Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels continues its support of NHRA drag racing this year as a major event sponsor of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The company will also continue its role as a contingency sponsor for all Sportsman racing classes, as well as Pro Mod and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

The company plans to attend all national events with the fully-equipped Mickey Thompson trailer to provide trackside support to racers throughout the season, and will continue to sponsor champions Dan Fletcher and Luke Bogacki among others.

The 24-event Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks off with the Winternationals February 11 at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. The Regional series begins in Chandler, Arizona, March 4, and the Pro Mod and Pro Stock Motorcycle series begin with the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, March 17.  

Mickey Thompson will also serve as a Divisional Level Associate Contingency Sponsor of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in all Sportsman classes, and will support NHRA racers through the popular Team M/T program. To learn more about Team M/T, contact Tom Kundrik, Motorsports Manager at 800-222-9092, Ext. 3114.

During a historic event held today in Charlotte, N.C., NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France joined with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owners to announce a landmark long-term agreement that provides teams with increased business certainty and the ability to work more closely with NASCAR to produce best-in-class racing.
 
In effect as the 2016 NASCAR season prepares to kick off this weekend, the new Charter system addresses three key areas—participation, governance and economics—to promote a more predictable, sustainable and valuable team business model. The agreement grants NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Charters to 36 teams, establishes a Team Owner Council that will have formal input into decisions, and provides Charter teams with new revenue opportunities including a greater interest in digital operations.
 
“Today represents a landmark change to the business model of team ownership in NASCAR,” France said. “The Charter agreements provide nine years of stability for NASCAR and the teams to focus on growth initiatives together with our track partners, auto manufacturers, drivers and sponsors. The Charters also are transferable, which will aid in the development of long-term enterprise value for Charter members.”
 
The system affords Charter teams that remain in good standing more predictable revenue over the nine years of the agreement. Along with improved financial certainty, the new framework is designed to increase the long-term market value of teams and provide the ability to plan farther ahead with existing, new and prospective partners.
 
Similar to the five-year sanctioning agreements that NASCAR begins with tracks in 2016, team owner Charter agreements allow for longer planning cycles around competition, innovation, digital marketing, governance and research and development.
 
“The new Charter program strengthens each of our businesses individually and the team model as a whole, which is good for NASCAR, our fans, drivers, sponsors and the thousands of people who we employ,” said Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. “This will give us more stability and predictability, and it will allow us to take a more progressive, long-term approach to issues.
 
“NASCAR and the teams share a desire to preserve, promote and grow the sport and ultimately produce great racing for our fans and partners. These common goals served as the foundation for discussions and helped bring us to this unprecedented agreement. This is a great step forward for the entire sport made possible by Brian France setting a new course for the NASCAR industry and the owners coming together on shared issues. Everyone involved then compromised a bit to be able to come up with something that worked for all.”
 
Each Charter team owner has a guaranteed entry into the field of every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race. To maintain the historical openness of NASCAR racing, the balance of the field will be open for team owners who do not hold Charters. These Open team owners will compete for the remaining starting spots and positions in the race, as each event in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ starting lineup shifts in 2016 to a 40-car field.
 
“The new team owner agreements will offer a more appealing environment for both current and prospective team owners at the NASCAR premier series level,” France said. “I’ve always stressed that if we can do things to improve the business of our stakeholders, we will pursue it. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished today with this agreement.”

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE), portfolio company of TPG; parent company to the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA); a fast-growing professional racing circuit globally, announced that Mike Dunn has been installed as President of the IHRA organization in advance of the complete reorganization of the company and its various operations. Dunn, one of the most successful drivers and team organizers in the history of motorsports, joins the IHRA after spending the last 14 years as the face of major league professional drag racing for ESPN.

