The world-famous crew from West Coast Customs will produce the ultimate automotive experience at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and you can be a part of it! Register online today at www.wccexperience.com to participate in the build-up program. Four new Dodge vehicles are transformed into West Coast Custom cruisers during the SEMA Show.

In-booth master classes will be held on welding, fabrication, painting, mobile electronics and more, courtesy of West Coast Customs and participating sponsors. Choose from a variety of classes featured in the West Coast Customs Fabrication Shop, including Interior Shop, Electronic Shop, Paint Shop and Car Wrapping Shop.

The West Coast Customs Experience will feature live, 90-minute classes daily on techniques taught by the industry’s master craftsmen using the latest equipment. Instructors will not only be from West Coast Customs but will also include leaders from a variety of brands and manufacturers in the industry, such as Alsa Paint, Continental Tire, Sony and others.

Space is limited with only a select number available, so sign up today.

The West Coast Customs Experience will occupy approximately 10,000 sq. ft. outside, near the shuttle drop at the Las Vegas Convention Center, at the east end of the South Hall.

For more information, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

For the fourth straight year, "Car Crazy Central" will host SEMA TV. All of the best and most interesting people, cars and trucks will be featured in a series of live interviews during the course of the 2007 SEMA Show. Barry Meguiar, founder and CEO of Meguiar’s and "Car Crazy Central"—not to mention one of the most iconic individuals in the automotive industry—will be the official host of SEMA TV. Barry’s "Car Crazy Central" reports will run live on screens throughout the Show hall, reaching the estimated 100,000 daily visitors to SEMA. In addition, the broadcasts will air every night in more than 50,000 hotel rooms. All interviews will also be streamed on SEMA Insider powered by Toyota with “at-your-convenience” viewing available at http://sema.carcrazycentral.com.
 
This year "Car Crazy" offers another new and exciting media technology for the more than 250,000 people who are expected to attend SEMA: an interactive auto race designed in conjunction with MonsterVision, the leading technology in projection media. SEMA attendees using the Las Vegas Monorail to get to and from the Las Vegas Convention Center will have an opportunity to race each other while they wait for trains at each Monorail station. Start your engines…this is a "Car Crazy" experience for every automotive enthusiast.

Interviews are currently being booked. If you have an interesting, cool or unique story to tell, contact Sabrina at 714/573-0899 ext. 27, to be considered for an interview.

A number of companies will be holding press conferences to make newsworthy announcements at the 2007 SEMA Show. Below is the official press conference schedule for the 2007 SEMA Show:

Tuesday, October 30
9:10 – 9:30 a.m.
KIA: “Kia: Stylin’ the Brand”
North Hall - Booth 11534

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.
Mothers Polishes Waxes Cleaners, Inc.: “Chip Foose Inspired, Mothers Polish 1000 H.P. Propane Injected 1970 Chevelle”
Central Hall - Booth 22461

10:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Mattel/Hot Wheels: “Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary & Designer's Challenge Conference”
Central Hall - Booth 24741

10:40 – 11:00 a.m.
Ford Motor Company
Central Hall - Booth 22300

11:10 – 11:30 a.m.
Hyundai Motor America: “Debut of Hyundai Elantra Touring Concept”
Central Hall - Booth 24385

11:40 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.: “Production Car Performance Package Concepts”
Central Hall - Booth 24885

12:10 – 1:00 p.m.
Lexus Luncheon: “Lexus Performance Parts Announcement”
Motor Trend Proving Ground powered by Lexus

1:10 – 1:30 p.m.
National Hot Rod Association: “NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, Countdown to the Championship 2007”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

1:40 – 2:00 p.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Design Awards and SEMA Show News Update”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

2:10 – 2:30 p.m.
Volkswagen of America, Inc.: “Volkswagen Press Conference”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 51000

2:40 – 3:00 p.m.
Continental Tire: “General Tire ‘Unleash the Fury’”
Lower South Hall - Booth 44027

