The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has renewed Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.’s contract to supply Formula 1 race tires for the 2017-19 seasons, Pirelli stated in a tweet issued during the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi October 11.

“Regarding the recent news,” Pirelli Motorsport tweeted, “we can confirm that the commercial deal for 2017-2019 has been reached. The official procedure will follow.”

Pirelli’s tweet refers to comments made by Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula One Group, during a television broadcast prior to the start of the Russian Grand Prix. Ecclestone confirmed the deal to Pirelli Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera on camera as the two shook hands, according to multiple media reports.

Formula One Group controls the commercial rights to the sport, considered the “pinnacle” of motorsports.

Both Pirelli—F1’s designated tire supplier since the 2011 season—and Group Michelin had submitted bids earlier this year to be the tire supplier for the 2017-19 seasons.

In a statement issued after the race, Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said: “First and foremost, we’re delighted to confirm that we reached a commercial agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to remain in Formula 1 for the 2017-2019 period. The process to the formal FIA official nomination will follow with its procedure."

Reflecting its move to drag strips across the country as well as identifying the standards in which it is recognized by drivers, fans, and tracks all over the US, the PSCA (Pacific Street Car Association) has re-christened itself the Premier Street Car Association.
 
PSCA has expanded already with its successful Rocky Mountain Summer Series at the legendary Bandimere Speedway and is looking at the possibility of a third Street Car Super Nationals in Florida. While it will always identify with its West Coast roots, the time has come for the series to become a national force, said PSCA President Mel Roth.
 
“First and foremost, the name change doesn’t mean we’re forgetting about those who helped us get where we are today,” Roth said. “The people and the partners who have built us over the past 16 years will always be an integral part of our organization. With the success of the second Street Car Super Nationals in St. Louis, we realized drag strips all over the country are hungry for our kind of doorslammer racing. We feel we’re one of the premier associations in the country, so why not have that reflected in our name?”
 
As in has in previous years, the PSCA season ends with the granddaddy of them all: Street Car Super Nationals 11 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway November 19-22. More information regarding the home of doorslammer records will be released in coming weeks.

Atlanta Motor Speedway has confirmed that NASCAR will return to the 1.5-mile speedway on February 26-28, 2016.

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend will feature NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying on Feb. 26, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series racing on Feb. 27 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Feb. 28.

The majority of grandstand seat prices for Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 have been reduced, and no ticket to the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is priced at more than $99, with seats starting as low as $39. The new ticket prices represent an overall average reduction of 15 percent from previous levels.

Along with reduced ticket prices, Atlanta Motor Speedway has introduced a “Perfect Race Weather Guarantee.” The new policy offers fans options in the event that inclement weather prevents them from attending the race. If the daytime high temperature in Hampton, Georgia, on Saturday or Sunday of race weekend fails to reach at least 50 degrees as observed by the National Weather Service, or if weather issues postpone the day’s activities to a different day and fans are unable to attend on the rescheduled date, fans who do not enter the admission gates on the day the event is held will receive an account credit for the full price of their tickets.

Credits can be applied to any future AMS event or events in 2016 or the 2017 NASCAR Weekend.

Also new in 2016, Atlanta Motor Speedway is rolling out the ultra-affordable “Good,” “Better” and “Best” ticket packages that offer weekend deals.

– The “Good” ticket package, priced at $79, includes upper Petty Grandstand seating for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, plus general admission seating to Friday’s Sprint Cup Series qualifying day and Saturday’s doubleheader, a savings of $40 off the regular prices.

– The “Better” ticket package is priced at $139 and offers seating in the Winners, Earnhardt or Petty Grandstand for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, general admission seating to Friday’s Sprint Cup Series qualifying day and  Saturday’s doubleheader, a weekend FanVision rental and a Sunday pre-race pit pass, for a total savings of $125 off regular prices.

– The “Best” package, which offers the best value of all three deals, is priced at $179 and boasts an ultimate NASCAR weekend combination, including a seat in the Upper Champions Grandstand or the Upper Winners Grandstand chairback seats for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, general admission seating to Friday’s Sprint Cup Series qualifying day and Saturday’s doubleheader, a weekend FanVision scanner rental, a weekend pre-race pit pass, and $25 off a purchase of $50 or more in the AMS souvenir shop. In total, the “Best” package shaves a whopping $165 off normal pricing.