"We welcome Mike Dunn, one of the most respected figures not just in drag racing but in all of motorsports, to the IRGSE family of companies and specifically the IHRA as we begin to reshape the entire organization; Racing Operations, Television and Digital, Licensing, Track and Individual Membership and a newly developed Team Ownership Sponsorship Business Unit into a first class motorsports and entertainment platform. The future of the IHRA intends on delivering the world's fastest race cars, in important automotive manufacturer influenced global markets, as a platform for growth in the important 9-19 socially active generation Z consumers, while re-igniting the platform of our traditional drag racing consumers with new investment and engagement," said Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO of IRGSE, Chris Lencheski. "Mike has been a part of the most memorable moments that this sport has ever seen, and we are excited to have his expertise as a winning driver, businessman and influential media member to help lead us forward."

"I welcome this new opportunity after so many years in a race car and in front of the screen at ESPN," Dunn said. "I think the vision that IRGSE and the IHRA is pulling together fits a younger and engaged fan base that loves action, speed and the personalities around those elements. I am looking forward to working with Chris and the entire IRGSE family of tracks and properties, the current drivers, the current race teams and the traditional IHRA tracks and all fans of this great sport to get things moving forward quickly."  Dunn added, "The IRGSE Board are committed to the their decisions and vision for drag racing into the future but are staying flexible in their approach to teams, markets, promoters, media and sponsorship. I think they may have the best vision to come along in Drag Racing in a very long time and I am excited to be a part of the leadership team."

Dunn is one of only four drivers to ever win 10 or more races both Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, joining fellow legends Don Prudhomme and Gary Scelzi and six-time world champion Kenny Bernstein. The son of Hall of Fame Drag Racer "Big Jim" Dunn, Dunn began racing just before he turned 20 in 1976. The following year he earned his Funny Car license before taking a job as a crew member for legendary car owner Roland Leong and working for him until 1980.

Respected by his peers for being a mechanic as well as a driver and for always getting his own rides and consistently producing, Mike has forged a solid career and ranks among the most prolific drivers in fuel racing history with 22 NHRA national event victories. In 1987, the Southern California native obliterated Funny Car's 280 mph barrier, setting the National Speed record in Dallas, Texas and enjoyed the best season of his career in 1991, finishing third in the final points standings. In 1999, Dunn received one of his greatest honors: selection as Car Craft Top Fuel Driver of the Year, an award that in the past has gone to greats of the sport "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney.

He left competitive driving in 2002 joining ESPN telecasts for the NHRA Drag Racing series, a position he held until leaving last fall.

The current 2016 IHRA Drag Racing Series is serving as an interim year between the current format and the restructuring format which will be announced throughout the 2016 season. The 2016 Competition Schedule begins at Orlando Speed World Dragway (Orlando, Florida) with the AMSOIL Spring Nitro Nationals on Friday, March 4, 2016. Highlighting the 2016 schedule will be stops in: San Antonio, Texas; Grand Bend, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Martin, Michigan; West Salem, Ohio and Budds Creek, Maryland. The full schedule can be found at http://www.ihradrs.com/schedule/.

VP Racing Fuels, Inc., announced the appointment of Anna Crowder as Quality Control Manager, reporting to Chris Taylor, Director of Specialty Chemicals. Based at the company’s plant in Elmendorf, Texas, Crowder will be responsible for overseeing the ISO certification for VP’s Texas facility and working on quality assurance for all company divisions and product lines.
 
Along with an M.S. in Chemistry, Crowder brings more than 20 years of experience in both the public and private sector. Most recently she taught courses dealing with quality in a laboratory environment at Fort Sam Houston’s Medical Education Training Center in San Antonio, prior to which she was a Quality Assurance Leader working with the FDA on ISO 9001 inspections of the manufacture of over-the-counter drugs. Crowder also spent 10 years as Lab Director for the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department in addition to 10 years in laboratory management focused on cancer research, and reference laboratories.
 
“For more than 40 years, VP has produced and delivered the highest quality products to its customers,” said Taylor. “Becoming ISO certified will help facilitate VP’s growth and diversification while strengthening its reputation among a broader customer base. Anna brings tremendous experience in this area, assuring VP’s historic commitment to quality will remain at the forefront of our growth.”
 
