Lincoln Electric has successfully passed a rigorous accreditation process to become an IACET Accredited Provider (AP) of continuing educational programming. The company now will be able to offer accredited continuing education units (CEUs) for educational workshops, seminars and welding school courses held at its global headquarters in Cleveland.
 
“This recognition is a major milestone in Lincoln Electric’s ongoing development of strong continuing education and training initiatives,” noted Jason Scales, manager of education services at Lincoln Electric. “We now can offer valuable CEU credits to those who enroll at programs here at our Cleveland headquarters, which takes our training to a new level.”
 
According to IACET’s mission statement, the organization “leads the way in bringing quality, excellence and integrity to continuing education and training programs around the world.” Its mission is to advance the global workforce by providing the standard framework for quality learning and development through accreditation. The organization’s history includes developing the original CEU and creating and maintaining the ANSI/IACET Standard for Continuing Education and training.
 
Through its new status as an IACET AP, Scales said Lincoln Electric’s in-house educators are assessing continuing education and training programs for potential CEU opportunities for future participants. The company also is looking at new courses to develop for future opportunities for welding professionals to obtain both CEU and skills growth.
 
This IACET accreditation is another notable achievement in Lincoln Electric’s growth in the education sector. In addition to its workshops, seminars and welding school courses, and in support of the continued effort to teach future skilled workers the art and craft of welding, Lincoln Electric has created a successful program to bring learning and high quality educational products to welding professionals and welding educators.
 
These offerings can be accessed through the company’s in-depth, online Education Resource, where visitors can register for seminars and workshops, enroll in the company’s registered Weld School, purchase literature and curriculum and even locate valuable welding safety information, among other features.
 
For more information about Lincoln Electric’s educational programming and services, visit its education website at www.lincolnelectric.com/education. 

Luken Communications welcomes Ken Glowacki, a veteran in automotive and aftermarket advertising, to the Rev’n sales force in the Detroit market. Glowacki officially joined the team in August and will focus his time on large accounts in addition to the original equipment market.
 
Glowacki is a seasoned marketing and advertising executive with more than 30 years of performance helping clients achieve their strategic development and sales objectives. While representing many of the premier automotive enthusiast magazines such as Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Petersen’s Four Wheel & Off Road and others, he has negotiated long-term multi-million dollar contracts that crossed over multi-media platforms. In addition to automakers, his client base includes national consumer goods companies and automotive aftermarket suppliers.
 
Prior to beginning his successful publishing and sales career, Glowacki was a senior executive at leading national advertising agencies where he helped develop brand marketing and advertising campaigns for Jeep, Chrysler, Lincoln-Mercury and other leading automotive nameplates.
 
When asked about his new role at Rev’n, Glowacki said, “What the team at Luken has done in such a short time is astounding. The industry is abuzz—they have a great product for both viewers and advertisers, and I’m excited to be a part of this new endeavor.”
 
Doug Evans, Luken’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said, “The demand from the industry has been huge and we’re especially pleased that Ken has joined us to help spearhead our efforts on the OE and large account front in Detroit. Ken is an expert in this field and will be a tremendous asset in our advertising sales efforts.”

The green flag has waved on the entry process for teams planning to compete in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The earlier timeline, a full two months ahead of prior seasons, is the result of requests from many teams and manufacturer partners eager to confirm their plans for 2016.

In addition to the debut of WeatherTech as the new entitlement partner, the highly anticipated season will see the introduction of full FIA GT3 specifications in the GT Daytona (GTD) class and exciting new race cars in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in addition to a full complement of competitors in the Prototype (P) and Prototype Challenge (PC) classes.

The IMSA Road to Daytona begins later this fall, with the first WeatherTech Championship test at Daytona International Speedway on Nov. 17-18. The annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 test will be held Jan. 8-10, 2016, followed by the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31. The twice-around-the-clock endurance classic will be the first event at the new Daytona Int’l Speedway motorsports stadium upon the completion of the $400 million DAYTONA Rising project.

The 2016 season will feature a 10-race calendar for the Prototype class in the final year of its current technical configuration before shifting to new technical regulations beginning in the 2017 season. The GTLM, GTD and PC classes will have 11 races each as part of a schedule that includes a total of 12 WeatherTech Championship races.  The combination of event purses, special awards and year-end point funds will exceed $4 million.

Entry forms have been distributed to current TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race teams and also are available for download by new WeatherTech Championship participants within the competitor section of IMSA.com. Entries will be accepted for review, through 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 30, 2015. IMSA will review and confirm the selection of entries based on established criteria for the 2016 season.

Heading into its 10th year the Belmont Abbey College Motorsport was seeking a proven business leader to continue to advance the pioneering degree program. As evident by the growing number of new young professionals that are quickly becoming influential in the industry, Belmont Abbey Motorsport has had a major impact and is poised for even greater things under the leadership of Pat Wood, the veteran business executive selected to steer the growing program.