Jones Engineering, based in Washington, Indiana, and Weld Tech, out of Brownsburg, Indiana, have a combined 64 years of hands-on experience. The two enterprises are planning to merge to form a new business called 1 Way Technologies, LLC, which will be based in Washington, Indiana. A brand new facility is being built, with an expected completion date and move-in by the end of the year.

Jones Engineering was founded in 1979 to design, develop, and build cylinder heads and quality racing engines, and is owned by the father/son duo of Sam and Jeff Jones. Since their inception, Jones Engineering has supplied combinations of cylinder heads and racing engines that have won races and championships across numerous sanctioning bodies worldwide.

Weld Tech, owned by Chris Grace, was founded by Kenny Weld in 1988 to develop and market a completely new concept in the way cylinder heads are modified for performance. A process that accurately and consistently machines the performance attributes of a cylinder head using a multi-axis CNC machine was the impetus behind the formation of Weld Tech.

“Weld Tech and Jones Enginnering have worked together for 15-plus years, and combining forces seemed like the next logicial step in advancement to be able to provide our customers with the best possible product and service,” said Grace.

“We will still be building racing engines and are now going to be able to enhance that even more,” noted Jeff Jones. “We’re going to have a capability to do some more product to supply other engine builders and other racers across the nation and the world. We are going to be doing manufacturing that we weren’t able to do without the assistance of Chris and Weld Tech.”

“Combining Jones Engineering and Weld Tech gives us the ability to develop products faster, stay ahead of the curve and get newer products to our customers even faster,” added Sam Jones.

Joining 1 Way Technologies, LLC, as Head Engine Builder, will be Scott Gerkin. The Indiana native has over 20 years of experience as an engine builder and racing crew chief, working with 20-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Steve Kinser, accumulating numerous race wins and multiple championships.

Operating in a brand-new facility will have numerous benefits to 1 Way Technologies, LLC, including quicker development timetables, increasing production schedules and bringing newly designed parts into the racing and high-performance aftermarket industries. Future expansion will include processes such as 3D Printing, (i.e. Electron Beam Melting, Selective Laser Sintering, etc.). These practices will greatly benefit design, development, and production methods, as well as create new products using less material.

1 Way Technologies, LLC is planning a newly designed website located at www.1way-tech.com. For more information currently on Jones Engineering, visit www.jonesenginc.com and for Weld Tech, visit www.weldtech.com.

The NMRA event team announced the official schedule for the 2016 season. The NMRA Ford Nationals Series features an exciting line-up of events including the return to race tracks rich in history with the National Mustang Racers Association.
 
National Event Director Rollie Miller said, "Moving to Maple Grove Raceway puts us back into the exciting Philadelphia and New Jersey markets, we haven't been there in a few years. We are looking forward to working with Lex Dudas and his staff, bringing back the Ford Motorsport Nationals to Maple Grove."
 
NMRA will also visit National Trail Raceway in mid-June. Miller continued, "We have a lot of racers in the Ohio Valley region, and National Trail Raceway presents an exciting opportunity for our NMRA brand. Like Maple Grove Raceway, NMRA has a storied history with this facility. The central location combined with the recent updates Mike Fornataro and his team have made to the facility make it an ideal location for NMRA."

Since 1999, the NMRA has brought Ford and Mustang fans the "#1 All-Ford Motorsport Event" in the country. NMRA events offer the most competitive grassroots all-Ford drag racing combined with the biggest all-Ford car shows, manufacturers' midways, burnout contests, grudge nights, featured classes, celebrity visits and more.

March 3-6, 2016
NMRA Spring Break Shootout
Bradenton Motorsports Park, Bradenton, FL
 
April 7-10, 2016
NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, GA
 
April 28 - May 1, 2016
NMRA Ford Motorsport Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway, Mohnton, PA
 
June 9-12, 2016
NMRA All-Ford SUPERNATIONALS
National Trail Raceway, Hebron, OH
 
July 28-31, 2016
NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing
Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL
 
Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2016
NMRA All-Ford World Finals
Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling Green, KY

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. continues its long time support of National Auto Sport Association (NASA), signing a five-year renewal covering the 2016–2020 racing seasons. Toyo Tires has been the Official Tire of NASA since 2002, a 13-year tradition of supporting road racers and their teams with its Proxes line of competition tires.
 