“I have a real passion for quality, so I felt right at home at VP where the whole team has an overriding passion for performance,” said Crowder. “With my background, I understand the critical importance of a good quality system and look forward to helping VP ensure its customers are provided with the best products available.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a regulation to prohibit conversion of vehicles originally designed for on-road use into racecars. The regulation would also make the sale of certain products for use on such vehicles illegal. The proposed regulation was contained within a non-related proposed regulation entitled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—Phase 2."

The regulation would impact all vehicle types, including the sports cars, sedans and hatch-backs commonly converted strictly for use at the track. While the Clean Air Act prohibits certain modifications to motor vehicles, it is clear that vehicles built or modified for racing, and not used on the streets, are not the "motor vehicles" that Congress intended to regulate.

"This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles," said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. "Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion."

SEMA submitted comments in opposition to the regulation and met with the EPA to confirm the agency’s intentions. The EPA indicated that the regulation would prohibit conversion of vehicles into racecars and make the sale of certain emissions-related parts for use on converted vehicles illegal. Working with other affected organizations, including those representing legions of professional and hobbyist racers and fans, SEMA will continue to oppose the regulation through the administrative process and will seek congressional support and judicial intervention as necessary.

The EPA has indicated it expects to publish final regulations by July 2016.

About SEMA
SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association founded in 1963, represents the $36 billion specialty automotive industry of 6,633 member-companies. It is the authoritative source for research, data, trends and market growth information for the specialty auto parts industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765, tel: 909-610-2030, or visit www.sema.org.

The United States Auto Club has announced a new addition to its racing portfolio for the 2016 season with the introduction of the USAC Micro Sprint National Championship, in which drivers nationwide will compete within their region and against drivers from other regions throughout the United States, to determine a single national champion.

The series features several dates at Keller Auto Raceway at Plaza Park in Visalia, Calif. and Dixon (Calif.) Speedway, which will both showcase four divisions: Super 600s, Non-Wing 600s, Restricted 600s and Junior Sprints. Three dates are scheduled at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway and one at Santa Maria (Calif.) Raceway, which will host the Super 600 class only. Racing programs at each venue will follow track rules.

For a driver to qualify for the National Micro Sprint Championship, that driver must run at three different racetracks and must participate in a minimum of 15 events during the 2016 season. Driver results from each race will be entered into a database to calculate the national point rankings from which a national champion will be determined. Regions will be formed as additional tracks are added.

“I’m very excited to get this program off the ground,” series director Doug Lockwood said. “I have seen a lot of talent come through the micro ranks with many drivers moving up to the USAC Sprint Car Series over the years. I’m really looking forward to working with the micro drivers and tracks.”

Each driver ranking in the top-ten in the final National Driver Rankings at the end of the 2016 season will be a part of the points championship. The national champion will be honored at USAC’s “Night of Champions” ceremony in December in Indianapolis.

Maxwell Industries has come on board as the first series sponsor for the 2016 season. The Ventura, California-based company will be awarding gift certificates for each event with the top-three in the final national points receiving additional gift certificates. First place will receive a $2000 discount on a shock dyno with second and third place in the final national standings receiving $1500 and $1000 off, respectively, for a shock dyno.

The USAC National Micro Sprint Championship is looking for additional sponsors and partners to join in on this exciting endeavor. If your racetrack would like to join the schedule, please contact Doug Lockwood at gr8iskobe@aol.com to get involved for the 2016 season.

USAC memberships are now available online at www.usacracing.org.

NHRA will launch a premium live streaming service, anticipated to start in March 2016, which will deliver live video streams from NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events to internet-connected devices, including mobile devices.

This subscription service will give NHRA fans around the world the chance to see all of the action from NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events like never before.

“NHRA All Access” will feature live and continuous coverage of all Pro and most Sportsman races from the qualifying runs on Friday through the finals on Sunday. The live stream of the in-venue feed will include audio from track announcers and video from trackside big screen displays.  Subscribers will be able to experience all of the racing action as if they were sitting in the stands.

