Racing News: 2013 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Anticipates Huge Crowd

Compiled by SEMA Staff

2013 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Anticipates Huge Crowd
According to Donna Garlits, general manager and CFO of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing, demand for tickets has been high for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame’s latest class induction dinner and ceremony, presented by the National Hot Rod Association and Summit Racing Equipment. The event is to be held March 14 at the Gainesville, Florida, Paramount Plaza Hotel & Suites.

The inductees and presenters for the 23rd class to the Hall of Fame include:

The induction ceremonies begin with a cocktail reception at 6:00 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. (EST). Legendary NHRA Announcer Bob Frey will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.

Ticket details and additional information are available by contacting Donna Garlits at 352-245-8661 or 877-271-3278, fax 352-245-6895 or e-mail donna@garlits.com.

Irwindale Opening Night March 27, 1999. Credit: Long Photography

Announcer Bruce Flanders Returns to Irwindale Speedway for 2013 Season
After a few years away (and the Speedway at Irwindale Event Center being dark for the 2012 season), the iconic Bruce Flanders will once again inform and entertain fans at the San Gabriel Valley speedway. Pasadena-born, Flanders' announcing credits run from the classic Hangtown motorcycle races to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and from Mickey Thompson's stadium off-road races, to being "type cast" in a number of blockbuster movies as a racing announcer. Flanders' daughter Megan will be up in the booth with him acting as his engineer, key grip and accomplice.

Hawk Performance Begins 12th Season of SCCA Partnership
Sports Car Club of America, Inc. (SCCA) and Hawk Performance have announced the continuation of their partnership, which names Hawk Performance the Official Brake Products of the SCCA for the 12th straight year.

In 2013, Hawk Performance will expand its Runoffs Hawk Hot Lap award into every SCCA SafeRacer National Racing Series event in addition to its finishing award certificates. Eligible drivers will earn a $50 product credit for each Hawk Hot Lap, with the first-, third- and fifth-place finishers also earning $75, $50 and $25 certificates, respectively.

In 2012, Hawk Performance awarded SCCA racers more than $22,500 in product certificates and 139 individual axle sets through its contingency prize program.

	Andrew Myers and Ross Savage won Class 1000.

FOX Athletes Capture Numerous Victories at BITD Season Opener
FOX athletes won in the Best in the Desert racing series' classes 1500, 1000, 1100, 6100 and 2000 at the Parker (Arizona) 425 race course.

In the unlimited open wheel class, (1500) Corey Keysar took the win and fifth-place overall ahead of FOX athlete Brian Parkhouse in second.

Class 1000 had 42 cars entered. The winning team of Andrew Myers and Ross Savage was the 32nd car in their class to leave the line but passed 18 other cars in the first 30 miles. The team just won the HDRA South Point 250 two weeks before the Parker race.

FOX athletes also took the top two spots in classes 1100 and 2000. In 1100, it was the Banning Motorsports team that dominated with Bryan Folks, (defending class 1100 champion) in his number 1178 taking first and teammate Ali Banning driving the Autism Speaks number 1123 in second place. The two were in a heated battle amongst themselves on the last lap, finishing within one minute of each other.

In 2000, (Limited 1600cc open wheeled buggies) the Mattox brothers Ryan and Ross were able to run flat out in the nearly dust-free conditions to take the victory over second-place FOX athlete Max Hanberg.

The 6100 class had only eight starters, but with several new trucks making their debut, the future of the young class looks very promising. Fox athletes swept the podium with the win going to the Camburg team with Jerry Whelchel behind the wheel.

	The MINI Mania team of 4 Classic MINI Coopers will race against some of the best Vintage race cars in the annual Premiere Vintage race event.

Team MINI Mania to Race at Sonoma Raceway
The MINI Mania team of 4 Classic MINI Coopers has been chosen to race against some of the best Vintage race cars in the annual Premiere Vintage race event. The team will be led by Don Racine racing both his Classic Yellow ’61 MINI Cooper #61 and the now-famous Aardvark. Dennis Racine will race his father's famous ’67 "Monty MINI" #177. Julie Racine will race a ’60 Green MINI originally built 20 years ago by her brother (Dennis). John Burnham (Don's son-in-law) will race another of Team MINI Mania's cars—a ’65 Silver MINI Cooper S.


