Wondering where the U.S. and world economies are headed? Then tune into the upcoming SEMA webinar, "U.S. and the World Economy: Will They Shift Forward?" presented by William Strauss, October 2, 10:00–11:00 a.m.

Strauss has been with the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank since 1982, analyzing the performance of the Midwestern economy and its manufacturing sector for use in monetary policy. Strauss' presentation will offer you a better understanding of the current state of the U.S. economy, its future outlook and the primary risks facing the system's overall health.

Title: "U.S. and the World Economy: Will They Shift Forward?"
Date: Thursday, October 2, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PDT)
Presenter: William Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

CLICK HERE to register.

Don't Miss the Next Webinar
Also, don't forget to mark your calendar for the October 16 webinar, "Right-On, No-Bull Guide to Marketing in a Tough Economy." Presented by Brian Offenberger of BizGrowth Search Engine Solutions, this session will cover why a tough economy is the best time to capture profitable market share and how to use specific strategies and tactics to sell more at higher margins.

Offenberger will demonstrate how to incorporate 10 proven steps to increase revenue and deliver strategies to help you avoid lowering prices, damaging cash flow and downsizing your business. After this session, you will have the tools needed to install a "recession-proof" strategy that actually grows your business in good times and in bad.

SEMA's Webinar Program
The SEMA webinar program brings the world-class business seminars featured during the SEMA Show right to your desktop. Different business-building sessions are constantly added to the program, offering members the latest insight and practices from today’s leading speakers.

All SEMA webinars are conducted live and are open to all employees of SEMA-member companies free of charge. To participate, all you need is a computer with Internet access and a telephone. All previous SEMA webinars are available for download by clicking here. To view upcoming presentations that you can attend via telephone and Internet, click here.

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Brenda Priddy's network of auto-spy photographers caught this BMW Z4 prototype with its top down. Priddy says there's still speculation that the Z4 will have a retractable hard-top, but most sources tell her that the base model will still offer a soft-top. The upgraded version will likely offer a removable hard-top. The Spartanburg-built Z4 will now call Regensburg, Germany, home, with production starting late in 2009.

Most SEMA-member companies are small businesses. SEMA has compiled a webpage which provides links to federal and state government resources dedicated to small-business issues. The material is divided into 12 separate categories ranging from business planning and financial assistance to an overview of labor and tax laws. The information is available at: Small Business Issues.

What is a “small business"? The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy estimates that there are 26.8 million small businesses in the United States when defined as employing up to 500 workers. SBA/Advocacy has compiled answers to this and other frequently asked questions in a two-page document: www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf. 

Questions or comments may be directed to Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org. 

EXTRA PORSCHE: Penske Racing will field a third Porsche entry in the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta in early October with Indy car drivers Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves sharing the wheel.

HIRED GUNS PART II: Andretti Green Racing Indy car drivers Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan will join Frank Montagny in the team’s Acura during the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

A WINNER: Valentino Rossi won the weather-plagued MotoGP debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday.

NEW TEAM: UPS officially announced that it would join Roush Fenway Racing next season and sponsor the No. 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car driven by David Ragan.

STAYING PUT: Ferrari has signed Formula One drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to contracts, which will keep them with the team through the 2010 season.

POWER RANKINGS: NHRA Top Fuel point leader Tony Schumacher remained at the top of the National Speed Sport News Power Rankings after his seventh-consecutive victory Sunday at the inaugural event at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina. The triumph was the 53rd of his career, breaking his tie with Joe Amato as the winningest Top Fuel driver in history. The National Speed Sport News Power Rankings are published weekly in the 74-year-old motorsports publication.

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

COUNTDOWN TO 1, RACE ONE: HISTORY MADE AT zMAX DRAGWAY; TOP 10 CHANGE AT CAROLINAS NATIONALS: Three repeat winners, new point leaders in two out of the four professional categories, and a history-making win were just a few of the headlines after an amazing inaugural event at zMAX Dragway @ Concord as the NHRA Carolinas Nationals kicked off the 2008 Countdown to 1 playoffs in front of packed stands. “Fast Jack” Beckman kicked off the first race in the Countdown as he drove his Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger R/T past Jim Head, Del Worsham, Robert Hight and Cruz Pedregon en route to not only his third win of the season, but fifth final-round appearance in the last seven races.

The win also catapulted Beckman from sixth to second place in the POWERade Series point standings. Pedregon’s runner-up finish to Beckman was enough to move him into the top spot in the Funny Car point standings. U.S. Army dragster pilot Tony Schumacher grabbed his 12th win of the season and 53rd win of his career, passing legendary Joe Amato to take the top spot on the all-time wins list in Top Fuel.

Schumacher’s win strengthened his lead over the class, but Matco Tools dragster driver Antron Brown kept his second-place spot in the points with a solid runner-up finish at the event. In Pro Stock, sophomore sensation Justin Humphreys picked up his first Wally after runner-up finisher Kurt Johnson couldn’t fire up his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt on the starting line. Johnson’s runner-up finish was enough for him to take the points lead away from Greg Anderson, who had previously held the lead since Norwalk.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Steve Johnson followed up his Mac Tools U.S. Nationals win with a second Wally for the season, driving his Snap-on Tools/Wyo Tech Suzuki past runner-up Eddie Krawiec after Krawiec fouled out with a red-light start. NitroFish Wear Buell rider Matt Smith was able to keep the lead in the point standings over Johnson with a second-round finish and being the No. 1 qualifier for the event.

For more headlines from this years NHRA Carolinas Nationals, visit www.nhra.com.

FORCE RETURNS TO SCENE OF 2007 CRASH THE SAME WAY HE LEFT—BY AIR AMBULANCE: After nearly four months of physical therapy and a year since that fateful accident that nearly took his life, 14-time POWERade world champion John Force returned to Texas Motorplex the same way he left, in an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter.

“This ain’t good for me,” Force told those assembled Monday for the event. “I’m a comedy act, usually, (but) it was strange when I got back in (the helicopter); it kind of scared me. The smell, you remember, and the chopper noise. But I also remembered the lady (flight nurse Kim Loflin) that held my hand and told me everything would be all right.”

Force suffered a compound fracture of the left ankle, broken bones in his hands, fingers and toes, and ligament and tendon damage in his right knee in the accident, and underwent seven hours of reconstructive surgery, as well as spending 27 days at Baylor University Medical Center before being released.

KALITTA PRESENTS $50,000 BRAKES DONATION IN THE NAME OF SCOTT KALITTA: NHRA legendary driver and engine tuner, Connie Kalitta, along with Mac Tools dragster pilot Doug Kalitta, presented Doug Herbert a $50,000 check for his charity organization, BRAKES, before Saturday’s third round of qualifying at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals. After the tragic death of Scott Kalitta in a racing crash in Englishtown, the Kalitta family decided to have half of the proceeds from sales of Scott Kalitta tribute merchandise be given to BRAKES.

Sales of Scott Kalitta tribute merchandise are ongoing, and more donations to BRAKES are forthcoming. “Doug and Scott were close friends, and I know it hit Scott really hard when Jon and James were killed just like it hit Doug hard when we lost Scott,” said Kalitta. “By donating the money to BRAKES, we know that Scott would have wanted that to help Doug and his efforts, and this was the best way to make something positive from such tragic losses.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS

O’REILLY SUPER START BATTERIES FALL NATIONALS, TEXAS MOTORPLEX, SEPTEMBER 18–21: Making its second stop of the season in the Lone Star State, drivers in all four professional categories will fight it out in the second race of the Countdown to 1. Defending event winners include Larry Dixon (Top Fuel); Tony Pedregon (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock); and Peggy Llewellyn (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

O’REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS, MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK, SEPTEMBER 26–28: The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series heads to the south for its third stop in the Countdown to 1 playoffs. Defending event winners include Melanie Troxel (Top Fuel); Gary Scelzi (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock); and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

VIRGINIA NHRA NATIONALS, VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK, OCTOBER 10–12: Making its fourth stop in the Countdown to 1 playoffs, the NHRA POWERade Series returns to Petersburg, Virginia. before the final two races of the season. Defending event winners include Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel); Gary Scelzi (Funny Car); and Dave Connolly (Pro Stock).

HE SAID, SHE SAID

NOT THE WAY HE IMAGINED IT: To say that Justin Humphreys is excited about his first NHRA POWERade Series win would be an understatement. But this was far from the way this sophomore driver ever pictured his first win coming. “I wanted Kurt (Johnson) to be in the other lane,” said Humphreys, who won his first event after runner-up Johnson was unable to start up his car at the starting line. “It’s definitely not as exciting when you make a solo run, but I was excited and happy to be in the winner’s circle—a Wally is a Wally and win is a win.”

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

281, 59, 46, 4: Since the hiring of Alan Johnson as crew chief May 25, 2003, the U.S. Army dragster has compiled 281 round wins, has made 59 final round appearances, won 46 races, and collected four consecutive POWERade world championships, begging the question: Is this the greatest Top Fuel team ever?

DID YOU KNOW… 

…that when first built, Texas Motorplex was billed as the first “supertrack” and was the first all-concrete track on the NHRA POWERade Series.

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LPE Assets, an LLC owned by Ken Lingenfelter and an affiliate of Metropolitan Motor Sports LLC, acquired Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) from an unrelated third party. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, founded by drag racer and engine builder John Lingenfelter, is a performance tuner and specialty-automotive parts supplier located in Decatur, Indiana.

Century Truck Caps, a division of the Truck Accessories Group LLC (TAG), has helped Robert O’Brien’s dream come true through the Children’s Dream Fund. O’Brien is a 16 year old who is fighting testicular cancer. “Robert O’Brien’s dream was to customize his 1993 Chevy Silverado,” explained Kristin Bedinghaus, dream coordinator at the Children's Dream Fund. “He wanted it to be very special. Century Truck Caps and Arrow Toppers came through with flying colors to make that dream come true."
     “We were contacted by of one of our dealers, Arrow Toppers of Pinellas Park, Florida, to help defray the cost of a Cargo Cover for Robert,” said Sheryl Noblitt, national Sales manager for Century. “Of course we wanted to help!”
     The Children's Dream Fund was founded in 1981 in West Central Florida with the single purpose of fulfilling dreams for children ages 3–18 who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
     "When we heard of Robert’s dream we knew we could help this kid,” explained Mike Danler, president of Arrow Toppers. “Donating a Cargo Cover seemed like a small effort for someone with Robert’s health challenges. We contacted Sheryl at Century and worked together to provide the topper to Robert.”
     Northwest Collision of St Petersburg, Florida will be doing the paint job on the cargo cover prior to delivery to Robert.

Feld Entertainment Inc. completed its acquisition of Live Nation Motor Sports Inc., a division of Live Nation Inc. As a result of the acquisition, Live Nation Motor Sports was renamed Feld Entertainment Motor Sports. Feld Entertainment Motor Sports will continue operations in Aurora, Illinois, and will maintain its current management, tour schedules, promotional partnerships and performance structure. As the newest addition to Feld Entertainment, Feld Entertainment Motor Sports will continue to produce Monster Jam Series, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, FIM Championship and other high-energy motor sports events, including the AMA Arenacross Series; Freestyle Motocross; and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioned events, including Knoll Gas Nitro Jam, Thunder Jam and Street Warriorz.

Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. received ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Standards certification by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) of Houston, Texas. Located in White, Georgia, the 900,000-sq.-ft. facility was established in June 2004 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. is responsible for production of both Toyo and Nitto tire brands.

Federated Auto Parts announced that it will continue to sponsor the Federated Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Nashville SuperSpeedway for three more years. Federated has sponsored a NASCAR race at Nashville for the last 13 years. “We are very pleased to be able to extend our Nationwide Series race sponsorship, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with the great folks at the Nashville SuperSpeedway,” said J.R. Bishop, director of member services and event marketing for Federated Auto Parts. “Federated has been a long-time supporter of racing at all levels, but the Federated Auto Parts 300 has become the cornerstone of our motorsports program.”

Aries Automotive Inc. hired Mark Francis to their management team. Francis has extensive aftermarket accessory experience and spent the past 18 years with Manik Offroad in R&D, service and marketing. Francis will head Aries Automotive’s North East warehouse set to open in October. He will also be an integral part of the expansion in the automotive sector.

Mark Francis

Stillwater Designs named Greg Lew as SoundGate’s Business Unit Director (BUD). He takes over for the retiring Rob Putman, the previous BUD and creator of the SoundGate brand. Lew joined the company on June 1, 2004, as the accessories product line manager for KICKER. He then continued moving within the audio-brand ranks, next to national accounts sales manager and, most recently, to director of global supply chain. Filling Lew’s vacant position is Jacob Boyd, who has been with Stillwater Designs since February of 2006, and was originally hired as OEM sales coordinator. Boyd’s responsibilities include calculating monthly global product demand and communicating with the purchasing team. He will also coordinate with sales, purchasing and the logistics teams to oversee the flow of goods from the point-of-manufacture to dealers.

Parrot launched a new program to help independent 12-volt retailers compete, sell and install car kits more profitably. Called the Certified Installer Program, the plan will provide authorized Parrot retailers a variety of selling tools, installation support, POS materials and promotion programs in return for ensuring their sales and installer teams are up to speed on Parrot products.

“While the current selling environment is challenging, we believe 12-volt installers have a great opportunity selling Parrot car kits because the market is demanding them,” says David Wenning, senior vice president, sales and marketing. “More and more states are passing hands-free laws, and more new vehicles are promoting Bluetooth hands-free solutions. 

"These two factors have dramatically increased consumer awareness of hands-free devices. There’s a great opportunity for increased sales of car kits if they are properly presented, sold and installed. To help retailers sell to this broader customer base, Parrot’s Certified Installer Program will focus on strengthening the relationship between Parrot and the installer, and enhancing the consumer’s shopping experience through expanded retailer sales training and POS support. In addition, new tools and programs have been developed for installers to help train them to install Parrot car kits quickly and easily without compromising quality. For more information, visit www.parrot.com. 

Greg Cogley has resigned from Player Wheel Group after 13 years, the last five spent as vice-president, sales. He is now with Gulf Coast Wheels and Accessories in Slidell, Louisiana.