Upon launch, NHRA All Access will be available globally on a subscription basis for $99 (USD) for the remainder of the 2016 season.

“We’re working toward a level of NHRA coverage that has never been available,’’ said Ken Adelson, NHRA vice president of broadcasting and digital content. “Being able to watch the event digitally as if you were there will be a great option for our fans on a worldwide basis. At the same time, we’re focusing on bringing NHRA racing to TV networks around the globe. It will all be worth waiting for.”

To expand its availability to international audiences, NHRA also has partnered with Greenlight International Limited, the largest syndicator of international motorsport television rights in the world, to secure distribution of NHRA telecasts in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and other regions.  Isle of Man and Brooksville, Florida, based Greenlight has entered into a multi-year exclusive agreement to represent NHRA’s international television rights.

Greenlight International will be bringing all 24 events of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series to international media markets either as live or as one-hour highlights, delivering compelling coverage of the world’s fastest motorsport to audiences across the world.  NHRA telecasts are already available in the United Kingdom via BT Sport, and in Greece via Nova Sports.

“Greenlight International is very proud to start this relationship with the NHRA and the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series,’’ said Jon Quayle, Greenlight managing director. “It is without doubt a very significant championship with a very knowledgeable and dedicated fan base throughout the world. We will be working very hard over the coming months to secure distribution across our network of international broadcasters.”

Under its new television deal with FOX Sports, live telecasts and re-airings of NHRA events are available in Canada and the Caribbean through the FOX Sports Racing channel. Canadian distributors include Rogers, Cogeco Cable Canada, Videotron, MTS Allstream and various smaller CCSA member companies. FOX is currently in negotiations to add additional video distributors in Canada.

“We continue to invest in and strengthen FOX Sports Racing in Canada, an effort not possible without our valued distribution partners,” said David Nathanson, head of business operations for FOX Sports.

Motovicity Distribution, an automotive performance aftermarket distributor, is announcing the launch of its 2016 Engines of Change B2B promotion, which will give away a GM LS3 engine custom built by Duttweiler Performance and presented by ARP Fasteners.

In addition to the grand prize of the custom built LS3, Motovicity’s Engines of Change promotion offers 12 weeks of unique promotions from participating manufacturers, and its 26-page book, distributed with the February issue of Performance Racing Industry magazine, highlights the significance of some of the most sought after engines in the automotive performance industry.

Among those brands participating: AEM Electronics, Aeromotive, ARP, Blackworks Racing, Centric, DEi, Exedy, Flowmaster, Gates RPM, HKS, Kooks Headers & Exhaust, Royal Purple, Samco, SCT, Sparco, StopTech, Supertech, Tokico, and Whiteline. Customers will earn entries to win the grand prize when purchasing these brands during their respective promotional period.

Motovicity’s Engines of Change promotion begins on February 8, 2016, and runs through April 29, 2016. Motovicity customers can view contest rules by logging into their account at www.motovicity.com. To become a Motovicity customer, call 888.SPEED.16 to speak with a dedicated new account representative.

One Lap of America recently announced that Look Up Systems’ Medical QR EMT tool will be included in competitive and transit drivers entries for 2016.

Look Up Systems’ Medical QR EMT tool is instantly identifiable and scanned by First Responders/Safety Crews resulting in instant access to immediate medical and personal safety gear information normally kept in the paddock for stabilizing the patient within the Platinum Ten.
 
The company offers its Medical QR EMT tool in such accessories as helmet decals, embroidery DST files (for Sprint Car Driver's suits/Mudding), necklace tags, shoe tags and ID Cards for sports where traditional types of ID are not normally carried.
 
