series', racers, fans, IHRA membership tracks and sponsor partners. Mr. Pilson understands our vision and he is a key element in the tactical transformation strategy."

IRGSE announced last week several long-term agreements with multiple individuals and their respective companies to assist with the reorganization and future growth of the IHRA and IRGSE properties. Rod Campbell and John Coletti from Automotive Performance Partners joined to oversee the newly created IHRA Manufacturers Council, Suzy DaSilva with Competitive Edge Media and Marketing is available to assist all IHRA membership tracks and future partners with media planning and strategic communications, and Joe Favorito was enlisted to assist and consult on all matters of strategic corporate communications.

The Frontier Region of the American Sprint Car Series has released their 2016 lineup of 17 dates as well as a new title sponsor with Brodix Cylinder Heads coming on to form the Brodix ASCS Frontier Region.

The official cylinder head of the American Sprint Car Series, the addition of Brodix will lift the 2016 point fund to $15,000. Along with the point fund, drivers in the Top 10 in series points will also be in line to receive contingencies from SpeedMart, Hoosier Tire, Brodix, Schoenfeld, and BMRS with more on the way.

Expanding the region’s reach in 2016, tracks in Idaho, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming will make up the 17 race lineup. Kicking off in May, the season will go through September.

Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D., will start the 2016 season on Friday, May 13 followed by Gillette Thunder Speedway in Gillette, Wyo., on Saturday, May 14.

June 3 heads to the Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., with Cloud Peak Raceway in Sheridan, Wyo., taking on Tuesday, June 21 along with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network as the National Tour heads for Dirt Cup at the Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.

A new stop on the National Tour lineup, and a regular for the Frontier Region, the Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., will see two nights of action on July 15-16. Following the Lucas Oil ASCS, the next dates on the Frontier Regional lineup are Friday, July 22 at Black Hills Speedway with Gillette Thunder Speedway on Saturday, July 23.

While the National Tour heads for Badlands Speedway and Knoxville, the Frontier Region will return to the Gallatin Speedway on July 29.

August kicks off with a trip to the Valentine Speedway in Glenrock, Wyo., on Aug. 5-6 followed by Black Hills Speedway on Aug. 12 and Gillette Thunder Speedway on Aug. 13. Four nights in September, the season’s final appearance at the Gallatin Speedway will be Sept. 9 with Cloud Peak Raceway on Sept. 10. The season finale is scheduled for Sept. 23-24 at the Atomic Motor Raceway in Blackfoot, Idaho.

2016 ASCS Frontier Region Schedule

Date – Venue – Location

May 13 – Black Hills Speedway – Rapid City, S.D.

May 14 – Gillette Thunder Speedway – Gillette, Wyo.

June 3 – Gallatin Speedway – Belgrade, Mont.

June 21 – Cloud Peak Raceway – Sheridan, Wyo.

July 15-16 – Gallatin Speedway – Belgrade, Mont.

July 22 – Black Hills Speedway – Rapid City, S.D.

July 23 – Gillette Thunder Speedway – Gillette, Wyo.

July 29 – Gallatin Speedway – Belgrade, Mont.

Aug. 5-6 – Valentine Speedway – Glenrock, Wyo.

Aug. 12 – Black Hills Speedway – Rapid City, S.D.

Aug. 13 – Gillette Thunder Speedway – Gillette, Wyo.

Sept. 9 – Gallatin Speedway – Belgrade, Mont.

Sept. 10 – Cloud Peak Raceway – Sheridan, Wyo.

Sept. 23-24 – Atomic Motor Speedway – Blackfood, Idaho

IndyCar announced veteran racing engineer Bill Pappas has been named Vice President of Competition, Race Engineering.

"We are very pleased to have someone with Bill's vision and experience join our team at IndyCar," IndyCar president of competition and operations Jay Frye said. "His deep engineering expertise and long history of accomplishments in Indy car racing have earned him the respect of team owners and drivers alike. We look forward to the immediate impact and advancements Bill will bring in strengthening our safety initiatives while also enhancing our racing."

Pappas will be responsible for all engineering and technical operations, including chassis and engine development, safety enhancements and aerodynamic initiatives. In addition, he will manage relationships with chassis and engine suppliers.

Pappas has worked with Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Dale Coyne Racing and, most recently, served as technical director for KV Racing Technology. Pappas, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, helped guide Juan Pablo Montoya to his first Indianapolis 500 win in 2000 while with Ganassi.

"Being able to join the IndyCar team is a great opportunity," Pappas said. "I hope my racing experience and perspective can be utilized to enhance an already great level of competition."