The Toyo Proxes RR two-groove DOT competition tire is the spec tire for several classes in NASA, including: Spec Miata, Spec Iron, Honda Challenge, Spec E30, the recently added Spec E46, and the revolutionary new NASA Prototype (NP01). The NP01 represents the pinnacle of the NASA Pro Racing classes; featuring identical 2-liter Mazda powered prototype race cars which weigh in at only 1550 lbs. Toyo Tires has also added the successful Spec Z class for Nissan 350Zs to the list of spec classes.
 
As a part of the contract renewal, Toyo Tires continues its support as presenting sponsor for the NASA Championships—both the Western States Championships, and the Eastern States Championships. The company also supports the 25-Hours of Thunderhill, the longest endurance road race in North America, with its fully stocked hospitality rig which provides complimentary tire mounting and balancing services and catered meals to competitors using Toyo tires.
 
"NASA and Toyo Tires have enjoyed an illustrious and lasting relationship together and we couldn't be more thrilled to extend that relationship for another five years," said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Director of Business Development. "NASA members have benefited greatly from the fantastic partnership program through millions of dollars in contingency offers paid out and the creation of the best Spec Tire the industry has seen in over two decades. We look forward to a bright future together with Toyo Tires."
 
“Toyo Tires is proud of our longtime partnership with the National Auto Sport Association,” said Marc Sanzenbacher, senior manager, Motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.  “At Toyo Tires grassroots motorsports is a key part of our DNA, and NASA racing provides an opportunity to showcase the performance of our Proxes tires on a broad variety of road racing cars.  It also provides a test bed to further develop and improve upon our technology.”
 
Toyo Tires will continue to offer a contingency program to NASA competitors. Information on the contingency can be found at https://www.nasaproracing.com/contingencies. 

Talented young Americans Dakota Dickerson, from San Diego, California, and Michai Stephens, from Evanston, Illinois, were named as winners of 2015 Team USA Scholarships.

Following in the footsteps of such accomplished alumni as Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype drivers Tristan Nunez and Joel Miller, 2015 Cooper Tires Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot and motorsports luminaries Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, Andy Lally, Joey Hand, A.J. Allmendinger, Josef Newgarden and many others, the pair will travel to England this month to further their fledgling racing careers.

Dickerson and Stephens earned their selection following a shootout last month aboard Allen Berg Racing Schools FR1600 cars running on Cooper tires at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. The adjudicating panel included Rice, who, after claiming a Team USA Scholarship in 1997, went on to win the 2004 Indianapolis 500 and 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona, plus two-time sports car champion Alex Gurney and accomplished race engineers Geoff Fickling, Kent Stacy and Gerald Tyler.

The pair will represent their country in the famed Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone, driving Ray chassis prepared by Cliff Dempsey Racing and boasting the scholarship’s distinctive and traditional red-white-and-blue colors.

“The Team USA Scholarship is an honor, privilege and recognition of what the future might hold,” said Stephens, 23, A Skip Barber Shootout winner who returns for a second year after also winning a scholarship in 2014. “Pure passion, an open mind and desire to stand for something greater define what this opportunity has meant to me. Being selected for the 2015 scholarship has put me back in the driver’s seat—a place of developing comfort that has taught me some of life's greatest lessons. It has and will once again give me the chance to test my mind, body and soul. This experience has yet to compare to anything else in life by developing and refining my belief of the future. Becoming a racing driver is an honest part of my life now … A dream come reality!”

“I am extremely honored to have been chosen to represent the Team USA Scholarship,” added Dickerson,18, who remains in contention for the Skip Barber Racing Summer Series championship after claiming a pair of wins last week at VIRginia International Raceway. “For 25 years now the Team USA Scholarship has helped advance many young drivers’ careers, and to become one of those drivers is an indescribable feeling. I look forward to representing the United States overseas and learning from this great experience. I can’t thank Jeremy Shaw, the RRDC, SAFEisFAST, Doug Mockett, Cooper Tires and all of the supporters of the Team USA Scholarship enough for making this opportunity possible.”

The Team USA Scholarship in 2015 is celebrating 25 years of providing opportunities for American race car drivers.

“This is a big year for our program and I couldn’t be happier with our selections,” said Team USA Scholarship founder and noted auto racing writer/broadcaster Jeremy Shaw. “Even though Michai has raced only infrequently in 2015, he has continued to work hard on establishing the connections that will allow him to flourish in the future. The standard at the shootout was high, as usual, but Dakota and Michai were especially impressive in every aspect.”

