Thu, 11/08/2012 - 15:53
Following are dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows, webinars and activities. Click on an item for more details.
Thu, 11/08/2012 - 14:58
Dan Jondron passed peacefully on All Souls Day, Friday, November 2, 2012. He was, as always, surrounded by the people who loved him.
Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:51
  automobile trade show, auto show, automobile events, sema show
The Hackathon featured more than 81 registered developers from around the country competing to develop the best new apps to be compatible with Pioneer’s AppRadio products.
   

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. announced the winners of its first AppRadio Hackathon held during the 2012 SEMA Show. The 69-hour event had more than 81 registered developers, some of whom had traveled from different parts of the country. They competed to develop the best new apps to be compatible with Pioneer’s AppRadio products, an in-dash, smartphone-powered audio system that enables consumers to use and control compatible apps directly from their touchscreen displays.

The continuous three-day competition created nine new ideal apps designed to work with the AppRadio platform, ranging from popular Facebook postings and tweets that can be read to drivers to car maintenance that measures tire pressure and air leaks.

“The response to our very first Hackathon has been overwhelming and has allowed us to engage personally with some of the most creative and innovative app developers around the nation and expose them to the SEMA-member community of accessory manufacturers,” said Ted Cardenas, vice president of marketing for the Car Electronics Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “Overall, the event established our goals in exposing the AppRadio platform to developers and generating more excitement for our products and the automotive industry as a whole. Most importantly, it produced great ideas for unique apps that further put us in the forefront of smartphone connectivity in the car.”

Developers chose from three popular app categories: safe in-vehicle use of Social Networking Services (SNS) through a voice recognition and text-to-speech interface; geo-fenced or geo-tagged automotive-related location-based services (LBS); and apps that incorporate a technology, product or service from a 2012 SEMA Show exhibitor.

The first-place 2012 AppRadio Hackathon winners are the following developers:

Voice Interface Social Networking Automotive App
App

Name:Tiles

Developers: Ali Haeri, Evan Chen and Hannah Choo

Tiles is a social networking app that automatically aggregates the most relevant social media content by taking into account current time, location, and social activity of the user. Content is then served in news-ticker format in the user’s Facebook page or Twitter account, with new tiles appearing as they become relevant. Each tile contains two “action buttons,” allowing interaction with the content using AppRadio’s speech-to-text and voice recognition technology allowing the user to hear a Facebook posting or tweet and focus on driving.


The Tiles app also allows for targeted advertising—the “advertising tile” which has the same look and feel as the other tiles and is seamlessly integrated with social media postings. Local advertising tiles can trigger navigation upon tap and also have the ability to be hyper-targeted, from a specific advertisement to pop-up based on the user’s particular interests (from their social profile) to drivers in a certain vicinity of businesses.

Location-Based Services (LBS) App
App

Name: CarTourin’

Developer: Jad Meouchy

CarTourin’ is a sightseeing app that uses location-based services to guide users along a series of tour destinations. Instead of sitting on a crowded tour bus, users have the ability to take a guided tour from the comfort of their own vehicle. On the screen of the AppRadio display, available tours in the users’ area pop up on the screen with information about tour pricing, ratings, categories and more. Users also have the ability to load destinations into a routed Google Map.


At checkpoints during the tour, information and photos pop up on the screen as well as interactive trivia that can be redeemed for premium content and shared with friends over social media. When the driver reaches their final destination, the app will congratulate the tour-taker for their completion, and will reward them with special offers related to the subject of the tour including coupons to nearby activities, restaurants, and special discounted rates to other attractions. Users also have the option to leave feedback about the tour and the option to share it with friends.

SEMA Member Automotive Accessory App
App

Name: CAMBUDDY Drive

Developer: Mike Kai
o

CAMBUDDY Drive is an app that allows the user to create a comprehensive and compelling driving video experience which can be shared with friends on Facebook or uploaded directly to YouTube. With the app, the driver can control a GoPro Hero3 camera from inside his or her car. Recorded video is overlayed with real-time performance visualization using the PLX Kiwi 2 and iPhone sensors.


The app is ideal for anyone who wants to capture their car adventure, from off-roading to taking a cruise to the beach. The live video feed can also help with safety by improving visibility in blind areas and providing greater driver awareness of their surroundings.

