Filler for eNews

Filler for eNews

Things you may want to remember from the 2007 racing season, courtesy of National Speed Sport News.

-The IndyCar Series tested on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in January. It was the first Indy car test at the track since 1959.

-Erica Santos became the first female winner in the history of the Northeastern Midget Association July 10 at Stafford (Connecticut) Motor Speedway.

-Noted motorcycle racers Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael each took up careers in stock-car racing, piloting late-model stock cars.

-International Speedway Corporation began a $10-million renovation at Darlington Raceway, which includes a new tunnel and the repaving of the historic 1.33-mile egg-shaped oval.

-National Speed Sport News unveiled the redesigned website, www.nationalspeedsportnews.com, in July.

-A.J. Foyt celebrated his 50th anniversary of competing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

-The Prelude to The Dream dirt-late-model race featuring NASCAR drivers was televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

-Jon Stanbrough won 30 non-winged sprint-car races.

-Prior to what would be a disappointing IndyCar Series season, Marco Andretti tested a Honda Formula One car.

-The Firestone 200 at Nashville Superspeedway was only the third postponed IndyCar race in the 12-year history of the series. The race was held the next day, a Sunday.

-The Porsche Cayenne V8 made its Grand Am debut in the Sunchaser 1000k and went the distance at Miller Motorsports Park, powering the Spirit of Daytona Fabcar driven by Guy Cosmo and Marc-Antoine Camirand.

- Juan Pablo Montoya teamed with Scott Pruett and Salvador Duran to win the Rolex 24 At Daytona in his first attempt, overshadowing Pruett, who won for the first time after many years of competing in the twice-around-the-clock event.

-Ohio tabbed Highway 118, which runs past Eldora Speedway, Earl Baltes Highway.

-Sean Michael earned $30,000 for winning the inaugural Dream Race Extreme sprint-car race at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania.

-Ashley Force was voted Hottest Female Athlete by an Internet poll on AOLSports.com.

Looking back at the 2007 auto-racing season, there were several notable deaths.

Bill France, 74
The son of NASCAR founder William G. France, William Clifton France died June 6 at age 74. France had fought a long battle with cancer. He is remembered as an innovator and the man that took NASCAR from a southern-based sport and made it an international sensation.

Wally Parks, 94
Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association in 1951. The one-time editor of Hot Rod magazine, took drag racing from a street sport and transformed it into a multimillion-dollar corporate sport. Parks died September 28.

Eric Medlen, 33
One of Funny Car racing’s rising stars, the son of master mechanic John Medlen, died from injuries he suffered while testing his Ford at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway. Medlen’s death led to several monumental safety modifications for the Funny Car division.

Benny Parsons, 65
The 1973 NASCAR champion succumbed to complications of cancer in January. A successful race car driver, Parsons became even more well known for his work as an analyst on ESPN and NBC’s coverage of NASCAR racing.

Bobby Hamilton, 49
The 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, Hamilton died of cancer in early January. A former short-track racer from Tennessee, Hamilton was a winner in all three major NASCAR series—Nextel Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

Bruce Kennedy, 53
The husband of International Speedway Corporation executive Lesa France Kennedy was killed when his plane crashed into a Florida neighborhood in July.

John Blewett III, 33
The third-generation modified driver was killed in an accident that also involved his brother, Jimmy, at Thompson (Connecticut) International Speedway in August.

Mike Swims, 42
Long-time dirt-late-model racing promoter Mike Swims lost his battle with cancer in late September.

The MSD Performance Group added Laurel Dasher to the Unified Sales Management Team for the group’s aftermarket customer base as the new vice president of regional accounts. Dasher will manage, develop and implement strategic sales and marketing programs with the National Retail Accounts for all MSDP programs. Dasher is a long time industry veteran and has held management positions with B&M Racing & Performance, The Eastwood Company & Jet-Hot Coatings. She currently serves as the chairman of SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) and has served on various SEMA task forces and committee programs.

Laurel Dasher

Competition Race Parts Racing announced that it will run Brian Kubinski in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. Kubinski will drive a C6 Chevrolet Corvette. CRP Racing is in the process of recruiting a second car to compete in the 2008 SPEED World Challenge GT or Touring Car Championship as teammate to Kubinski. Interested parties should contact Nicholas Short at Competition Race Parts.

Northwood University’s University of the Aftermarket named Brian Cruickshank, AAP, as its new director, effective February 4. Cruickshank, an award-winning automotive journalist and editor, spent the last 14 years at Babcox Publications where he served in a number of editorial and leadership roles. Since 1999, he has worked as the editor of Counterman magazine, as well as directing the editorial content of all of Babcox Publication’s AAPEX properties, including AAPEX Today, the official daily magazine of the AAPEX show in Las Vegas.

Yokohama Tire Corp. announced that its tires are standard equipment on all trim levels of the all-new 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (EVO). The ultra-high-performance Yokohama A13C tires in size 245/40R18 carry a 93Y load and speed rating and ride on 18 x 8.5 inch Enkei cast aluminum or BBS forged aluminum alloy wheels, depending on the model level.

