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Racing News: Team Falken Tire Earns Podium Finish at Sebring 12 Hour

Compiled by SEMA Editors

  falken
Team Falken Tire raced from a 12th-place starting position in the 12 Hours of Sebring to be a top contender for a majority of the race before earning the final step on the victory podium.
   

Team Falken Tire Earns Podium Finish at Sebring 12 Hour
Last Sunday at the 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida, Team Falken Tire raced from a 12th-place starting position to be a top contender for a majority of the race before earning the final step on the victory podium. All race long, the ’12 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR pushed forward, fighting through one of the most competitive GT classes the American Le Mans Series has seen.
 
Wolf Henzler started the endurance event in 12th place and, in the first lap, the Falken Tire Porsche had gained six positions. Henzler and co drivers Bryan Sellers and Nick Tandy each completed single stints for the first driver rotation, fighting their way up the GT class and holding on to their positions. Finishing in third place in the final American Le Mans Series 12 Hours of Sebring puts the team in third place in the championship heading into Round Two. The series will return to Long Beach, California, April 19–20, for Round Two of the American Le Mans Series.

deegan
EnerSys' ODYSSEY battery is the official battery of Brian Deegan.
 
   

ODYSSEY Battery by EnerSys Named Official Battery Sponsor of Brian Deegan
EnerSys has announced that its ODYSSEY battery is the official battery of Brian Deegan—short-course off-road truck and rally car racer, freestyle motocross rider and pioneer in action sports.

As official battery sponsor, EnerSys will provide ODYSSEY batteries and technical support to Deegan for his Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) PRO 2 and PRO LITE race trucks and Global RallyCross and X Games rally car. The ODYSSEY battery logo will appear on all vehicles, LOORRS and Rally driver suits and the LOORRS team semi-truck and hauler.

Deegan’s LOORRS No. 38 race truck made its first appearance with ODYSSEY battery by EnerSys as the official battery sponsor at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, March 15 – 17.

2013 Pirelli World Challenge TV Schedule on NBC Sports Network Announced
WC Vision has announced the television schedule for the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championships that will air on NBC Sports Network. All races will be broadcast in either 90-minute or two-hour programs airing Saturday or Sunday. Additionally, WC Vision and NBC Sports Network have signed a two-year broadcast agreement that is inclusive of the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

Renowned motorsports announcers Greg Creamer and Calvin Fish will again provide play-by-play, color commentary and in-depth series analysis. Ashley van Dyke and Jeff Lepper will join Creamer and Fish for pit lane and pre- and post-race segments. The broadcasts will include unique feature segments, series personalities and behind-the-scenes footage.

2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championships television schedule on NBC Sports Network:

Streets of St. Petersburg
Sunday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m.

Streets of Long Beach
Sunday, May 5 at 2:00 p.m.

Circuit of the Americas/Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 16 at 5:00 p.m.

Lime Rock Park
Saturday, July 20 at 4:00 p.m.

Streets of Toronto/Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Saturday, August 17 at 1:00 p.m.

Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, September 8 at 3:30 p.m.

Streets of Houston
Sunday, October 20 at 4:00 p.m.

This schedule is subject to change. All times listed are Eastern. The 2013 Pirelli World Challenge season opener is scheduled for March 22–24 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. For more on the series, visit www.world-challenge.com.

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Tanner Foust will campaign the 2013 Rockstar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta ST in worldwide rallycross events.
   

Tanner Foust Reveals New Look for Ford Fiesta ST
Tanner Foust has officially unveiled the ’13 Rockstar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta ST rallycross car he debuted for fans during a sneak preview at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. It was the first public appearance for Foust's ’13 Ford Fiesta ST, and the driver revealed a new red-and-orange splash on the black-and-yellow paint scheme. ENEOS Motor Oil joins Rockstar Energy Drink and Ford as a key partner this season.

Foust will compete in an expanded X Games schedule that adds three international stops to the traditional summer event in Los Angeles. The first rallycross competition in the marquee, invitation-only action sport contest takes place April 21 in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, followed by rounds in Spain in May and Germany in June. X Games Rallycross returns to Los Angeles in August.

But Foust's 2013 competition season opener is less than two weeks away. He travels to the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in southeast England for the first round of this year's European Rallycross Championship, March 31–April 1. Foust is expected to take part in select rounds of the European Rallycross Championship in 2013.

Also joining Foust for 2013 is new sponsor ODYSSEY battery. Illest is a new apparel partner, while Horizon Hobbies will produce a new line of Tanner Foust edition R/C cars. In addition, Foust recently announced that automotive engineering company COBB Tuning will power the Tanner Foust Edition Ford Focus ST that will go on sale to the public this year.

jones
Jesse Jones finished the San Felipe 250 in seventh place.
 
   

Jesse Jones Finishes Seventh Place at 27th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250
The 27th annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 raced the desert of San Felipe, March 9. More than 250 entries were signed up for the year's first big off-road race. With only three SCORE races taking place this season, it is important to first finish, but to also finish in a top drawing spot for the next race.

Jones Motorsports'
#76 FOX Trophy-Truck team piloted by Jesse Jones crossed the finish line four hours and 40 minutes after starting. Thirty-five trucks would start the San Felipe 250; 26 would finish and Jesse Jones held down a seventh-place finish.

Up next for Jones Motorsports is the 2013 Best In The Desert Mint 400.

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Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has added a second California event to its schedule in 2013 with a partnership with Goodguys Rod & Custom Association.
   

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Adds Second California Event in 2013
Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) has announced the addition of a second California event to its schedule in 2013 with a partnership with Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. The new location will be held at The Goodguys 20th Summer Get-Together in Pleasanton, California. This addition will bring the total number of events on the Hot Rodders schedule to eight in 2013, and ending in the new home for the HROT Championship at the PRI Show in Indianapolis in December.

The California expansion was made possible by the addition of a second Hot Rodders of Tomorrow trailer donated by long-time supporter Vic Edelbrock and Edelbrock LLC, and the addition of Russ Bacarella—HROT's new West Coast operation manager and former three-time HROT champion. Bacarella is a former instructor with Loara High School, which has won the last three Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Championships.