"My goal is to develop Belmont Abbey as the center of Motorsport intelligence in terms of competitive knowledge and resources with the vision of creating sustainable programs and partnerships that contribute back to the industry," said Wood. "With our graduates moving into senior positions throughout the industry there's no doubting the value of the program, but the shareholders must continually be ready for new challenges. I want our students to be prepared to lead now and in the future."  

Under Wood's guidance, the degree program will further enhance the real-world business experiences for its students, a key asset in the ultra-competitive Motorsport world. Due to the incredible success of the last 10 years, the Abbey foundation is strong in the industry. Wood will focus on expanding current partnerships and seek out new ones that will ultimately make Belmont Abbey the premier proving ground for students, stakeholders and future leaders. "The opportunities our students will have will be second to none," said Wood.

Pat comes to the Abbey from the University of Virginia where he served as the General Manager of Virginia Sports Properties with oversight for the University's exclusive multi-media sports marketing partnership. Prior to UVA Pat served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Driving 101 LLC, the parent company of the NASCAR Racing Experience, Mario Andretti Racing Experience, Myrtle Beach Speedway and the SPEEDPARK at Concord Mills.

His Motorsport experience goes deeper with roles at Street and Smith's Sports group where for 10 years he managed the business operations for the Motorsport group and implemented all business and commercial strategies, and with the Charlotte Motor Speedway where he helped oversee the largest and most aggressive business expansion in the history of the company.

"We're excited about the energy and ideas that Pat brings to establishing a true center of Motorsport thought and leadership at Belmont Abbey College," said Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the Faculty, Dr. David Williams. "His business experiences combined with his academic background are the right mix to take our Motorsport program into its second decade."

Belmont Abbey's Motorsport degree program began in 2006 in collaboration with Humpy Wheeler Jr., a living motorsport legend. Wheeler attended Belmont Abbey's prep school. His father is the namesake for the college's athletic center as he dedicated more than 30 years to the Abbey as a coach and faculty member.  

Wood has a B.A. in Business Communications from Bowling Green State University and a Masters in Sports Administration from Kent State University. Pat has been married to his wife, Karen, for 26 years. They have 2 daughters and plan to reside in Huntersville, North Carolina.

QA1 announced that Chuck Olson has joined the QA1 team as Director of Engineering. Olson will be leading the design and manufacturing engineers and is responsible for new product development and continuous improvement.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to develop new products for an extremely diverse line of high-quality parts for the circle track, drag racing, street performance, street rod and industrial markets,” said Olson. “We have an excellent engineering team at QA1, and we’re all focused on bringing the best possible products to market.”

Olson brings a wealth of experience to this position, having worked in contract manufacturing and product design for the past 22 years. He has also been active in dirt circle track racing for much of the last 25 years and is an avid enthusiast.

“We are thrilled to add Chuck to the QA1 team,” said QA1 President Melissa Scoles. “His experience and leadership will be invaluable as we continue expanding our lines by designing and manufacturing innovative products.”

Olson races a Wissota Modified with his father and uncle as a summer hobby. He also enjoys spending time with his family and building cars in his shop during Minnesota winters.

The Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG), the parent company to a host of aftermarket brands, including DragonFire, Küryakyn, Mustang Seats, Performance Machine, Progressive Suspension, Renthal, Roland Sands Design and Vance & Hines, recently relocated headquarters from Irvine, California, to Irving, Texas. Now MAG is staffing up, starting with the addition of a new CFO, Rick Walters.
 
“I’m pleased to announce that Rick Walters will be joining the MAG leadership team as Chief Financial Officer,” stated MAG President & CEO Andy Graves. “Rick is based at our new MAG headquarters in Irving, and is reporting to me.”

Most recently the CFO of the $1 billion auto collision repair company Service King, Walters brings a wealth of financial experience to the MAG role. Prior to Service King, Rick served as a Group CFO at Sun Capital Partners in southern Florida, where he supported multiple portfolio companies, including work in auto supply and electronic components companies, as well as retail (furniture, restaurants, and department stores).  
 
“His breadth of business experience across multiple industries, and businesses faced with diverse challenges, will serve him well at MAG,” said Graves. “He brings a strong strategic perspective, extensive experience in process and profit improvement, and a passion to drive long-term value creation.”
 
Walters replaces Bill Himebrook, who has been MAG’s interim CFO since the merger of MAG/Tucker Rocky under the LDI umbrella in May, 2014.

“We are grateful to Bill for stepping into this role at such a critical time for our new company,” added Graves. “And thankful for his insights, support and many contributions over the past 16 months. We look forward to continued support and dialog with Bill, as he transitions back into his full-time CFO role at LDI in Indianapolis.”
 