Each team/app was judged based on their (1) adherence to category; (2) originality of the idea; (3) ability to articulately present the application; (4) technology used in the application and (5) user-interface design and adherence to provided guidelines for screen resolution and orientation. Judges of the Hackathon included two Pioneer executives, a creative agency co-founder, an editor from GEEK magazine, and a SEMA executive. These judges come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from the automotive and aftermarket car audio industry, creative to technology.

Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:51
  automobile trade show, auto show, automobile events, sema show
The Hackathon featured more than 81 registered developers from around the country competing to develop the best new apps to be compatible with Pioneer’s AppRadio products.
   

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. announced the winners of its first AppRadio Hackathon held during the 2012 SEMA Show. The 69-hour event had more than 81 registered developers, some of whom had traveled from different parts of the country. They competed to develop the best new apps to be compatible with Pioneer’s AppRadio products, an in-dash, smartphone-powered audio system that enables consumers to use and control compatible apps directly from their touchscreen displays.

The continuous three-day competition created nine new ideal apps designed to work with the AppRadio platform, ranging from popular Facebook postings and tweets that can be read to drivers to car maintenance that measures tire pressure and air leaks.

“The response to our very first Hackathon has been overwhelming and has allowed us to engage personally with some of the most creative and innovative app developers around the nation and expose them to the SEMA-member community of accessory manufacturers,” said Ted Cardenas, vice president of marketing for the Car Electronics Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “Overall, the event established our goals in exposing the AppRadio platform to developers and generating more excitement for our products and the automotive industry as a whole. Most importantly, it produced great ideas for unique apps that further put us in the forefront of smartphone connectivity in the car.”

Developers chose from three popular app categories: safe in-vehicle use of Social Networking Services (SNS) through a voice recognition and text-to-speech interface; geo-fenced or geo-tagged automotive-related location-based services (LBS); and apps that incorporate a technology, product or service from a 2012 SEMA Show exhibitor.

The first-place 2012 AppRadio Hackathon winners are the following developers:

Voice Interface Social Networking Automotive App
App

Name:Tiles

Developers: Ali Haeri, Evan Chen and Hannah Choo

Tiles is a social networking app that automatically aggregates the most relevant social media content by taking into account current time, location, and social activity of the user. Content is then served in news-ticker format in the user’s Facebook page or Twitter account, with new tiles appearing as they become relevant. Each tile contains two “action buttons,” allowing interaction with the content using AppRadio’s speech-to-text and voice recognition technology allowing the user to hear a Facebook posting or tweet and focus on driving.


The Tiles app also allows for targeted advertising—the “advertising tile” which has the same look and feel as the other tiles and is seamlessly integrated with social media postings. Local advertising tiles can trigger navigation upon tap and also have the ability to be hyper-targeted, from a specific advertisement to pop-up based on the user’s particular interests (from their social profile) to drivers in a certain vicinity of businesses.

Location-Based Services (LBS) App
App

Name: CarTourin’

Developer: Jad Meouchy

CarTourin’ is a sightseeing app that uses location-based services to guide users along a series of tour destinations. Instead of sitting on a crowded tour bus, users have the ability to take a guided tour from the comfort of their own vehicle. On the screen of the AppRadio display, available tours in the users’ area pop up on the screen with information about tour pricing, ratings, categories and more. Users also have the ability to load destinations into a routed Google Map.


At checkpoints during the tour, information and photos pop up on the screen as well as interactive trivia that can be redeemed for premium content and shared with friends over social media. When the driver reaches their final destination, the app will congratulate the tour-taker for their completion, and will reward them with special offers related to the subject of the tour including coupons to nearby activities, restaurants, and special discounted rates to other attractions. Users also have the option to leave feedback about the tour and the option to share it with friends.

SEMA Member Automotive Accessory App
App

Name: CAMBUDDY Drive

Developer: Mike Kai
o

CAMBUDDY Drive is an app that allows the user to create a comprehensive and compelling driving video experience which can be shared with friends on Facebook or uploaded directly to YouTube. With the app, the driver can control a GoPro Hero3 camera from inside his or her car. Recorded video is overlayed with real-time performance visualization using the PLX Kiwi 2 and iPhone sensors.


The app is ideal for anyone who wants to capture their car adventure, from off-roading to taking a cruise to the beach. The live video feed can also help with safety by improving visibility in blind areas and providing greater driver awareness of their surroundings.

