Compiled by SEMA Editors

Kalitta Motorsports drivers Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd, two of the newest Team MAHLE racers.

MAHLE Aftermarket Introduces Team MAHLE and Announces Extended Partnership With Kalitta Motorsports

MAHLE Aftermarket announced last week at the 2019 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis, the formation of Team MAHLE and an extended partnership through 2020 with all three Kalitta Motorsports teams—the Mac Tools and the DHL/Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragsters and the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car.
 With the formation of Team MAHLE, the partnership will expand to drive technical development in race engine technology, designed to improve the strength of MAHLE Performance components.



Holley Named Series Sponsor of NMRA Ford Nationals

NMRA has announced Holley Performance Products as the title sponsor of the all-Ford motorsport event series. The six-event series, which includes drag racing, car show, manufacturer’s midway and other specialty elements, will be known as the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals. It’s the second time in the sanctioning body’s 22-year history that Holley has staked a claim as the series title sponsor. The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals series kicks off February 27–March 1, 2020, at Bradenton Motorsports Park for the Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout. The series moves north to Atlanta Dragway for the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, April 2–5, and then over to St. Louis for the Gateway Rumble, held at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, May 14–16. After the mid-season break, racing resumes June 25–27, at Maple Grove Raceway (Mohnton, Pennsylvania) for the Ford Motorsport Nationals. The Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing takes place July 30–August 2, at Route 66 Raceway (Joliet, Illinois). The five-event buildup leads to the Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, October 1–4, at Beech Bend Raceway (Bowling Green, Kentucky).

ExxonMobil, in partnership with Toyota Racing Development (TRD), will become Kalitta Motorsports’ official lubricant partner in 2020 and Mobil 1 racing oil will be used in all team cars.

Mobil 1 Returns to NHRA Racing With Multi-Year Sponsorship of Toyota Racing Development and Kalitta Motorsports

Mobil 1 will return to the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2020. ExxonMobil, in partnership with Toyota Racing Development (TRD), will become Kalitta Motorsports’ official lubricant partner in 2020 and Mobil 1 racing oil will be used in all team cars. Under the agreement, ExxonMobil will supply Kalitta Motorsports with a newly developed Mobil 1 Drag Racing motor oil, along with other lubricants, while also providing engineering support throughout the season. In addition, ExxonMobil will continue to develop next-generation lubricants to improve engine and gearbox performance. The 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will begin with the 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, February 6–9, in Pomona, California, and will be broadcast on FS1.

Bondurant High Performance Driving School Launches F4 Racing School

The Bondurant High Performance Driving School has officially announced the new F4 open-wheel race-car training program, giving drivers and auto enthusiasts the opportunity to train in a competitive, modern and state-of-the-art single-seat, open-wheel car. Powered by Honda, the Bondurant F5 School will begin scheduling courses in late December. Automotive enthusiasts and drivers will have multiple course options to participate in to get behind the wheel of a Ligier JS F4 racecar. The first class is currently scheduled for early March. Classes are open to anyone with the desire to further their skills as a competitive driver, for those seeking a SCCA Pro License or enthusiasts who have dreamed of driving a true open-wheel race car.

Maxxis Joins Forces With Best In The Desert

Best In The Desert (BITD) has announced that Maxxis has signed to be title sponsor of the 2020 Triple Crown and “Casey Folks” Vegas to Reno off-road events. The recently announced Best In The Desert Triple Crown consists of three of BITD’s off-road car and truck events, along with three UTV, motorcycle and quad events. As part of the Triple Crown, BITD also announced the biggest cash payback in the history of the sport with more than $600,000 in guaranteed cash payouts in 2020. The Maxxis Triple Crown will feature three races each for ATV, UTV, motorcycle, car and truck classes. The program kicks off January 10–11, with the Tensor Tire Parker 250 presented by Polaris, and January 23–26 by the Bluewater Parker 425 presented by Jimco Racing. The Maxxis “Casey Folks” Vegas to Reno is scheduled for August 12–15, and the Maxxis Triple Crown concludes with the Bluewater Desert Challenge October 22–25.

SCCA has created two new classes for the 2020 racing season.

New Car Classing and Eligibility for 2020 SCCA Road Racing

SCCA’s Summit Racing Equipment Road Racing program will see two new classes in 2020—one that combines existing cars into a new class, and the other created to invite a different type of racecar out to Sports Car Club of America events. The SCCA Club Racing Board (CRB) has created a new Formula X (FX) class intended for winged, open-wheel formula cars of modest power and performance below that of Formula 1000 or Formula Atlantic vehicles. Cars falling within Formula X for 2020 include Formula Mazda, Formula 4 and tube frame USF2000 vehicles. This change means Formula Mazda will no longer be its own car class at SCCA Road Racing events. Formula X was designed to include cars built in significant numbers, but not quite sufficient enough to populate their own class as well as those vehicles not constructed to existing SCCA General Competition Rules formulas but which still meet FX class criteria. The second new SCCA car class added by the CRB for 2020 is named Prototype X (PX) and will also be deployed at all SCCA Road Racing Regional, U.S. Majors Tour and Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour events. Similar to the GT-X class created in 2019, PX is open to various prototype vehicles that have competed in U.S. road racing over the past several years. The PX class, however, will not be Runoffs-eligible in 2020. Another change in 2020 for the SCCA Summit Racing Equipment Road Racing program includes Formula Enterprises (FE) now being eligible only at regional events. Also, Formula 1000 (FB) has been folded into the Formula Atlantic (FA) competition class.

