Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Alberto Bombassei. Photo credit: Jason Loudermilk Photography |
Brembo’s Alberto Bombassei Inducted Into Automotive Hall of Fame
Alberto Bombassei, Brembo chairman and president, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame last week at Detroit’s Cobo Center. Along with industry luminaries Ed Welburn and Jack Roush, Bombassei took his place among the most honored automotive industrialists from around the world.
Eight New Teams Qualify for Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Dual National Championship
For the second weekend in a row, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge held two qualifying events. At the Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville, Utah, seven teams competed in their very first Engine Challenge. Of those, one new team qualified for the Dual National Championship, while another will be invited as a wild-card team. Team Hedman Hedders from Hunter High School in West Valley City, Utah, qualified with an average time of 32:59. Team Aeroquip from Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah, came in second and qualified as a wild card with an average time of 33:52. At the Aeromotive open house and car show in Lenexa, Kansas, eight teams competed, of which six qualified for the championship. Team Aeromotive from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center in Choctaw, Oklahoma, came in first with an average time of 19:51. Team Flowmaster from Tulsa Technology Center #3 from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, qualified with an average time of 25:22. Team B&M from Pontotoc Tech Center in Ada, Oklahoma, scored a 29:28. Hereford High School from Hereford, Texas, had two teams qualify: Team Vibrant Performance (30:17) and Team National Performance Warehouse (30:40).
The Dual National Championship is held at the SEMA and PRI Shows later this year. A team qualifies by disassembling and then re-assembling a small-block Chevrolet engine in less than 33 minutes, including penalties. There are now a total of 44 teams that have qualified and one wild-card team with times ranging from 17:47 to 33:52. Students who participate at the championships will compete for scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from Ohio Technical College, University of Northwestern Ohio, School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, Universal Technical Institute and WyoTech.
 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will open St. John’s Rock ORV Trail and Campground in Garrett County. |
Maryland’s New Off-Road Vehicle Trail Opens in Garrett County
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will open St. John’s Rock ORV Trail and Campground in Garrett County. Riders can now make advance reservations for day use and overnight camping through the department’s online licensing and registration system. The St. John’s Rock ORV Trail, located within Savage River State Forest, includes more than 12 miles of woodland trails professionally conceptualized and constructed specifically for recreational enjoyment and use. The new trail includes a campsite specifically designed to support ORV riders, a family-friendly area with children’s trail loops, single-track hare-scramble-style trail sections for motorcycles, technical trail spur loops for all-terrain vehicles, and a full-size rock-crawl area for four-wheel-drive vehicles. The trail is located on state forest lands certified as sustainable based on stringent environmental, economic and social criteria. The department worked closely with professionals to ensure the trail was designed and constructed for public recreation in accordance with the department’s dual forest certification standards. As such, the Maryland Forest Service will oversee management of the new trail.
 Bruce Tartaglione |
Bruce Tartaglione to Lead New Business Development Strategies at Airtex/ASC
Airtex/ASC has named industry veteran Bruce Tartaglione as its senior strategist of new business development. In this role, Tartaglione will lead new business development strategies for the aftermarket, leveraging Airtex/ASC core business competencies to drive future growth. During his nearly 40 years in the auto-care industry, Tartaglione has held many senior management positions. Most recently, he worked as a consultant, helping several companies develop the skill sets and strategies necessary to maximize growth. Prior to that, Tartaglione served as senior vice president of global sales and marketing at Brake Parts Inc. (BPI). Before joining BPI in 2011, Tartaglione served as the vice president of traditional aftermarket for United Components Inc. (UCI).
 Schwartz Performance’s ’70 Plymouth Cuda won the Pro-Builder of the Year title at the Car Craft Magazine Summer Nationals. |
Schwartz Performance Wins Its Second Pro-Builder of the Year Award
Schwartz Performance was awarded the Pro-Builder of the Year title during the Car Craft Magazine Summer Nationals, held July 21–23. The Pro-Builder Award pits a number of high-performance and custom-car builders against each other during the Car Craft Summer Nationals. This year, the event was held at the historic Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The cars, ranging from custom hot rods to extreme musclecar restorations, are voted on by show participants and peers to earn the title of Pro-Builder of the Year. This year, Schwartz entered a custom pearl-orange ’70 Plymouth Cuda powered by a supercharged Gen-III 426ci Hemi with more than 800hp and driven from the right-hand side. This modification required custom floor modifications, a steering system and a one-of-a-kind dashboard and interior. The first time Schwartz won the Pro-Builder of the Year award was in 2013 with a ’67 Chevelle.
Motovicity Rolls Out New Customer-Centric Website
Motovicity Distribution has officially launched its new B2B e-commerce website. Incorporating many features that provide a more insightful and simplified online shopping experience, Motovicity continues to progress toward establishing a new standard in its Better Than Direct customer relations initiative. The new site features digital manufacturer catalogs and documents, price files and complementary product information. Additional features include the ability to accept PayPal, an “online wallet” that allows the management of payments in real-time and the opportunity to suggest that Motovicity stocks a product currently not carried. The product search tool includes not only information on the part being shopped, but also showcases what other customers bought when purchasing the product they’re considering, how to recommend helpful changes and additions to product information and the ability for the customer to be notified when an item is on sale.
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