SO LONG: National Speed Sport News, in business for 76 years, has ceased publication following its March 23 issue. 

PEUGEOT POWER: Loic Duval, Nicolas Lapierre and Oliver Panis drove the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 to victory at Saturday’s American Le Mans Series Mobil 1, 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.

FINALLY: Tony Kanaan will drive the No. 82 Geico-sponsored Dallara Honda for KV Racing Technology this year in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

INDY BOUND: Townsend Bell (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) and Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) have each landed rides for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SWEEP AGAIN: Kyle Busch completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR events at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway Sunday by winning the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. He also won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

BACKING: Pirelli has signed on as the title sponsor of the SCCA World Challenge Championships road-racing series.

THE OTHER SON: Stefan Wilson, brother of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, has signed a deal with Andretti Autosport to drive in the Firestone Indy Lights Series this year.

EXTENSION: Mars Inc., parent company of M&Ms, has extended its sponsorship agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

CASH COW: Darrell Lanigan pocketed more than $20,000 for winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Cash Cow 100 at Columbus (Mississippi) Speedway Saturday.

SO LONG: National Speed Sport News, in business for 76 years, has ceased publication following its March 23 issue. 

PEUGEOT POWER: Loic Duval, Nicolas Lapierre and Oliver Panis drove the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 to victory at Saturday’s American Le Mans Series Mobil 1, 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.

FINALLY: Tony Kanaan will drive the No. 82 Geico-sponsored Dallara Honda for KV Racing Technology this year in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

INDY BOUND: Townsend Bell (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) and Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) have each landed rides for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SWEEP AGAIN: Kyle Busch completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR events at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway Sunday by winning the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. He also won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

BACKING: Pirelli has signed on as the title sponsor of the SCCA World Challenge Championships road-racing series.

THE OTHER SON: Stefan Wilson, brother of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, has signed a deal with Andretti Autosport to drive in the Firestone Indy Lights Series this year.

EXTENSION: Mars Inc., parent company of M&Ms, has extended its sponsorship agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

CASH COW: Darrell Lanigan pocketed more than $20,000 for winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Cash Cow 100 at Columbus (Mississippi) Speedway Saturday.

SO LONG: National Speed Sport News, in business for 76 years, has ceased publication following its March 23 issue. 

PEUGEOT POWER: Loic Duval, Nicolas Lapierre and Oliver Panis drove the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 to victory at Saturday’s American Le Mans Series Mobil 1, 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.

FINALLY: Tony Kanaan will drive the No. 82 Geico-sponsored Dallara Honda for KV Racing Technology this year in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

INDY BOUND: Townsend Bell (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) and Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) have each landed rides for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SWEEP AGAIN: Kyle Busch completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR events at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway Sunday by winning the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. He also won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

BACKING: Pirelli has signed on as the title sponsor of the SCCA World Challenge Championships road-racing series.

THE OTHER SON: Stefan Wilson, brother of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, has signed a deal with Andretti Autosport to drive in the Firestone Indy Lights Series this year.

EXTENSION: Mars Inc., parent company of M&Ms, has extended its sponsorship agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

CASH COW: Darrell Lanigan pocketed more than $20,000 for winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Cash Cow 100 at Columbus (Mississippi) Speedway Saturday.

SO LONG: National Speed Sport News, in business for 76 years, has ceased publication following its March 23 issue. 

PEUGEOT POWER: Loic Duval, Nicolas Lapierre and Oliver Panis drove the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 to victory at Saturday’s American Le Mans Series Mobil 1, 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.

FINALLY: Tony Kanaan will drive the No. 82 Geico-sponsored Dallara Honda for KV Racing Technology this year in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

INDY BOUND: Townsend Bell (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) and Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) have each landed rides for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SWEEP AGAIN: Kyle Busch completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR events at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway Sunday by winning the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. He also won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

BACKING: Pirelli has signed on as the title sponsor of the SCCA World Challenge Championships road-racing series.

THE OTHER SON: Stefan Wilson, brother of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, has signed a deal with Andretti Autosport to drive in the Firestone Indy Lights Series this year.