Originally from Wausau, Wisconsin, Walters has lived and worked across the U.S.  He currently lives in McKinney, TX, a northern suburb of Dallas, with his wife and two daughters.

Ken Adelson, an Emmy award-winning multimedia executive, producer, and broadcast journalist, has been named vice president of broadcasting & digital content/executive producer.

In his new role with NHRA, Adelson will create and oversee the NHRA television production division that will work with FOX Sports starting in 2016. He began his position on September 1 and reports to NHRA President Peter Clifford.

“Ken has a strong reputation throughout the broadcasting industry as an executive who can create successful production teams quickly and produce creative and innovative content,” Clifford said. “We are very lucky to have Ken on board to lead our groundbreaking venture into television production. He did some excellent pioneering work during his time with the NBA and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and we expect him to have a similar impact on NHRA’s television future.”

Prior to accepting the position with NHRA, Adelson worked as a senior consultant and executive producer with Desser Sports Media, where NHRA was a client. Prior to that, he served as executive producer for the Jockey Club, a show on FOX Sports 1 dedicated to horse racing.

From 2008 until 2011, Adelson created from scratch the broadcasting and digital media departments for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. He launched the program in less than three months and later won a Heartland Emmy for “Best Game Broadcast.”

For nearly two decades, he served as senior vice president, production operations & planning for the NBA. During his time at the NBA, he oversaw the day-to-day operations and created thousands of hours of programming each season that was distributed to more than 190 countries. He also played a key role in the launch of NBA TV in 1999, the first cable network created by a sports league.

“I have worked with several start-up projects in the past, and I am really looking forward to this challenge as the media landscape continues to change in a rapid fashion,” Adelson said. “NHRA is an exciting, visual sport, and the opportunities for creating video content are unlimited. Distributing that content throughout multiple platforms, distribution outlets, and social media channels to elevate NHRA’s profile and create more interest in NHRA Drag Racing will be the objective.”

Adelson holds a bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting from the University of Florida. He will reside in Southern California.

Daytona International Speedway announced that Jenny Goco has been named its new senior director of partnership management.

Goco will be responsible for managing the track’s portfolio of Daytona Rising founding partners—official sponsors of the Speedway's $400 million frontstretch redevelopment project, according to the news release. She will provide daily oversight of assets, event logistics, planning and communication and serve as a direct liaison to the partnership marketing team at International Speedway Corporation. She will begin her duties immediately and report to Senior Director of Sales David Strahan.

Goco has been a part of ISC since 2004 when she first joined the Speedway's staff as a corporate marketing coordinator. She most recently was senior director of partnership strategy at ISC.

Rev Racing and NASCAR Multicultural Development have decided to host a separate combine for the 2015 NASCAR Drive for Diversity youth participants.

“Separating the youth participants from the late model and K&N drivers allows us a unique opportunity to spend more time and communicate with each driver. This can provide a learning opportunity for these young aspiring drivers regardless if they are selected for program,” said Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “As it remains a goal of ours to focus on the growth and development of both our academy-style program and youth participants, we want to have complete focus when it comes to evaluation and performance measurement.”

Each year the NASCAR Drive for Diversity initiative and its competition arm, Rev Racing, seek to obtain the highest quality of applicants representing diverse backgrounds and develop them into successful NASCAR drivers.

The deadline to be considered for the 2015 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Combine is September 11, 2015. Youth combine participants will be evaluated on their driving skills and past experience on November 2 at Concord Motorsports Park, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The general NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine is accepting applications until September 4, 2015, and will take place October 19-21 at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be a female or member of one or more of the following ethnic minority classifications:
– Black or of Black African descent, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaskan, of Native/Indigenous descent, two or more races (not Hispanic or Latino); or all persons who identify with more than one of these races

• Be at least 8 years of age, but no older than 20 years of age as of October 15th of the present year

• Be legally eligible to work in the United States; drivers from foreign countries are welcome to apply. If the applicant is not already a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident alien, then the applicant must be legally capable of traveling to the designated location in the United States to participate in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine. Applicants must also be able to obtain necessary authorization to accept employment in the United States if selected to participate in the D4D program.

Potential youth drivers can access the participant application online at http://revracing.net/combine-application. If drivers have already registered to meet the original deadline, no further action is required at this time.

Youth drivers also have the ability to update their résumés multiple times before the combine submission deadline through an “Update Your Submission Link” located on the application page. Additional information and criteria can be found on supplied link.

Support and technical assistance for the application process is available by emailing info@revracing.net.

After 24 years of absence from the world karting stage, this year Le Mans welcomes the biggest meeting of the year for the International Karting Commission of the International Automobile Federation (CIK-FIA) on the Le Mans Karting International circuit of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. From September 10–13, 2015, the flagship event of the karting season will mark the return of Le Mans to the spotlight of the discipline with a particularly attractive program, as three other categories will reinforce the attractiveness of the CIK-FIA KZ World Championship.