The 2015 NHRA Breakfast at the SEMA Show will celebrate the success of women in drag racing. Drivers who will be featured during the NHRA Breakfast are Erica Enders, Courtney Force, Alexis DeJoria, Leah Pritchett, and legendary Shirley Muldowney.

The popular annual event at the SEMA Show, which has showcased many of NHRA’s legendary drivers, team owners, and other characters within the sport, has grown into a must-attend affair for SEMA Show attendees, and this year’s program promises to continue that tradition.

NHRA will bring together some of its most successful women in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, and they will discuss their memories and legacies in the world’s most diverse motorsport.

Enders is the defending Pro Stock world champion, having won her title in dramatic fashion over Jason Line at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals. The win made her only the third female driver to win an NHRA professional championship. She has 19 career victories, including at this year’s prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, which puts her second on the all-time wins list by women behind only Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angelle Sampey.

Force, the youngest daughter of 16-time Funny Car world champ John Force, is creating her own legacy in Funny Car. She has seven career victories, cementing her as the winningest female Funny Car driver ever. Force is also the only female Funny Car driver to record four wins in a season. Her biggest win came in 2013 when she won the season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals. Force was also the 2012 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner.

DeJoria has also made a name for herself in the Funny Car ranks. The daughter of Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products and Patron Tequila owner John Paul DeJoria, she is a three-time winner in the Mello Yello Series. She made history in 2014, becoming the second woman in Funny Car to win the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. DeJoria also became the first female Funny Car driver to run a sub three-second pass, achieving the feat at the season-opening event in Pomona in 2014.

Pritchett is a name to watch in the future in Top Fuel. She has started to make consistent runs with her part-time team, and her talent is immense. She reached her first career final this year in Atlanta and was narrowly defeated. A former Nostalgia Funny Car world champion and Jr. Dragster racer and always a crowd favorite, Pritchett is on track to become a major player in NHRA Drag Racing.

Muldowney is a name that will forever be etched in the history of motorsports. Racing in a time when a woman in drag racing was nonexistent, Muldowney rewrote the rulebook of successful women in racing. She scored three world championships and 18 career victories, cementing her legacy alongside greats “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and Kenny Bernstein.

The NHRA Breakfast at the SEMA Show will be held Wednesday, November 4, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino (formerly the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino) Paradise Events Center South. The annual NHRA Breakfast is part of the 2015 SEMA Show, the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world, which draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center, November 3-6, 2015. The NHRA Breakfast is open to all registered SEMA Show attendees. A continental breakfast will be served.

The panel will be moderated by longtime NHRA announcer Bob Frey. Following the NHRA Breakfast, all of the special panel guests will be at the NHRA booth signing autographs and handing out limited-edition autograph cards from 10 to 11 a.m. DeJoria’s Patron XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car will also be on display at the booth.

This event is open to all registered SEMA Show attendees at no cost; however, tickets are required. To order your event ticket or register for the show, visit www.SEMAShow.com/register and click "Add Event Tickets."

Airborne Park Speedway’s ownership group has announced that the Plattsburgh, New York, facility is available for sale or lease. The move comes following a mutual agreement between owners Steve Fuller, Jamie Atkins, and Mike Bruno.

Bruno, the managing partner, will step down from his position effective November 15, 2015; media director Justin St. Louis and marketing director Dick Therrien will do the same. Airborne Park Speedway recently completed its 62nd season and operated under sanction from the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series in 2015. Plans for a weekly competition format and schedule in 2016 are not presently known, though stock car special events and competition go-kart racing plans are under development.

An automotive and racing equipment swap meet and car show on Sunday, October 25, will continue as planned. The Airborne Park Speedway 2015 Banquet of Champions will also go on as scheduled, to be held on Saturday, November 14, at the Rainbow Wedding and Banquet Hall in Altona, NY.

For the ownership parties, increasing commitments to family and other business interests factored into the decision; all three members also own and manage separate businesses. Fuller owns and operates Fuller Excavating in Keeseville, NY and the Harmony Golf Club in Port Kent, NY; Atkins owns and operates Northline Utilities in Au Sable Forks, NY and manages an American-Canadian Tour Late Model racing team for his son and driver, Brandon Atkins; and Bruno owns and operates three Bruno’s Towing & Auto Repair facilities in Rutland County, VT and Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT.

