Prolong Super Lubricants has retained several manufacturers’ representative firms to expand its distribution to ensure Prolong products are more easily accessible to customers around the US.

Prolong’s expanded reach into the performance warehouse and traditional warehouse distributor channels is in addition to its current distribution through mass merchants and select auto parts retail chains.

Pomona, California-based Prolong is now working with West Coast-based Pacific Marketing, along with SRS Marketing, which will cover the East Coast, and Thomas Sales and Marketing in the Midwest.

Prolong says it began its search for representation last year, interviewing a number of manufacturer rep firms during the Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) Conference, which took place Sept. 11-14, 2015, in Anaheim, California.

For more information, visit prolong.com.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based event, marketing and broadcast agency Mountain Sports International, Inc. (MSI) has acquired full ownership of TORC: The Off Road Racing Championship presented by Amsoil.

Along with the ownership announcement, an updated schedule for the 2016 TORC series has also been released featuring seven stops.

Established in 1997, MSI is a full service marketing and events company specializing in the creation of events and experiences with clients such as Toyota, Lexus, Pepsi, The North Face, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and others. In partnership with its sister company, MSI Live Productions, MSI has been involved in digital forward production and delivery for clients such as Sony, Netflix, Universal Music Group, Red Bull Media House and Street League Skateboarding. MSI Live will manage all facets of production, delivery and broadcast of TORC events to fans around the world.

TORC will function as an independent business unit known as MSI-TORC. Primarily during the 2016 season, MSI will focus on meeting the needs of drivers, fans, tracks and sponsors to create better relationships with each stakeholder. MSI is also dedicated to improving the overall organization and financial stability of the series. In conjunction with MSI Live, MSI will also focus on improving media broadcast exposure .

In addition to the official confirmation of new ownership, TORC has also released an updated schedule for its seven 2016 race locations:


May 27-28: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

June 10-11: Chicago, IL

June 25-26: Crandon, WI (Crandon International Off- Road Raceway)

July 16-17: Elk River, MN (ERX Motor Park)

July 30-31: Bark River, MI (Bark River International Raceway)

Aug. 19-20: Charlotte, North Carolina

Sept. 2-4: Crandon, WI (Crandon International Off-Road Raceway)

For more information on TORC: The Off-Road Championship, visit www.torcseries.com

The Big Country Race Way near Abilene, Texas, and Miramichi Dragway in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada recently joined the NHRA Member Track Network.

As NHRA-sanctioned tracks, the facilities will be eligible to offer racers a variety of NHRA racing opportunities, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, NHRA Jr. Street and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. Additionally, the tracks have the opportunity to host NHRA’s specialty events including the National Dragster Challenge, NHRA Summit King of the Track, and NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Challenge, where racers compete for the Wally trophy.

The Big Country Race Way is an eighth-mile facility located on Interstate-20 just west of Abilene. The facility, formerly known as Abilene Dragway, is owned and operated by Sterling Robertson with the help of track manager Ty Casey.  The track will be part of Division 4, the South Central Division.

The Big Country Drag Way features an all concrete racing surface, including the burnout area. Over 2000 feet of concrete barricades line both sides of the track, enhancing safety. There are over 10 acres of paved, lit and striped pit parking spots. There are concessions and restroom facilities on both sides of the track, as well as a covered eating area on the pit side. The track is well lit for night racing, including a wide and lighted return road.

The facility has numerous options for signage and displays to assist sponsors with the advertising and promotion of products and services. The track’s tower also features a VIP suite that is available for entertaining guests and clients.

For more about The Big Country Race Way, visit www.bigcountryraceway.com.

Located west of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and just south of the Miramichi Airport, Miramichi Dragway has been operating for the past few years as in independent track. Miramichi Dragway will be part of Division 1, the Northeast Division.

Highlighting the 2016 season at Miramichi Dragway will be the PCRichard.com Northeast Division National Open Series, July 30-31. The track also offers a full complement of drag racing from May through October, serving the community with various special events and weekly programs.

For more information on Miramichi Dragway and to view their 2016 schedule, visit www.miramichidragwaypark.com.com.

The Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup is a championship reserved for LMP3, CN and GT Cup cars. For the latter the ACO reserves the right to adjust their performances.

Michelin will be the official and exclusive tire supplier.

While the final sporting regulations will be available by mid-February and the registration open from February 15, 2016, here are some key points of the regulations already available.

CALENDAR
All rounds will be held in Sepang, Malaysia.
• Round 1: 27/29 May 2016
• Round 2: 7/9 August 2016
• Round 3: 2/4 September 2016

ELIGIBILITY
- LMP3 complying with their homologation form and the ACO regulations
- CN (carbone monocoque only) complying with the ACO Appendix
- GT Cup (such as Porsche Carrera Cup, Audi R8LMS, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge, McLaren 650 Sprint, Lotus Cup…) complying with their respective technical regulations.

DRIVERS
Each driver must be 16 years old minimum and have a valid International Licence Grade C minimum or higher.

A Bronze or a Silver driver can drive alone.

A maximum of two drivers per car will be authorized in the driver line-up.

One Bronze driver will be mandatory. The second driver can be classified either Bronze or Silver. Platinum and Gold drivers are not allowed.

The drivers’ categorization list used will be that of the FIA.

EVENT FORMAT
Two 45’ free practice sessions

Two 15’ qualifying sessions (15’+ 5’ break + 15’)

In case of two drivers per car, each driver must take part in one of the qualifying sessions and must take the start of the race for which he qualified the car.

Two 60’ races with a mandatory pit stop (120’’ from the pit entry loop to the pit exit loop) between the25th and the 35th minute.

• 1st Race – Rolling start in 2x2 formation
• 2nd Race – Rolling start in 2x2 formation

Paid Practice sessions might be organized before each event.

Subject to modifications, the events will take place as follows:
• Thursday : Set up, administrative checks and scrutineering
• Friday : Brifeing and free practice sessions
• Saturday : Qualifyng sessions and Race 1
• Sunday : Race 2

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL AUTORISE DURING PIT STOPS
• 1 team manager who stops and release the car and cannot touch the car.
• 2 persons dedicated to the tyre change. One wheel gun only is authorized.
• 1 person to help the driver
• 1 person to clean the windshield and head-lights.

FUEL
The fuel that will be used will be announced soon. Fuel analysis will be made at each round.

TIRE REGULATIONS
For the first round :
4 sets of new slick tires per car. No limitation for wet tires.

Before the first event, a minimum of one set of wet tires must be bought (with no refund) by each team per car entered.

From the second round:
3 sets of new slick tires per car. No limitation for wet tires.

The tires from a previous round can be used for the official free practice of the next round.

The 3 set allocation for Round 2 and Round 3 then starts from the Qualifying sessions and covers Race 1 and Race 2.

The number of sets of tires will not be limited during the paid practice sessions before the event.

ENTRIES
Entries can be made for the Full Season or on a Round by Round basis.

Full season
Entries open on February 15th 2016 and will close on May 8th 2016.
• LMP3: The entry fee is USD11,900 per car until March 31st 2016 and USD13,000US$ from April 1st until May 8th 2016. From the 3rd car per team onwards the entry fee is USD10,000 per car (for the 3rd and beyond).

• CN et GTCup: The entry fee is USD10,900 per car until March 31st 2016 and USD12,000 from April 1st until May 8th 2016. From the 3rd car per team onwards the entry fee is USD9,500 per car par voiture (for the 3rd and beyond).
Round by Round

Entries will open on February 15th 2016 and close 8 days prior to each event.

LMP3, CN and GTCup: The entry fee is USD4,500 per car.

From the 3rd car per team onwards the entry fee is USD3,750US$ per car (for the 3rd and beyond).

POINTS
After each qualifying session 1 point will be awarded to the car that would have set up the pole position in each class.