Hot Shot’s Secret Announces 2020 Sponsorship for Outlaw Diesel Super Series Pro Street

Hot Shot’s Secret announced plans to sponsor the Outlaw Diesel Super Series (ODSS) Pro Street Class for 2020 at the ODSS banquet held in Indianapolis during the 2019 PRI Show. Next year will be the company’s fourth year to sponsor the ODSS Pro Street class. LSI Director of Sales Kyle Fischer and other Hot Shot’s Secret management attended the 2019 ODSS banquet to congratulate all the racers sponsored by Hot Shot’s Secret and to present a check in the amount of $3,809.40 for Save the Racks foundation. Champions and top finishers sponsored by Hot Shot’s Secret this year include the top five finishers in the JAMO Performance Exhaust ET Bracket Class—Ryan Riddle, Nick Morris, Art Maupin, Landon Miller and Ken Phillips. Hot Shot’s Secret-sponsored racers also claimed the top five spots in the ATS Diesel/Diesel Magazine 7.70 Index Class, as Riddle finished first, Morris finished second, Trey Sykes finished third, Miller finished fourth and Devin Ratliff finished fifth. Miller also landed on top for the Maryland Performance Diesel 6.70 Index Class and Rick Fox placed third in the Firepunk Diesel 5.90 Index Class. In the Hot Shot’s Secret Pro Street Class, Hot Shot’s Secret-sponsored racer Johnny Gilbert took home the championship. Larson Miller and Rawlings Barnes, both Hot Shot’s Secret-sponsored racers, finished first and second in the Suncoast Diesel Performance Pro Mod Class.

For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.

By Linda Spencer

First-time exhibitor Specialty Vehicle Engineering Inc./DBA Hamburger’s Superchargers Inc. attracted lots of attention among local buyers.

Register now for the 2020 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, March 31–April 5, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and April 5–7, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where attendees will meet with pre-vetted trade buyers from throughout the region. Explore the potential for your products in this customizing-crazy market, where consumers are eager to buy the latest U.S. products for classic car restoration, off-roading, racing, street performance and aesthetics. High disposable income coupled with a passion for personalization makes this an attractive region.

Attendees of the 2020 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference will:

• Exhibit at the leading customizing show in the region—Custom Show Emirates—in a turn-key booth.
• Participate in a seminar with top distributors.
• Participate in an official U.S. government briefing.
• Tour specialty-equipment shops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE featuring performance, off-road and styling upgrades.
• Attend networking receptions.

All meals, hotel accommodations, a turnkey booth at Custom Show Emirates and airfare from the UAE to Saudi Arabia are included. Attendees can self-certify to qualify for up to $1,250 in U.S. government grants to defray trip costs. California-based companies are eligible for additional funds, including state grants of up to $1,500 to help defray the costs of participating.*

Slots are limited, and the registration deadline for the Saudi portion of the trip is December 28, so so register today!

For more information or to schedule a conference call to discuss the SEMA Business Development Conference, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.

*Check with SEMA staff regarding additional funds for SEMA members located in other states.

By Linda Spencer

First-time exhibitor Specialty Vehicle Engineering Inc./DBA Hamburger’s Superchargers Inc. attracted lots of attention among local buyers.

Register now for the 2020 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, March 31–April 5, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and April 5–7, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where attendees will meet with pre-vetted trade buyers from throughout the region. Explore the potential for your products in this customizing-crazy market, where consumers are eager to buy the latest U.S. products for classic car restoration, off-roading, racing, street performance and aesthetics. High disposable income coupled with a passion for personalization makes this an attractive region.

Attendees of the 2020 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference will:

• Exhibit at the leading customizing show in the region—Custom Show Emirates—in a turn-key booth.
• Participate in a seminar with top distributors.
• Participate in an official U.S. government briefing.
• Tour specialty-equipment shops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE featuring performance, off-road and styling upgrades.
• Attend networking receptions.

All meals, hotel accommodations, a turnkey booth at Custom Show Emirates and airfare from the UAE to Saudi Arabia are included. Attendees can self-certify to qualify for up to $1,250 in U.S. government grants to defray trip costs. California-based companies are eligible for additional funds, including state grants of up to $1,500 to help defray the costs of participating.*

Slots are limited, and the registration deadline for the Saudi portion of the trip is December 28, so so register today!

For more information or to schedule a conference call to discuss the SEMA Business Development Conference, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.

*Check with SEMA staff regarding additional funds for SEMA members located in other states.

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the upcoming all-new GMC Yukon in SLT and Denali trims undergoing testing, providing a first look at the SLT trim.

Up front is a grille different from the one seen on Denali, while the rear does not show any visible exhaust, unlike on the Denali. The rest of the model looks relatively identical to the Yukon Denali, which features a bright grille and visible quad-tip exhaust out back.

The new GMC Yukon will be revealed in early 2020 following the just-revealed Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

The following is a message from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting:

This year, the SEMA Board of Directors has an opening in the Distributors/Retailers category.

As a member of the association, your recommendation is needed for industry leaders to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors.

The following seat is open for this year’s election:

• Distributors/Retailers (one open seat)

Please take a moment and tell us whom you would recommend as a potential nominee for a board member position by completing and submitting a nomination form. To help the vetting process, include a brief information about the nominee’s qualifications, such as background, experience and achievements that would make that nominee an outstanding board candidate.

Nominations for the SEMA Board of Directors are due Friday, January 3, 2020. Please complete and submit the nomination form.

A strong board means wise leadership and an association that serves its members well.  We urge you to take part in the nominations process—our industry has many individuals who would be an asset to the Board, but we need you to help bring them to the attention of the Nominating Committee.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Chris Kersting, CAE

SEMA President & CEO