Pappas is replacing Will Phillips, IndyCar Vice President of Technology, who will be leaving in March.

American Alexander Rossi, who made his Formula One debut last season, will make his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in 2016 with Andretti Autosport.

Rossi will pilot the No. 98 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Rossi makes his transition to IndyCar official with a rookie test day March 1 at Sebring (Fla.) Int’l Raceway.

“I’m very much looking forward to making my IndyCar Series debut this season and am proud to be racing with a team of such high calibre and pedigree as that of Andretti Autosport,” said Rossi. “As a racer through and through, I cannot wait to get started; our goal is to be competitive immediately at the first race in St. Petersburg.”

The No. 98 entry recently joined the Andretti stable as a result of a merger between Bryan Herta Autosport and Michael Andretti’s organization. Herta will serve as the race strategist for Rossi in the combined team effort while racing veteran Tom German will serve as the American’s lead engineer.

“We’re really excited to have Alexander join the team,” said Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti. “His credentials speak for his ability and we’re confident he’ll transition seamlessly into IndyCar racing. It’s neat to have the last three American F1 drivers in 25 years to be under one roof, I think it speaks to the level of talent we have.”

“Personally, I’m really pleased at how well all these pieces have come into place for this group,” said Herta. “Adding Alexander as a driver is going from strength to strength for us. We can’t wait to get on track together and start our preparation for the 2016 season.”

Rossi, 24, boasts an impressive racing portfolio including being the 2015 GP2 Series runner-up. The California-native holds 209 Formula car starts, including 42 wins, 75 podiums, 36 poles and a current win percentage of 20.1 percent. Michael Andretti along with Rossi and Scott Speed, who currently competes for Andretti’s Global Rallycross team, make up the last three American-born drivers to compete in Formula One.

Series officials announced VP Racing Fuels will be the Official Fuel of the ULTIMATE Battle of the Bluegrass Series beginning in 2016.  As part of a multi-year agreement, VP will be the preferred fuel for Ultimate BoB racers and will benefit from substantial brand exposure at race venues and on the series’ digital and social media platforms.


“VP Racing Fuels was one of our very first sponsors” said Stan Lester, President of the ULTIMATE Battle of the Blue Grass region. “Their partnership has been ongoing with the company for years now and we sincerely thank them for their participation in this new region. VP is known throughout the world as the preferred racing fuel in all forms of motorsports with a user friendly and consistent product. It’s the preferred fuel by our race teams in our FASTRAK series and we know it will be here too. The staff at VP makes it easy for our tracks and teams to do business with.”
 
“There’s a lot of excitement and optimism building for the newly formed Ultimate BOB series and we’re glad to be part of it,” said Jason Rueckert, VP’s Regional Manager-Midwest. “The series is another great platform for our brand, enabling us to promote the superior performance of VP’s fuels to drivers on the track while also raising awareness among the many race fans and performance enthusiasts in Kentucky for our other product lines for the consumer market.  We look forward to working with Stan Lester and his team to help grow this new series for years to come.”
 
Technical questions about fuel selection and tuning can be directed to VP’s Tech Support staff at 302-521-1767 or ovaltracktech@vpracingfuels.com.  More information about VP products is available online at VPRacingFuels.com.

Buoyed by last month’s successful Rolex 24 At Daytona season opener, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) officials confirmed that 41 entries will compete on a full-time basis in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
 
“IMSA is proud to offer such a strong field of world-class race cars from some of the greatest and most admired automobile manufacturers for the full 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “The commitments we have received show strength and continuity for IMSA and our promoter partners. We are grateful to our race teams, manufacturers and all of our stakeholders for this ringing endorsement of IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship.”
 
The Prototype (P) class features eight full-time entries set to battle for the full 2016 season. The count includes four Corvette Daytona Prototypes, a pair of Mazda Prototypes, one Honda / Ligier JS P2 and the DeltaWing in the final season under current regulations that include Daytona Prototypes and LM P2 race cars.
 
The 2017 season will feature new technical regulations for the Prototype class with the introduction of new Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and LM P2 race cars. Both examples will use the same basic chassis built by one of four approved constructors:  Dallara, Onroak Automotive, ORECA and Riley/Multimatic. DPi cars will be powered by a variety of different engine manufacturers and use manufacturer-specific bodywork, while LM P2 cars all will use engines built by Gibson Technology.
 
There are 10 full-time entries slated for the factory-supported GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. Five different manufacturers—BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche—each are represented by two race cars apiece in what is considered by many to be the most competitive class of GT racing in the world.
 