Each team/app was judged based on their (1) adherence to category; (2) originality of the idea; (3) ability to articulately present the application; (4) technology used in the application and (5) user-interface design and adherence to provided guidelines for screen resolution and orientation. Judges of the Hackathon included two Pioneer executives, a creative agency co-founder, an editor from GEEK magazine, and a SEMA executive. These judges come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from the automotive and aftermarket car audio industry, creative to technology.

Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:50
  automobile trade show, auto show, automobile events, sema show
The 2012 SEMA Show featured more than 3,000 credentialed media eager to spread the word about the new products, innovations and announcements from the specialty-equipment industry.
   

Media attendance at the 2012 SEMA Show reached a record high with more than 3,000 credentialed media signed up for the Show. Representatives from local Las Vegas news stations as well as national crews, major automotive production companies, national daily newspapers and automotive enthusiast publications were at the Show in full force looking to report on the hottest trends and new products in the industry. For those who may have been too busy walking the Show floor to see the resulting coverage, below is just a sampling of the reporting that has resulted to date:

MSN:

Los Angeles Times:

USA Today:

The New York Times:

The Washington Post:

Las Vegas Review Journal:

Car and Driver:

Autoblog:

Tire Business: 

Autonews:

Autoweek:

Bodyshop Business:

Autospies:

Edmunds Inside Line:

Hot Rod Magazine:

The Financial:

Television News Coverage:

Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:50
  automobile trade show, auto show, automobile events, sema show
The 2012 SEMA Show featured more than 3,000 credentialed media eager to spread the word about the new products, innovations and announcements from the specialty-equipment industry.
   

Media attendance at the 2012 SEMA Show reached a record high with more than 3,000 credentialed media signed up for the Show. Representatives from local Las Vegas news stations as well as national crews, major automotive production companies, national daily newspapers and automotive enthusiast publications were at the Show in full force looking to report on the hottest trends and new products in the industry. For those who may have been too busy walking the Show floor to see the resulting coverage, below is just a sampling of the reporting that has resulted to date:

MSN:

Los Angeles Times:

USA Today:

The New York Times:

The Washington Post:

Las Vegas Review Journal:

Car and Driver:

Autoblog:

Tire Business: 

Autonews:

Autoweek:

Bodyshop Business:

Autospies:

Edmunds Inside Line:

Hot Rod Magazine:

The Financial:

Television News Coverage:

Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:42
  motive gear
Team Motive Gear from Loara High School in Anaheim, California, won the 4th annual "Showdown at SEMA."
   

The team from Loara High School in Anaheim, California—also known as Team MOTIVE GEAR—won the 4th annual "Showdown at SEMA," with the average time of 21:24 minutes. The teams kept the times close, with top-three teams ending up less than three minutes apart.

The "Showdown at SEMA" is the title of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This year, 13 high school auto tech teams competed in the engine teardown and rebuild contest in front of thousands of spectators at the entrance of the 2012 SEMA Show.

The event itself resembles the tear down between rounds at a drag race. The engines are identically prepared small block Chevys complete with all the goodies. Students must properly disassemble the engine down to just crank, cam, and block using hand tools only with proper detorque and disassembly procedure. The team then returns behind their work bench, and when approved by the judges, teams begin working to reassemble once again with correct assembly procedure and torque specs, all while being viewed by judges and spectators.

Time-added penalties are assessed for dropped components, improper disassembly/assembly, poor sportsmanship, etc. All procedural penalties are in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow rule book provided to the high schools at the start of the school year. The team with the fastest time including penalty minutes wins.

Event Winners and Wildcard Teams Compete    
The 13 teams earned their way to the "Showdown at SEMA" national championship. Eight teams that won their events straight out and five additional teams that had the next best qualifying times in the Nation were invited to compete.

Time Averaged Playoff Format

During the normal event competitions through the year, all teams compete once. The best time wins the event and that team has the opportunity to compete at SEMA.
But during the national championship "Showdown at SEMA" all the teams competed a total of 4 times during the SEMA show starting Monday. At the end of the fourth day each team's highest time was thrown out and the remaining three times were averaged.

2012 National Champion: Team MOTIVE GEAR (Loara High School from Anaheim, California.) was determined the winner with the best average time of 21:24. Trophies and scholarships were given out on Friday morning at the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow award presentation.

