NASCAR Announces Next-Gen Rules Configuration
NASCAR officials have announced the baseline rules configuration for the Next-Gen vehicle set for its NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2022. A 670-hp target engine output and a lower-downforce 4-in. rear spoiler will be used at short tracks, road courses and intermediate-sized tracks. The announcement follows two days of organizational tests at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tests are scheduled for January 5–6, at the newly repaved and rebuilt Atlanta Motor Speedway and January 11–12, at Daytona International Speedway, for the rules configuration on superspeedways. For more information, visit nascar.com.
Longtime Executive Don Hawk to Depart Speedway Motorsports
After more than 14 years in a variety of executive roles across the company, Speedway Motorsports’ Chief Racing Development Officer Don Hawk will step away to open a personal sports management firm. Hawk joined Speedway Motorsports in 2007 and was named the company’s vice president of business affairs in 2012. He was promoted to his current role of chief racing development officer in 2018. Hawk received Speedway Motorsports’ O. Bruton Smith Award—the company’s highest individual honor, in 2012.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem Elected FIA President
Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been elected president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). He succeeds Jean Todt, who has served the maximum three terms since his election in 2009. Sulayem, from the United Arab Emirates, has served as the president of the Emirates Motorsports Organisation (EMSO) since 2005 and was FIA World Motor Sport Council vice president for the Middle East. Also a former Rally driver, he was a 14-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion, winning 61 international events from 1983 to 2002. Elected for a four-year term, he appointed Carmelo Sanz de Barros as president of the Senate, Robert Reid as deputy president for Sport and Tim Shearman as deputy president for Mobility. For more information, visit fia.com.
Salem Speedway Appoints Will Greenwell Track Announcer
Salem Speedway and Dirt2Media.com have announced Will Greenwell as the new track announcer for 2022. Greenwell has previously served as a track official for Fayetteville Motor Speedway and first as co-announcer with Mike Benson, then later permanent announcer, for Sportsdrome Speedway. Greenwell has also worked with All Star Monster Truck and called many different forms of motorsports in several states, including in Utah, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and Kentucky.
For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.