The GT Daytona (GTD) class—which made a shift to full international GT3 technical regulations prior to the 2016 season – leads the way with a total of 16 entries. Teams representing seven different manufacturers—Audi, BMW, Dodge, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus and Porsche – have filed “premium” entries for all events. The new Lexus, fielded by F Performance Racing, is expected to debut later this season in the GTD class.
 
A total of seven full-season entries are represented in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. In 2016, the venerable ORECA FLM09 chassis and spec-Chevrolet engine package will see some technical upgrades that will debut in the next WeatherTech Championship race, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.
 
Tickets for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring are available now at www.sebringraceway.com. Live television coverage of the race begins on FS1 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 19.

For the first time in 30 years, a team based out of the United States is set to field a car in Formula One.

The Haas F1 Team released photos of its first Formula One machine Sunday morning, the VF-16. French racing driver Romain Grosjean and his Mexican teammate Esteban Gutierrez will use the car to race for points in the team's inaugural season this year.

“From an international standpoint, Formula One is the highest echelon of racing, and Haas Automation builds the highest-quality machine tools,” said team founder Gene Haas. “When you hear ‘F1’ you know exactly what it is—a global racing series that showcases the latest technology and attracts the best talent in engineering and design. Haas Automation has an excellent reputation in the United States and I want that reputation to grow worldwide. Connecting Haas Automation with F1 in name and in practice is the best way to grow our business and elevate Haas Automation to a premium, global brand.”

“Just as Haas Automation’s products continually evolve, becoming better and more efficient, our methodology behind the VF-16 was to make it the best evolution of a good F1 car,” said team principal Guenther Steiner. “We’re a new team, so we looked at what the successful teams were doing to give us a baseline of the direction we needed to go with our design.

“We have very experienced designers who worked hard to develop all the little things from an aerodynamic perspective that, collectively, add up to a lot. And our technical partner, Ferrari, provided our power unit, and that really defined the rear end of the car and how big it needed to be.

“Our goal with this car is to score points. First, we need to go out there and show that we can do the job, that we can finish races, that we are respected by the fans and other teams in the paddock. Then, we want to score points. That is the ultimate goal.”

Grosjean and Gutierrez will alternate turns behind the wheel during this week's four-day test at Barcelona, with Grosjean driving on Monday and Wednesday and Gutierrez on Tuesday and Thursday.

At the second Barcelona test from March 1-4, Gutierrez will be behind the wheel for the first two days while Grosjean will be at the controls to finish it off.

EXR Racing Series announced the addition of Erik Skirmants to its executive team. Skirmants will take on the position of CEO of the new arrive-and-drive series.

“We’re delighted to welcome Erik to the EXR Racing Series,” said series co-founder David Perisset. “He brings a wealth of experience to the role that we know will be invaluable to the realization of our vision and, more importantly, he shares our passion for racing. We look forward to working with him on our team.”

Originally from Detroit, Skirmants’ 25-year automotive industry career has included key roles with manufacturers, aftermarket suppliers, and in motorsport. A sports car driver himself, his lifelong involvement in racing led Skirmants to join the SCCA board of directors a decade ago as its youngest-ever elected member. He has most recently led SCCA Enterprises, which manufactures and services the largest fleet of spec racing cars in North America.

“I’m thrilled to be joining this world class team,” said Skirmants. “This is a group of people that is organized around a passion for racing, and that’s very exciting company.”

The new EXR Racing Series offers accessible arrive-and-drive racing, with 16 exciting races planned for its inaugural season at some of the most iconic motorsport facilities in the United States. Competition takes the form of either short and fast Sprints or Endurance races lasting between two and six hours in the EXR LV02 race car. The series also offers licensing courses, lapping sessions and time attack competition. Skirmants said part of what appeals to him about his new role is the EXR Racing Series’ unique market position.

“There’s nothing else like it: this series will be very strong in terms of experience and execution, but positioned between the higher-end amateur market and what we’ve traditionally seen from the more expensive one-make series,” he said. “Starting with the 2016 plans and expanding nationally in 2017 and beyond, we’ll be able to offer the best car, coaching and track time at the best venues nationwide, with a focus on providing an unparalleled racing experience.”

Skirmants joins a strong group of motorsport industry professionals on the EXR Racing Series including professional drivers Alex Premat, the series team manager, and Tristan Vautier, the sporting advisor. Co-founders Perisset, a former investment banker, and racing driver Romain Thievin, are also the creators of the wildly successful Exotics Racing experience.