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Racing News: Quicksilver Partners With Valerie Thompson Land Speed Racing Team

Compiled by SEMA Editors

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Valerie Thompson will race her specially prepared BMW S 1000 RR land-speed motorcycles at noteworthy events this year, including the Ohio Mile, Bonneville Speed Week and the World Finals at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
  

Quicksilver Powersports Lubricants Partners With Valerie Thompson Land Speed Racing Team

Quicksilver Powersports Lubricants will help power seven-time land-speed record holder Valerie Thompson on her quest to reach record speeds at Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), East Coast Timing Association (ECTA) and Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA) events. Thompson will race her specially prepared BMW S 1000 RR land-speed motorcycles at noteworthy events this year, including the Ohio Mile, Bonneville Speed Week and the World Finals at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Thompson will kick off her 2015 land-speed racing efforts March 27 at The Texas Mile event—a biannual motorsports festival and land-speed racing venue that draws the fastest vehicles from all corners of North America in much the same way the legendary Bonneville course draw the world’s fastest vehicles.

Bob Bondurant Wins New Carroll Shelby Spirit Award Presented in Honor of His Achievements

Bob Bondurant, who was an integral part of the ’65 Shelby American FIA World Championship team, became the first recipient of the Carroll Shelby Spirit award, Saturday, March 7. The award was presented by Carol Anne ConwayCarroll Shelby’s niece—during the 8th annual Shelby Bash in Las Vegas. The award honors the achievements of people who embody the same passion for performance as Carroll Shelby.

Bondurant joined the Shelby American racing team in 1963, which led to a season in Europe and competition for the FIA World Championship. Paired with Dan Gurney in 1964, Bondurant won the GT category and took fourth overall at the wheel of a Daytona Coupe at Le Mans. He scored valuable points in 11 races the next season when the Shelby American team became the only American manufacturer to capture the GT class FIA world championship. Bondurant was forced to take a hiatus from racing after the steering arm broke during a race, launching his car into a dirt embankment and rolling eight times. Faced with the possibility of never being able to walk again, Bondurant is now the CEO of The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

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Lacrecia Beurrier won the Mint 400 last weekend in Las Vegas.
  

Team Dragonfire Wins the Mint 400

DragonFire-sponsored Pro Unlimited UTV pilot Lacrecia Beurrier won the Mint 400 last weekend in Las Vegas. Since the inaugural event back in 1967, the 400-mile race through the Nevada desert has earned its reputation for being the toughest off-road race in North America. This year's event featured 25 different classes, more than 300 competitors and the biggest field of UTVs in race history.

Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Expands Into Action Sports Arena in Red Bull Global Rallycross With New Partner Loenbro

Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Inc. (CGRT) has announced the formation of a two-car team in the Supercar class of Red Bull Global Rallycross (GRC) with new partner Loenbro and drivers Brian Deegan and Steve Arpin. CGRT joins the series and looks to complement the team’s continued focus on reaching millennials as a vehicle to grow interest in motorsports.
 
CGRT joins forces with energy services and construction company Loenbro, which serves clients throughout the Rocky Mountain region and beyond, to field the two-car team out of CGRT’s Concord, North Carolina-based shop that houses their NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series programs. Founding brothers Paul and Jon Leach are entrepreneurs who built a company.
 
The 16-time X-Games medalist Deegan will pilot the No. 38 RockStar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta ST, with teammate Arpin in the No. 00 ENEOS Ford Fiesta ST. Arpin will run the full 12-race calendar, with Deegan competing in seven races. The two will also compete in X Games Austin this summer as it returns to Circuit of the Americas from June 4–7.

4 Wheel Parts Renews Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Partnership

4 Wheel Parts has announced its return as the "Official Off Road Parts Retailer" of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. The off-road racing organization kicks off the 2015 season March 20–21 at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, California. The agreement extends the long-time partnership for another year as the series continues to expand into new markets and experience increases in attendance and broadcast viewership.

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Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) has announced its 2015 motorsports calendar.
  

Yokohama Announces 2015 Motorsports Schedule

Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) has announced its 2015 motorsports calendar. Yokohama’s racing slate includes the Red Bull Global Rallycross, which starts May 31 in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida; the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, which heats up March 18–20 at Sebring; and off-road racing events, including the SCORE Baja 500, SCORE Baja 1000 and the Best in the Desert’s Vegas to Reno.

NMRA Signs Five-Year Contract With Bradenton Motorsports Park

ProMedia Events has announced the signing of a five-year contract with Bradenton Motorsports Park. As a result, the NMRA Keystone Automotive Ford Nationals season opener has a permanent home through 2020 in the city of Bradenton, Florida. Held in early March, the NMRA Spring Break Shootout features the world's fastest Fords in heads-up drag racing classes, such as VP Racing Fuels Street Outlaw where turbo- and supercharged Mustangs reach up to 200+ mph in the quarter-mile.