The company was founded in 2009 as manageyourqr.com, a division of two individually owned advertising companies selling restaurant table ads with mobile websites (QRs). George Jackson, one of the founders, thought of making his Medical Information available by scanning a QR code on a wallet card. It was Rudy Arias in 2010 who originally developed and designed the current Decal/Trademarked logo for personal use at HPDEs (High Performance Driving Education) as an instructor and participant at Legal Open Road Events (Silver State Classic).
 
The company was restructured in 2014 and named Look Up Systems, Inc. and is now based in Punta Gorda, Florida.

* CSI: IUPUI: A new study out of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) exploring the use of illicit chemicals on racing tires has revealed a potential game-changer in the pursuit of fair play.

The report, released last month by the Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at IUPUI, examined the use of tire-softening compounds—many of them readily available—that are typically applied days ahead of time in order to avoid detection during race-day tech inspection. It determined that 10 out of 70 (nearly 15 percent) tires on midget cars that finished among the top three in USAC-sanctioned races over a one-year period had been treated with some type of banned chemical substance. The fact that such products were detected, unfortunately, isn’t news. But what’s interesting is the manner in which researchers were able to discover the substances, as well as the effect it’s had on competition moving forward.

According to the study’s authors, they used a technique called gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in concert with solid phase microextraction (SPME) to identify two distinct types of tire treatment products: plasticizer-based and hydrocarbon-based. GC-MS is said to be the gold standard for detection of foreign substances, as it’s used extensively in fire investigations, criminal forensics, and sports anti-doping analysis, among other applications. SPME, meantime, is essentially a process that separates different compounds from one another based on their physical and chemical makeups. When compared with an analysis of untainted tires, the treated ones were easily spotted.

“This kind of technique had not been previously used to detect performance-enhancing tire treatments,” stated lead investigator John Goodpaster. “We were able to identify even low levels of illicit chemicals, which would result in disqualification if found in competition.” Goodpaster further noted that as word circulated about his group’s tire-testing activities, the incidence of illegal treatments rapidly declined. What’s more, in addition to tires, IUPUI’s technique could also be used to evaluate race-grade fuels, oils, lubricants and cooling agents. We’ll be interested to see how this story develops.  

* Filling Out Brackets: Bracket racers rejoice, as you now have something special to look forward to when the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) opens its 2016 season at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park on March 10.

The Pittsboro, North Carolina-based sanctioning body for eighth-mile doorslammers recently announced an all-new Bracket Bash program to accompany each of this year’s national events, beginning at Tulsa. The $3000-to-win, 0 through 4.99 ET category is a non-points earning class that welcomes open and full body cars. In addition, all PDRA/NHRA safety rules apply, and there will be a .500 full tree with crosstalk.

We had a hunch something was afoot late last year when PRI contributor Louise Ann Noeth spoke with the organization’s Senior VP of Marketing Derrick Beach for our January 2016 feature article on bracket racing. While Beach didn’t mention it initially, a follow-up call to PDRA offices in December revealed that officials were considering adding a class for this season. As it turns out, that decision was closer than we realized. More information, including full rules and series regulations, can be found at PDRA’s dedicated competition page, www.pdra660.com/competition/rules/brackets.

* Recipe For Success: It should come as no surprise that a race promoter born into his family’s wholesale/retail bakery business speaks in near-culinary terms when discussing his new Texas-based sprint car series.

“When you stir into a big kettle the ‘ingredients’ of a changing economy, higher costs to race, fans’ cost to attend, promoters’ cost to operate—this series addresses all of those realities,” said Darin Short, who along with Steve Lang recently launched the Sprint Car Bandits Series. Already the operation has booked five Dallas-area tracks—Abeline Speedway, Boyd Raceway, East Texas Speedway, LoneStar Speedway and Superbowl Speedway—for its inaugural season, which begins on April 16.

More dates and venues are in the works, Short told us, noting that at press time some two-dozen teams had committed to the series on either a full- or part-time basis. “As with any business, keeping on-trend with your customers’ needs is priority No. 1,” he added, reminding us that complete rules, scheduling and driver information can be found online at www.sprintcarbandits.com.