A-1 Racing Products has signed on to present Qualifying Night during the Gambler's Classic, a two-day indoor racing event set for Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Boardwalk Hall, Friday - Saturday, January 18 - 19. The M&R Products TQ Midgets/600cc Micro-Sprints, Slingshots and Champ Karts will all participate in the preliminary action.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA)

HRIA's Long-Range Planning Meeting is set for 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Friday, January 11, at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, Las Vegas. Open to all members eager to engage in discussions about the needs of the hot-rod industry, the meeting is the ideal venue to learn what the council is planning for the future and current council programs, and to help shape the group's direction for the upcoming year. For more information, contact Jan Desma at jand@sema.org.

HRIA Seminar Workshop Lineup for the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show

Located in the Indiana Convention Center on Thursday, February 28, 2008, all SEMA members are encouraged to participate in the workshops at the Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show that focus on product use, tips and techniques. Click here to access additional information and a registration form, or contact Jan Desma (jand@sema.org) at 909/396-0289, ext. 134.

For more information about HRIA, visit www.sema.org/hria or contact Jan Desma at jand@sema.org.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO)

For more information about ARMO, visit www.sema.org/armo or contact Jan Desma at jand@sema.org.

Manufacturers' Rep Council (MRC)

For information about MRC, visit www.sema.org/mrc or contact Jan Desma at jand@sema.org.

Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC)

For information about MPMC, visit www.sema.org/mpmc contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org.

Truck and Off-Road Alliance (TORA)

For information about TORA, visit www.sema.org/TORA or contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org.

Professional Restylers Organization (PRO)

For information about PRO, visit www.sema.org/pro or contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org.

Sport-Compact Council (SCC)

For information about SCC, visit www.sema.org/scc or contact Paul Moritz at paulm@sema.org.

Wheel & Tire Council (WTC)

For information about WTC, visit www.sema.org/wtc or contact Paul Moritz at paulm@sema.org.

SEMA Businesswomen's Network (SBN)

For information about SBN, visit www.sema.org/sbn or contact Paul Moritz at paulm@sema.org.

Young Executives Network (YEN)

For information about YEN, visit www.sema.org/yen or contact Paul Moritz at paulm@sema.org.

Friday, April 11
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Second Keynote Speaker: Ram Charan

Ram Charan is a highly acclaimed business advisor, speaker and author who has coached some of the worlds' most successful CEOs. For 35 years, he has worked behind the scenes at companies like GE, KLM, Bank of America, DuPont, Novartis, EMC, Home Depot, 3M and Verizon. Starting his business career as a teenager working in the family shoe shop in India, Charan earned an engineering degree, then MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School. He graduated from Harvard with high distinction and was a Baker Scholar, later serving on the Harvard Business School faculty.

Charan is known for practical, real world perspective and his expertise runs deep in several business areas, including:

• Profitable Growth
• Business Acumen
• Leadership
• Tools for Changing a Social System
• Corporate Governance
• Global Matrix Organization
• Execution: Discipline of Getting Things Done
• Innovation
• Succession & Leadership Pipeline
• Building Top Management Teams

Filler for eNews

Exhibit Days:  February 8 & 9, 2008

DEADLINES
January 7
•    Audio/Visual & Computer Renal (Advance Rate) Tab 12

January 11
•    Lead Retrieval Rental (Early Bird Rate) Tab 6
•    Product Giveaway Receipt Request Tab 2

January 14
•    Hotel Reservations Tab 3

January 25
•    Feature Vehicles Tab 5

EXHIBITOR SERVICES MANUAL
The Exhibitor Services Manuals has been mailed. If you do not receive your manual, please contact Exhibitor Services at 702-/450-7662, ext. 120. You may review and print all the forms in the manual by going to the SEMA Spring Expo website at www.SEMASpringExpo.com/esm or the SEMA OFFROAD website at www.SEMAOFFROAD.com/esm. 

HOTEL RESERVATIONS
Hotel reservations are still being accepted. Book online at www.SEMASpringExpo.com or www.SEMAOffRoad.com or contact the SEMA Spring Expo housing bureau at 1-800-293-7279. Book now before all the rooms are gone!

SHOW COLORS
SEMA Spring Expo
•    Drape Backdrop and side rails - Blue
•    Aisle Carpet - Black

SEMA OFFROAD
•    Drape Backdrop and side rails - Red
•    Aisle Carpet - Red

HANGING SIGNS
PLEASE NOTE THAT HANGING SIGN RULES HAVE CHANGED. Signs may be hung at any height. Please note that the ceiling height at the Indiana Convention Center is 34 feet, so requesting a sign be hung at the highest point would mean the bottom of the sign is at 26 feet. Signs may be no more than 8 feet in length.

Exhibitors that have a hanging sign in their booth must contact Show Management to send a copy of their Hanging Sign Order, found in Tab 9. It must include the height and width of the sign, the number of sides, exact location over the booth, and sign graphics located on the sign. Sign orders must be received by the Indiana Convention Center no later than two weeks prior to the first move-in date.

ELECTRICAL ORDERS & LAYOUTS
Please be sure if you are ordering electrical for your booth that you specify where you want the outlets. You should submit a diagram along with your order to confirm placement. Electrical order forms are in Tab #10 of your ESM.

Dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows and activities have been announced. Details are: