By Ashley Reyes

Stewart Peregrine of Hennessy Industries shared proper practices for wheel and tire balance during a recently released video from the 2019 SEMA Show STAGE. Peregrine is the regional sales manager at Hennessy Industries—a wheel service manufacturer and the parent company of Coats tire service equipment, the AAMCO brake lathe and BADA wheel weight.  

During his informative interview with Myles Kovacs, Peregrine answers questions on vehicle vibration, defines residual imbalance, and explains the difference between OE and aftermarket tire balancers.

“What the OE manufacturers are using is a piece of equipment on an assembly line, and it’s all about how fast they can get it done,” said Peregrine. “When you look at a shop in the aftermarket, it’s a small piece of equipment; it’s not a big piece of equipment—something that has to be able to fit within the confinements of a guy’s shop. That’s the main difference. When it comes to accuracy and all that, we are as accurate as anything the OE puts out. It just looks different.”

Check out Peregrine’s full video and stay tuned to SEMA eNews for additional featured interviews powered by SEMA Education in partnership with the SEMA Wheel and Tire Council (WTC). For the latest news and updates on the STAGE, follow SEMA Education on Facebook and Instagram.

By Ashley Reyes

WD of the Year candidates will have been involved in industry events, provided excellent service and communication to suppliers and resellers and created development opportunities for clients and staff.

Nominations are currently being accepted for SEMA’s Warehouse Distributor of the Year, and other annual industry awards at www.sema.org/awards. The SEMA WD of the Year Award recognizes a warehouse distributor that has set their company apart as an industry leader by operating with integrity and superb business practices during the fiscal year of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The ideal candidate will have been involved in industry events, provided excellent service and communication to suppliers and resellers and created development opportunities for clients and staff.

Visit the SEMA awards website for more details on award criteria, previous winners and how to nominate other industry leaders for awards, including SEMA Person of the Year, Rep Agency of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, and Gen-III Innovator of the Year.

Those selected will be celebrated for their accomplishments at the 2020 SEMA Industry Awards Banquet during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Questions can be directed to Lindsay Bianco, SEMA senior manager, membership projects at lindsayb@sema.org.

By Ashley Reyes

WD of the Year candidates will have been involved in industry events, provided excellent service and communication to suppliers and resellers and created development opportunities for clients and staff.

Nominations are currently being accepted for SEMA’s Warehouse Distributor of the Year, and other annual industry awards at www.sema.org/awards. The SEMA WD of the Year Award recognizes a warehouse distributor that has set their company apart as an industry leader by operating with integrity and superb business practices during the fiscal year of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The ideal candidate will have been involved in industry events, provided excellent service and communication to suppliers and resellers and created development opportunities for clients and staff.

Visit the SEMA awards website for more details on award criteria, previous winners and how to nominate other industry leaders for awards, including SEMA Person of the Year, Rep Agency of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, and Gen-III Innovator of the Year.

Those selected will be celebrated for their accomplishments at the 2020 SEMA Industry Awards Banquet during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Questions can be directed to Lindsay Bianco, SEMA senior manager, membership projects at lindsayb@sema.org.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES have jointly announced the cancellation of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey IndyCar doubleheader, September 18–20.

NTT INDYCAR Series and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to Extend Agreement

Due to California’s increasing restrictions on public gatherings and sporting events to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES have jointly announced the cancellation of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey IndyCar doubleheader, September 18–20. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and INDYCAR management have been discussing a contract extension that would annually return the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to the circuit. The original agreement is set to end after the 2021 race, but all involved parties agree Monterey is the perfect venue and destination for fans, sponsors and teams to enjoy and want to ensure it remains on future INDYCAR seasons. Ticket and camping purchasers will automatically be credited with a price protection for the 2021 race weekend. Or ticket purchasers may request a full refund by contacting the ticket and accommodations Office at tickets@laguna-seca.com.

