Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, New York, has released its schedule for the 2016 season, which includes three Premier Dirt Series races and a Sportsman Shootout Series.

On May 22, Weedsport Speedway kicks off the season with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, an event that includes the first round of the 2016 Sportsman Shootout Series.

A double-header for the Sportsman Shootout Series will take place on June 5, followed by the World of Outlaws Late Models on June 21.

The third annual Sportsman Classic will be on July 4, and racing continues on July 24 with the Empire Super Sprints and Big-Block Modifieds.

In August, Weedsport Speedway kicks off this year's Hall of Fame festivities. The Hall of Fame 100 will be on Aug. 9, and the Empire Super Sprints' "Legends Reunion" on Aug. 21.

Sept. 17 and 18, Weedsport hosts the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds in a 125-lap event, followed by the final of the Sportsman Shootout Series.

The 2016 Super DIRT Week kickoff begins on Oct. 5.

For more information, visit www.weedsportspeedway.com.

Officials with the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Tour have announced that VP Racing Fuels will continue as the series’ “Official Fuel” through the 2018 season. 

Under the agreement, VP’s CRT, a proprietary race fuel blend for exclusive use by all CARS competitors, has been designated as Spec Fuel for the series. In addition to being named the official fuel of the tour, VP Racing Fuels will be the title sponsor of the Super Late Model division.

The CARS Super Late Model Tour fueled by VP Racing Fuels, along with the CARS Late Model Stock Car division, takes the green flag on the 2016 season beginning April 2.     
 
For each event, trackside fuel service will be provided by VP or its designated distributor. More information on VP Fuels is available at www.vpracingfuels.com.

TEN: The Enthusiast Network (TEN) and IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE) have announced a multi-year partnership that will bring a number of popular automotive events to IRGSE venues. TEN’s portfolio of events include: HOT ROD Power Tour, LOWRIDER Super Show, HOT ROD Drag Week, CAR CRAFT Summer Nationals, Great American Racing Series, and HOT ROD Engine Masters.

TEN’s media portfolio includes more than 50 publications, 60 websites, the world’s largest automotive VOD channel, and the world’s largest action/outdoor sports media platform.

This relationship also extends benefits to all of the member tracks of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) as well as IRGSE’s individual memberships.

IRGSE and TEN hosted multiple events together in previous years with the HOT ROD Power Tour making stops at Memphis International Raceway in 2013 and 2015. The inaugural season of The Great American Racing Series also held their championship weekend at Memphis International Raceway’s tri-oval last year. In addition, HOT ROD Drag Week visited Cordova International Raceway in 2015 as well as Memphis International Raceway in 2012 and 2013.

The expanded relationship will include the Super Chevy Show at all IRGSE properties in 2016, and the exploration of future joint endeavors during the five-year partnership including Truck Mania. The first event scheduled for 2016 is the country’s largest Chevy enthusiast event, the Super Chevy Show at Memphis International Raceway on April 8–10.

The confirmed 2016 event dates include: Super Chevy Show at Memphis International Raceway, April 8–10; Super Chevy Show at Palm Beach International Raceway, April 23–24; Super Chevy Show at Cordova International Raceway, May 21–22; and Super Chevy Show at Maryland International Raceway, August 20–21. Additional events will be announced as they are finalized.

For more information, visit www.irgse.com or www.enthusiastnetwork.com.
 

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has announced the names of its eight inductees for 2016. Those to be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 4, during the twenty-seventh annual ceremonies in Knoxville, Iowa, are:



Drivers: Dale Blaney, Frankie Kerr, Gus Linder.



Owners-Mechanics-Builders-Manufacturers-Car Sponsors: Roy “Bud” Grimm (Jr.), Shirley Kear Valentine.



Promoters-Officials-Media Members-Event/Series Sponsors: Doug Clark, Gene Crucean.



Pre-1945: Mark Light.



“I know I say this every year, but we truly are very proud of the work done by our 72-member National Induction Committee,” said NSCHoF & Museum Foundation executive director Bob Baker. “I think we have a great group of inductees this year, with most being honored in their lifetime. We look forward to our twenty-seventh induction banquet on the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa, on June 4.”

Southfield, Michigan-based Federal-Mogul Motorsports has appointed Phillip Halberg to its newly created position of senior vice president, commercial strategy, North America.

Halberg joined the firm in 2011 as director, business development, North America. He was promoted in 2014 to vice president, strategic accounts, North America.

Federal-Mogul Motorsports is a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp., a supplier of products and services to world manufacturers of vehicles and equipment in the automotive, light, medium and heavy duty commercial, marine, rail, aerospace, power generation and industrial markets.

After a competitive Combine event last October, six drivers were selected to the 2016 NASCAR Drive for Diversity (D4D) class and will join the industry’s premier development program for multicultural and female drivers, and pit crew members.

Talented drivers from across the Americas will compete for Rev Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, and attempt to follow in the footsteps of D4D graduates and current NASCAR national series drivers Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suárez.

The 2016 class will be formally introduced to the industry as part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour on January 19.

Rev Racing will field four teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and two in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. The 2016 class is led by returning driver Collin Cabre and newcomer Rubén Garcia Jr., fresh off his NASCAR Mexico Series championship last fall.

The 2016 D4D roster includes:

Collin Cabre: After an impressive first year with D4D in which he won the season finale at Dover International Speedway and finished in the top 10, the 22-year-old from Tampa will again compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

Rubén Garcia Jr.: At age 20, the Mexico City native won four races in the NASCAR Mexico Series en route to his first NASCAR championship. He brings his talents to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for his rookie season with Rev Racing.

Jairo Avila: The 20-year-old Colombian-American from Alhambra, California, made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West debut in 2014 and achieved four top-10 finishes in five starts with his family-run team. He will compete in the K&N Pro Series East.

Ali Kern: The 22-year-old from Fremont, Ohio, had her best NASCAR D4D Combine last year after turning in strong performances in previous combine events. A second-place finisher in the ARCA/CRA Super Series, Kern will compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

Enrique Baca: Following an impressive showing at the Combine, Baca, 24, will race in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Baca is from Monterrey, Mexico, and competed in his native country’s Super Copa Telcel series in 2015.

Juan Garcia: Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Garcia, 18, earned the 2015 Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award for his competitiveness in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. He will return to the series with Rev Racing following a strong performance at the Combine last fall.

Under Rev Racing owner and CEO Max Siegel’s leadership, NASCAR D4D aligns drivers with a team of executives, athletic directors, crew chiefs and mentors tasked with helping drivers achieve career successes; thus, improving their goal of reaching one of NASCAR's three national series.

Since it began fielding D4D cars in 2010, Rev Racing has been the most consistent team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, registering 17 total wins with six different drivers and at least one victory in each season. The 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener will take place on Feb. 14 at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where Rev Racing scored a win with Suárez in 2014.

In 2015, more than 25 graduates of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program, also run by Rev Racing, pitted for national series teams. Mike Russell, jackman for the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, became the first African-American D4D graduate to win a national series championship.

For more information on NASCAR Drive for Diversity, visit www.NASCARDiversity.com.

Brad Gerber has been named NHRA vice president of sales and chief development officer.

Gerber will lead NHRA’s sales and business development team and oversee all media sales, corporate sponsorships, and revenue development initiatives. He will report to NHRA President Peter Clifford and be a part of NHRA’s leadership team.

Gerber was an executive at Source Interlink Media and its predecessor companies Primedia and Petersen Publishing. He worked internationally for Skin Diver magazine, served as publisher for Hot Rod and Automobile magazines, and eventually rose to the rank of executive vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer for the company.

Most recently, Gerber held the position of global development executive at HYFN, an award-winning digital development, advertising, and technology agency that services high-profile clients, including GoDaddy, Google, HP, Taco Bell, and AMEX.

McLaren announced this week that Jost Capito (pictured), Volkswagen’s Director of Motorsport, has been appointed CEO of McLaren Racing, and Jonathan Neale, acting CEO of McLaren Racing, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of McLaren Technology Group.

Eric Boullier, who will work closely with both Neale and Capito, retains the position of Racing Director at McLaren Racing. The timing of these moves will be coordinated with VW, and a further announcement will follow.

Both Neale and Capito will report directly to Ron Dennis, whose position as Executive Chairman and CEO of McLaren Technology Group will also remain unchanged.

“I first approached Jost last summer,” Dennis said. “He is an extremely impressive, competitive and ambitious individual, who comes to us with a very wide range of automotive and motorsport experience, encompassing senior positions at BMW, Porsche, Ford, Sauber and, since 2012, Volkswagen, leading the latter company’s World Rally Championship team to consecutive world titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

“From a motorsport perspective he has experience in not only the World Rally Championship but also sports cars, touring cars, motorcycle racing and Formula 1, about which he is hugely knowledgeable and infectiously passionate.”

Pocono Raceway announced this week that it has added supplementary SAFER Barriers and extended the pit wall.
 
The Pennsylvania track enlarged the existing SAFER Barrier by 6600 feet and extended the pit wall by 100 feet as part of a series of enhancements. Officials are also expect to cover all outside walls and install an additional 5100 feet of SAFER Barrier before the 2017 season.

"As cars and technology change and evolve, so do tracks,” said track President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky in a release. “We are adapting to ensure Pocono Raceway is as safe as possible. We will continue to monitor races and technology and aggressively add safety measures where appropriate."


Pocono Raceway is the most recent of several tracks that have increased their SAFER Barrier parameters in the past year.

The 2.5-mile track will play host to seven NASCAR events this season in all three major series, with the XFINITY Series making a trip to the Tricky Triangle for the first time in the track's history.

After more than two years of redeveloping its nearly mile-long frontstretch, Daytona International Speedway’s (DIS) $400 million DAYTONA Rising project is near completion.

This week, DIS received its temporary certificate of occupancy, which allows track personnel to begin moving into the facility and fully prepare for the upcoming race season. The world’s first motorsports stadium will be ready for its debut later this month at the Rolex 24 At Daytona Weekend.
 
Since kicking off the project in July 2013, DIS has surpassed milestones including the DAYTONA Rising 500 groundbreaking ceremony, the first-ever DAYTONA Rising Escalator Duel to activate the new vertical transportation, as well as the recent lighting of the massive identification sign.
 
DIS will mark the installation of the final seat during a special ceremony on January 19.