  • Second Place: Team ENERGY SUSPENSION - Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr., Choctaw, OK - Average Time - 21:54
  • Third Place: Team MR. GASKET - East Ridge High School from Chattanooga, TN - Average Time - 22:19
  • Fourth Place: Team AEROMOTIVE – Burton Center for Arts & Technology, Salem, VA - Average Time - 24:46
  • Fifth Place: Team MAGNAFLOW - North Orange County ROP, Anaheim, CA - Average Time - 25:35
  • Sixth Place: Team ROYAL PURPLE - Elkhart Area Career Center #1 - Average Time - 25:50
  • Seventh Place: Team ARP- Elkhart Area Career Center #2- Average Time - 25:53
  • Eighth Place: Team PROFORM - Peach County High School Fort Valley, GA - Average Time - 26:14
  • Ninth Place: Team THERMO-TEC –Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, GA - Average Time - 27:40
  • Tenth Place: Team EDELBROCK - Fremd High School, Palatine, IL - Average Time - 28:50
  • Eleventh Place: Team HEDMAN HEDDERS - Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, IL - Average Time - 31:04
  • Twelfth Place: Team MSD - Joliet Central High School, Joliet, IL - Average Time - 32:31
  • Thirteenth Place: Team PAINLESS PERFORMANCE - Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, TN - Average Time - 33:46

A total of $1.2 million awarded to the participants in scholarship money.

Three Auto Technological Colleges—Ohio Technical College (OTC), University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) and School of Automotive Machinists (SAM)—are presenting all the participating high school students scholarship money.

Each College is awarding the following:
$10,000 to each first place team member,
$9,000 to each second place team member,
$8,000 to each third place team member,
$7,000 to each fourth place team member,
$6,000 to each fifth place team member and
$5,000 to each sixth thru thirteenth place team member.



Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:42
  motive gear
Team Motive Gear from Loara High School in Anaheim, California, won the 4th annual "Showdown at SEMA."
   

The team from Loara High School in Anaheim, California—also known as Team MOTIVE GEAR—won the 4th annual "Showdown at SEMA," with the average time of 21:24 minutes. The teams kept the times close, with top-three teams ending up less than three minutes apart.

The "Showdown at SEMA" is the title of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This year, 13 high school auto tech teams competed in the engine teardown and rebuild contest in front of thousands of spectators at the entrance of the 2012 SEMA Show.

The event itself resembles the tear down between rounds at a drag race. The engines are identically prepared small block Chevys complete with all the goodies. Students must properly disassemble the engine down to just crank, cam, and block using hand tools only with proper detorque and disassembly procedure. The team then returns behind their work bench, and when approved by the judges, teams begin working to reassemble once again with correct assembly procedure and torque specs, all while being viewed by judges and spectators.

Time-added penalties are assessed for dropped components, improper disassembly/assembly, poor sportsmanship, etc. All procedural penalties are in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow rule book provided to the high schools at the start of the school year. The team with the fastest time including penalty minutes wins.

Event Winners and Wildcard Teams Compete    
The 13 teams earned their way to the "Showdown at SEMA" national championship. Eight teams that won their events straight out and five additional teams that had the next best qualifying times in the Nation were invited to compete.

Time Averaged Playoff Format

During the normal event competitions through the year, all teams compete once. The best time wins the event and that team has the opportunity to compete at SEMA.
But during the national championship "Showdown at SEMA" all the teams competed a total of 4 times during the SEMA show starting Monday. At the end of the fourth day each team's highest time was thrown out and the remaining three times were averaged.

2012 National Champion: Team MOTIVE GEAR (Loara High School from Anaheim, California.) was determined the winner with the best average time of 21:24. Trophies and scholarships were given out on Friday morning at the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow award presentation.

  • Second Place: Team ENERGY SUSPENSION - Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr., Choctaw, OK - Average Time - 21:54
  • Third Place: Team MR. GASKET - East Ridge High School from Chattanooga, TN - Average Time - 22:19
  • Fourth Place: Team AEROMOTIVE – Burton Center for Arts & Technology, Salem, VA - Average Time - 24:46
  • Fifth Place: Team MAGNAFLOW - North Orange County ROP, Anaheim, CA - Average Time - 25:35
  • Sixth Place: Team ROYAL PURPLE - Elkhart Area Career Center #1 - Average Time - 25:50
  • Seventh Place: Team ARP- Elkhart Area Career Center #2- Average Time - 25:53
  • Eighth Place: Team PROFORM - Peach County High School Fort Valley, GA - Average Time - 26:14
  • Ninth Place: Team THERMO-TEC –Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, GA - Average Time - 27:40
  • Tenth Place: Team EDELBROCK - Fremd High School, Palatine, IL - Average Time - 28:50
  • Eleventh Place: Team HEDMAN HEDDERS - Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, IL - Average Time - 31:04
  • Twelfth Place: Team MSD - Joliet Central High School, Joliet, IL - Average Time - 32:31
  • Thirteenth Place: Team PAINLESS PERFORMANCE - Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, TN - Average Time - 33:46

A total of $1.2 million awarded to the participants in scholarship money.

Three Auto Technological Colleges—Ohio Technical College (OTC), University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) and School of Automotive Machinists (SAM)—are presenting all the participating high school students scholarship money.

Each College is awarding the following:
$10,000 to each first place team member,
$9,000 to each second place team member,
$8,000 to each third place team member,
$7,000 to each fourth place team member,
$6,000 to each fifth place team member and
$5,000 to each sixth thru thirteenth place team member.



Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:32

SEMA News—October 2012

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Mike Imlay

Bettering Your Business With Apps

According to Michael Beller, vice president of Media Works and emerging media at Source Interlink Media, apps nowadays are more likely to be developed to better a business and its operations than to merely awe or entertain consumers.
The words “there’s an app for that” have become somewhat of a cliché—and with good reason. Not long ago, many businesses pursued mobile applications mainly as a gimmicky exercise in marketing. Having a cool branded game or similar whiz-bang app was considered a trendy way to burnish a company’s image with smartphone and tablet users. But times are changing, and the world of apps is maturing.

According to Michael Beller, vice president of Media Works and emerging media at Source Interlink Media, apps nowadays are more likely to be developed to better a business and its operations than to merely awe or entertain consumers.

“There’s a whole range of ideas coming from our clients that fall into a lot of different buckets,” Beller explained. “They could be database-driven apps; they could be more marketing-related apps for reps to use with retailers; or they could be more consumer-based apps to help consumers learn about their products. It’s all really interesting.”

Laying the Groundwork

Of course, the term “app” is shorthand for an application or software program accessed through a computer, smartphone, tablet or related device. Up until recently, the question facing many manufacturers—and even retailers—was whether to hop on the app-development bandwagon at all. Now, however, with a wide range of utilitarian apps available—especially those designed for mobile devices—there’s no question that they can make a business more efficient, productive and portable. So what are some best practices in approaching mobile apps and/or related emerging media?

If your company’s goal is to improve its marketing to consumers, mobile optimization of your website is always a recommended first step. While not technically app development, such optimization lays the foundation for other digital marketing efforts. Beller pointed out that customers in a retail environment can easily research information, compare pricing and even make online purchases via their smartphones while waiting at the counter. If a website isn’t mobile optimized, frustrated consumers can quickly bail on it in favor of another company’s site that is. Fortunately, mobile optimization can be accomplished easily and inexpensively.

“We tell our clients that no one wants to pinch and zoom anymore,” said Beller. “No matter who develops it, you have to have a mobile website.” One example would be including an easy-to-use online database containing product information, availability and pricing.

After optimizing its website for mobile viewing, a company can next move on to consider whether specialized applications make sense. The realm of choices is broad. Apps can be:

  • Utilitarian—for instance, enabling customers or even staff and field representatives to look up products and information from their smartphones or tablets.
  • Brand extensions—applying the power of a brand to an app that’s not necessarily directly related to core business but that nevertheless supplies a service to users.
  • Content-driven—offering users videos, reviews, news, feeds and related marketing collateral or updates pertaining to a business.
  • B2B tools—such as a marketing app created so that sales reps can educate potential buyers about a company’s offerings at trade shows, events or in the field.
  • Training related—specifically for a company’s employees or sales representatives.

According to Beller, deciding what type of app to pursue comes down to two considerations.

“First,” he said, “it depends on what specific vertical you are in—direct to consumer, direct to retailer, inventory management, web-based versus mobile-based. The other consideration may be a challenge that needs a specific solution. For example, a company may need an inventory-management-type make, model, year app for a certain part it manufactures.”

Branding Utility

Toyo’s recently introduced app was designed to educate the company’s sales team, dealers and dealer customers about Toyo products.

