The NMRA Competition Department announced that the Turbo Coyote Shootout will be featured at three huge events in the upcoming 2016 season. Sponsored by Fluid Turbo Concepts (FL), JPC Racing (PA) and Henchmen Racing (KY), the NMRA Turbo Coyote Shootout is designed for the some of the fastest late-model Fords on the planet. Turbocharged coyote-powered Mustangs are matched in a heads-up competition showcasing the incredible power of Ford's flagship platform.

"We're thrilled to announce that the Turbo Coyote Shootout will be back in 2016 at three of our biggest events," said National Event Director Rollie Miller. "Ford Performance built an awesome platform in the Coyote engine and it provides loads of excitement for our racers and our fans."
 
This heads-up drag racing class caught everyone's attention at the NMRA World Finals last year where fans and racers watched history unfold with record-breaking performances, wheels-up launches and close finishes. In 2016, the Turbo Coyote Shootout will be featured at these three NMRA Keystone Automotive Ford Nationals events:

• 22nd Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida on March 3-6

• 16th Annual NMRA Ford Motorsport Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, PA on April 28-May 1

• 18th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA All-Ford World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky on September 29-October 2, 2016


Open to all single- and twin-turbocharged Coyote 5.0L-powered 2005-16 Mustangs, complete rules and payouts for the Turbo Coyote Shootout are available here:
http://www.nmradigital.com/cat/class_rules/docs/2016/tc-prelim.pdf
 

Turbo Coyote Shootout class payouts:
Winner:        $500 + Contingency + Custom Award
Runner-Up:  $200 + Contingency + Plaque
Semis:          $100
Quarters:      $50

Engine Pro honored its top suppliers at its recent winter shareholders meeting in Dallas. Companies recognized as Featured Suppliers were B&P Rods, Dura-Bond Bearing Co., Melling Engine Parts and SA Gear Inc.

The shareholders, who operate 36 Engine Pro warehouses in the U.S. and Australia, chose the Featured Suppliers from more than 90 companies providing engine parts to the group. The suppliers are selected based on each company's ability to offer value, exceptional programs and policies, and their ability to maintain excellent working relationships. Companies chosen for the honor also must be the primary source in its product category to at least 80 percent of Engine Pro’s members.

Engine Pro is the largest engine parts distribution network in the U.S. The group is made up of nine independent specialty engine parts distributors who warehouse a full line of internal engine components for domestic and import passenger car, light truck, heavy duty, industrial, marine, agricultural and performance applications.

Motovicity Distribution, an automotive performance aftermarket distributor, has hired April Zuk as its new assistant marketing manager.

Zuk comes from within the automotive industry where she recently held marketing positions with ROUSH Performance Products. Her extensive knowledge of the performance aftermarket will prove to be an asset to Motovicity, where she will be responsible for managing the day to day activities of the marketing department, executing promotions with manufacturers, and overseeing production of the company’s widely recognized advertising campaigns.

“With a unique combination of both agency and client experience, April brings a refined approach to marketing and advertising that will add an entirely new dimension to Motovicity’s marketing department,” said Motovicity’s Sales and Marketing Manager, Brett Kinsfather.

Zuk’s addition to the team helps advance the company’s marketing department, paving the way for cutting edge co-op marketing initiatives.

Performance Racing Industry wishes motorsports professionals across the US and around the world a healthy and happy New Year. Here's to a prosperous—and victorious—2016!

Beginning with its first event at Tulsa Raceway Park on March 11-12 and continuing throughout the entire 2016 season, PDRA will contest an all-new "Bracket Bash.”

This 0 through 4.99 ($3000 to win) ET Bracket Racing program will accompany the sanctioning body’s previously scheduled program at each event. There are nine separate events currently scheduled in 2016.

The "Bracket Bash" is a non-points earning class that will include open and full body cars. In addiiton, all PDRA/NHRA safety rules will apply, and there will be a .500 full tree with crosstalk.

For more information, including full class rules and series regulations, visit PDRA’s dedicated competition page (www.pdra660.com/competition/rules/brackets/).

NHRA announced recently that the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will return to Kansas’ capital city in 2016.