After each race, the points will be awarded to the drivers and teams classified in each class, as follows:
• LMP3 teams and drivers
• CN teams and drivers
• GT Cup teams and drivers

SPECIFIC AGREEMENT between Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup and the Asian Le Mans Series

The winner of each class of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup 2016 will benefit from a free entry in the 2016/2017 Asian Le Mans Series in their respective class.

Should a competitor be entered in both the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup and the Asian Le Mans Series, he will benefit from a 15% discount on the entry fee for each of the championship.

A competitor entering both championship will be allowed to keep the same race number.

GENERAL ORGANIZATION
General, sporting and technical organization, timekeeping, TV production, competitor relations will be managed by the same organization which is already in charge with the Asian Le Mans Series.

At each event the competitors will either a pit garage or a dedicated paddock space and a tent provided by the organization.

An hospitality lounge with team catering will be available for the the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup competitors from the Thursday to the Sunday. Teams will receive 6 passes per care entered (included in the entry fee). Additionnal request will be billed.


Contact :
For any queries : asianlms@lemans.org

 The International Business Days Le Mans 2016 will be even more business-oriented than usual. For this ninth edition, the organizers decided to upset the traditional program of this business convention, that takes place during the week of the Le Mans 24 hours race, and increase the number of pre-arranged meetings.

“For us, the Le Mans 24 Hours clearly versify with Business” explained François Lassalle, President of FLConsulting, the organizing company of the event. "Motorsport is the technological laboratory for many industries such as car industry, obviously, but also aerospace.”

The racing environment is convenient to the establishment of business relationships, either to initiate a commercial collaboration, to ensure the potential for developing a new product in a market, or to identify a relevant technological partnership. It enables the crossing of the needs of some participants and the know-how of some others.

The ninth edition of IBD, to be held on June 15–16, proposes a new program with more opportunities to do business.

"We've added a session of pre-arranged meetings on Wednesday, a day that was, up to now, exclusively devoted to visiting racing teams involved in the 24 Hours race and to conviviality with multiple gourmet and gastronomic appointments,” reported Lassalle. “The aim is to better meet the expectations of the participating companies for which our expertise in the organization of business conventions, is the key point of our event."

The program and its innovations are consultable at the address following: www.ibdlemans.com

The management structure of Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC) has been announced by Mitime Group China, the parent company of Utah Motorsports Campus.

UMC is managing the former Miller Motorsports Park facility on behalf of Tooele County while the procedures to sell the facility take place.

The facility will be overseen by a Board of Directors, comprised of Xinggui Wang as chairman, Alan Wilson as vice-chairman and William Lee as executive director.

The Board of Directors has appointed Willem Geyer as the General Manager of Utah Motorsports Campus. Geyer, an executive manager in a broad spectrum of industries internationally, brings with him the vision and experience to turn the business around and to create a new entertainment venue with motorsport at its core.

“I very much appreciate the confidence bestowed upon me by the Utah Motorsports Campus Board of Directors,” said Geyer. “We face quite a challenge in taking over this facility, but we have an excellent group of employees and we are anxious to get going. We would like to express our appreciation to the Tooele County Commission for the opportunity to manage the facility while the sales process takes place, and we look forward to continuing what is already an excellent working relationship.”

In addition, the following senior staff appointments has been made: Dixon Hunt, Director of Operations; Brian Barney, Director of Sales and Marketing; Viki Lyngle, Director of Production; Shayne Bowen, Manager of Site Services; Travis Williams, Manager of Track Operations and Schools; and Kelly Warrick, Manager of Track Operations and Karting; and Cori Waid, Manager of Events. John Gardner has been named as Manager of Public Relations, and will be the official spokesperson for the facility. In line with UMC’s commitment to the people of Tooele County, all of these employees were formerly employed by Miller Motorsports Park.

The 2016 racing season will begin on March 12–13, and there will be races scheduled almost every weekend between then and October.

Details on ticket prices, options and purchasing methods will be announced in the near future.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) announced the formation of a new consortium to advance automotive cylinder head designs. The Aluminum Head Evaluation, Analysis, and Durability (AHEAD) consortium seeks to reduce the weight while improving the durability of aluminum cylinder heads—an increasingly important need as materials and components are pushed to their limits in modern engines.

“As fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations drive the need for lighter-weight engines, cylinder heads and their components will need to change,” said Douglas Eberle, manager of the Powertrain Design and Analysis Section of the SwRI Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division. “AHEAD offers a cost-effective way for manufacturers to develop new technologies that stand up to the heavy demands of modern engines.”

Initially, AHEAD will target advances for aluminum cylinder heads used in both gasoline and diesel engines, such as casting processes, structural design, measurement and prediction of residual stresses, and aluminum alloy materials that resist high-temperatures. More advanced projects could include new alloy development, cylinder head transient analysis, materials characterization, and more.

The four-year program kicks off this summer and is open to automotive original equipment manufacturers and suppliers. Two membership tiers are available: Associate membership is $60,000 per year and Full membership is $100,000 per year. Full membership includes meeting attendance, reports, and royalty-free access to intellectual property, as well as project selection rights. Details of provisions to be included with associate membership will soon be announced. Only full members will be eligible to determine the focus of research.

As an independent research and development organization, SwRI has a long history of managing successful consortia for the automotive industry. Other ongoing programs include the Clean High-Efficiency Diesel Engine (CHEDE) consortium, the Advanced Engine Fluids (AEF) consortium, and the High-Efficiency Dilute Gasoline Engine (HEDGE) consortium that developed the highly efficient Dedicated-EGR technology now being integrated into production engines. Members benefit from the collective funding of consortia like these, enabling substantially more pre-competitive research than is typically possible with funding by a single client.

For more information on the AHEAD consortium, please visit ahead.swri.org or contact Eberle at (210) 522-5260 or douglas.eberle@swri.org.

Élan Motorsports Technologies enters 2016 with 25 Élan NP01 race cars built or sold as kits to National Auto Sport Association (NASA) competitors, reaching this milestone just a year after announcing the all-new closed-cockpit, prototype-style race car and only seven short months after commencing production at Élan's Braselton, Georgia, facility.

Designed for the NASA Prototype series that debuts this year, the Élan NP01 weighs an estimated 1450 pounds and features a sealed 185-horsepower Mazda 2.0-liter, four-cylinder MZR engine with dry sump lubrication and mated to a six-speed sequential Sadev SL75 transaxle. This combination produces a respectable 7.84 lbs/horsepower power-to-weight ratio and an estimated top track speed of 155 mph.

Engineered as a purpose-built race car by an organization with decades of racing experience and success on the world's top motorsports stages, the Élan NP01 features top-shelf components from respected companies such as Mazda, Toyo Tires, AEM, AiM, Burns Stainless, OZ Wheels, Advanced Clutch Technology, StopTech, Wilwood, Sadev, Hypercoil and Motion Control Systems. An all-new design, the Élan NP01 is engineered to be durable, reasonably priced, and affordable to operate since many components and systems are common, easily sourced, and proven on the racetrack.

Safety is of utmost importance to the Élan engineering team. The Élan NP01's strong-yet-light TIG and MIG welded 1018 steel tube frame features an integral roll cage structure, and side intrusion protection panels, and a Safecraft 5-lb. electric fire suppression system.

The Élan NP01 was engineered from the ground up to specifically be a sprint-style racer for the upcoming NASA Prototype series. NASA's goal is a series where drivers can race at more than 150 NASA-sanctioned events nationwide, culminating with the opportunity to compete for the NASA Championship crown at either the Eastern or Western States Championships in 2016.

NASA kicks off the inaugural NASA Prototype series and the Pacific NASA Prototype Championship on March 12–13, 2016 with the Southern California NASA Region race at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, Calif. The Atlantic NASA Prototype Championship begins on June 10–11, 2016 with the Texas & Rocky Mountain Summer Shootout at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, Jennings, Okla. For more information about the series, visit NASAProRacing.com and NASAPrototype.com.

While designed for sprint races, Élan NP01 owners tested the race car's long distance abilities in December 2015 in true wheel-to-wheel competition. Two teams lined up for NASA's signature race at the USAF 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance at Thunderhill Raceway Park: the CLP Motorsports NP01 team led by Team Owner and Driver Pat OKeefe with drivers Tyler McQuarrie, Mark Miller, Tom Dwyer, and Jeremy Croiset; and Team 11/10ths NP01 led by Drake Kemper with drivers Jesse Menczer, and Gene Sigal.

Team 11/10ths NP01 team exited the race early yet posted a best lap time of 1:55.384. The CLP Motorsports NP01 team started 10th, finished 32nd overall in the grueling 25-hour race, completed 514 laps (1,542 miles), and posted a 1:51.975 best lap time.

The race was an ideal avenue to acquire valuable real-world competition data and driver and team feedback to help the company optimize the Élan NP01 for year-two production.

The Élan NP01 is sold as a ready-to-assemble kit or a fully assembled race car. The 2016 Élan NP01 kit price is $72,500 and includes all components necessary to assemble a running, driving Èlan NP01. The customer only needs to add safety belts, side nets, fluids, foam seat insert, and perform the final race preparation tasks. Élan recommends assembly by an experienced, competent technician familiar with race car design, assembly and operation.

Élan Motorsports Technologies offers Élan NP01 assembly—minus safety belts, side nets, fluids, and foam seat insert—for an additional $8500 (NOTE: Further preparation is required to make it race ready). Élan also offers a range of Élan NP01 options. Learn more at ElanMotorsports.com or by accessing the company's convenient Èlan NP01 online sales form.

For more information about NASA and the NASA Prototype series, please contact Jeremy Croiset, NASA director of business development, jeremy@drivenasa.com, 510-221-4010.

The addition of Mike Dunn as president of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is just one step in a larger plan to restructure the once-prominent drag racing sanctioning body.

That was the message during a media conference call Tuesday with Dunn and other IHRA and IRG Sports + Entertainment executives.

Dunn, a veteran drag racer and a television analyst for NHRA broadcasts on ESPN the last 13 years, was announced as the newest president of the IHRA Tuesday morning. He said the plan and business model presented to him by Chris Lencheski, the IRG Sports + Entertainment vice chairman of the board and CEO, is what convinced him to take the job.

“When Chris called me up and wanted me to be president of the company I kind of wondered why he wanted me to be president,” Dunn said. “Then he laid out his plan, the business model for the company, and I kind of looked at it. The key thing I liked about it was he had a plan to actually get more eyes on the product from a global standpoint and nationally. When I read about it, I said: ‘This has a pretty good chance of working.’

“We never talked money,” Dunn added. “It wasn’t about money. If I didn’t buy into what they were doing, then it wouldn’t matter what the money was going to be.”

Lencheski pulled no punches during the conference call, stating that IHRA has lost a great deal of money over the last few years and that the entire organization knew it was time for a change. IRG has owned and operated IHRA since 2013.

“To be clear, and to work from a position of keeping it real, this company lost millions of dollars,” said Lencheski, who was named IRG’s CEO in November. “Not just last year and not just in this year, but millions of dollars for the last several years. That definition of insanity where you’re effectively doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome was something that myself and the other members of the board looked at.”

That has led to a new mentality within IHRA and IRG Sports + Entertainment, a mentality Lencheski called the “racer first mentality.” Lencheski said he believes Dunn shares that mentality and is the perfect person to lead the IHRA into the future.

“Having Mike Dunn come in here, whom by every definition knows every part of the sport, from a racer first mentality, beyond what he did at ESPN and beyond what he did at NHRA, knowing the tracks and the teams and the sponsors and the licensees, was critically important,” Lencheski said. “Not institutional knowledge, we can go out and buy more tracks. That’s easy when you’re sitting with the check book we’ve got.”

Chief among the projects Dunn and the other members if the IHRA and IRGSE executive team are working on is a plan to bring Top Fuel back into the fold on a full-time basis in time for the 2017 season as part of what is being called the D1 program.

“D1, or dragster one, is an IP (intellectual property) product owned by IRGSE and the IHRA specifically and it will be the new premier class of racing under the IHRA sanctioning agreement,” Lencheski said.

“We’re going to bring Top Fuel in in a little bit of a different format,” Dunn added. “We’re going to bring that back in 2017. We’re going to keep for sure the Funny Car format as it is right now in 2016 and Top Fuel Motorcycles, Pro Mods and the Pro Stocks. We’re going to be evaluating everything. Obviously we’re going to be making some pretty good changes bringing the D1 series into the show. It is going to be pretty interesting.”

Specifics surrounding the return of Top Fuel are still being discussed, but it was noted during the conference call that the purse for Top Fuel will be on the same level as other competitive series when it returns to the IHRA fold in 2017.

The decision to bring back Top Fuel had a lot to do with its popularity on an international level according to Dunn.

“Once you get outside the U.S. and Canada, Top Fuel has always been the No. 1 car,” Dunn said. “I’ve gone to Australia and Funny Car has never really had a foot hold—the same thing in Europe. It’s not that they aren’t popular. There has always been Top Fuel and Top Fuel, like we’ve always said, is the king of the sport.”

In addition, plans are currently in motion for the IHRA to field as many as two in-house Top Fuel teams with big-name drivers in an effort to bolster the division upon its return.

“We’re also looking at doing in-house cars,” Dunn noted. “The IHRA is going to have its own Top Fuel D1 series race cars to where we can actually maybe bring in a Larry Dixon or a Whit Bazemore or Melanie Troxel or something. Not to run the whole series, but certainly to maybe give us a pop at the beginning.”

It was also mentioned during that call that part of the Top Fuel structure will be what amounts to a revenue-sharing program.

“If you’re in our Top Fuel structure, you are part of the future revenue growth of television and licensing. That is from day one,” Dunn said. “If you are spending that sum to invest in us and running the amount of races that are required and participating in our contingency program, yes, you should be a partner and to be a partner you need a share of that licensing and television revenue going forward.”

Another program being developed is a combine for aspiring drag racers that could help identify up-and-coming talent.

“We want to do a combine toward the end of the year where we bring up-and-coming young drivers and give them an opportunity in Jr. Dragsters and Super Comp dragsters to go through a series of tests depending on the amount of experience they have,” Dunn said. “We’ll have the opportunity for other cars that they can jump in and test them. We’ll hopefully get some crew chiefs and car owners to come down and look at them and see them with the possibility of moving them into our D1 series … That’s the plan. Obviously we’ve got to work out all the details.”

Dunn acknowledged there will be speed bumps along the way, but he believes in the plan and intends to see it through.

“I’m not the brightest guy in the world, but I’m not dumb,” Dunn continued. “I realize—and this is from racing all these years—you have to have a good team behind you. You have to have a plan and you have to be willing to execute that plan and realize that at certain points you’re going to hit a snug and you’re going to have to readjust that, which is what is going to happen here. It is a good plan, but it’s not going to be perfect and it is going to be tough to get to certain points.

“That being said, I still believe we’re going to be able to do it.”

Each year the Race and Performance Expo grows in response to the increasing demand from the industry. The 9th Annual RP Expo, held February 20–21 in Schaumburg, Illinois, is slated to be the biggest yet with over 100,000 square feet of high-performance products.

"We've increased our size 28% and sold out a month earlier. It'll be the biggest and best consumer Race & Performance Expo show in the Midwest" said Tom Stockenberg the shows director.
 
A key feature to the Expo is the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. The Engine Challenge is entering its 9th season as well, and has also experienced tremendous growth over the last eight years. The RP Expo will set the backdrop for the Engine Challenge season kickoff in which 32 high school teams will compete against each other in performance engine rebuilds.
 
Last year’s Engine Challenge Champion, Team Weld Racing from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center, completed four engine rebuilds in an average time of just 18 minutes and 19 seconds. Five high school students work together to tear down and rebuild a performance engine quicker than what’s required of most professionals. The teams competing at the Expo will be looking for times of 35 minutes or better, without penalties, in order to qualify for the Dual Championships held at the SEMA and PRI Shows later this year.