EXTENSION: Mars Inc., parent company of M&Ms, has extended its sponsorship agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

CASH COW: Darrell Lanigan pocketed more than $20,000 for winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Cash Cow 100 at Columbus (Mississippi) Speedway Saturday.

The photo gallery on www.enjoythedrive.com contains more than 2,000 photos of the vehicles that helped the SEMA Show shine in 2010. The database of images can be search through various key words, including vehicle make, vehicle model, model year and more.

Highlighted for this week are Mercedes-Benz vehicles with custom touches that made the trip to Las Vegas.  

Distinctive Industries Names Dennis Roberts Regional Sales Manager
Distinctive Industries named Dennis Roberts as eastern North American regional sales manager. A long-time enthusiast and classic-car collector and restorer, Roberts has been professionally involved in the industry for 24 years. Beginning in 1987, as a resource expert for Atlanta-based Year One, he assembled a four-man team to travel the southeast attending swap meets and scouring salvage yards to satisfy requests from Year One customers. During his tenure, Roberts played a key role in product-line expansion, implementation of corporate processes and procedures, and catalog improvements, which contributed to the company’s growth. In recognition of his accomplishments, Roberts received the 2003 Industry Recognition Award from SEMA's Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) council.

CORSA Performance Exhausts Wins About.com 2011 Reader's Choice Award
CORSA Performance Exhausts was selected as the winner of the About.com 2011 Reader's Choice Award for best Mustang Aftermarket Product. 
Now in its fourth year, the About.com Reader's Choice Awards honor the best products, features and services across more than a dozen categories, ranging from technology to hobbies to parenting and more, as selected by its readers. "This year's Reader's Choice Awards program had a record number of nominations submitted across more than a dozen categories and featured hundreds of finalists," said Margot Weiss, managing editor, About.com. "We are thankful to all our readers for their participation and congratulate CORSA on their success."
 View the CORSA Performance Exhausts award and all award winners here.

MAHLE Clevite Inc. Expands Inventory at California Customer Care Center
MAHLE Clevite Inc. expanded the inventory at its Customer Care Center in Bell, California. The California Customer Care Center now stocks more than 9,000 SKUs of filters, gaskets and engine parts for both light-vehicle and heavy-duty applications. 

The company reported that with the inventory expansion in this region, MAHLE Clevite can now provide next-day ground service on a much broader line of products to most of California along with same-day pick-up service in Southern California. The nearly 22,000-sq.-ft. facility is fully staffed and open five days a week from 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (PDT).

NEWS NUGGETS

FORMER CHAMPS READY TO ROLL THE DICE FOR VEGAS LUCK AT THE SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS: With two races already in the record books in the 2011 season, the drivers of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series now set their sights on “Sin City” itself, as the series makes its first of two stops in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 1–3 at The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway. One driver hoping for a visit from “Lady Luck” is Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards. Just one year ago, Edwards entered the Las Vegas event riding a wave of success that saw the driver win his first Pro Stock world championship the previous year and pick up three wins and a runner-up finish in the first five races of the season. Edwards left Las Vegas with yet another win and a stronger hold on the points lead, but a string of bad luck late in the season saw that lead given up by the time the series returned to Las Vegas in October of that year, and Edwards was unable to repeat his championship run. The 2011 season has brought much of the same for Edwards. A DNQ to open the season at the Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals and a second-round loss to Ron Krisher at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals has the former world champion sitting 11th in the point standings entering the race in Las Vegas.

Two other drivers hoping to repeat some Las Vegas success are defending event winners as well as world champions Larry Dixon and John Force. Both drivers all but dominated the 2010 spring race, as well as the season, but haven’t had the title defense so far that they’ve hoped for; Dixon is tied for fourth place with Morgan Lucas and Force is ninth in the Funny Car standings, 113 points behind first-place teammate Mike Neff. Both drivers have yet to make it to the final round in 2011. Will The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway break their bad-luck streak? Tickets are still available for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.