Toyo’s recently introduced app was designed to educate the company’s sales team, dealers and dealer customers about Toyo products. It displays product overviews, features and benefits, training materials, multi-media product videos, commercials and photos along with media stories and product sizes and specs.

“You should identify your target audience and the content that is important or useful to them,” agreed Amy Coleman, senior director of marketing for Toyo Tire USA Corp., which recently developed an innovative iPad business app with Source Interlink Media’s assistance. “Establish a good outline of the project in advance. This will act as your road map and guide, establishing the content you need to gather or create and milestones along the way.”

Toyo’s recently introduced app was designed to educate the company’s sales team, dealers and dealer customers about Toyo products. It displays product overviews, features and benefits, training materials, multimedia product videos, commercials and photos along with media stories and product sizes and specs. It also features PDFs of product brochures, the company’s dealer magazine and links to the Toyo website and social-media channels. It has proven to be an extremely useful B2B tool for the company’s field representatives.

“The goal was to consolidate product information into one, easy-to-use-tool,” Coleman said. “It was first launched with our Proxes 4 Plus and now features 17 products. It’s a tool that can be used in sales meetings, in employee training, on the showroom floor and at events, including the SEMA Show. The sizes and specs data is pulled from our website, which is updated regularly so our sales department and dealers will always have the latest information at their fingertips. This is the first time all Toyo product information is together in one tool for our sales department and dealers.”

Read the complete article featured in the October 2012 issue of SEMA News.
Thu, 11/08/2012 - 13:13

Dirt Late Model Champ Rick Eckert to Share Setup Strategies at PRI Show
This year’s Race Industry Week, held in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show, could prove to be a big on-track winner for Dirt Late Model teams with the addition of the “Winning Setup Strategies for Dirt Late Models” chassis seminar, Friday, November 30.

The seminar will offer an opportunity to hear about winning engine and chassis strategies in Dirt Late Model racing. It’s designed particularly to provide information to those racing at local tracks and on regional tours. The panel discussion is being organized by Dick Berggren and Karl Fredrickson of Speedway Illustrated magazine.

Speakers will include Rick Eckert, 2011 World of Outlaws Late Model champion, who is currently second in points in the series. Eckert is the winner of the 1999 Dream at Eldora as well as many other major DLM events.

Roush-Yates Engine’s Jeff Clark will also share information about today’s high-performance dirt late-model engines. Clark is highly regarded as an expert in the race-engine field with experience across a broad array of on-track powerplant disciplines. A third major speaker will be added.

The “Winning Setup Strategies for Dirt Late Models" is one of more than 35 special events during Race Industry Week that will take place in conjunction with this year’s PRI Trade Show, which will run November 30– December 1, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The 25th Annual PRI Trade Show features the latest product lines of more than 1,000 manufacturers of racing and high-performance automotive components, as well as precision machining equipment. It will be attended by approximately 38,000 racing business people from all over the United States and from 70 countries. For more information, visit www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow.

  fox
FOX-sponsored athletes Jesse Jones and Bryce Menzies are teaming up once again to drive the FOX OFFROAD Racing trophy-truck in the Baja 1000.
   
FOX Athletes Jesse Jones and Bryce Menzies Join Forces at 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
FOX-sponsored athletes Jesse Jones and Bryce Menzies are teaming up once again in Baja. They first teamed up at the 2012 Baja 500 sharing pits and logistics. The move paid off, netting Menzies the overall win and his second consecutive Baja 500 win and Jones reaching the podium in third place. They're stepping up their collaboration for the Baja 1000 by sharing driving duties of Jones' FOX OFFROAD Racing trophy-truck.

The 45th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is a point-to-point peninsula run that starts in Ensenada, Baja California Sur and finishes 1,121.55 miles south in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Optimum G Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Seminar Returns To Race Industry Week
After a successful opening run in 2011, long-time race engineer Claude Rouelle will return to Orlando with his “Advanced Vehicle Dynamics & Data Acquisition” seminar, November 26–28, as part of Race Industry Week in conjunction with the 25h annual PRI Trade Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

The Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Seminar joins the AETC as one of two kick-off events to Race Industry Week—the week-long racing business extravaganza leading into this year’s PRI Trade Show.

The seminar is designed to help teams and designers not only learn about finding the correct setup, but also about understanding why a setup change is working or not working, and knowing how to quantify this advantage. It will aid in understanding how, why and how much certain factors affect vehicle behavior, rather than relying on experience and intuition.