A legendary track from the 1970s-1990s, the Alain Prost circuit can claim to have seen the future stars of motorsport in their infancy at several World Karting Championships. Ayrton Senna in 1978, Michael Schumacher in 1985, Jarno Trulli in 1991, as well as Giancarlo Fisichella, Jos Verstappen, Allan McNish, Emmanuel Collard, Benoit Treluyer and Sebastien Bourdais who became famous among others on 1172m of the Alain Prost Circuit.



The ACO decided to revive the glorious past with the creation of the circuit Le Mans Karting International in 2013, a long track of 1384m which meets the current safety standards of the CIK-FIA. The site has ultra-modern infrastructure, both for the management of the competition and for hosting the public. Fast, spectacular and technical, the Le Mans Karting International circuit has the distinction of running in the anti-clockwise direction, an additional physical challenge for the drivers. The new layout and organisation of the Association Sportive Karting ACO has already been proven with the 24 Hours Karting races and many regional, national and international events.



Convinced by the quality of the International complex of Le Mans Karting, the FFSA and CIK-FIA did not hesitate to entrust the organization of the 2015 World KZ Championship via the ASK. Nearly 200 of the best drivers in the world are expected at Le Mans from September 10th to 13th for the most important meeting of the year for the four categories on the program. Present on site or glued to their screens, several thousand spectators are about to watch the event which marks the return of Le Mans to the world stage in karting.



The drivers and their teams came to test for several days on the Le Mans Karting International circuit to complete their preparation for the quickly approaching event. With the task of learning the track for the drivers, and extensive development work for the technicians, the tension is already noticeable before the competition.



Overview of the categories and the drivers entered:



The CIK-FIA KZ World Championship

This is the highest level of karting competition, the domain of the factory teams competing on 125cc 2-stroke karts with 6-speed gearboxes developing about 50hp for a total weight of 175kg. The stunning performance of the machines equals the virtuosity of their drivers, simply the greatest professionals in karting. 36 drivers are entered at Le Mans with the Italians Marco Ardigo, Flavio Camponeschi, Paolo De Conto, Davide Fore and Andrea Dale, the Belgians Jonathan Thonon and Rick Dreezen, the Britons Ben Hanley and Jordon Lennox-Lamb, the Dutch drivers Bas Lammers and Jorrit Pex, with a total of more than 30 European and World titles. The French will not be left behind with three drivers who can aim for victory, Anthony Abbasse, five times winner of the 24 Heures Karting, Jérémy Iglesias and Arnaud Kozlinski, all equipped with Sodi chassis made in France, without forgetting Julien Canal, driver from Le Mans, 3rd at 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours in LM P2 category and engaged in the FIA World Endurance Championship,  who will be on the starting line.



The CIK-FIA International Super Cup for KZ2

On very similar equipment to that of KZ, but more affordable, the successor to the KZ2 World Cup has been renamed the International Super Cup and attracts a large number of drivers. 101 drivers are expected at Le Mans for a highly selective competition where the French will be very well represented. In particular watch the progress of Thomas Laurent and Nicolas Gonzales, members of the FFSA Karting Team France, plus Paolo Besancenez, Charles Fiault, Alexandre Arrue, Maxime Roy and Enzo Guibbert, against the Italians committed in force in the Sarthe.



CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy

A unique global formula in the world to develop the young talents between 13 and 15 years old, this year the Academy Trophy pits 51 drivers representing 36 countries and four continents. They race on identical equipment, drawn randomly. The 2015 Trophy will have its denouement at Le Mans for the third and final event of its calendar. The Spanish driver Marta Garcia leads the standings, but we will carefully watch the performance of two young members of FFSA Karting Team France, Enzo Coursimault who is determined to shine after previous disappointments, and Theo Nouet, currently ranked eighth who will do anything to improve his position.



CIK-FIA Karting Super Cup

A meeting that is increasingly popular with enthusiasts and the public, the Historic Karts will also be at the party at Le Mans in the third edition of the CIK-FIA Karting Super Cup. It is not strictly speaking a competition, but rather a show with several demonstration sessions on the programme. On track and in the paddock, this will be the occasion to discover or re-discover these wonderful machines that have made the history of the discipline and who built its reputation.



The karting competition schedule offers long running sessions throughout the event, starting with free practice on Thursday, September 10, and Friday, September 11, a day that will end with qualifying. Saturday, September 12, will be dedicated to qualifying heats before moving on to the finals on Sunday, September 13. The prefinals on Sunday morning will then determine the final starting grid (Sunday afternoon), decisive in awarding the titles.