Round 10 of the Northern Conference SCCA U.S. Majors Tour, part of the SafeRacer Club Racing Program, was held in noticeably cooler conditions than Saturday’s sprint races. The result was three new lap records at a track that is no stranger to SCCA Club Racing.

While the traffic was faster at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course, the race results were still close in many classes. At one point the skies threatened rain during the scheduled 12-lap feature races, but that threat passed over the facility without affecting the competition.

Group One, made up of the Touring classes, provided close finishes among all three of those classes. In Touring 2, Tim Kezman, of Franksville, Wis., was the winner in his No. 44 Calypso Lemonade/Fall Line Motorsports Porsche 911 by 0.553-second over Matt Slavens. Touring 3, saw J. Patrick Womack, of Burr Ridge, Ill., win by 0.909-second in his No. 2 Laurel BWM/Hoosier BMW Z4.

Voytek Burdzy beat winner Danny Bender, of Northbrook, Ill., to the line, but received a post-race penalty that landed him in third. In his No. 15 Bravo Trailers/BFGoodrich Tires/Autobarn Mazda MX-5, Bender scored the weekend sweep. Burdzy reset the T4 lap record with a time of 2:40.617.

Scott Rettich, of Columbus, Ohio, had a wonderful day after taking two class wins – one each in Spec Racer Ford Gen3 and Formula Enterprises – and setting a new track record in FE. In SRF3, Rettich crossed the line first with the nose of his No. 17 Alliance Autosports/PDI Communications SRF3 just 0.025-second ahead of Bobby Sak. Additionally, Rettich now owns the new lap record in SRF3 with a time of 2:32.578.

Justin Hille, of Canfield, Ohio, came out on top of the Spec Miata field. His No. 8 Hilltrux/Roush Mazda Miata crossed the line just 0.523-second ahead of Saturday winner Kyle M Webb.
Jeff Shafer was the final driver to reset a track record as he lowered the Prototype 2 record to 2:10.902.

INDYCAR announced the introduction of new technology that will track each Verizon IndyCar Series car’s running position and display it in real time via light emitting diode (LED) panels on the side of each race car.

The LED panels have been tested multiple times this season and will be implemented in time for the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 2.

“INDYCAR is committed to implementing new technology into the Verizon IndyCar Series and this project was about how we can to enhance the at-track experience for fans at our events and allow them to understand more of what’s going on,” said Derrick Walker, INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations. “If you’re not in the line of sight of a video screen or a scoring pylon, it’s sometimes hard to know who’s doing what on the racetrack. It was a natural to do the numbering system and we’re confident this will help get our fans more engaged at the track.”

The panels will feature multiple colors to display pit stop time and when an entry’s push-to-pass is active.

The 8-inch-wide by 7-inch-tall LED panels, which are only 3 millimeters thick, will be attached to either side of the airbox (below the cockpit camera mount) on each chassis. The system was first tested in mid-April at Barber Motorsports Park.

Running order will be updated as the car crosses each of the INDYCAR Timing & Scoring timelines embedded around racetracks. Track position in other motorsports series that employ a similar system is updated only at the start/finish line.

Red is the primary color to display running order. Green will be used for the running clock while a car is in its pit box, and a flashing green “PP” will indicate when push to pass is active. Brightness of the LEDs will be modulated to fit daylight and night events.

Apparently, Heartland Park Topeka isn’t dead after all.

The embattled racing facility has been closed since the National Hot Rod Association put on the Mello Yello Racing Series Kansas Nationals in May, but the NHRA announced this week that it will go ahead with plans to host multi-state drag racing events at the track in August and September.

And longtime NHRA official Rob Park said he is confident Heartland Park Topeka, a major player in drag racing since it opened in 1989, has a future, even though there has been no indication who might be interested in taking over as track operator.

“I’ve been involved or at least kept abreast of everything that’s going to happen and that’s happening,” said Park, the NHRA Division V director. “So to me I think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for (the racing community) if they’ll just be patient.