Rouelle's career includes experience as technical advisor and manager on dozens of circuits and rallies, including the European Rally Championship, European Touring Car Championship, French Formula 3, Japanese F3000, Formula One and the CART series. In 1997, he created OptimumG, a consulting company that specializes in race car engineering and data acquisition through software development, consulting services and seminars.

Topics scheduled to be addressed in the three-day seminar include: tires, aerodynamics, kinematics, steady state weight transfer, shocks, ride and transient weight transfers, data acquisition, and car design, tuning modification and chassis setup. There is a fee to attend.

The OptimumG seminar is one of eight major events taking place in conjunction with this year’s PRI Trade Show, which will run November 29–December1, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Overall, “Race Industry Week” is scheduled to include more than 35 special events to be held in conjunction with the 2012 Show.

For more information, visit www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow.

  falken
Falken Tire will continue participation in the American Le Mans Series, Formula Drift, King of the Hammers and Supercross.


   

Falken Tire "Waves the Green" for an Expansive Motorsports Program for 2013
Falken Tire will continue participation in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), Formula Drift, King of the Hammers and Supercross.

 In the GT Class, ALMS competition, Falken engineers continue to ramp up further as Falken plans an “intense testing schedule in 2013,” according to Derrick Walker, who will return for his third year as team manager of Falken’s ALMS program. Both Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler, who have scored three victories in their two years together as co-drivers of the Team Falken Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, will continue their partnership in 2013. The ALMS will merge with its road-racing counterpart—the Grand Am series—in 2014 to form a single North American sanctioning body and racing program.

In Formula Drift, Team Falken will return with a three-car lineup featuring Justin Pawlak in his ’13 Mustang GT; Darren McNamara, driving a new V8-powered Nissan S14; and Daijiro Yoshihara, who will again enter his 2011 Championship-winning Nissan S13, however, though a new collaborative effort with Subaru, Yoshihara will campaign a new BRZ in 2014 with heavy development and testing takings place throughout the 2013 calendar year.

Falken Tire will expand its off-road program when the brand enters the 2013 King of the Hammers competition with Japan-based Team Tsuda Racing as well as supporting Race Prep Racing for a second year. Tsuda Racing features Driver Masa Tsuda and Co-driver Daiten Izumi, and Race Prep will have Driver Richard Carte and Co-driver Kristen Carter on board. Both teams will run on WildPeak All-Terrain tread.

More than 30,000 fans converge at Means Dry Lake in Johnson Valley, California, to form “Hammer Town”—a makeshift city made up of RVs and campers. Falken will also have a base of operations there, providing tire support to its teams and distributing Falken products and team “swag” to its neighbors during the week-long event.



Falken Tire also recently announced the signing of its second multiyear contract as the Official Passenger Car and Truck of AMA Supercross as well as with the series’ 2012 Champion, Ryan Villopoto, who has won back-to-back titles.

  garlits
The new co-sponsors for the 2013 Induction Banquet for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame are the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and Summit Racing Equipment.
   

International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Announces Major Sponsors
Don Garlits, chairman of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing (Ocala, Florida) has introduced two new co-sponsors for the 2013 Induction Banquet for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, based at the museum.

The new co-sponsors are the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) [Glendora, California] and Summit Racing Equipment (Tallmadge, Ohio).

The event will be known as the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction Banquet presented by NHRA and Summit Racing, and will be held at the Paramount Plaza Hotel & Suites (Gainesville, Florida) Thursday, March 14, 2013, preceding the NHRA Gatornationals. The 2013 class of inductees include: Dave Boertman (Norton Shores, Michigan), Wally Booth (Beverly Hills, Michigan), Bernie Fedderly (Brownsburg, Indiana), Harry Hibler (Shadow Hills, California), Hirata, Hobbs & Vodnik – Kenny Hirata (Lowell, Indiana), Phil Hobbs (Greenwood, Indiana) and Bobby Vodnik (Oak Forest, Illinois), K.S. (Tiger) Pittman (Springfield, Missouri), Dick Rosberg (Rockingham, North Carolina) and Louis Senter (Encino, California); and the Founders Award – Dr. Robert C. Post, PhD (Easton, Maryland).

To get tickets to the ceremony, call 877-271-3278 or e-mail Donna Garlits at donna@garlits.com.