K&N PARTNERS WITH NHRA AND FORD FOR 2011 K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE: K&N Filters has teamed up with NHRA and Ford Motor Company to offer one lucky NHRA fan the gift of a lifetime at the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge—NHRA Pro Stock’s bonus race-within-a-race program. NHRA fans that enter the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes online will have the opportunity to win a brand-new, totally redesigned ’11 Ford Explorer XLT. Eight finalists will receive a trip to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 23–26, 2011, at Summit Racing Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Those eight finalists will be randomly paired with one of the eight qualified drivers, with the finalists whose driver wins the K&N Horsepower Challenge taking home the ’11 Ford Explorer XLT courtesy of Ford. For more information, visit NHRA.com.

IHG’S CANDLEWOOD SUITES NAMED “PREFERRED HOTEL OF NHRA”: NHRA announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), designating Candlewood Suites—IHG’s midscale extended-stay hotel brand—as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” The strategic partnership provides multi-media rights to IHG and all of its brands, with Candlewood Suites designated as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” This includes significant advertising on NHRA.com, as well as in the weekly periodical National DRAGSTER. Candlewood Suites will also receive advertising placement in NHRA Nitro News—a weekly opt-in e-mail newsletter for fans of NHRA Drag Racing. As part of the sponsorship, NHRA’s 80,000 members will have access to special accommodation offers at all eight of IHG’s brands in the Americas, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. For more information, visit NHRA.com.


COMING ATTRACTIONS

SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, April 1–3: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes the first of two stops in Sin City and its third stop of the 2011 season. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock). For tickets, call 800/644-4444 or go online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Media Relations Manager Zak Elcock at zelcock@nhra.com.

VISITMYRTLEBEACH.COM NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS, zMAX DRAGWAY, April 14–17: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to the “Bellagio of dragstrips” for the only 4-wide national event on the calendar. Defending event winners include Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); Mike Edwards (Pro Stock); and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 800/455-FANS (3267) or online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Public Relations Michael Padian at mpadian@nhra.com.

O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA SPRING NATIONALS, ROYAL PURPLE RACEWAY, April 29–MAY 1: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its first of two stops in the Lone Star State as it heads to Houston and Royal Purple Raceway. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); Matt Hagan (Funny Car); Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock); and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 281/383-RACE (7223) or go online at ExtremeTix.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Media Relations Anthony Vestal at avestal@nhra.com.

HE SAID, SHE SAID


NOT YOUR TYPICAL START UP: Funny Car driver Bob Tasca on starting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car at the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway: “The entire NASCAR community gave our team a warm welcome. It was a lot of fun to see the look on some people’s faces when we hit the throttle. I can’t wait to come back to Bristol for our race.”

60 YEARS IN NHRA HISTORY

2001, FIRST FATHER/SON DUO IN WINNER’S CIRCLE: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein became the first father and son in NHRA history to share the winner’s circle at the 2001 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kenny won in Top Fuel while Brandon won in Top Alcohol dragster.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

4: That’s the number of race wins that Summit Racing Equipment teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line have at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, out of a possible 10. Will one of the Summit cars find the Winner’s Circle again this season?

DID YOU KNOW…

…that world-famous drag racer and team owner Roland Leong, whose famed Hawaiian dragster became the first to win back-to-back Winternationals and U.S. Nationals titles, will be the NHRA Legend honored next weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals? Leong will be on hand all weekend to sign autographs and meet with fans and will also participate in a special track walk Sunday morning.

For more information, contact NHRA Media Relations at 626/914-4761 or visit the NHRA Media Center online.

NEWS NUGGETS

FORMER CHAMPS READY TO ROLL THE DICE FOR VEGAS LUCK AT THE SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS: With two races already in the record books in the 2011 season, the drivers of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series now set their sights on “Sin City” itself, as the series makes its first of two stops in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 1–3 at The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway. One driver hoping for a visit from “Lady Luck” is Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards. Just one year ago, Edwards entered the Las Vegas event riding a wave of success that saw the driver win his first Pro Stock world championship the previous year and pick up three wins and a runner-up finish in the first five races of the season. Edwards left Las Vegas with yet another win and a stronger hold on the points lead, but a string of bad luck late in the season saw that lead given up by the time the series returned to Las Vegas in October of that year, and Edwards was unable to repeat his championship run. The 2011 season has brought much of the same for Edwards. A DNQ to open the season at the Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals and a second-round loss to Ron Krisher at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals has the former world champion sitting 11th in the point standings entering the race in Las Vegas.

Two other drivers hoping to repeat some Las Vegas success are defending event winners as well as world champions Larry Dixon and John Force. Both drivers all but dominated the 2010 spring race, as well as the season, but haven’t had the title defense so far that they’ve hoped for; Dixon is tied for fourth place with Morgan Lucas and Force is ninth in the Funny Car standings, 113 points behind first-place teammate Mike Neff. Both drivers have yet to make it to the final round in 2011. Will The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway break their bad-luck streak? Tickets are still available for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.

K&N PARTNERS WITH NHRA AND FORD FOR 2011 K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE: K&N Filters has teamed up with NHRA and Ford Motor Company to offer one lucky NHRA fan the gift of a lifetime at the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge—NHRA Pro Stock’s bonus race-within-a-race program. NHRA fans that enter the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes online will have the opportunity to win a brand-new, totally redesigned ’11 Ford Explorer XLT. Eight finalists will receive a trip to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 23–26, 2011, at Summit Racing Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Those eight finalists will be randomly paired with one of the eight qualified drivers, with the finalists whose driver wins the K&N Horsepower Challenge taking home the ’11 Ford Explorer XLT courtesy of Ford. For more information, visit NHRA.com.

IHG’S CANDLEWOOD SUITES NAMED “PREFERRED HOTEL OF NHRA”: NHRA announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), designating Candlewood Suites—IHG’s midscale extended-stay hotel brand—as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” The strategic partnership provides multi-media rights to IHG and all of its brands, with Candlewood Suites designated as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” This includes significant advertising on NHRA.com, as well as in the weekly periodical National DRAGSTER. Candlewood Suites will also receive advertising placement in NHRA Nitro News—a weekly opt-in e-mail newsletter for fans of NHRA Drag Racing. As part of the sponsorship, NHRA’s 80,000 members will have access to special accommodation offers at all eight of IHG’s brands in the Americas, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. For more information, visit NHRA.com.


COMING ATTRACTIONS

SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, April 1–3: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes the first of two stops in Sin City and its third stop of the 2011 season. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock). For tickets, call 800/644-4444 or go online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Media Relations Manager Zak Elcock at zelcock@nhra.com.

VISITMYRTLEBEACH.COM NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS, zMAX DRAGWAY, April 14–17: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to the “Bellagio of dragstrips” for the only 4-wide national event on the calendar. Defending event winners include Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); Mike Edwards (Pro Stock); and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 800/455-FANS (3267) or online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Public Relations Michael Padian at mpadian@nhra.com.

O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA SPRING NATIONALS, ROYAL PURPLE RACEWAY, April 29–MAY 1: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its first of two stops in the Lone Star State as it heads to Houston and Royal Purple Raceway. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); Matt Hagan (Funny Car); Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock); and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 281/383-RACE (7223) or go online at ExtremeTix.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Media Relations Anthony Vestal at avestal@nhra.com.

HE SAID, SHE SAID


NOT YOUR TYPICAL START UP: Funny Car driver Bob Tasca on starting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car at the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway: “The entire NASCAR community gave our team a warm welcome. It was a lot of fun to see the look on some people’s faces when we hit the throttle. I can’t wait to come back to Bristol for our race.”

60 YEARS IN NHRA HISTORY

2001, FIRST FATHER/SON DUO IN WINNER’S CIRCLE: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein became the first father and son in NHRA history to share the winner’s circle at the 2001 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kenny won in Top Fuel while Brandon won in Top Alcohol dragster.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

4: That’s the number of race wins that Summit Racing Equipment teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line have at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, out of a possible 10. Will one of the Summit cars find the Winner’s Circle again this season?

