By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

According to reports, deliveries of nitrous oxide are still not back to normal in some parts of the country following a fatal explosion last August at an Airgas plant in Cantonment, Florida. There are only a small number of plants in the United States that produce the gas.  he shortages were documented last December and January and expected to gradually ease with production increases elsewhere. Currently, many areas of the country are not reporting shortages, although prices may be significantly higher due to lessened supply. However, it seems to remain a problem in many local areas where both gas suppliers and racers may be experiencing a difficult time purchasing nitrous. It is anticipated that nationwide supplies will be returning to normal by the end of September.

Nitrous increases the amount of fuel that can be burned, thereby increasing an engine’s power output. Nitrous oxide has other applications as well, including as an anesthetic in dental surgeries and as a foaming agent for whipped cream. It is also used illegally as a recreational drug. Nitrous is produced in two forms, “USP” and “Nitrous Plus.” USP is a medical grade not available to the public. Nitrous Plus contains sulphur dioxide, which produces an unpleasant order to help prevent substance abuse. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

According to reports, deliveries of nitrous oxide are still not back to normal in some parts of the country following a fatal explosion last August at an Airgas plant in Cantonment, Florida. There are only a small number of plants in the United States that produce the gas.  he shortages were documented last December and January and expected to gradually ease with production increases elsewhere. Currently, many areas of the country are not reporting shortages, although prices may be significantly higher due to lessened supply. However, it seems to remain a problem in many local areas where both gas suppliers and racers may be experiencing a difficult time purchasing nitrous. It is anticipated that nationwide supplies will be returning to normal by the end of September.

Nitrous increases the amount of fuel that can be burned, thereby increasing an engine’s power output. Nitrous oxide has other applications as well, including as an anesthetic in dental surgeries and as a foaming agent for whipped cream. It is also used illegally as a recreational drug. Nitrous is produced in two forms, “USP” and “Nitrous Plus.” USP is a medical grade not available to the public. Nitrous Plus contains sulphur dioxide, which produces an unpleasant order to help prevent substance abuse. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

Ranch Hand Truck Accessories has joined the No. 12 Grunt Style Chevrolet Silverado as an associate sponsor for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ranch Hand Sponsors Spencer Boyd Racing

Spencer Boyd Racing has announced that Ranch Hand Truck Accessories has joined the No. 12 Grunt Style Chevrolet Silverado as an associate sponsor for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Throughout the two-week Charlotte home stretch, Spencer and Ranch Hand educated the public on how to “Protect Your Truck” with appearances in the local area.

Race Wrap from the 16th Annual Quick Fuel Technology NMCA Bluegrass Nationals

VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod: Billy Harper fouled at the start and opened the door for Daniel Pharris to take the win.

Dart Pro Stock: Kevin Lawrence and Rob Pearce were ready to run in the finals, but the two men mutually decided to pack it up early and finish the race at the 12th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing in Joliet, Illinois, in late July instead.

Mickey Thompson Radial Wars: Marty Stinnett and Dave Adkins met in the all-small-block final round, where Stinnett finished first, picking up his first win of the season behind the wheel of his ’93 Mustang.

VP Racing Fuels Street Outlaw: Nathan Stinson in his ’74 Nova picked up his first win over Rob Goss, as well as a new personal best 4.57 elapsed time along the way.

Holley EFI Factory Super Cars: Scott Libersher and his ’15 Camaro got to the finish first on a holeshot victory, despite a slightly slower elapsed time of 8.317 at 164.81 mph to Chuck Watson’s 8.265 at 165.23 mph.

ARP Nitrous Pro Street: Don Baskin and his ’10 Camaro took the win over Jeff Rudolf and his ’69 Nova with a quick 7.462 at 188.28 mph pass.

Edelbrock Xtreme Street: Bart Tobener and his S550 Mustang defeated Louie Filippides by nearly a full second in the final round.

Boninfante Racing NA 10.5: Dwight Ausmus took the win light over T.J. Strange in the finals, with an 8.080 at 168.56 mph run from his ’72 Firebird.

Chevrolet Performance Stock: Jesse Wilson pushed past Glenn Pushis when he ran 10.196 at 130.48 mph and claimed the win in his ’14 Camaro.

Fastest Street Car Stock/Super Stock Combo: Rick Pennington with his ’81 Malibu made it to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle over Mike Morris.

ATI Nostalgia Super Stock: Brent Wheeler in his ’66 Coronet turned the win lights on over Jim Netherland.

Detroit TrueTrac Nostalgia Muscle Car: Jerry Stamps cut a 0.046-second light to Andy Warren’s 0.048-second one, and Stamps ran dead on his dial with a 12.000 at 110.75 mph trip to take the win over Warren’s 10.008 at 132.17 mph effort on his 10.00 dial.