NHRA officials were able to reach an agreement quickly with Heartland Park Topeka’s new ownership group, Heartland Park Topeka, LLC, led by Chris Payne and Todd Crossley.

The 28th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals will be contested May 20-22 at Heartland Park Topeka, one of the quickest and fastest drag strips in the world. The event, which will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), will be race No. 8 in the regular season, bringing the season total of events for the NHRA Mello Yello Series to 24.

“Heartland Park Topeka has such a great history with NHRA as the site of many performance milestones and record-setting achievements. We are looking forward to continuing that legacy with today’s announcement,” said Peter Clifford, NHRA president. “The fans in the Topeka and Kansas City area are some of the most passionate in the country, and we are excited for them to be able to continue to enjoy the NHRA Mello Yello Series. And for NHRA Sportsman racers, the track is one of the busiest in that region, and it will continue to offer many racing opportunities for those hot rodding enthusiasts.”

Said Payne: “We’re honored and excited to work with NHRA and ensure drag racing will once again thrive in Topeka for years to come. We’re grateful to be a part of such a great community who loves all forms of racing and look forward to revitalizing one of Topeka’s greatest assets.”

In addition to back-to-back divisional events in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in late July, NHRA will offer a full menu of sportsman racing action, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, NHRA Jr. Street and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.

The Wegner Motorsports W-16 Engine is now ready for implementation in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series, according to published reports.

Priced under $10,000, the engine will be legal at all DIRTcar-sanctioned facilities as well as in the 358-Modified Series in 2016.

The new combination will allow drivers to enter the division while giving those already in competition an economical option.

“This isn’t for everyone, but it is affordable and will keep more people racing,” said Mike Perrotte, DIRTcar director of series and sanctioning. “We’ve seen what the GM Performance option has done to grow the Sportsman ranks and we hope to help some of them move up to the 358-Modified division.”

The engine combination was tested and tuned throughout the 2015 season at Merrittville Speedway with the assistance of Randy Slack Racing, Bobby Slack at Bicknell Racing Products and former Super DIRT Week champion Billy Dunn. The group worked with Perrotte to find the right combination to make the engine competitive against other options available in the division. Their efforts proved successful, as Dunn was able to capture three feature victories during the season.

“A lot of tinkering around went into this to get it where it needed to be,” Bobby Slack said of the combination. “It’s a middle-of-the-road priced engine and we wanted it to act like that. After getting some smart people involved we were able to sort things out and make this a viable solution.”

The team made numerous changes to get the engine to a point where it could compete with more expensive engines. Slack said that the engine is not for everyone, but offers an alternative for those looking to move up without investing more.

The goal of the new program is to increase accessibility to the series and grow 358 car counts throughout the Northeast.

* Powerful Parts Of PRI 2015: Attempting to encapsulate the 2015 PRI Trade Show in a single column is like trying to squeeze a NASCAR pit crew into the back seat of a smart car. It’s not happening. And besides, PRI Magazine will provide a thorough wrap-up article in our February 2016 edition anyway. So this editor is off the hook, at least for now. But I did get to thinking about a phrase that’s often used to describe the Show: “It’s like no place else on Earth.” And beyond the product launches, the networking, and all the business taking place throughout the week, there were a handful of moments that really helped bring this colossal event into focus.

One occurred during the International Council of Motorsport Sciences’ (ICMS) Race Track Safety Program on Friday, December 11. Spectators had gathered to watch a training session on the proper procedures for spinal control and immobilization during removal of a driver from his/her vehicle. The gravity of what they were witnessing may not have been completely realized, however, until racer Kevin Swindell took the microphone and recounted the moments during and after his own serious accident at last year’s Knoxville Nationals. The room fell silent as Swindell’s words personalized the significance—and the importance—of the ICMS’ mission in racing. Powerful words, indeed.

