Compiled by SEMA Editors
 The Mazda6 win at Road Atlanta marked the first-ever win for a diesel-powered car in Grand-Am competition. | |
Mazda Scores First Race Win With SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel
In only its fourth race, the all-new Mazda6, powered by a production-based SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine, scored a win in the Rolex Grand-Am GX race at Road Atlanta. Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell drove the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 to the win, with teammates Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long finishing third in the similar #70 SpeedSource Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D. It was a three-way battle for most of the race with a Porsche Cayman splitting the two Mazdas.
This was the first-ever win for a diesel-powered car in Grand-Am competition. It also marked the first win for the all-new Mazda6 in any race series. It was the first Grand-Am race win for drivers Miller and Carbonell, who was substituting for Miller's usual teammate, Tristan Nunez, who had a schedule conflict with another race in Long Beach, Californina.
Speed Takes Gold Medal In Global Rallycross Season Opener At X Games Brazil
Making his first-ever Global Rallycross start, Scott Speed took victory in both his heat race and the main event last Sunday at X Games Brazil. Speed gave the #77 Ford Fiesta Star Car from Rdio and OMSE—a new addition to the series in 2013—a victory in its debut, making the winning pass by taking the joker lap through the final corner.
Speed beat fellow OMSE drivers Toomas Heikkinen and Patrik Sandell to the finish, giving Ford a 1-2-3 podium sweep. Heikkinen, Brian Deegan, Tanner Foust and Speed, respectively, won the four heat races, while Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Steve Arpin and Anton Marklund advanced by finishing second. Buddy Rice and Sandell transferred to the final from the last chance qualifier. A major accident at the start of the final led to a red flag after four laps and a restart. Pastrana's, Foust's, Block's and Rice's cars were deemed too damaged to continue.
 Matt Powers won the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge held during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach last weekend. | |
Matt Powers Wins Motegi Super Drift Challenge at Long Beach Grand Prix
Matt Powers took the win and his share of the $25,000 prize purse at the inaugural Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge held during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach last weekend. Powers piloted his Nitto Tire/Fatlace Nissan S14 to the top podium spot with a new, Katech-built LS7 powerplant that is controlled by the Infinity-8 ECU from AEM Performance Electronics.
Vollmer Begins His Streak
Bully Dog racer Jarid Vollmer won the 2012 Pro Street National Championship in the fully custom Bully Dog 5.9L Cummins. Last weekend saw Vollmer and the rest of the Bully Dog race team converge on Ennis, Texas, and the NHRDA Texas Diesel Nationals. Vollmer edged out Donovan Harris of Harris Diesel Racing (HDR) to take home the win and 80 points to start his season. After qualifying with a time of 9.684, he lined up against Harris. With both racers clocking almost identical reaction times, it was the Bully Dog Dodge that pushed through the beams first. With a quarter-mile time among his fastest yet (9.494 seconds at 152.42 mph), Vollmer was just 2 mph short of the current world record. The next race is the Jefferson State Diesel Nationals in Redding, California, May 18.
Chevy High Performance Nationals Racers to Compete for NHRA Wallys
ProMedia Events has announced that class racers will compete for NHRA Wallys at the second annual Chevy High Performance Nationals (All-GM) event, which will take place at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, the weekend of May 31–June 2, 2013. The Chevy High Performance Nationals, presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center, is the second race of the Chevrolet Performance LSX Challenge Series, where all the cars and all the stars of LS drag racing compete. The Chevy High Performance Nationals is able to offer Wallys because the event is now part of the NHRA Unleashed program, which is presented by Aerospace Components.
 Damion Gardner and Steve "Biggie" Watt of Maxwell Industries will produce a made-for-television video on Gardner's attempt to establish a land-speed record in a sprint car. | |
Surf N' Sprint and Loudpedal Productions to Produce TV Documentary on "The World's Fastest Sprint Car"
Surf N' Sprint.com and Loudpedal Productions are teaming up with veteran racer Damion Gardner and Steve "Biggie" Watt of Maxwell Industries to produce a made-for-television video on Gardner's attempt to establish a land-speed record in a sprint car. The two-time Oval Nationals winner and 2005 USAC/CRA champion plans to go faster than 200 mph during "Speed Week" on the Bonneville Salt Flats in August. Through the decades, the scope and intrigue of Bonneville has created a fascination for millions since the day in 1914 when "Terrible" Teddy Tetzlaff broke the land speed record on the famous Salt Flats. Now, a driver new to Bonneville, but well known in the racing world, is about to attack the salt in 2013. Gardner, a champion driver from Concord, California, with the help of Watt, is going to start a modern-day sprint car class and try to institute a record by going more than 200 mph.
Several hours of video will be shot detailing the daring enterprise from the days in Watt's shop getting the car prepared until the time it tackles the salt. The produced piece will be polished down to approximately 20 minutes so it can fit into a 30-minute television slot. Production and the buildup has already started for the documentary, and soundbites of Gardner and Watt have already been shot regarding the endeavor.
Recaro Sponsors Pirelli World Challenge
Recaro Automotive Seating kicked off its first year as an official sponsor of Pirelli World Challenge 2013, April 19, during the Streets of Long Beach race weekend. As part of that sponsorship, Recaro Automotive Seating will host the Pirelli World Challenge Social Media Lounge throughout the season and its own booth at all Pirelli World Challenge races.