Fuller purchased Airborne Park Speedway in 2007 and made major facility improvements including the construction of two VIP suite towers and a new track surface. “I’m encouraged by the progress that the track made in 2015 and I want to see it continue to thrive as a race track in the future,” Fuller said. “Mike Bruno and the team that ran the track this year proved to me that racing will absolutely still work as a business, and they have left Airborne in a much better place than it has been in for many years.”

Atkins, a former racer, became part of the Airborne Park Speedway ownership group in 2009. “We met or exceeded every goal that we set together this year and we saw many positive indicators for the future of racing at Airborne,” he said. “This decision has more to do with time than anything else. Airborne turned a big corner in 2015 and became financially viable for the first time in many years, and that is due to the efforts of Mike Bruno and the staff that he put in place this past year. Now it is important that we select the right person or group to come into Airborne and keep the racing tradition alive and bring the venue to the next level.”

Bruno, a former champion driver at Airborne, joined the ownership group and was named the track’s general manager in November 2014. “We all love Airborne and this decision has been hard on all of us, but there came a point when reality set in,” Bruno said. “I am very proud of what we accomplished in 2015, but at the same time none of us want to sacrifice time with our families or turn our attention away from our own separate businesses. Our internal conversations about this started a while ago, but I think that the recent passing of racer Leon Gonyo only strengthened our desire to spend more time closer to home.”

The current ownership group agrees that it is important for a new prospective owner or leaseholder to operate Airborne Park Speedway as a stock car racing facility with a local focus. The facility is available for sale, lease, or event-ready rental.

“Plattsburgh loves racing, and the people of the North Country have been devoted to Airborne for more than 60 years,” Fuller said. “The race teams, sponsors, and fans have been our biggest supporters, and we did not want to leave any of them guessing about our roles at Airborne for the future. It was important for us to be honest with them about this decision as early in the off-season as possible.”

Airborne Park Speedway is located on Broderick Road in Plattsburgh, NY, one mile south of Exit 36 on the Interstate 87 Northway. Visit www.airborneparkspeedway.com for more information, or call (518) 647-4444.

The Syracuse Mile, one of the most historic tracks in the nation, will be the focus of a daylong program at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen on Saturday, November 14.
 
Also known as the “Moody Mile,” the one-mile dirt track at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse has been hosting car races since 1903. It is considered to be the second or third oldest race track in the country. Since 1972, the track has been the hub of the hugely popular Super DIRT Week, a five-day racing extravaganza now underway.
 
The Syracuse 200 on Sunday, October 11, will be the final race on the famed track. A large field of big-block modified series competitors from across the US and Canada is expected.
 
The November 14 program at the Racing Research Center, free and open to all, will highlight the history of the Syracuse Mile and look at the future of Super DIRT Week in Central New York. The Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen.
 
“While we’re saddened that our program about the Syracuse Mile comes just weeks after the last checkered flag falls there,” Center President J.C. Argetsinger said, “gathering Syracuse Mile experts together to tell the track’s story and share their own memories is a fitting tribute.”
 
The day will begin at 9 a.m. with radio personality and track announcer Joe Marotta doing a live broadcast from the Center of his radio show “Around the Tracks.”
 
At 10:30 a.m., drivers from all eras will share their stories in an informal roundtable setting.
 
Marotta returns at 1 p.m. to moderate a panel of speakers that will include:
 
- Brett Hearn, multi-time winner of Super DIRT Week races.

- Glenn Donnelly, originator of the DIRT sanctioning body and Super DIRT Week and owner of Central New York Raceway Park, which has been awarded the contract for future Super DIRT Week events.

- Jeff Hachmann, DIRT Car Northeast director with World Racing Group.

- Dr. Gary George, author and race historian. 
 
“Anybody who has been a fan of the Syracuse Mile ought to be there because a lot of stories and memories will be shared,” Marotta said. “It’s going to be like visiting an old friend.
 
“As my good friend Jack Burgess always said, ‘You’ve got to have a favorite out there,’ and Syracuse is my favorite.”
 
The program will include cars on display that have raced at the Syracuse Mile. The star will be the Gary Balough “Batmobile” modified racer that dominated Super DIRT Week in 1980. The car will be on loan from the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame and Classic Car Museum in Weedsport, N.Y.