3:10 – 3:30 p.m.
Hankook Tire American Corp: "Hankook Tire Unveils Ultra High-Performance Tire”
Lower South Hall - Booth 40953

3:40 – 4:00 p.m.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company: "Cooper Maximizes Outreach”
Lower South Hall - Booth 40341

4:10 – 4:30 p.m.
Pirelli Tire: "Pirelli Official Partner of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series 2008-2010”
Lower South Hall - Booth 40509

4:40 – 5:00 p.m.
Mopar: “Chrysler Press Conference”
Lower South Hall - Booth 42427

5:10 – 5:30 p.m.
TAMA - Texas Auto Media Association: “Reader's Choice Awards”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

5:30 p.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Show Daily Update”
Panasonic Press Conference and Cocktail Reception: “Promote New Product Launch”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219


Wednesday, October 31
8:15 - 8:20 a.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Show Morning Update”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

8:20 - 9:00 a.m.
Aftersoft N.A. Media Breakfast: “Technological Future of Automotive Aftermarket”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

9:10 – 9:30 a.m.
Grand-Am Road Racing: “Grand-Am Rolex Series Team Sponsorship Announcement”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 59001

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.
duPont Registry: “duPont Registry Unveils Hennessey's Dodge Viper”
duPont Display - Silver Lot 1

10:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.: “2009 Corolla and Matrix Debut”
Las Vegas Hilton - Pavilion 9-11

10:40 – 11:00 a.m.
Monztrous Dezign Studioz: “Former Toy Chief and Rockstar Make New Product”
Upper South Hall - Booth 33908

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
TIA - Tire Industry Association: “2008 TIA Programs & Membership Counterfeit Tires”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Sears/Craftsman Tools Luncheon: “There's a Craftsman in All of Us”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

1:10 – 1:30 p.m.
Formula Drift: “Formula Drift Unveils 2008 plans”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

1:40 – 2:00 p.m.
CarDomain: “2007 CarDomain People's Choice Awards Announcement”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

2:10 – 2:30 p.m.
Hennessy Industries, Inc.: “Tire Review Top Shop Award - Presented by Ammco-Coats”
Lower South Hall - Booth 41709

2:40 – 3:00 p.m.
West Coast Customs/ALSA Corporation: “West Coast Customs/ALSA New Product Announcement”
West Coast Customs Experience, Booth 35817

3:10 – 3:30 p.m.
Bourgets Bike Works/ Superior Polishing: “Bourget’s Bike Works Introduces New Small Block Quadracycle”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 50126

3:40 – 4:00 p.m.
Mustang Project: “Smart-Signal Technology for Automotive Lighting”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 50343

4:10 – 4:30 p.m.
DynoMax: “DynoMax Power to the Wheels Dyno Tour National Championship”
DynoMax Display in the Motor Trend Proving Ground powered by Lexus

4:40 – 5:00 p.m.
Concours Parts: “9/11 Hero Receives His Dream Car”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 50210

5:10 p.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Show Daily Update”
3M Press Conference and Cocktail Reception: “3M Brings Car Care to Consumers”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219


Thursday, November 1
8:50 – 9:00 a.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Show Morning Update”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

9:10 – 9:30 a.m.
Bestop, Inc.: “Bestop's Authorized Dealer Programs - How Will You Stand Out? How Do You Bestop? (Bestop's 2008 ad campaign)”
Upper South Hall - Booth 30445

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.
Baja Design: “LED Whitelight™ Innovation Enhances Driver Performance at Rugget Baja 1000”
Upper South Hall - Booth 31934

10:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Truck Covers: “American Cargo Lights - Awesome New Products From Truck Covers USA”
Upper South Hall - Booth 32427

10:40 – 11:00 a.m.
Snow Performance: “Snow Performance - New Stage - 3 Water-Methanol Injection System”
Front Exhibit Hall - Booth 50234

11:10 – 11:30 a.m.
JME Enterprises: “Revolutionary New Suspension for Mustangs”
Central Hall - Booth 20941

11:40 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Auto A Fondo Magazine: “’Tuner Del Año’ Award by Auto A Fondo Magazine”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Daytona and Friends Global Enterprises, Inc. Luncheon: “Daytona and Friends Worldwide Radio presents voices for SEMA Manufacturers”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

1:10 – 1:30 p.m.
Intellistick: “Intellistick: On-line, Realtime, Oil Analysis”
North Hall - Booth 13262

1:40 – 2:00 p.m.
Horntones: “Pimp Your Honk with Horntones! Introducing the Horntones FX-550”
North Hall - Booth 10880

2:10 – 2:30 p.m.
Injen & Amsoil: “Injen/AMSOIL Diesel Air Intake Product Launch”
Central Hall - Booth 21051

2:40 – 3:00 p.m.
In.Pro.Car.Wear, Inc.: “The Industry's First Full-Function LED & Fiber Optic Headlight”
Central Hall - Booth 20845

3:10 – 3:30 p.m.
Masters Entertainment Group: “ION TV Network to Feature New Motorsports Block in 2008”
Central Hall - Booth 20585

3:40 – 4:00 p.m.
ARB-USA: “ARB and the Motive Club Honor Motive Heroes”
ARB/Motive Club Jeep Wrangler in front of the LVCC (between Central and South Halls)

4:10 – 4:30 p.m.
Liner Solution & Crystaliner: “Bedliner Refurb Kit Opens New Automotive Installer Market; Precious Metals Metallics Introduces Bedliner Bling to Spray On Market”
Upper South Hall - Booth 33730

4:40 – 5:00 p.m.
Orange Electronic Co., LTD: “The Future Trend of TPMS”
Upper South Hall - Booth 34408

5:10 p.m.
SEMA: “SEMA Show Daily Update”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219


Friday November 2
1:30 – 1:50 p.m.
LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’ Bureau): “SEMA's Long-Term Commitment to Las Vegas”
Continental Tire Media Experience, Room S219

Media are encouraged to check the schedule each day for updates or changes to the listings. Schedules will be posted at www.SEMAshow.com and available in the Continental Tire Media Experience in Room S219.

With just three weeks until the 2007 SEMA Show opens, time is running out to register for the 2007 SEMA Show Internship Program. The Internship Program is an excellent opportunity for participating exhibitors to observe, influence and potentially hire new talent actively pursuing a career in the specialty-equipment industry.

According to SEMA research, 25% of specialty-equipment business owners list inadequate skill of workforce as a major obstacle facing their businesses, a contributing factor in SEMA's focus on industry education programs and initiatives, including the National Education Conference, Technical Briefing Seminars and Memorial Scholarship Fund.

SEMA Show interns are students enrolled in schools or universities that specialize in automotive-related fields of study and interested in a technical or business/management position after graduation. Interns will be assigned to exhibitor companies based on their chosen area of industry interest and will gain an enormous amount of exposure and insight into the career opportunities available to them through your participation.

Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to work with future innovators and leaders in the automotive specialty-equipment market industry. If you're interested in hosting an intern during the 2007 SEMA Show, or want more information about the SEMA Show Internship Program, go to http://www.sema.org/images/pdf/07_SS_Internship_Flyer.pdf to download the registration form.

For more on SEMA's industry education programs, visit www.sema.org/education. For more insight into the challenges facing today's industry leaders, visit www.sema.org/research and download the 2007 Trends and Forecasts-Q1 Update, available exclusively to SEMA members as another membership benefit. 

SEMA News is looking for information on products for four specific vehicles. Manufacturers who offer parts or systems for the 2008 Nissan Titan, 2008 Cadillac CTS, 2008 Hummer H2 SUV or 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid are encouraged to notify SEMA News. E-mail company name, product name and description, company website URL and a high-resolution photo of the product to stevec@sema.org. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 19, 2007.

The following information and photos are courtesy of the shooters at Brenda Priddy & Co.

We were originally told that BMW's new X6 would be a direct rival to the Mercedes CLS, but now that the concept has been introduced, we can see that it's definitely not.

BMW also made us believe the new V5—also referred to as the F5 and even RFK—would be Munich's answer to the Mercedes R-Class, but again, this appears to be false information.

Early spy shots of the RFK now reveal it's a true fastback, allowing more headroom than in the X6, while being significantly smaller than the Mercedes R-Class. The more car-like approach seen on this prototype seems better suited to BMW's values than a fullsize van, but it could easily be considered a sport van or—like the others in the marketplace—a crossover.

V5? F5? RFK? Whatever it's called, we're expecting this RWD Spartanburg-built crossover to share engines with the 5 Series and offer optional all-wheel-drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing to clarify the performance and test requirements of the brake hose standard, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 106. The NHTSA revised the standard in 2004 to make it consistent with the most current requirements adopted by the Society for Automotive Engineering (SAE). The changes take effect on December 20, 2007, and relate to hydraulic, vacuum, and air brake hoses, plastic air brake tubing and end fittings. For further information:

Link to the NHTSA’s response to requests for reconsideration and correction of typos:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-19467.pdf

Link to the NHTSA’s proposed rule: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-19474.pdf

Questions? Contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

NEWS NUGGETS

SCELZI, CAPPS MAKE COUNTDOWN TO ONE WITH FINAL ROUND APPEARANCE: On a day when only the top four in the point standings would advance to the final two-race shootout for POWERade world championships, Funny Car teammates Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi, sitting fifth and sixth in the point standings, knew they had to have spectacular finishes at the second annual Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, Virginia. And that is exactly what they did. With both drivers facing off in the final round of Funny Car, Gary Scelzi grabbed the ‘Wally,’ but both drivers grabbed a spot in the Countdown to the Championship’s championship round, The Countdown to One. Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta, though not in the championship hunt, also had the day he’d been hoping for, picking up his first win of the season in his first final round appearance since Memphis 2006. In Pro Stock, Dave Connolly continued his dominance in historic fashion, grabbing his fifth race win in a row and sweeping the Countdown to Four playoff round. Connolly ties Greg Anderson for the second-longest winning streak in class history. Bob Glidden holds the number one spot with nine wins in a row, set back in 1978–1979.

COUNTDOWN TO ONE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS SET IN ALL PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES: After an amazing playoff battle between the top eight drivers in the point standings in each professional category, the field was set for the next round in the Countdown to the Championship, the Countdown to One. After the amazing battles seen this past weekend at the second annual Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Virginia, the top four drivers in Pro Stock, Funny Car and Top Fuel were set and will advance to the two-race shootout for the POWERade world series championships starting October 25–28, at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finishing up the next week, November 1–4, at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California. Please see the top four drivers below. For more information on the inaugural season of the Countdown to the Championship, click here. NOTE: The Pro Stock Motorcycle fields were set at the previous race, the 22nd annual O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Dallas.

TOP FUEL

FUNNY CAR

PRO STOCK

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

PARKS FAMILY ANNOUNCES UPCOMING TRIBUTES TO LATE NHRA FOUNDER, WALLY PARKS: The family of the late NHRA founder, Wally Parks, who died September 28, announced the first of what is expected to be several tributes to the motorsports legend, beginning at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion and at the Automobile Club NHRA Finals. A short tribute will be held at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion at the Auto Club of Southern California Raceway in Bakersfield, California, October 12–14. NHRA also will have a special trackside ceremony honoring Parks on Sunday, November 4, prior to the final round of eliminations at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. For more information on these events, please view our website at www.nhra.com.

TOP FUEL RACERS READY FOR $100,000 BONUS IN TECHNICOAT SHOOTOUT: Tony Schumacher will start from the No. 1 position in the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout on October 27 during the seventh annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The all-star race-within-a-race bonus event, which awards $100,000 to the winner, showcases the eight Top Fuel drivers who accumulated the most qualifying points during the 2007 Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout series. The series began with the 2006 ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and ended at the 2007 Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond, Virginia, this past weekend. Other racers who have earned a position in the Technicoat Shootout include three-time winner Larry Dixon, 2004 winner Dave Grunbic, three-time runner-up Cory McClenathan, 2002 runner-up Brandon Bernstein, 2006 runner-up Rod Fuller, Melanie Troxel and J.R. Todd.

FORCE EMBARKS IN A MORE INTENSE PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM IN DALLAS: Funny Car legend John Force will remain at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for an undetermined amount of time as he begins a more intense physical therapy program to recover from injuries suffered during a quarterfinal crash at the O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, September 23. Faced with the knowledge that he can’t put weight on a badly broken left ankle for at least 60 days and realizing that his severely damaged right knee and foot simply would not hold him up, Force decided to go with the wishes of orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Zehr and orthopedic traumatologist Dr. Alan Jones and remain at Baylor. Leading Auto Club 2007 Road to the Future rookie of the year candidate Ashley Force, who did not compete in this past weekends Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Virginia, because safety modifications to her Ford Mustang that were mandated by her father after his crash could not be completed in time, is expected to be back in the driver's seat for the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

CATERPILLAR NAMED OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF NHRA: NHRA announced this past weekend that one of the most recognizable names in the corporate world, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), will become an official sponsor of NHRA beginning in 2008. As part of the official status with NHRA, CAT will have display space at all 23 events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series circuit. CAT also will participate in NHRA’s Youth & Education Services (YES) program, presented by the U.S. Army. “These races provide a venue for our dealers to meet one-on-one with these drag racing and engine enthusiasts who are also prospective employees,” said Bill Mayo, vice president of Caterpillar’s North American Commercial Division. 

GAINESVILLE RACEWAY TOWER-COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES: Construction on a new VIP tower is racing along at Gainesville Raceway, home of the annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. The old tower was razed in June, and construction began shortly thereafter. A state-of-the-art control tower will house track offices, race-control operations and a spacious media center.

PERSONETT PICKS UP THIRD CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIP IN SPORT COMPACT FALLNATIONALS: Pro RWD Brad Personett picked up the win and his third consecutive championship in the process this past weekend at the NHRA Sport Compact Fallnationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Champions in three of the four East Region Sportsman classes (UrbanRacer.com, Sport FWD, Sport RWD and BFGoodrich Tires Street Stock) were also crowned at the event.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

NHRA SPORT COMPACT WORLD FINALS, AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, CALIFORNIA, OCTOBER 20–21: The best drivers in the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Series will gather at the famous Auto Club Raceway in Pomona for the final event of the 2007 Sport Compact Season.

ACDELCO LAS VEGAS NHRA NATIONALS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, OCTOBER 25–28: The Countdown to One begins with the Top four in each professional category battling it out for POWERade World Championships. The 2007 Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout also will take place at the event, pitting the top drivers in Top Fuel battling against each other for $100,000 and bragging rights.

AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS, AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, NOVEMBER 1–4: In the final race of the season, the top four drivers in each professional category will all be fighting for the POWERade World Championship. Defending event winners include Tony Schumacher, John Force, Greg Anderson, and Craig Treble.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

113: The number of points 2005 Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi picked up with his win in Richmond, Virginia, which propelled him from sixth place, sitting out of the Countdown, to second place, secured in the Countdown to One and only 10 points behind first place Tony Pedregon. With the two-race shootout just three weeks away, Scelzi is in prime position to win his second POWERade Funny Car Championship.

DRIVERS TELL ALL

FUNNY CAR DRIVER JACK BECKMAN ON JUST MISSING THE FIELD FOR THE COUNTDOWN TO ONE: Heading into the second annual Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Virginia, this past weekend, Funny Car driver Jack Beckman was sitting in the third spot, one spot ahead of the cutoff point for the Countdown to One and 25 points ahead of fifth-place driver and teammate Ron Capps. But after a quarterfinal loss, Beckman could only watch as fellow teammates Capps and Gary Scelzi made it to the final round at Richmond, bumping him from third to fifth place in the standings, only 12 points out of the Countdown to One and his hopes of a POWERade world championship. “You always want to control your destiny,” Beckman said. “You always want it decided on the race track with you strapped in the car. To have to sit there for two rounds is agonizing. It’s tough to put a good spin on this right now. We’ll race for fifth now instead of first.”

For more information, visit www.nhra.com.  

THE ROCK: Race car driver Andy Hillenburg, who operates the Fast Track Driving School, paid $4.4 million to buy North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham at auction last week. Hillenburg hopes to bring racing back to the track in a variety of forms as soon as November 2008.

FINISHED: The International Race of Champions, which ran races for championship winning drivers in identically prepared cars from 1973–2006, has met its end through the lack of sponsorship and commitment from car manufacturers.

NEW RIDE: After two seasons with Gillet Evernham Motorsports, Scott Riggs will move to the Haas CNC Racing team for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup campaign.

STOCK-CAR MAN: IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti was officially announced last week as the driver of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 40 for the 2008 season. Two days later, he made his stock-car racing debut, finishing 17th in the ARCA race at Talladega, Alabama. Meanwhile, former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve made his Nextel Cup debut at Talladega and finished 21st after qualifying sixth. Both drivers are former Indy 500 winners.

FULL CONTROL: Dennis Huth has acquired all rights to the American Speed Association from former owner Steve Dale.

THE CHAMP: Veteran stock-car racer Steve Carlson earned the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly racing title for the first time in his career.

HE’S BACK: Nelson Philippe will return to the Champ Car World Series, driving the final two races of the season in Australia and Mexico City for Conquest Racing.

A BEST: Davey Blaney’s third-place finish behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson Sunday at Talladega, Alabama, was the best for Toyota in its maiden season of Nextel Cup competition.

NUMBER ONE: With his 18th World of Outlaws triumph of the season at Princeton Speedway in Minnesota, Donny Schatz remained atop the NSSN Power Rankings for the second-straight week. NHRA Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly, who has won five straight, jumped to second.

SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. To subscribe to National Speed Sport News, click on the following link for a special industry rate: www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/subscribe.html?pid=NQ%2BVfhkepT4%3D.

The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) named John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. Inc., as the chairman of AIAM's board of directors. Mendel succeeds outgoing chairman Jim Press, formerly president of Toyota Motor North America Inc., who recently joined Chrysler LLC as a senior executive. Prior to his current position at American Honda, Mendel was senior vice president for automobile operations, responsible for product planning, advertising, marketing, public relations and distribution for both Honda and Acura Automobile Divisions.

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has announced that Norman (Norm) Affleck, retired president, chairman and CEO of Big O Tires, is one of the inductees into the 2007 Tire Industry Hall of Fame. Affleck was a founding member of Big O Tires Inc. and the first president of the company—a position that he held for more than 22 years. Under his management, he recruited many franchisees, helped Big O Tires become a leader in retreading, developed a unique warranty program, instituted the private brand tire line and created the Speed Lane concept still used at all Big O Tires stores. The Hall of Fame Inductions are set for Tuesday, October 30, in Las Vegas, prior to the opening of the SEMA Show.

Pirelli Tire North America announced that Gaetano (Guy) Mannino left his post as president of the company after a 25-year career with the tiremaker. Hugh Pace, who was recently installed as chairman and CEO of Pirelli, will assume leadership for all business and commercial operations in addition to his current executive role. Mannino had been the company’s president since 2002, and oversaw the company’s relocation to Rome, Georgia, and the development of its automated MIRS tire plant. 

PPG Industries named two longtime PPG executives to vice president posts. Charles Kahle II, director, coatings research and development, was appointed vice president, coatings research and development. Kahle joined PPG in 1987 as a research associate in coatings after earning his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois. Also, Vincent Morales, director, investor relations, was appointed vice president, investor relations. Morales joined PPG in the corporate controller’s office in 1985. Morales had served as director, internal financial reporting, prior to taking on his current position in 2004.

Submit items for Movers and Shakers to eNews@sema.org.