OPTIMA Batteries Adds Two New PowerPro Ambassadors: Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gittin Jr.

OPTIMA Batteries has announced a formal partnership with two new racers, Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Both drivers will join the OPTIMA PowerPro Ambassador ranks—a position held by some of motorsports’ leading drivers. The ambassador program allows racers of all segments access to OPTIMA’s technology and events. This news of Foust and Gittin joining the OPTIMA PowerPro Ambassador program comes amidst OPTIMA’s new website launch and the release of OPTIMA’s H7 battery later this summer.

There will be no Formula 1 races in North America or Brazil in 2020.

Formula 1 Confirms No North American, Brazil Races In 2020

Formula 1 officials have confirmed that it would not be possible to race in Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2020. Formula 1 said the decision was “due to the fluid nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local restrictions and the importance of keeping communities and our colleagues safe,” and had been made after ongoing discussions and close collaboration with the respective partners in the affected countries. The 2020 F1 calendar currently comprises of 13 races, with new events in Portimao, Imola and Nurburgring most recently announced.

NASCAR Announces No Practice Or Qualifying For Remainder Of 2020 Events

NASCAR competition officials have announced that the remaining national series events on the 2020 schedule will be held without practice and qualifying. The move is part of a continued effort to limit at-track time for teams, officials, safety workers and other essential personnel under COVID-19 health protocols. The safeguards—which include at-track screening and limited team rosters—have been in place since NASCAR returned to the track in May after a two-month layoff because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Three-time King of the Mountain David Donner will drive a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport in the 2020 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

000 Announces Six-Time Pikes Peak Winner David Donner Will Race One-of-a-Kind Art Car In This Year’s Race to the Clouds

As teams prepare for the 2020 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb sponsored by Gran Turismo, the Colorado race welcomes an unexpected entry in the form of the 000 art car—a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport driven by three-time King of the Mountain David Donner. Donner is no stranger to the event, having taken three overall wins and three class wins at an event that has long attracted top rally and racing drivers from around the world—with many of them supported by manufacturer teams. The colorful art car was designed by 000 creative director Justin Page and wrapped by Pro Graphics Install of Denver. Its design takes a cue from Rare Shades—an event series launched by 000 in collaboration with PTSRS to highlight Porsche's in unusual colors or Paint to Sample. Page’s design includes many “Easter eggs,” with the zeroes in the magazine’s logo appearing throughout the car.

Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals Presented by Minties Postponed Until Fall Due to County Restrictions

NHRA has announced that the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties at Heartland Motorsports Park, scheduled for August 21–23, in Topeka, Kansas, has been postponed until the fall with an exact date to be determined, for pandemic-related reasons. NHRA and Heartland Motorsports Park are working together with the Shawnee County Health Department to develop a plan to reschedule the event. Event ticket holders will receive more information from Heartland Motorsports Park and NHRA via email soon and are encouraged to visit www.heartlandmotorsports.us to learn about their options. The remainder of NHRA’s 2020 schedule remains the same, but is subject to change based on state and local guidelines. For more information about the NHRA schedule and the COVID-19 protocols, visit www.NHRA.com.

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

By Jason Catullo

Showgoers who register now save time, and have the convenience of receiving badges in the mail.

Registration for the SEMA Show, November 3-6 in Las Vegas, is available online at www.SEMAshow.com/register. Showgoers who register now save time, and have the convenience of receiving badges in the mail.

Registration for the 2020 SEMA Show is available in three categories:

• Attendee—distributors, retailers, installers, buyers
• Exhibitor—booth personnel
• Media—Journalists, including qualified social media

In addition having your badges early and saving time, completing  the registration process now is a way you can proactively support this year's safety efforts, which include reducing potential touch points for exhibitors.

Show management is making plans to preserve the Show’s core business value in a safety-first environment, and is encouraging all visitors to register early to support distancing requirements. Face coverings are required for entry into the 2020 SEMA Show. Those who arrive without a face covering will be provided a complimentary mask on-site.

For visitors who need to register when they arrive at the Show, registration will still be available on-site, and the registration area will include space for social distancing, signage outlining current safety protocols, and one-way aisles. Satellite registration stations will also be available to reduce traffic and lessen density.

For more information about the 2020 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

By Jason Catullo

Showgoers who register now save time, and have the convenience of receiving badges in the mail.

Registration for the SEMA Show, November 3-6 in Las Vegas, is available online at www.SEMAshow.com/register. Showgoers who register now save time, and have the convenience of receiving badges in the mail.

Registration for the 2020 SEMA Show is available in three categories:

• Attendee—distributors, retailers, installers, buyers
• Exhibitor—booth personnel
• Media—Journalists, including qualified social media

In addition having your badges early and saving time, completing  the registration process now is a way you can proactively support this year's safety efforts, which include reducing potential touch points for exhibitors.

Show management is making plans to preserve the Show’s core business value in a safety-first environment, and is encouraging all visitors to register early to support distancing requirements. Face coverings are required for entry into the 2020 SEMA Show. Those who arrive without a face covering will be provided a complimentary mask on-site.

For visitors who need to register when they arrive at the Show, registration will still be available on-site, and the registration area will include space for social distancing, signage outlining current safety protocols, and one-way aisles. Satellite registration stations will also be available to reduce traffic and lessen density.

For more information about the 2020 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Americans for Free Trade (AFT) coalition, which includes SEMA, sent a letter urging the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to extend product exclusions granted under the Section 301 China tariffs for at least one year. More than 160 trade associations signed the letter, citing the need to provide certainty for companies that have been granted exclusions and to give transparency to the current exclusion process.

The AFT coalition represents every part of the U.S. economy, including manufacturers, farmers, retailers and service suppliers, and collectively represents tens of millions of American jobs. The legislation (H.R. 7665) was introduced by Representatives Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Collin Peterson (D-MN).

“As businesses around the country try to recover from the economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they need as much certainty as possible to ensure a full and successful recovery,” Americans for Free Trade wrote. “The exclusion process as implemented by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should not stand as a barrier to a businesses’ ability to recover. Businesses often have to wait months—and some have waited up to a year—to find out from USTR whether they have been granted an exclusion.”

The AFT coalition has previously asked the Trump Administration to suspend or defer the collection of all tariffs during COVID-19 given the economic uncertainty faced by American businesses. To date, those requests have been largely denied.

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Americans for Free Trade (AFT) coalition, which includes SEMA, sent a letter urging the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to extend product exclusions granted under the Section 301 China tariffs for at least one year. More than 160 trade associations signed the letter, citing the need to provide certainty for companies that have been granted exclusions and to give transparency to the current exclusion process.

The AFT coalition represents every part of the U.S. economy, including manufacturers, farmers, retailers and service suppliers, and collectively represents tens of millions of American jobs. The legislation (H.R. 7665) was introduced by Representatives Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Collin Peterson (D-MN).

“As businesses around the country try to recover from the economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they need as much certainty as possible to ensure a full and successful recovery,” Americans for Free Trade wrote. “The exclusion process as implemented by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should not stand as a barrier to a businesses’ ability to recover. Businesses often have to wait months—and some have waited up to a year—to find out from USTR whether they have been granted an exclusion.”

The AFT coalition has previously asked the Trump Administration to suspend or defer the collection of all tariffs during COVID-19 given the economic uncertainty faced by American businesses. To date, those requests have been largely denied.

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Americans for Free Trade (AFT) coalition, which includes SEMA, sent a letter urging the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to extend product exclusions granted under the Section 301 China tariffs for at least one year. More than 160 trade associations signed the letter, citing the need to provide certainty for companies that have been granted exclusions and to give transparency to the current exclusion process.

The AFT coalition represents every part of the U.S. economy, including manufacturers, farmers, retailers and service suppliers, and collectively represents tens of millions of American jobs. The legislation (H.R. 7665) was introduced by Representatives Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Collin Peterson (D-MN).

“As businesses around the country try to recover from the economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they need as much certainty as possible to ensure a full and successful recovery,” Americans for Free Trade wrote. “The exclusion process as implemented by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should not stand as a barrier to a businesses’ ability to recover. Businesses often have to wait months—and some have waited up to a year—to find out from USTR whether they have been granted an exclusion.”

The AFT coalition has previously asked the Trump Administration to suspend or defer the collection of all tariffs during COVID-19 given the economic uncertainty faced by American businesses. To date, those requests have been largely denied.

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA, along with hundreds of trade associations and companies, have called on the U.S. Congress to provide temporary and targeted COVID-19 liability protection by passing the “Safe to Work Act” (S. 4317). This SEMA-supported bill would provide businesses, non-profit organizations and educational institutions, in addition to healthcare workers, providers and facilities with liability relief from unfair lawsuits through October 1, 2024, when operating under applicable public health guidelines. The threat of liability exposure and frivolous lawsuits are a deterrent for businesses and other entities seeking to operate in the wake of the pandemic.

In addition to federal efforts to limit business liability, at least 12 states have enacted or are considering SEMA-supported legislation to provide legal liability protections for businesses, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. Other states, such as Nevada, have announced plans to consider similar bills during upcoming special legislative sessions.

There is a growing effort in the U.S. Senate to include the “Safe to Work Act” as part of the next round of COVID relief legislation, known as the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, which includes additional financial incentives, such as a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for the hardest hit businesses, an expansion of the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) and the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC), full deduction of business meals through the end of 2020 (50% currently) and creation of a refundable payroll tax credit equal to 50% of an employer’s qualified employee protection expenses. The bill also provides $306 billion in emergency appropriations for coronavirus health response, including $105 billion to help reopen schools, economic stimulus checks and an extension of federal unemployment benefits. Below is additional information on key business incentive programs in the HEALS Act:

PPP: Provide another round of PPP loans that would be limited to businesses with fewer than 300 employees and a 50% or more reduction in revenue. The bill would add $60 billion to PPP, which still has $130 billion in unspent funding, in addition to providing $100 billion in long-term, low-cost loans to “recovery sector” businesses, including seasonal businesses and those located in low-income areas which experience a reduction in revenues of at least 50%.

ERTC: Greatly increase the size of the ERTC and expand the universe of companies that are eligible for it. The ERTC would increase from 50% to 65% of wages and healthcare costs paid by employers to employees from March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, and would allow the credit to apply to $30,000 in wages per employee (currently the credit is limited to $10,000 in wages per employee). ERTC eligibility would be expanded to cover companies that have experienced at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts (currently only businesses experiencing a 50% or larger loss of revenue are eligible for the tax credit) and allow companies with 500 or fewer full-time employees to claim the credit for wages paid to employees, regardless of whether they are working or not. Under current law, companies with more than 100 employees can only claim the ERTC for employee wages that compensate employees for not performing services. The bill would also allow businesses to claim both PPP and the ERTC, although companies couldn’t use both programs for the same payroll costs.

WOTC: Temporarily expand the WOTC to employers hiring individuals in qualified groups, including 2020 qualified COVID-19 unemployment recipients. The maximum credit would be expanded from $2,400 (40% of the first $6,000 of qualified first-year wages) to $5,000 (50% of the first $10,000 of qualified first year wages).

Refundable Payroll Tax Credit: The credit would be equal to 50% of an employer’s qualified expenses incurred between March 12, 2020, and January 1, 2021, for coronavirus testing, cleaning supplies and protective personal equipment. The bill caps qualified expenses at $1,000 for each of the first 500 employees, plus $750 for each employee between 500 and 1,000, and $500 for each employee over 1,000.

For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.