The following morning, PRI hosted a standing-room only forum on land speed racing. Four panelists—some of the most knowledgeable and accomplished figures in the sport today—addressed, among other topics, conditions on the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah. A spirited discussion led to the question posed to all in attendance: Would racers be willing to sit out 2016 in order to focus on replenishing the surface for 2017? Without hesitation, dozens of hands shot up—the vast majority of the room, in fact. Short-track and long-track racers alike clearly grasped the stakes. And that willingness to forego an entire year to benefit the sport’s long-term sustainability demonstrated, at least in my view, an altruism that spoke to what racing—and racers—are all about.         

* ICYMI At PRI: Each year, PRI’s Race industry Week provides the backdrop for motorsports businesses to make important announcements before the assembled racing media, not to mention tens of thousands of qualified Trade Show attendees. This year was no exception. In addition to hundreds of new product launches, and a whirlwind of activity on the Show floor, PRI helped direct attention to several late-breaking industry news items. A quick rundown:

> PAC Racing Springs of Southfield, Michigan, kicked off the reporting cycle with its acquisition of Schroeder Torsion Bar Manufacturing in Burbank, California. The move, according to PAC’s Jason Youd, will increase the company’s manufacturing capabilities while allowing PAC to market new product lines that pair up with its stabilizer bar systems.

> Meantime, the School of Automotive Machinists in Houston, Texas, unveiled at PRI a comprehensive new Motorsports EFI Tuning program to augment its current course offerings. Enrollees will learn about adding performance accessories, modifying power trains, and tuning custom engines in addition to working on suspensions, exhaust systems, dynos and other diagnostic equipment.

> Speaking of SAM, the school has joined forces with Lingenfelter Performance Engineering and Holley Performance Products to sponsor a new COPO Camaro class at Holley's 2016 LS Fest at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the companies jointly announced. The “COPO Battle At The Green” will boast an LS Fest-high purse of $10,000-to-win, as organizers look to create the world's largest COPO gathering with at least 32 entries for the inaugural shootout in September.

> Not to be outdone, Corona, California-based Lucas Oil rolled out its worldwide launch of LucasOilRacing.TV, the first 24/7 streaming TV network dedicated solely to motorsports. The new network, which was set to go online January 1, will feature live racing, expanded pre- and post-race action, behind-the-scenes content, unseen interviews, build shows, and an extensive library of motorsports content and racing, including coverage of sprint cars, GT racing, short course off-road racing, modifieds, drag boats, Dirt Late Models, NHRA, stock cars and more.

IndyCar has introduced a new Verizon IndyCar Series logo to highlight its ongoing partnership with title sponsor Verizon.

The designed series logo signals renewed efforts to bring IndyCar’s speed and excitement to its fans across the nation. For Verizon, the revised series identity marks the beginning of a new chapter in its effort to distinguish the Verizon brand in the minds of its consumers and signal the promise of the digital world—simple, reliable and in ways consumers want and need.

“We’re excited to introduce the new Verizon IndyCar Series logo. Aesthetically, the new design is clean and highlights the Verizon checkmark – the universal sign of getting things done,” said CJ O’Donnell, Chief Marketing Officer of IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “This is appropriate for two brands with lofty aspirations for what will be a legendary 2016 season.”

This logo change comes at the cusp of a legendary 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, highlighted by the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 29. The historic event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the updated design, mark a new era for IndyCar racing and continued momentum for the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Berlin Raceway will join forces with Kalamazoo Speedway in their affiliation with NASCAR during the 2016 racing season.

Both tracks will share the Outlaw Late Models as their Division I, as Michigan racers will have another high-speed track at which to chase NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points.

Berlin Raceway in Marne, which runs Saturday nights, will pair with Kalamazoo, which is a longtime member of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and is moving its weekly program to Friday nights.

In 2016, starts at both tracks will count toward the Michigan championship and national championship.

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I drivers are ranked by their best 18 NASCAR points finishes in series-sanctioned events. Drivers receive two points for every car they finish ahead of—up to 18 cars—and three points for a win, with an addition two points available if the driver starts 10th or lower. U.S. state and Canadian province titles are determined by the drivers best 18 finishes within the state or province.

With both tracks running under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series sanction and on different nights, it increases the opportunity for drivers to be ranked among the top drivers in the national standings.

For more information, visit www.berlinraceway.com.