DID YOU KNOW…

…that world-famous drag racer and team owner Roland Leong, whose famed Hawaiian dragster became the first to win back-to-back Winternationals and U.S. Nationals titles, will be the NHRA Legend honored next weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals? Leong will be on hand all weekend to sign autographs and meet with fans and will also participate in a special track walk Sunday morning.

For more information, contact NHRA Media Relations at 626/914-4761 or visit the NHRA Media Center online.

NEWS NUGGETS

FORMER CHAMPS READY TO ROLL THE DICE FOR VEGAS LUCK AT THE SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS: With two races already in the record books in the 2011 season, the drivers of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series now set their sights on “Sin City” itself, as the series makes its first of two stops in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 1–3 at The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway. One driver hoping for a visit from “Lady Luck” is Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards. Just one year ago, Edwards entered the Las Vegas event riding a wave of success that saw the driver win his first Pro Stock world championship the previous year and pick up three wins and a runner-up finish in the first five races of the season. Edwards left Las Vegas with yet another win and a stronger hold on the points lead, but a string of bad luck late in the season saw that lead given up by the time the series returned to Las Vegas in October of that year, and Edwards was unable to repeat his championship run. The 2011 season has brought much of the same for Edwards. A DNQ to open the season at the Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals and a second-round loss to Ron Krisher at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals has the former world champion sitting 11th in the point standings entering the race in Las Vegas.

Two other drivers hoping to repeat some Las Vegas success are defending event winners as well as world champions Larry Dixon and John Force. Both drivers all but dominated the 2010 spring race, as well as the season, but haven’t had the title defense so far that they’ve hoped for; Dixon is tied for fourth place with Morgan Lucas and Force is ninth in the Funny Car standings, 113 points behind first-place teammate Mike Neff. Both drivers have yet to make it to the final round in 2011. Will The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway break their bad-luck streak? Tickets are still available for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.

K&N PARTNERS WITH NHRA AND FORD FOR 2011 K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE: K&N Filters has teamed up with NHRA and Ford Motor Company to offer one lucky NHRA fan the gift of a lifetime at the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge—NHRA Pro Stock’s bonus race-within-a-race program. NHRA fans that enter the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes online will have the opportunity to win a brand-new, totally redesigned ’11 Ford Explorer XLT. Eight finalists will receive a trip to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 23–26, 2011, at Summit Racing Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Those eight finalists will be randomly paired with one of the eight qualified drivers, with the finalists whose driver wins the K&N Horsepower Challenge taking home the ’11 Ford Explorer XLT courtesy of Ford. For more information, visit NHRA.com.

IHG’S CANDLEWOOD SUITES NAMED “PREFERRED HOTEL OF NHRA”: NHRA announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), designating Candlewood Suites—IHG’s midscale extended-stay hotel brand—as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” The strategic partnership provides multi-media rights to IHG and all of its brands, with Candlewood Suites designated as the “Preferred Hotel of NHRA.” This includes significant advertising on NHRA.com, as well as in the weekly periodical National DRAGSTER. Candlewood Suites will also receive advertising placement in NHRA Nitro News—a weekly opt-in e-mail newsletter for fans of NHRA Drag Racing. As part of the sponsorship, NHRA’s 80,000 members will have access to special accommodation offers at all eight of IHG’s brands in the Americas, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. For more information, visit NHRA.com.


COMING ATTRACTIONS

SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, April 1–3: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes the first of two stops in Sin City and its third stop of the 2011 season. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock). For tickets, call 800/644-4444 or go online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Media Relations Manager Zak Elcock at zelcock@nhra.com.

VISITMYRTLEBEACH.COM NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS, zMAX DRAGWAY, April 14–17: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to the “Bellagio of dragstrips” for the only 4-wide national event on the calendar. Defending event winners include Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); Mike Edwards (Pro Stock); and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 800/455-FANS (3267) or online at Ticketmaster.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Public Relations Michael Padian at mpadian@nhra.com.

O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA SPRING NATIONALS, ROYAL PURPLE RACEWAY, April 29–MAY 1: The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its first of two stops in the Lone Star State as it heads to Houston and Royal Purple Raceway. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); Matt Hagan (Funny Car); Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock); and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). For tickets, call 281/383-RACE (7223) or go online at ExtremeTix.com. For media credentials, please contact Director of Media Relations Anthony Vestal at avestal@nhra.com.

HE SAID, SHE SAID


NOT YOUR TYPICAL START UP: Funny Car driver Bob Tasca on starting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car at the Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway: “The entire NASCAR community gave our team a warm welcome. It was a lot of fun to see the look on some people’s faces when we hit the throttle. I can’t wait to come back to Bristol for our race.”

60 YEARS IN NHRA HISTORY

2001, FIRST FATHER/SON DUO IN WINNER’S CIRCLE: Kenny and Brandon Bernstein became the first father and son in NHRA history to share the winner’s circle at the 2001 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kenny won in Top Fuel while Brandon won in Top Alcohol dragster.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

4: That’s the number of race wins that Summit Racing Equipment teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line have at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, out of a possible 10. Will one of the Summit cars find the Winner’s Circle again this season?

DID YOU KNOW…

…that world-famous drag racer and team owner Roland Leong, whose famed Hawaiian dragster became the first to win back-to-back Winternationals and U.S. Nationals titles, will be the NHRA Legend honored next weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals? Leong will be on hand all weekend to sign autographs and meet with fans and will also participate in a special track walk Sunday morning.

For more information, contact NHRA Media Relations at 626/914-4761 or visit the NHRA Media Center online.

 

	The Chevrolet Cruze is a key passenger car to be considered for GM's Project Vehicle Program for the 2011 SEMA Show.

The General Motors 2011 SEMA Show strategy for its Project Vehicle Program will focus on passenger-car performance accessories and some pickups with full accessory programs from the accessories market. The Chevrolet Cruze and Camaro Convertible are the key passenger cars to be considered. Other GM product lines will be available in limited quantities within the scope of this program.

Proposals will be reviewed on an individual basis for approval. Three copies of the proposal, including a rendering on 8½ x 11-in. paper (stapled, not bound please) are requested and preferred over e-mailed submissions.

To be considered, proposals must include the four General Motors criteria listed below for content and definition:

• An introductory letter defining the project vehicle's theme (i.e. appealing to which market segment) and its general content, vehicle-need date and project-completion date.
• A list of specific system upgrades, including partnered sources, if appropriate. Please use the Excel-formatted “Sheet B,” which will be provided by calling Bob Kern as stated below.
• A proposed list of intended events, trade shows, publications, etc., where the vehicle will be promoted. Availability for the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas is required. Please state where the vehicle will be displayed at the SEMA Show and who will sponsor the vehicle if it is placed in a feature spot. Note that partners are required to promote the vehicle through November 1, 2012. Proposals with guaranteed interior booth space will be given preferred consideration.
• 8 ½ x 11 color renderings illustrating front/side, and rear appearance (composite ¾ views are acceptable) with the intended color and graphic scheme accurately defined. If the interior will be significantly modified, an interior sketch also is recommended. Preservation of front-end brand identity (divisional emblem and possibly grille features) is mandatory.

SEMA members interested in developing a General Motors project vehicle for the 2011 SEMA Show are encouraged to prepare a project description plan and submit it to:

Bob Kern
SEMA Relations Manager
2382 Browning Dr., Ste. 100
Orion, MI 48360

OR

E-mail:	rob_eagle22@yahoo.com
Phone:	313/667-6126
Cell:	313/300-9471 (best access)
Fax:	313/667-5001

 

 

 

 

Please note that quantities for each brand will be limited. Vehicle availability (timing) may vary by brand, depending on start-of-production schedules. It is recommended to submit proposals early for preferential consideration, but no later than May 11, 2011.

Approved projects will be required to be completed no later than October 12, 2011. Build photos may be requested.