“That was one of the reasons why I was so adamant about going in and trying to produce these events without a track operator, to show these guys that there is going to be racing in Topeka this year and for years to come.”

The NHRA will host back-to-back Division V Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events August 13–14 and 15–16, following a test-n-tune session on August 12. The NHRA also plans to hold the Division V Summit Racing Series ET Finals at Heartland Park from September 18–20.

NHRA officials are hoping to draw 500 entries for the Division V events in August and perhaps as many as 600 cars for the ET Finals.

The future of the track has been in question since last season and particularly since the city council voted down a proposal for the city to purchase Jayhawk Racing LLC’s interest in the track. Raymond Irwin owns Jayhawk Racing.

Still, Park said the NHRA never seriously considered not holding its 2015 events at HPT.

“(We wanted) to show support for the racers in that area,” Park said. “They’re kind of in shambles right now not knowing what’s going to happen with Heartland Park Topeka and the facility, and we just wanted to prove to them the NHRA supports this event, the city of Topeka, the commerce of Topeka and everybody in that area.

“That race track is very, very important to us. It has a huge market share within the centralized part of the United States, and we just wanted to send a positive message to those people that have just been getting negative messages all of the time.”

The NHRA took over Heartland Park—which had been closed the entire 2015 season—over Memorial Day weekend to hold the track’s marquee event, the Kansas Nationals, and Park said his organization was very pleased with the results of that event despite rain off and on throughout the event.

“The racing was phenomenal,” Park said. “We set national records there and the crowd was decent, particularly for the weather. I think overall the event, particularly with what we were handed, was a phenomenal success.”

The NHRA will be responsible for the expenses incurred with the operation of the Division V events in August and September, and Park said everyone involved has been cooperative in helping the NHRA hold the events—which will draw competitors from all over the United States.

“We are working with every party that’s involved,” Park said, “and it’s kind of fun because everybody’s kind of pitching in. Everybody wants to pitch in and make this thing happen.”

Earlier this year, the Topeka city council voted 6-4 in opposition to moving forward with a plan to purchase Jayhawk Racing’s interest in HPT. The city would have contracted with Shelby LLC, a company formed by Missouri real estate developer Chris Payne, to run the facility.

While the city owns the Heartland Park property, Jayhawk Racing LLC has more than $2 million in reversionary interest in the track and CoreFirst Bank & Trust has loaned Irwin and Jayhawk Racing LLC millions of dollars since he began managing the track in 2003. Between $1.5 million and $2.1 million is still owed to the bank.

CoreFirst reportedly has been talking with potential new track operators since the city proposal was voted down.

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is open to the idea of closed cockpits following the accident that cost Jules Bianchi his life.

With Bianchi losing his nine-month battle for survival last Friday in the wake of his crash in last October's Japanese Grand Prix, potential future safety ideas are again back on the agenda.

It is understood even if a closed cockpit had been on Bianchi's Marussia when he ran into a recovery vehicle at the Suzuka circuit, the impact would have still caused similar injuries. Hamilton, though, feels F1 may yet head down such a route in the future.

"I saw some pictures [of a closed-cockpit design]—it must be a month ago maybe, I can't remember, it might have been a McLaren—which I think looked pretty cool I have to say," said Hamilton. "Whether or not it would work, I don't know, but definitely as we are always talking about improving safety I'd imagine that at some stage it may be a change Formula 1 would do."

The Mercedes driver said he was open to any changes that could help safety as long as F1 remained enjoyable.

"I'm never against any changes as long as they are positive for safety, but also for racing, and that it doesn't take away the enjoyment factor of racing," Hamilton said. "If it becomes couch driving, when you are sitting on the sofa, then it's not going to be fun."

Carteret County Speedway opened its doors to the public for the first time on Wednesday night and the first impression the brand new speedway, located two miles from Emerald Isle, left was positive.

The race track itself, at 4/10-mile, mirrors Langley Speedway, which is located in Hampton, Virginia. The facilities, however, are unlike anything in racing. The track is like a motorsports museum with a Cheeseburger in Paradise atmosphere. Inside the track sits the full-service Moonshiners restaurant. The track, inside and out, is decorated with memorabilia from NASCAR racing’s past and present.

The visionary of Carteret County Speedway is 62-year-old Bobby Watson, a modern day Carl Fisher who dreamed big, reached for the stars and worked for over a decade to watch his dream become a reality.

“I’ll tell you what, we worked hard at this place,” Watson said. “We appreciate [RACE22.com] coming and helping us on the internet every way you can. We have offered something races have never offered before to racers, families and women. We’ve got the restaurant, we got cool places to stay and we’ve got places where people can go and all that stuff.

“It was my vision,” Watson added. “There were no blueprints on the place. It was all in my head.”

Dozens of people, from racers to fans to even NASCAR legend Junior Johnson, came out to see the grand unveiling of America’s newest motorsports venue. Watson was encouraged by the turnout for the opening day gala.

“They’re showing their support,” Watson commented. “Look at the billboards of people sponsoring. It’s unreal. This means it all to me, my whole life. This is what I’d give for race drivers and race fans. I love it. We’re not through by any way. Wait until Labor Day, there’s more to come.”

NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson, who won 50 races as a driver and 123 races and six championships as a car owner, advised Watson during the construction of the race track.

“I think it’s been a long time coming,” Johnson said. "I think they’re going to have some good races here. People will have fun down here. [The turnout] shows what the track’s going to present to them and how they’re going to treat them and stuff like that.”

KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series driver Jeremy Mayfield, who scored five wins in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career driving for Roger Penske and later Ray Evernham, was also impressed with the race track. Mayfield compared the new speedway to Daytona and Indianapolis.

“When I first pulled in, I couldn’t believe it,” Mayfield remarked. “This is definitely one of the nicest race tracks I’ve ever been to. I’m not joking. The way the grass is, the concrete pits, it doesn’t get any better. They’ve done a great job here. I’m really impressed and I’d love to come race here.

“I’ve been to a lot of tracks across the country, from NASCAR tracks to dirt tracks, and this has to be the nicest one I’ve been to,” Mayfield continued. “Indianapolis is pretty nice but this is right there with them, I’ll tell you that. There’s a camping area outside. It’s just beautiful. It’s second to none. They did a great job. I promise you, this is the nicest short track I’ve ever been to.”

The gala featured live music from Curtis Hyler & Jubilation, a classic car cruise in and open practice in the primetime under the lights. Carteret County Speedway will hold its first race on Labor Day Weekend.

Premier Performance Products (Premier Performance, LLC), a fast-growing global wholesale distributors of automotive aftermarket products, has announced that the company has relocated its Kentucky fulfillment center to a new, significantly larger, facility.

The new fulfillment center, at 95,000 square feet, is more than double the size of the prior facility and allows for an unprecedented capacity to stock parts, expand the range of product offered to customers, and enable faster processing.  

Matt Jordan, Premier’s CEO, stated, “We’re investing in providing better service to our customers. We are focused on having the right product at the right location at the right time to provide unmatched service for our dealers/customers.”  

Premier’s Vice President of Operations, Parley Valora, added, “Included is our investment in industry leading warehousing processes and equipment that will help streamline the entire process from stocking through, picking and, shipping.  We want to offer the best, most consistent and most reliable service in our industry.”

Dragway 42 is entering the concrete and paving phase of their massive reconstruction of the entire racing facility.

Unfortunately, the relentless Ohio rain patterns have greatly stalled progress of laying track and pit road surfaces.

“It will not stop raining long enough for us to make progress on our most important feature – the racing surface,” said General Manager Joe Gambino. “The weather has also affected other stages of construction such as the Musco lighting. It took two weeks longer than necessary because it rained so frequently that the crane could not be moved around the facility.”

The International Hot Rod Ass’n (IHRA) and Dragway 42 staff are deeming it too close to predict completion by the planned Nitro Jam World Nationals on September 11-12. As a result, the event will not be held in 2015.

“We want to point out to everyone, first and foremost, that Dragway 42 will still be working towards a schedule that should see an opening yet this season. IHRA will be instrumental in assisting Dragway 42 in preparation of the fresh racing surface when that time comes,” said Scott Gardner, president of IHRA. “We admire the massive effort that Ron Matcham and his crew have accomplished in transforming Dragway 42 into a world class track and we look forward to many great IHRA events there in 2016 and beyond.”

The relieved pressure of a Nitro Jam deadline will greatly help the construction crews to continue to focus on quality and not simply meeting an opening date deadline. The upcoming fall “soft opening events” for Dragway 42 will be a good starting point for the Dragway 42 staff to perfect facility operations.

“We also wanted to give our IHRA sportsman competitors as much time as possible to reconsider their racing schedule when it comes to points competition in the Summit Pro-Am Tour,” said Skooter Peaco, IHRA’s vice president of Race Operations. “There will not be a replacement event added to the schedule this late in the season. IHRA has certainly been plagued by rain this season and we understand that a lot of the scheduled completion dates that Ron and his crew were working towards hinged upon favorable weather. Anyone that has participated in our sport understands the impact bad weather has on a facility.”

The redesign of Dragway 42 began in 2014 by stripping the old track to ground level and excavating over one million yards of dirt over an additional 130-acres of space from the original track. The track’s late phases of construction include a state-of-the-art timing tower and a racing surface that will be approximately 40 feet below ground level to create amphitheater style spectator viewing area.

Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified drivers will return to where it all started for the rescheduled Harris Clash.

Hamilton County Speedway at Webster City, site of the inaugural event in 1992, hosts the 2015 version of the Clash on Tuesday, August 4.

Top prize in the Modified main is $2000 and the winner will be added to the ballot for the 2016 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. The Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature pays $1000.

While the Modified event won’t be part of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, no other changes will be made from the original race date at Knoxville Raceway rained out on July 16.

Twenty-four cars qualify for the 25-lap Modified feature, which pays a minimum of $250 to start. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, home region and Allstar Performance State points will be awarded.

The Northern SportMod feature is 20 laps.

The Western National RPM Promoters Workshop will gather short track promoters in a new location this year: Las Vegas.

The Workshop convenes November 11-13 in Las Vegas, replacing its 30-year December run in Reno. The Workshop, last convened in Las Vegas in 1977, will take place at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, a leading off-strip property.

“We enjoyed a great run in Reno at the Eldorado. The Eldorado was great Workshops partner and we recommend it to anyone going to Reno,” said Stewart Doty, Workshop Chairman. "However, the Palace Station and Las Vegas, with their value pricing, proximity to the strip, the earlier dates, and the popular, IMCA-sanctioned, Duel in the Desert at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, offer promoters the perfect idea starter and racing getaway that will give them a leg up on 2016 season planning.”

The 1000-room Palace Station is located five minutes from the strip and within an easy-on, easy-off freeway drive to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Planning for the Workshop is underway and information on speakers and sessions, and lodging for the New RPM@ Vegas and the RPM@Indy and RPM@Daytona Workshops will be posted to the RPM website and published in Racing Promotion Monthly soon.

The RPM Promoters Workshops are produced by Racing Promotion Monthly, the idea newsletter for auto racing promoters, published year-round with the support of K&K Insurance Group, Inc., Hoosier Racing Tire. The new RPM@Vegas Workshop is the first of three Workshops of the 43rd Annual RPM Promoters Workshops Series.

After the RPM@Vegas, the series moves to Indianapolis for the one-day RPM@Indy Workshops on December 9, in the Media Center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The series concludes in February 2016 with the RPM@Daytona Workshop at the Hilton Daytona Beach Ocean Walk Village, Feb. 14-16, 2016.