The annual race draws from around the world more cars and drivers than can be accepted in any one event. Heritage of the cars and drivers are foremost in the selection as well as presentation at the event. Don Racine has been accepted since the first of these events 25 years ago. This will be the first year that all four of the Team MINI Mania MINI Coopers have been accepted for this event.


This year's Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races (aka Sonoma Historical Motorsports Festival) will be held May 18–19, 2013, at the 12-turn, 2.52-mile Sears Point Raceway.

Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels Returns as 2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Sponsor
Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels has returned to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) as a 2013 series sponsor. Through this program, Mickey Thompson will provide the Baja Pro tires and trackside support to racers, and will continue to work collaboratively with teams in the Pro 2 Unlimited, Pro 4 Unlimited, SuperLite, Pro Lite Unlimited and Pro Buggy Unlimited classes to test and prove off-road tire products.

AEM's Infinity stand-alone programmable engine management system was selected by Olsbergs MSE for use in its new Global Rallycross (GRC) SuperCar Lites program.

AEM Infinity ECU Selected for Engine Control in 
Olsbergs MSE Global Rallycross SuperCar Lites
AEM has announced that its Infinity stand-alone programmable engine management system was selected by Olsbergs MSE for use in its new Global Rallycross (GRC) SuperCar Lites program. The Infinity ECU was chosen by Olsbergs MSE for its power, flexibility and durability, as these purpose-built Rallycross cars are specifically designed to withstand the abuses incurred in Global Rallycross competition. The Infinity’s tuning power and processing speed, combined with a fully sealed enclosure able to withstand harsh environments made it the ideal engine management system for these cars.

In addition to the tuning capability of the ECU, the teams will also rely on the Infinity’s data-logging capabilities and on-board wideband air/fuel controllers for accurate air/fuel readings and calibrations. The cars are also using AEM’s 4-Channel Coil Driver to drive the ignition coils.

 AEM worked directly with Olsbergs MSE on the integration of the Infinity onto the SuperCar Lites.

According to AEM, the Infinity EMS delivers high-end engine control for the racing masses, providing technology, durability and capabilities that are typically found only in engine control units used at the top echelons of Motorsports, but at a price level that makes state-of-the-art ECU technology attainable to both professional teams and amateur racers. Built around a latest-generation 200MHz automotive processor, the Infinity is capable of processing 400 MIPS (millions of instructions per second).

	In his Duramax Powerflow Rail, Jeff Dean of Lancaster, Ohio, was the 2012 Top Diesel drag-racing champion.

2012 DIESEL Motorsports Year and Year-End Points Champions
DIESEL Motorsports had a great year with lots of diesel trucks and fans turning out for the events during 2012. New records were set and there were many new faces among the competitors.

At the Thunder in Muncie (Indiana) event, the late Dave Mitchell of Enterprise Engine was first DIESEL Motorsports Hall of Fame award recipient. Mitchell was one of the first Modified Diesel Pickup champions during the 1990s and early 2000s.

During the drag-racing portion of Thunder in Muncie, Jarid Vollmer with his BullyDog-sponsored ’07 Dodge pickup broke a world record in the Unlimited Drag Racing Class with a 9.69 at 148 mph.

At the East Coast Nationals in Numidia, Pennsylvania, Wade Moody in his S-10 Pro Stock truck broke the old record set by Gale Banks. At Numidia Dragway’s ¼-mile track, Moody ran a 7.73 at 178.76 mph, backed with a 7.56 at 181 mph. Moody again ran a 7.56 at 181 mph at Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City at the Rocky Mountain Diesel Shootout.

In other news, Flowmaster Inc. of Santa Rosa, California, has announced that it has signed a multi-year official VIP tItle sponsorship agreement with DIESEL Motorsports, and will be the official VIP title sponsor of the diesel race and pulling sanctioning organization.

DIESEL Motorsports 2012 Point Champions

Drag Racing