MagnaFuel Open Comp: For the finals, it was Donnie Bowles and his ’05 Mustang against Kurt Neighbor. The two duked it out with a close race, but the double break-out situation worked out in Bowles’ favor.

Gear Vendors True Street: Doug Flynn’s 8.538-second average earned him the overall win with his ’72 Nova. Kevin McCotter took the win in the 9-second category. For the 10-second group, Richard Doyle was deemed a winner while Jeff Brady did the deed in the 11-second group. Tom Calabrese won the 12-second showdown, and Jason Stephenson earned top honors in the 13-second section.

Next up, the NMCA E3 Spark Plugs Drag Racing Series heads to Joliet, Illinois, July 27, 2017, for the 12th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by Precision Turbo at Route 66 Raceway.

George Kibilov won his second consecutive Super Touring class race at round two of the United States Touring car Championship (USTCC).

Kibilov Wins Super Touring, Pitre Fights for Sportsman Win at Auto Club Speedway

George Kibilov won his second consecutive Super Touring class race at round two of the United States Touring car Championship (USTCC) while Thomas Pitre had to fight all race long to win the Sportsman class. Gary Sheehan won the Touring Car class while Daniel Akhromtsev had a fight on his hand in order to come out ahead in the GT class. Kibilov was the quickest qualifier in the Super Touring class in his SGK Home Solutions BMW M3. The teams head to Sonoma Raceway, June 17–18.

Molecule Award to Be Implemented at USTCC Races in 2017

Molecule will implement a special award at every United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) race in 2017. Each participating driver in the program will be eligible to win a complete Molecule cleaning kit at each race.

MOMO Continues SprintX Winning Streak at Lime Rock

MOMO continued its success in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship’s Amateur class during Rounds 5–6 at the Lime Rock circuit in Connecticut. The MOMO/NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, driven by Henrique Cisneros and Tyler McQuarrie, began the weekend with yet another Am/Am class pole position for last Friday’s Round 5 of the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship. From pole, Cisneros and McQuarrie delivered a textbook drive to capture their third win of the season, more than one lap ahead of the next team of Kris Wilson and Drew Regitz in the TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Sunday’s Round 6 saw the MOMO NGT Motorsport team repeat their performance as Cisneros and McQuarrie took their fourth victory in five races, again one lap ahead of their nearest competitors in the Aston Martin. After another pair of wins, the MOMO NGT Motorsport team is now leading the Am/Am Driver Championship with 123 points, six points over Wilson and Regitz. The SprintX series takes the next couple of months off before they return to Utah Motorsports Campus (formally Miller Motorsports Park) for Rounds 7–8, August 11–13.

Abacan Named NHRA Vice President and CFO

NHRA has named Roy T. Abacan as its new vice president and chief financial officer to oversee the financial and accounting organization as well as certain other NHRA functions. Abacan has wide-ranging management experience in public accounting and media/entertainment and other entrepreneurial and high-growth businesses. Abacan’s career with Ernst & Young was bridged by forays into hands-on executive management roles in industry. Abacan will report directly to NHRA president Peter Clifford.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

Ranch Hand Truck Accessories has joined the No. 12 Grunt Style Chevrolet Silverado as an associate sponsor for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ranch Hand Sponsors Spencer Boyd Racing

Spencer Boyd Racing has announced that Ranch Hand Truck Accessories has joined the No. 12 Grunt Style Chevrolet Silverado as an associate sponsor for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Throughout the two-week Charlotte home stretch, Spencer and Ranch Hand educated the public on how to “Protect Your Truck” with appearances in the local area.

Race Wrap from the 16th Annual Quick Fuel Technology NMCA Bluegrass Nationals

VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod: Billy Harper fouled at the start and opened the door for Daniel Pharris to take the win.

Dart Pro Stock: Kevin Lawrence and Rob Pearce were ready to run in the finals, but the two men mutually decided to pack it up early and finish the race at the 12th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing in Joliet, Illinois, in late July instead.

Mickey Thompson Radial Wars: Marty Stinnett and Dave Adkins met in the all-small-block final round, where Stinnett finished first, picking up his first win of the season behind the wheel of his ’93 Mustang.

VP Racing Fuels Street Outlaw: Nathan Stinson in his ’74 Nova picked up his first win over Rob Goss, as well as a new personal best 4.57 elapsed time along the way.

Holley EFI Factory Super Cars: Scott Libersher and his ’15 Camaro got to the finish first on a holeshot victory, despite a slightly slower elapsed time of 8.317 at 164.81 mph to Chuck Watson’s 8.265 at 165.23 mph.

ARP Nitrous Pro Street: Don Baskin and his ’10 Camaro took the win over Jeff Rudolf and his ’69 Nova with a quick 7.462 at 188.28 mph pass.