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all worked somewhere at some point where there was one employee that made everyone ask, “How does so-and-so still have a job here?” Maybe they were really slow at accomplishing anything, or made a lot of mistakes; maybe they were chronically late or absent; maybe they had a really bad attitude.
 
Whatever the case, their continued employment conveyed a negative vibe to everyone in the workplace and brought down the morale of everyone who had to pick up their slack, or fix their mistakes, or listen to them gripe about every little thing.
 
From the employer’s perspective, I can tell you it’s not easy to fire someone. When you provide the means for someone to make a living, it doesn’t feel good to take that away. Not only that, but you have fears, too: What will I do to fill that position? What if I can’t find someone quickly? What if they draw unemployment against my company? What if, what if, what if…
 
But what if we didn’t look at firing someone as such a negative thing? Sometimes you have to see the positive in making a change for the benefit of your company and its employees—and sometimes it even helps the person you’re firing.
 
Someone who comes to work and does a bad job, or is always late or complaining, infects the employees around them; they bring everyone down. Your good employees question why, when they work so hard and are on time and try to do the best job they can, you insist on keeping around someone who doesn’t. It makes those good people feel bad, and they may very well start to question you, and your outlook and leadership.
 
But, if you could cut out one bad apple and *poof* everyone else is relieved, and you can fill that position with another good employee, that is a good thing! Firing a bad employee is an opportunity to do something positive.
 
Consider this: Your bad employee may hate his job for whatever reason. He hates coming to work, and that’s why he’s chronically late, or always finding something to complain about. Maybe he’s doing a job he’s not really suited for—but he needs a job, right? So he does it, but he’s not good at it and doesn’t enjoy it. He wants to quit, but he has fears, too. What if he can’t find another job right away? What if he has to live on unemployment? What if, what if? See, his continued employment is motivated by fear as well.
 
Some time ago we had an employee who really wasn’t suited for warehouse work (we didn’t know that at the time). But he needed a job and we needed someone in the warehouse, so we offered the position and he took it. As you can imagine, it didn’t go well.
 
We provided some feedback on areas where we’d like to see him do better, and he said he would work on it. Unfortunately, the improvement didn’t come. Tom (my partner and company president) really hates to fire people—it truly bothers him. Which means it took some long discussion…but ultimately we agreed this was the right course of action. We called this guy in and told him it just wasn’t working out. Not everyone is cut out for warehouse work, we explained. In this case, he wasn’t a bad employee, he just wasn’t suited for the work we needed him to do. We told him we’d be happy to recommend him for something else, but he couldn’t continue here.
 
Much to our surprise, he seemed relieved. Obviously he knew this job wasn’t for him, but he didn’t feel like he could quit. Once we made that decision for him, it enabled him to find a job that was better suited to his strengths, and it enabled us to find another worker that was better suited to the position.
 
In so doing, it made everyone else in the warehouse happier, even if they had to cover that job for a while. There’s a difference between temporarily covering a position and picking up someone else’s slack, and they were happy to cover the position while we interviewed new candidates for the job.
 
Sometimes you truly end up with a bad employee who just needs to go, and that decision is easy to make. But sometimes you end up with someone who just isn’t right for the job, and in those cases I think it’s OK to say, “You’re fired.” Rather than seeing this as something negative that must be avoided at all costs, you can see it as an opportunity to find a better fit for both employer and employee, and at the same time energize your remaining team members.
 
Missy Sandal has been involved in the racing industry since 1990, getting her start at Port City Racing, moving on to Speedway Motors, and then opening Carolina Racing Supply with Tom Sandal in 1999. Carolina Racing Supply, located in Mooresville, North Carolina, began as a retailer of circle track racing parts but has transitioned over the years to become primarily a wholesaler. TomCat Performance is its line of private-label products.