PRI Individual Member Benefit: Performance Plus Global Logistics

Submitted by ajh on Tue, 08/26/2025 - 13:23
PPlus Global Logistics


PRI Individual Members now receive preferred pricing on shipping and logistics solutions through Performance Plus Global Logistics. Whether you’re moving parts, equipment or race vehicles, this benefit helps you save on essential transportation services while keeping your program running smoothly.

Access your benefit through the PRI Member Portal. 

PRI MEMBER PORTAL LINK

Not yet a PRI member? There's a tier for you! Learn more at performanceracing.com/membership.

PRI is not affiliated with, nor does it sell or thoroughly evaluate the products, services, and companies listed. PRI provides this information to PRI members for their evaluation and consideration and does not endorse or sponsor any company, product, or service. PRI takes no responsibility for, and makes no representation, warranty, or assurance as to the accuracy, quality, reliability, or completeness of the products or services offered.

August 2025

PRI Show Spotlight: International Council of Motorsport Sciences (ICMS)

Submitted by ajh on Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:40
ICMS


The International Council of Motorsport Sciences (ICMS) is again hosting its Annual Congress at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, December 10-11.

During the Annual Congress, the organization, which aims to advance the latest innovations and initiatives in motorsports safety and is comprised of passionate motorsports medical and safety professionals, sanctioning bodies and safety experts from around the world, will cover a variety of important topics geared toward enhancing safety in motorsport.

Scheduled presentations and topics include: concussions and bio markers in TBI management, driver preparation and physiological responses, hearing conservation and more. A full lineup will be released at a later date.

You can add the ICMS Annual Congress to your My Show Planner schedule for both Wednesday, December 10, at this link, and Thursday, December 11, at this link, but note, there is a fee to attend this event. Tickets must be purchased through ICMS. Secure early bird tickets by September 15 to save. Learn more about tickets here.

View the current 2025 PRI Show Floorplan and start mapping out your visit. Book your hotel now to secure the best rates and locations here. As a reminder, PRI Membership is required to attend. Be sure to renew or sign up before registering.

Don't miss your chance to be part of the world's largest gathering of motorsports professionals.

Register Here PRI Show button


For more information on the 2025 PRI Show, visit here.

 

Image courtesy of James Black - Penske Entertainment

August 2025

See the Future of Racing at the 2025 PRI Show, December 11-13

Submitted by ajh on Tue, 08/26/2025 - 09:57
SIM Racing Arena PRI Show


New registration features make securing a PRI Show badge in 2025 easier than ever before.


Attendee registration for the 2025 PRI Show is officially open for qualified industry members, and you don't want to waste any time securing you badge.

Set for December 11–13 in downtown Indianapolis, the PRI Show allows motorsports professionals to see the future of racing up close, from cutting-edge machinery to groundbreaking new products. Attracting motorsports professionals from all 50 states and 70 countries, this unrivaled global event unites professionals from every racing discipline, including stock car, drag, sports car, prototype, sprint car, midget, modified, formula, dirt late model, sport compact, karting, vintage and more, all under one roof. Sign up for your PRI Show badge now to uncover emerging technologies and source the hottest new racing products all at a convenient, affordable gathering.

New for 2025: Big Improvements to the Registration Process

The PRI Show team has introduced two exciting updates to make registering smoother, faster and more user-friendly:

One-Stop Shop Experience
After confirming membership, attendees will now only need to complete two prompts:

  • Profile information.
  • Demographic questions.


Single Transaction for Multiple Attendees
Planning to register your entire team? You now can do so all in one transaction. This requested feature eliminates one of the most common frustrations from years past.

Why Attend the 2025 PRI Show?

With a focus on the present and future of racing, the 2025 PRI Show promises to feature all the newest parts, latest innovations, nearly unlimited networking opportunities and access to an unrivaled number of motorsports manufacturers and service providers that can't be matched anywhere else. 

Expect the return of signature Show features like:

  • Featured Products Showcase.
  • Grand Opening Breakfast.
  • Machinery Row with live demos.
  • PRI ESports Arena.
  • Indoor motorsports trailers exhibit.
  • Track Operators, Promoters and Sanctions (TOPS) HQ.
  • And much more!
     

Ready to Plan Your Trip?