Edelbrock Xtreme Street: Bart Tobener and his S550 Mustang defeated Louie Filippides by nearly a full second in the final round.

Boninfante Racing NA 10.5: Dwight Ausmus took the win light over T.J. Strange in the finals, with an 8.080 at 168.56 mph run from his ’72 Firebird.

Chevrolet Performance Stock: Jesse Wilson pushed past Glenn Pushis when he ran 10.196 at 130.48 mph and claimed the win in his ’14 Camaro.

Fastest Street Car Stock/Super Stock Combo: Rick Pennington with his ’81 Malibu made it to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle over Mike Morris.

ATI Nostalgia Super Stock: Brent Wheeler in his ’66 Coronet turned the win lights on over Jim Netherland.

Detroit TrueTrac Nostalgia Muscle Car: Jerry Stamps cut a 0.046-second light to Andy Warren’s 0.048-second one, and Stamps ran dead on his dial with a 12.000 at 110.75 mph trip to take the win over Warren’s 10.008 at 132.17 mph effort on his 10.00 dial.

MagnaFuel Open Comp: For the finals, it was Donnie Bowles and his ’05 Mustang against Kurt Neighbor. The two duked it out with a close race, but the double break-out situation worked out in Bowles’ favor.

Gear Vendors True Street: Doug Flynn’s 8.538-second average earned him the overall win with his ’72 Nova. Kevin McCotter took the win in the 9-second category. For the 10-second group, Richard Doyle was deemed a winner while Jeff Brady did the deed in the 11-second group. Tom Calabrese won the 12-second showdown, and Jason Stephenson earned top honors in the 13-second section.

Next up, the NMCA E3 Spark Plugs Drag Racing Series heads to Joliet, Illinois, July 27, 2017, for the 12th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by Precision Turbo at Route 66 Raceway.

George Kibilov won his second consecutive Super Touring class race at round two of the United States Touring car Championship (USTCC).

Kibilov Wins Super Touring, Pitre Fights for Sportsman Win at Auto Club Speedway

George Kibilov won his second consecutive Super Touring class race at round two of the United States Touring car Championship (USTCC) while Thomas Pitre had to fight all race long to win the Sportsman class. Gary Sheehan won the Touring Car class while Daniel Akhromtsev had a fight on his hand in order to come out ahead in the GT class. Kibilov was the quickest qualifier in the Super Touring class in his SGK Home Solutions BMW M3. The teams head to Sonoma Raceway, June 17–18.

Molecule Award to Be Implemented at USTCC Races in 2017

Molecule will implement a special award at every United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) race in 2017. Each participating driver in the program will be eligible to win a complete Molecule cleaning kit at each race.

MOMO Continues SprintX Winning Streak at Lime Rock

MOMO continued its success in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship’s Amateur class during Rounds 5–6 at the Lime Rock circuit in Connecticut. The MOMO/NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, driven by Henrique Cisneros and Tyler McQuarrie, began the weekend with yet another Am/Am class pole position for last Friday’s Round 5 of the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship. From pole, Cisneros and McQuarrie delivered a textbook drive to capture their third win of the season, more than one lap ahead of the next team of Kris Wilson and Drew Regitz in the TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Sunday’s Round 6 saw the MOMO NGT Motorsport team repeat their performance as Cisneros and McQuarrie took their fourth victory in five races, again one lap ahead of their nearest competitors in the Aston Martin. After another pair of wins, the MOMO NGT Motorsport team is now leading the Am/Am Driver Championship with 123 points, six points over Wilson and Regitz. The SprintX series takes the next couple of months off before they return to Utah Motorsports Campus (formally Miller Motorsports Park) for Rounds 7–8, August 11–13.

Abacan Named NHRA Vice President and CFO

NHRA has named Roy T. Abacan as its new vice president and chief financial officer to oversee the financial and accounting organization as well as certain other NHRA functions. Abacan has wide-ranging management experience in public accounting and media/entertainment and other entrepreneurial and high-growth businesses. Abacan’s career with Ernst & Young was bridged by forays into hands-on executive management roles in industry. Abacan will report directly to NHRA president Peter Clifford.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patent troll suits are to be filed in the state in which the alleged infringer is incorporated or has its place of business. Courts had previously allowed patent-infringement suits to be filed in any district where the defendant does business. The ruling should reduce the number of suits that are filed in areas of the country deemed to be friendly forums for the plaintiff. At issue are frivolous lawsuits asserting that a company or individual is infringing a patent. The entity making the assertion is usually seeking licensing fees but not actually manufacturing a product or supplying services. The allegations are frequently associated with common technologies or business practices rather than a single patent. The lawsuits have exploded in recent years costing small and large businesses billions of dollars. Many companies have settled rather than fighting the cases, allowing the patent trolls to secure funds to pursue other parties. 

