Racing News: Loan Mart Partners With Team Lucas for Second Straight Season

	Loan Mart will back Austin Kimbrell in the No. 88 truck in the Pro 2 Unlimited Class.

Loan Mart Partners With Team Lucas for Second Straight Season
Loan Mart—a provider of speciality lending services—will be a partner with Team Lucas for the second straight season in 2013 with a sponsorship package that includes the Lucas Oil Modifed Series presented by Loan Mart, with Shelby Stroebel in the No. 24 car carrying the Loan Mart banner, plus a substantial presence in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.

Loan Mart, based in Encino, California, will be the presenting sponsor in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, September 19–21, and in the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series at Lake Irvine, California, May 3–5. In the Lucas Oil Off Road racing Series, Loan Mart will back Austin Kimbrell in the No. 88 truck in the Pro 2 Unlimited Class, and Oscar Rodriguez, Loan Mart's CEO, in the No. 17 Pro Lite.

Loan Mart will also have a high-profile on-site presence at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil
 Modified Series and the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

	Fifteen racers representing a variety of engine-driven competitions have been selected as finalists in the 2013 “Search for a Champion” racing sponsorship contest.

15 Finalists Named in $125,000 "Search for a Champion" Contest
Fifteen grassroots racers representing several different forms of engine-driven competition have been selected as finalists in the 2013 “Search for a Champion” racing sponsorship contest, which will award $125,000 in sponsorship cash from Federal-Mogul’s Champion brand of spark plugs, wiper blades and chemical additives. Each finalist will receive a $5,000 Champion sponsorship and a chance to earn the contest’s $50,000 grand prize. Voting for the grand prize sponsorship begins Friday, February 22, at www.AlwaysaChampion.com.

The finalists─announced last weekend at Daytona International Speedway by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and Champion spokesperson Kevin Harvick─were selected from more than 160 racers and teams who submitted two-minute video entries to the website. More than 81,000 votes were cast by racers, fans and members of the Champion community, and final judging was led by Harvick.

Voting is open through March 24. Harvick will announce the $50,000 “Champion’s champion” April 2, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT).

The 2013 “Search for a Champion” finalists are:

	Falken Tire has entered a two-year marketing partnership with K1 Speed.

Falken Tire Announces Promotional Venture With K1 Speed Electric Indoor Kart Racing
Falken Tire has announced a two-year marketing partnership with K1 Speed—an indoor kart racing experience.
 
Through the new cross-promotional effort, both Falken and K1 Speed will be featured at specific events and through mutual social media outlets.
 
In addition, Team Falken drivers from both American Le Mans Series and Formula Drift will make special appearances at K1 Speed locations around the country.

Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure to Offer Exotics Racing Adventures
Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc.—a "Full Throttle" lifetime experience company, has announced that the company will soon offer consumers and corporate event planners the opportunity to navigate some of the country's most popular road courses choosing from Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and a variety of other exotic sports cars.

Currently, the company is in the process of acquiring its fleet of exotic sports cars, and negotiations have begun to secure the initial road-racing venues. The company will launch the new racing adventure in the Southeast beginning this summer.

	The Bandoleros (driven by youngsters ages 8 to 16) will contest a series of eight races at Irwindale in 2013 with four "dual-night" appearances at the Irwindale Speedway.

Irwindale Adds Three New Divisions to 2013 Oval Track Schedule
The Irwindale Speedway (California) has expanded its 2013 lineup of racing events to include three, highly competitive 'spec' classes, according to Irwindale Event Center General Manager Bob Klein. He also announced that 15 more individual race events had been added to the track's 2013 NASCAR calendar, even before the racing season started. They include:

The Bandoleros (driven by youngsters ages 8 to 16) will contest a series of eight races at Irwindale in 2013 with four "dual-night" appearances at the Speedway on the following Friday and Saturday nights: April 26–27, June 14–15, October 4–5 and October 18–19. "Bandos" are full-bodied, steel-tube-framed, mini-race cars and are powered by a 570cc, 30hp Briggs and Stratton "Vanguard" engine that employs a centrifugal clutch to transmit power to the rear wheels.

The S2 division is set up as the step between Karts or Legends Cars and full-size stock cars. These cars feature a full tube frame, fiberglass bodies and factory-sealed 350hp V8 engines. The S2s are a touring division and fans will see them at Irwindale twice this season: April 27 and again July 20.

The Southwest Tour Trucks (SWTT) will compete in five events at Irwindale this season: May 4, August 31, September 21, September 28 and October 19. The Southwest trucks combine a much-modified GM "metric" chassis with a tube frame upper section. The frame is covered with a replica pickup body rendered in fiberglass, and powered by a closely controlled V8 engine.

	The 2013 Motor Sport magazine Hall of Fame at the Royal Opera House in London.

"Famous Five" inducted Into the 2013 Motor Sport Magazine Hall of Fame
For the first time in the history of the event, Motor Sport magazine held its annual Hall of Fame evening at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, February 25, and honored five racing greats.

The Paul Hamlyn Hall was filled with some of the biggest names to have worked and raced in F1. Hosted by Sky Sports F1 HD presenters Natalie Pinkham and Simon Lazenby, this year’s award winners included Niki Lauda, Damon Hill OBE, Graham Hill OBE, Colin Chapman CBE and eight-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.

In attendance were motor racing professionals, including Sir Stirling Moss OBE, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, Jody Scheckter, John Watson MBE, Jackie Oliver, Martin Brundle, Stefano Domenicali, David Richards CBE, Allan McNish and Steve Parrish. BBC Radio 2’s Johnnie Walker and TV presenter Nick Knowles were also present, along with Ted Kravitz and David Croft from the Sky Sports F1 channel, and British actor Danny John-Jules.

Federated will sponsor Kenny Schrader's race teams during the 2013 season in a variety of series, including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Federated Sponsors Kenny Schrader Racing Teams in 2013
Continuing its longtime partnership with NASCAR's Kenny Schrader, Federated will sponsor his race teams during the 2013 season in a variety of series, including the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Federated will be the primary sponsor of Schrader and the FAS Lane Racing team in eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, including the Federated Auto Parts 400, September 7, at the Richmond International Raceway. In addition, Federated will sponsor Schrader in two NASCAR Truck series races, four ARCA races and more than 50 dirt-track events coast-to-coast. Schrader, who serves as an official spokesperson for Federated Car Care, will also participate in hospitality events hosted by Federated members at select tracks.

In August, Schrader will host the “Get Dirty with Kenny” Federated Car Care promotion at the Federated Auto Parts I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, but with a new wrinkle this year. Kevin Byrd and Willie B., hosts of the Federated-sponsored SPEED show, “Two Guys Garage,” will join Schrader and the winning Federated Car Care Center members for a day of racing. Schrader and the Two Guys will also tape a special episode of “Two Guys Garage” during the annual dirt-track racing extravaganza.

McLaren GT Adds Adam Carroll for 2013 Season 
McLaren GT continues preparations ahead of the 2013 season with the announcement that Northern Irish racing driver Adam Carroll has joined the team as a factory driver for the 2013 season.

Carroll, 30, made the move to GT racing last season, contesting select rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series. This followed on from a successful career in single-seat racing, where he contested the GP2 championship, and was also crowned 2009 A1GP World Champion.

Carroll joins Britons Rob Bell and Alexander Sims, along with Portuguese driver Álvaro Parente as a factory driver for 2013. His race plans for the season will be confirmed shortly.