View the current 2025 PRI Show Floorplan and start mapping out your visit. Book your hotel now to secure the best rates and locations here. As a reminder, PRI Membership is required to attend. Be sure to renew or sign up before registering.

Don't miss your chance to be part of the world's largest gathering of motorsports professionals.

Register Here PRI Show button


For more information on the 2025 PRI Show, visit here.

August 2025

2025 ORMHOF Impact Awards Announced

Submitted by ajh on Tue, 08/26/2025 - 09:21
ORHOF Impact Awards


The Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (ORMHOF) has announced its 2025 ORMHOF Impact Award nominees across six categories: MX/ATC, Desert Racing, Short Course, Rock Sports, Adventure and Industry. The ORMHOF Impact Awards presented by Yokohama Tire recognize individuals whose achievements have made a difference in the world of off-road.

Each year, many deserving nominees are put forward, representing the very best of the off-road industry's passion and dedication, with three honorees in each category that are carefully selected by ORMHOF's Board of Directors.

The Impact Award serves as a testament to the profound influence recipients have on the sport and culture of off-road.

ORMHOF has also announced its "People's Choice Award" voting poll is now open online for active ORMHOF members.

For more information, visit ormhof.org.

August 2025

Women in Motorsports North America Expands With New SoCal Chapter

Submitted by laurap on Mon, 08/25/2025 - 18:03
Women in Motorsports North America Expands With New SoCal Chapter at the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles August 2025

 

Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) marked an exciting new chapter last week with the official launch of its Southern California (SoCal) presence. The sold-out event, hosted at the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles, brought together motorsports professionals, industry leaders and supporters for an evening of networking, recognition and celebration.

Founded in 2022 by motorsports legends Lyn St. James and Beth Paretta, WIMNA is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing, connecting and enabling women across all disciplines of motorsports. The organization has quickly grown its footprint through national summits, mentorship initiatives and regional chapters that provide year-round opportunities for women in local communities.

WIMNA SoCal Launch Event August 2025 Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles

The WIMNA SoCal launch created space for industry leaders, professionals and enthusiasts to build relationships that drive the future of motorsports.

 

The launch of the SoCal chapter was spearheaded by WIMNA Executive Director Cindy Sisson and reflects the organization's mission to expand its impact from coast to coast. The sold-out guest list of 110 also underscored the enthusiasm for the group's presence in Southern California, home to a vibrant motorsports market.

"Southern California is home to the best car culture, with the best people, and of course, the best weather," said Vicky Martinez, president of the WIMNA SoCal chapter. "Though we may not be Indianapolis or Charlotte, we do have championship racing, impactful industry partners and devoted motorsport enthusiasts here. Together, we will make a positive impact with those we encounter in our region."

WIMNA SoCal Launch Event August 2025 Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles

F1 Academy driver Courtney Crone was among those recognized at the WIMNA SoCal launch for her impact and dedication to advancing women in the sport.

The evening featured access to Porsche Experience Center amenities, and attendees were encouraged to connect, exchange ideas and share their passion for motorsports. Four outstanding women were recognized for their contributions to the sport:

  • Courtney Crone, F1 Academy driver and one of only three Americans to compete in the global development series.
  • Erin Vogel, sports car racer turned team owner with AERO Victory Racing.
  • Lindsay Brewer, professional driver competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo with Rafa Racing.
  • Melissa Wahe, founder of CarmaCare and recipient of the 2025 SHEro Award.


"When I first came into the industry, there weren't many women to take me under their wing," Wahe said. "That's why I started CarmaCare--to give women the foundation and confidence they need, whether it's adjusting tire pressures, changing a flat or preparing for the race track. My mission is simple: women-led automotive education for everyone."

The Porsche Experience Center offered an inspiring backdrop for the gathering, setting the tone for a night that celebrated progress and possibility. With WIMNA chapters now established across the country, the organization continues to create spaces where women can learn, collaborate and thrive in motorsports.

WIMNA SoCal Launch Event August 2025 Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles

Porsche heritage set the stage as WIMNA celebrated a new era of opportunity for women in motorsports at the SoCal launch.

"Now that we have launched [the SoCal WIMNA chapter], we will be reaching out to build our team with volunteers, seeking talented leaders from across the region to contribute to the chapter and support this undeniable momentum," said Martinez. "We are also looking forward to the NHRA Winter Nationals in Pomona as an opportunity for WIMNA SoCal to bring together friends and fans from across the region to grow our advocacy network." 

As the ribbon was cut and the SoCal chapter officially joined WIMNA's growing network, the night closed on a note of optimism. The launch served as more than a celebration--it was a statement that events like these drive the industry forward, building pathways for the next generation while strengthening the community of women and allies already making an impact in motorsports.

Looking Ahead

WIMNA SoCal Launch Event August 2025 Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles

Looking ahead with WIMNA is the Women With Drive V - Driven by Mobil 1 Summit, set for December 8-10, 2025, in Indianapolis, where the industry will come together to connect, learn and lead.

 

WIMNA's momentum continues later this year with Women With Drive V - Driven by Mobil 1 Summit, taking place December 8–10, 2025, in Indianapolis on the PRI Show campus. The annual summit draws highly regarded professionals, collegiate students and industry leaders for two days of panels, networking and career-building opportunities.

"This popular annual event is an industry magnet--not to be missed!" said Martinez.

For more information, visit womeninmotorsportsna.com and womenwithdrivesummit.com.

WIMNA SoCal Launch Event August 2025 Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles

As the ribbon was cut and the SoCal chapter officially joined WWIMNA's growing network, the night closed on a note of optimism.

August 2025
By
Laura Pitts

Forrest Lucas, Founder of Lucas Oil, 83

Submitted by laurap on Mon, 08/25/2025 - 17:55


Forrest Lucas, the entrepreneur behind Lucas Oil Products and a longtime supporter of drag racing, has passed away on August 23 at the age of 83. Born in 1942 in rural Indiana, Lucas built his early career as a long-haul truck driver before co-founding Lucas Oil Products in 1989 with his wife, Charlotte. What began as a modest startup eventually grew into a globally recognized brand, known for its high-performance oils and additives that serve both professional motorsports and everyday automotive markets.

Lucas' influence extended well beyond business. He became widely recognized for his support of motorsports, particularly drag racing, where his company forged some of the most enduring sponsorships in the sport's history. For more than two decades, Lucas Oil sponsored the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, helping to fund grassroots racing and Sportsman-level competition across the United States. The brand also held naming rights for several prominent events and venues, including the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, home of the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

In addition to event sponsorship, Lucas provided direct support to individual drivers and championship teams. His backing ranged from Pro Stock Motorcycle racers Hector Arana Sr. and his son, Hector Jr., to drag racing legends such as John Force, Frank Manzo and Chris Karamesines. Lucas' involvement often included lifetime sponsorships for drivers later in their careers, reflecting a commitment to sustaining talent across all levels of the sport. In recognition of his contributions, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NHRA in August 2024, honoring his decades-long dedication to motorsports.

Beyond racing, Lucas was known for his philanthropic work and community involvement. The Lucas family supported numerous charitable initiatives and local projects through the Lucas Oil brand and their estate in Missouri. In his later years, Lucas gradually passed day-to-day operations to his son, Morgan Lucas, a former NHRA Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster competitor. Under Morgan's leadership, Lucas Oil has continued to expand both in motorsports sponsorship and consumer markets while maintaining a focus on grassroots racing.

For more information, visit lucasoil.com.

 

Image of Forrest Lucas and Charlotte Lucas courtesy of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

August 2025

Camshaft School Launches Online Course

Submitted by ajh on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 14:36
Camshaft School


Camshaft School, the Palm Harbor, Florida-based education provider, has launched a new, self-paced online course to teach racers, engine builders and more on camshaft selection and design.

"After years of working with racers, engine builders and performance shops, it was clear that a better understanding of the relationship between camshaft design, induction dynamics and exhaust dynamics was needed to help professionals and enthusiasts build better engine combinations," said Steven Balusik, founder of Camshaft School. "So, I created an online course dedicated to camshaft design and selection. The course is a video-based, visual learning experience with original illustrations and animations designed to appeal to the mechanically minded. It helps people visualize what's happening inside the engine's intake and exhaust tracts so camshaft decisions are grounded in practical physics and fluid dynamics--not generalities or misconceptions."

Course content will cover a variety of topics, including the anatomy of the four-cycle engine, anatomy of the camshaft, camshaft specifications, cam-timing math, cam lobe design, induction and exhaust dynamics and much more.

For more information on the Camshaft School, visit camshaftschool.com.

August 2025

Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer, Roscoe Smith, 85

Submitted by ajh on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 14:05
Roscoe Smith


Legendary dirt late model racer, chassis builder, parts shop owner and Hall of Famer Roscoe Smith, a native of Griffin, Georgia, has passed away. He was 85.

His black-and-white No. 44 race cars with their familiar checkerboard tops were well known to fans across the Southeast and to countless others who followed his accomplishments through media reports. Additionally, the cars he and his employees built at his shop in Griffin were driven to hundreds of victories by drivers across the United States.

His accomplishments have been recognized by his peers both at home and throughout the nation. Smith is a member of the National Dirt Racing Hall of Fame, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and the Spalding County Sports Hall of Fame.

"Roscoe is a great friend of mine and did so much to help me in my years at Atlanta when I was pretending to be a race driver," long-time NASCAR executive Mike Helton said in an interview quoted in Smith's obituary. "He had so much mechanical ability, and his skills as a teacher were very impressive. Still today I think of things Roscoe taught me along the way."

Each year, Smith's home track, Senoia Raceway, hosts the Roscoe Smith Classic, a lucrative Late Model race that attracts many of the nation’s top dirt racers.

For more on Smith's life and accomplishments, you can read his full obituary here.

Image courtesy of Conner-Westbury Funeral Home

August 2025

NHRA Unveils New Wally Parks Tower at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

Submitted by ajh on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 12:26
Wally Parks Tower Lucas Oil IRP


Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the Indianapolis, Indiana drag-racing and oval-racing facility, has unveiled the new Wally Parks Tower ahead of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, scheduled for August 27-September 1.

The three-story facility features race control, a media center and television broadcasting capabilities, three suites on the third floor and an observation deck on the top floor with open-air covered roof. The overview area and event space can host nearly 500 people.

Sitting in the same area as the previous tower, the new facility also has dedicated bathrooms, two staircases and an elevator, along with a winner’s circle backdrop that is a nod to the historic winner’s circle at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, track officials said.

A major overhaul and full renovation of the eight suites above the west-side grandstands has also been completed ahead of the U.S. Nationals, track officials said. The finished updates represent the completion of the first phase of a multi-phase, multi-year project.

The second phase will focus on drainage and will be a key part of the long-term plan that will create an improved parking and entry experience for fans.

For more information, visit nhra.com.

August 2025

Industry Mourns Loss of Legendary Track Promoter Humpy Wheeler, 86

Submitted by ajh on Thu, 08/21/2025 - 12:02


H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, the legendary track promoter who helped usher NASCAR's presence onto a national stage, has passed away, NASCAR announced. He was 86.

Wheeler, a native of Belmont, North Carolina, spent 33 years at the helm of Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Wheeler spurred on many industry firsts at the facility. Charlotte was the first track to build condominiums on site, offer fine dining in a restaurant overlooking the race track and, most telling of all, the first speedway of its size to feature racing under the lights.

He was also known for his pre-race extravaganzas, NASCAR said, which ran the gamut from school-bus vehicles leaping row upon row of junkyard-bound cars to Robosaurus, a towering, fire-breathing, car-crunching mechanical robot, to recreations of numerous military operations--including the invasion of Grenada.

Wheeler was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009. He also served as president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the group that owns Charlotte Motor Speedway and eight other NASCAR-sanctioned venues.

He departed Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.

"Humpy Wheeler was a visionary whose name became synonymous with promotion and innovation in our sport," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France in a statement. "During his decades leading Charlotte Motor Speedway, Humpy transformed the fan experience through his creativity, bold ideas and tireless passion. His efforts helped expand NASCAR's national footprint, cement Charlotte as a must-visit racing and entertainment complex and recently earned him the NASCAR Hall of Fame's prestigious Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. On behalf of NASCAR and the France family, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Wheeler family and all who were touched by his remarkable life and legacy."

To learn more about Wheeler's life and contributions to the industry, visit nascar.com.

Image courtesy of NASCAR/Harold Hinson

August 2025