For more information, contact Daniel Ingber at danieli@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patent troll suits are to be filed in the state in which the alleged infringer is incorporated or has its place of business. Courts had previously allowed patent-infringement suits to be filed in any district where the defendant does business. The ruling should reduce the number of suits that are filed in areas of the country deemed to be friendly forums for the plaintiff. At issue are frivolous lawsuits asserting that a company or individual is infringing a patent. The entity making the assertion is usually seeking licensing fees but not actually manufacturing a product or supplying services. The allegations are frequently associated with common technologies or business practices rather than a single patent. The lawsuits have exploded in recent years costing small and large businesses billions of dollars. Many companies have settled rather than fighting the cases, allowing the patent trolls to secure funds to pursue other parties. 

For more information, contact Daniel Ingber at danieli@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patent troll suits are to be filed in the state in which the alleged infringer is incorporated or has its place of business. Courts had previously allowed patent-infringement suits to be filed in any district where the defendant does business. The ruling should reduce the number of suits that are filed in areas of the country deemed to be friendly forums for the plaintiff. At issue are frivolous lawsuits asserting that a company or individual is infringing a patent. The entity making the assertion is usually seeking licensing fees but not actually manufacturing a product or supplying services. The allegations are frequently associated with common technologies or business practices rather than a single patent. The lawsuits have exploded in recent years costing small and large businesses billions of dollars. Many companies have settled rather than fighting the cases, allowing the patent trolls to secure funds to pursue other parties. 

For more information, contact Daniel Ingber at danieli@sema.org.

By SEMA Editors

Tim Martin, SEMA chair-elect.

Tim Martin from K&N Engineering has been elected SEMA’s chairman-elect, and will help the SEMA Board of Directors lead the association for the 2017–2019 term. Martin fills the position held for the past two years by Wade Kawasaki of the Coker Group, who will begin serving his term as chairman in July. James Lawrence from Power Automedia was also voted onto the SEMA Board of Directors, and Greg Adler from Transamerican Auto Parts was re-elected, and will serve another term.

SEMA Board members are industry representatives who volunteer their time to lead and guide the association. They are elected by all SEMA-member companies and represent the key membership categories: manufacturers, distributors/retailers, manufacturers’ reps, and services.

The entire 2017-2018 SEMA Board of Directors will be honored and recognized during the SEMA Installation Gala in July. At the same time, current SEMA Immediate Past-Chair/Secretary Nate Shelton will conclude his volunteer term and be honored for his service and contributions. The event will also feature a special tribute to the 2017 SEMA Hall of Fame inductees: GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar.

By SEMA Editors

Tim Martin, SEMA chair-elect.

Tim Martin from K&N Engineering has been elected SEMA’s chairman-elect, and will help the SEMA Board of Directors lead the association for the 2017–2019 term. Martin fills the position held for the past two years by Wade Kawasaki of the Coker Group, who will begin serving his term as chairman in July. James Lawrence from Power Automedia was also voted onto the SEMA Board of Directors, and Greg Adler from Transamerican Auto Parts was re-elected, and will serve another term.

SEMA Board members are industry representatives who volunteer their time to lead and guide the association. They are elected by all SEMA-member companies and represent the key membership categories: manufacturers, distributors/retailers, manufacturers’ reps, and services.

The entire 2017-2018 SEMA Board of Directors will be honored and recognized during the SEMA Installation Gala in July. At the same time, current SEMA Immediate Past-Chair/Secretary Nate Shelton will conclude his volunteer term and be honored for his service and contributions. The event will also feature a special tribute to the 2017 SEMA Hall of Fame inductees: GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar.

By SEMA Editors

Tim Martin, SEMA chair-elect.

Tim Martin from K&N Engineering has been elected SEMA’s chairman-elect, and will help the SEMA Board of Directors lead the association for the 2017–2019 term. Martin fills the position held for the past two years by Wade Kawasaki of the Coker Group, who will begin serving his term as chairman in July. James Lawrence from Power Automedia was also voted onto the SEMA Board of Directors, and Greg Adler from Transamerican Auto Parts was re-elected, and will serve another term.

SEMA Board members are industry representatives who volunteer their time to lead and guide the association. They are elected by all SEMA-member companies and represent the key membership categories: manufacturers, distributors/retailers, manufacturers’ reps, and services.

The entire 2017-2018 SEMA Board of Directors will be honored and recognized during the SEMA Installation Gala in July. At the same time, current SEMA Immediate Past-Chair/Secretary Nate Shelton will conclude his volunteer term and be honored for his service and contributions. The event will also feature a special tribute to the 2017 SEMA Hall of Fame inductees: GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar.