IT’S A WRAP - This year’s landmark event in downtown Indianapolis exceeded expectations as exhibitors and attendees reported non-stop business and innovative solutions at the world’s premier expo for motorsports professionals.
This year’s 30th Anniversary Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show finished with a flurry, wrapping up a week of exhibits, education and events, and building anticipation for the 2018 racing season across a packed Indiana Convention Center.

Among the highlights at this year’s show were seminars for women in motorsports, a showcase for track operators across the United States, international commerce seminars and the high school battle in the 2017 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship, all while exhibitors remained immersed in business on a Show floor teeming with buyers representing every form of motorsports.

All told, more than 1,200 companies exhibiting in more than 3,400 booths from all 50 states and 70 countries representing retailers, engine builders, fabricators, and professional and amateur race teams made up the bulk of the show.

The PRI Show opened on Thursday, December 7 with the Grand Opening Breakfast with legendary team owner Chip Ganassi hosted by MAVTV’s Dave Despain and concluded on Saturday, December 9.

REMEMBERING A LEGEND - One of the most anticipated and exciting moments of the 2017 PRI Trade Show was the debut Competition Plus’ Legends: The Series featuring Eric Medlen.
In front of a packed media room filled with racers, fans and friends of the Medlen family, Competition Plus Editor Bobby Bennett debuted the half-hour feature showcasing the life and times of Funny Car star Eric Medlen, who lost his life in a testing accident in 2007, told from the perspective of his father, renowned crew chief John Medlen.

In the episode, Medlen talks about his son’s passion for life, his affinity for people and how his pursuit of a dream ultimately landed him in the seat of one of the world’s most powerful race cars and made him a six-time NHRA tour winner. He also discussed how Eric’s accident brought about a wave of change in the sport, taking safety innovations to an entirely new level.

Bringing out a wave of emotions, Medlen was pleased that his son’s story lived on through outlets such as this.

“Obviously you have to get over the hard parts, but for me it is joyful and it gives the world a chance to see a better glimpse of Eric’s life than just the few little clips they would show in the news media or at the race track,” Medlen said. “I think for the world to get a media source that can explain Eric’s life in this manner is a great thing.

“It is an honor for me to be able to be his dad. And from that tragedy, he would have wanted us to take what happened to him and turn it into something good. Turn it into something that will help somebody else. Accidents are going to happen, so anytime you can make sure the racecar is safer and make something good for someone else then you are doing that for him.”

Legends: The Series is an online documentary/interview series that delves into the history of those drag racers who shaped various areas of the sport. Surpassing more than a million views online, the series, that combines raw interviews and historical footage, recently entered into its second season.

The full Legends: The Series feature on Eric Medlen can be viewed at CompetitionPlus.com.

DRAG RACING’S NEXT STARS - Drag Illustrated magazine announced during a press conference at the PRI Trade Show the members of its third annual ’30 Under 30’ list. Made up of honorees from every corner of the drag racing community, the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 list seeks to shine a light on 30 of drag racing’s youngest, brightest stars.

“We’re always eager to take on the challenge of identifying 30 young drivers, crew members, fabricators, promoters and drag racing industry insiders through our 30 Under 30 list,” said Wes Buck, Drag Illustrated Editor-In-Chief. “There are so many young people dedicating their free time to going drag racing in some form. The 30 Under 30 list is our way of showing our appreciation for the efforts and achievements of our 30 honorees, but also inspiring the next generation.”

Several thousand nomination forms submitted through an online survey were used to help the Drag Illustrated staff select the 30 members of the third annual 30 Under 30 list. Leading the list and appearing on the cover of the 30 Under 30 Issue is 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion LE Tonglet. 
Also representing the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series ranks are drivers Courtney Force and Tanner Gray, as well as crew members Daniel Wilkerson and Matt Bynum.
Sportsman drag racing is represented by Justin Ashley, Austin Williams, Ray Miller III, Johnny Ezell, Bob Mandell II, Aaron Stanfield, Zach Sackman, Andrew Johnson, Aaron Stanfield and Robert Bauer III.

PDRA standouts Tylor Miller, Michael Recchia Jr. and Cory and Dillon Voss represent the outlaw eighth-mile scene, along with drag radial drivers Lyle Barnett and Jamie Hancock.
The list is rounded out by Junior Dragster phenom Cade Poe, race promotors Jordan Grunwald and Nathan Vanbeek, chassis builders Chase Copeland and Blake Housley, second-generation nostalgia driver Drew Austin, tuner Dennis Klangebo, Street Outlaws star David “Bird” Jones, and Pro Mod pilot Daniel McKune.

 

SHOWCASING THE BEST - The inaugural Featured Product Showcase at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show was a highlight of this year’s event, with nearly 500 products entered.

Following last year’s PRI Trade Show, 93 percent of attendees requested a products showcase where they could easily view the hottest motorsports products in a single location. The program was announced in July, at which time exhibitors immediately signed up to display at this year’s event. In addition to having products placed in the on-site display, participating exhibitors received promotional support through online listings, booth signage and links from the online floor plan.

“The level of interest the inaugural Featured Product Showcase received from exhibitors, buyers, and media has been extremely positive,” said Bill Miller, PRI General Manager. 
“Attendees have enjoyed being able to easily identify the hottest racing products at the Showcase and then hitting the Show floor to meet with the manufacturers.”
The inaugural Featured Product Showcase was highlighted by a sprawling display and tables displaying products from across the racing industry.

WHO RUNS THE WORLD - One area in which diversity is light years ahead of the competition is in motorsports, where women, men and competitors of all different ages, races and backgrounds compete on an equal playing field.

And not just compete – win.

That diversity is physically represented by championships, race wins and national records set by competitors from all walks of life, making racing – and in particular, the sport of drag racing – a pioneer in many areas of diversity.
Which is one reason why PRI’s “Opportunities for Women in Motorsports” seminar was such a hit, as female racers from across the country attended to hear three accomplished drivers talk about what being a woman in racing is all about.

Six-time Indy 500 competitor Pippa Mann joined jet dragster owner/driver Elaine Larsen and Pro Mod champion Dina Parise in an hour-long discussion on Friday at PRI, discussing their careers, aspirations, challenges, triumphs and continuing efforts to engage and raise awareness among young women interested in pursuing motorsports as a profession.

“I think the best part of the Women in Motorsports was seeing that there are other ladies just like me out there grinding every day. Sometimes you forget what you are grinding for, what you are doing this for, and to see some of the young girls in the audience that came up to us asking us real questions it is like, okay, what I do matters. What all of us ladies on the panel do matters,” said Elaine Larsen, owner and driver for the Larsen Motorsports jet dragster team. “This was all about showing the opportunities that exist and showing that if you work hard, you can play hard too.

“It is what drew me to drag racing in the first place. The car doesn’t care who you are. When you are in the car going down the track with the visor down people just see you as an opponent and the first one to the finish line wins.”
Larsen, whose multi-car team is headed by an entire team of both men and women behind the wheel and behind the scenes, says opportunities like the seminar at PRI are important, because it is the successful women she saw when she was young who helped inspire and pave the way for her.

“Ladies like Shirley Muldowney were such an inspiration. There are so many people that have paved the way before, Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, so many ladies that have allowed us to do what we do,” Larsen said. “I have been doing this for 16 years and I am in an exhibition vehicle, so a lot of times we are overlooked, so it is nice of them to see that what we do is relevant and that it is important.

“We have made (Larsen Motorsports) into an entity where we take young professionals that are interested in high-performance vehicles and give them a shot, whether that is as a mechanic, a crew chief, an engine or propulsion specialist, or a driver, we have given ladies a lot of opportunities.”

WELCOME BACK - After more than six years away from the PRI Trade Show floor, Mopar and Dodge returned in 2017 and were thrilled to once again be a part of one of the racing industry’s biggest weekends.

Dodge had on display some of its hottest machines, including Leah Pritchett’s supercharged Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, and were excited to bring fans and industry professionals alike up to speed on all things Dodge.

“We are back at PRI this year and it’s really exciting for us because we love this show and we feel it is a really relevant show. We haven’t been here for a couple of years, but we wanted to reintroduce ourselves and the exciting part for me is that Dodge and Mopar have teamed up for the effort,” said Dale Aldo, Motorsports Marketing Manager at Mopar. “This show gets us in touch with our core customer for both the Dodge and the Mopar side. People who appreciate the performance upgrades and love NHRA drag racing. It fits hand in glove with everything we are putting in place, whether it is a Demon or a Hellcat or a Drag Pak.”

One of the most exciting parts for Aldo and the entire Dodge/Mopar team is the Factory Stock Showdown, which continues to grow in popularity in the NHRA and a big reason for their excitement to be back at PRI. The event showcases powerful Chevrolet, Ford and, of course, Dodge, in modern-day muscle cars in exciting heads-up competition.

“The Factory Stock Showdown, to me, is the most exciting thing to happen to NHRA in quite a while,” Aldo said. “It allows all three OEMs to go out and say here is our product, now go and compete against each other in a sanctioned environment. It is fun from a manufacturer standpoint and from a fan standpoint. It reminds me of what drag racing is all about which is heads-up competition with cars you can identify with. It is the ultimate cool factor.

“If you look at our car it looks like a Challenger. It has a production hood, production body, it is literally body production architecture. It is what drag racing is all about and we are excited to be back and we are having a ball.

“And from a success standpoint, we have had really good success. We captured Funny Car, we captured the Manufacturers Cup last year, we will have two Top Fuel Dragsters running this year, it is just an exciting time to be a performance enthusiast.”

 

HIGHT ON TOP - Just a month removed from his second NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship and basking in the glory of being the quickest and fastest man in the history of Funny Car, Robert Hight was out walking the floor of the PRI Trade Show, being stopped every few steps by scores of his peers and race fans wanting to congratulate and get a photo with the newly crowned champ.

“It took a while for this championship to sink in, but I will tell you what, it is pretty cool to walk through PRI here and have everybody call you the champ and congratulate you,” Hight said. “The last couple of years we haven’t had it this good and it feels great to be back on top. It’s also good to be back in Indy this week and working with the team. We took a short break, but everyone is back at it and they are working harder than ever to stay on top.

“We came back to Indy right after Pomona and to see the morale of our over 120 employees, the guys that are back at the shop working every day, they are just as responsible for this championship as anyone. Everyone is just so happy and that is the kind of stuff that is going to carry us into next year.”

Of course, from a business perspective, the PRI show meant even more for Hight, who also doubles as president of John Force Racing. With both himself and Top Fuel pilot Brittany Force earning championships this season for the JFR brand, it has meant even more in the way of national attention from both the media and sponsors.

“We certainly hope it is going to raise the bar for sponsorships. It shows that we are not a flash in the pan,” Hight said. “After struggling for a couple years, to come back and win not one, but two championships, shows that we are legit.”

MAMA, I WANT TO GO FAST - As with every year, one of the biggest highlights of the PRI Trade Show is the showcase of the latest from Ford and Chevy.

On the Chevy side, the bowtie brigade had on display the brand new factory-built 2018 COPO Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary edition. The orange and black machine with Hot Wheels branding on the rear quarter-panel has a slew of options including an all-new, high-revving 302 Gen V Small Block, along with options for a naturally aspirated 427 or a supercharged 350 racing engine.

The 2018 COPO Camaro models are designed for NHRA’s Stock Eliminator classes. They are fitted with racing chassis and suspension components, including a unique solid rear axle system in place of a regular-production Camaro’s independent rear axle.

As with year’s past, 69 COPO Camaros will be available and selected by an independent third party among a pool of interested customers.

“These things are really exciting. The quarter-mile times are impressive and they are just a lot of fun to drive,” said Joe Furnari, an engineer at GM. “We love doing this kind of stuff and we really love giving the customers who are looking for drag performance a lot of options.”

Not to be outdone, Ford Performance also had on display its Cobra Jet Mustang with all of the latest engine and high-performance options, including the bright blue 2016 Cobra Jet owned and operated by Chuck Watson, competitor in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown and the NMCA Factory Super Car classes.

Both booths were dotted with numerous cars, engines and a slew of individuals on hand to answer any questions about the high-performance machines.

GOING BRUSHLESS - Aeromotive was thrilled to unveil at the 2017 PRI show it’s latest in fuel delivery systems and components with the all-new and very first brushless fuel pump series.

Four new brushless pumps – the A1000, Eliminator, 3.5 GPM and 5.0 GPM Gear Pumps – were showcased in three different configurations including external in-line, direct drop-in replacement for the Aeromotive COPO, Cobra Jet or Drag Pak, or as complete fuel cells available in 6, 15 or 20 gallon capacities.

And the team at Aeromotive were not shy in their excitement for the new product which helps provide extended life, higher efficiency, lower current draw and less heat.

“This has been decades in the making and we are really excited about it,” said Jackson Lueg with Aeromotive. “We upgraded the A1000 Eliminator to a brushless option, but the real hero are the gear pumps. What we learned from our mechanical pumps is we joined it to a brushless motor and made it a little smaller so now we can do those really high pressures without the drop in flow that the traditional A1000 used to see at over 90 or 100 PSI. The benefits of brushless are kind of obvious and it is really kind of the future for us.”

Learn more at AeromotiveInc.com.

LIFE’S A DRAG - The folks at Mahle know a thing or two about high performance.

But for the longest time Mahle has been all about circle track racing, leaving drag racing as more of a side project.
Well not anymore.

With each passing year, Mahle continues to dive deeper into the world of straight-line racing and highlighted many of those new and exciting products on the showroom floor at PRI.

“We are entering into the drag market more and more,” said Trey McFarland, Sales and Marketing Manager for Mahle Motorsports. “Mahle, for a long time, has been a circle track company and in North America that is NASCAR. So when we started that was our focus, circle track, a lot of the parts cross over, but there is a need for some drag-specific type applications. And that is what we are featuring here today.”
Among those new products are new piston applications and other parts for the drag racer.

“We have a couple new LS applications including a piston application for the guys trying to make 1,000 plus horsepower, but with an off-the-shelf part built with durability in mind so they don’t have to do a custom build,” McFarland said. “It’s got the new 112 ring packs with hard, anodized top ring grooves and a stout, heavy-duty pin. One thing that is popular lately is these guys will go get a 53 block out of the bone yard and you have to change the pistons because the piston rings are too high up on the stock piston to handle any real power. So they pop the heads off and put new pistons in them, put a good gasket on it and some studs and just boost it to the moon and they wait until the thing blows up and then they go get another one. This is a good drop in parts and enables them to go out there and really give it hell. This piston here will do 1,000 horsepower.”

McFarland also discussed the durability of some of Mahle’s new drag-specific parts, including some results that surprised even them.

“We chose a Top Sportsman guy, which is really a custom piston guy, but we worked with him on this piston just to see how it fared at that level. It made 1,350 horsepower on its own and then he put 500 horsepower nitrous to it for roughly 1,850 and he ran 30 passes in it and won every race he entered and the championship. He took the motor down at the end of the season to freshen it up and sent me pictures and these things looked great. These guys are rough on pistons and he was usually getting no more than 15 passes on a set of pistons even if nothing goes wrong. We just got those pistons back to do some analysis on them to see if there is more we can do with the parts, but so far it is really good and they are going to be on the shelf in good volume.

 

ONLY THE BEST - McLeod and owner Paul Lee were thrilled to be a part of the 2017 PRI Trade Show and brought with them a handful of new products they were excited to showcase for the racing industry.

Among them was a new Hellcat clutch and a high performance transmission rebuild kit in a partnership with Raybestos.

“We are very excited to be here at the 2017 PRI show and we are very excited about a couple of products. One we have front and center is a new Hellcat clutch. The Hellcat is a beast with big horsepower right from the factory and a lot of times when people add power adders to their cars the clutch is the first thing that goes and we are trying to come out with clutches as soon as the cars hit the market and that is what we have with the new Hellcat clutch with a big dual mass flywheel,” Lee said. “We are also introducing high performance transmission rebuild kits we did in a co-branding with Raybestos. It is a McLeod/Raybestos transmission rebuild kit that comes in all the popular transmission sizes and models from the turbo 400s, turbo 350s, the power glides, basically any popular transmission, we have a performance rebuild kit for it.”

Learn more at McLeodRacing.com.

BIG THINGS AT WELD - Always one of the bigger and more popular booths at the PRI Trade Show is the booth operated by Weld Wheels, showcasing the best in wheel technology.
This year’s booth was highlighted by the latest from the company, along with a few display vehicles including NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals race winner Clay Millican’s Top Fuel dragster.

And guiding PRI attendees through the latest at the company was Jennifer Collins, Category Manager for Domestic Motorsports and Street Performance at Weld. Collins has been with Weld for five years and shared her passion for motorsports from a female perspective in a typically male dominated industry.

“I grew up around racing and that is how I got into it,” Collins explained. “My dad raced when I was only a child and, while I’m sure he really wanted a son, he decided that a girl wasn’t going to stop him. I was at the racetrack for the first time when I was four-months-old and I have been around it ever since. I have been around dirt tracks, drag racing, so I have this multi-background with racing and I even did a little bit of drag racing in high school and college. From there I went to work for a warehouse distributor in Kansas City and moved up the ranks from there.

“I love cars, but there has been some difficulties being a woman. At times people don’t want to take you seriously until they start talking to you and then they realize you know what you are talking about.”

And Collins was happy to showcase those talking points in discussing the latest at the Weld booth, including a partnership with Chevrolet Performance and other new products including the Alpha 1 wheel for small tire and radial racers.

“There are always lots of exciting things at Weld we highlight here at PRI and right now the biggest would be our new Alpha 1 wheel that we brought out. It takes design and engineering cues from our revolutionary Delta 1, but it is a multi-piece construction. We were able to fit multiple widths with it, but what is really great about it is it is currently in our 15 inch drag wheels that are double bead lock. Our lightest wheel is our Magnum and the Alpha 1 is the exact same size, but more than a pound lighter,” Collins said. “On the racing side we also did a joint collaboration with Chevrolet and with that we debuted the Chevrolet Performance Track Attack wheels. It is a rear and front wheel that are made specifically for the Gen 5 and Gen 6 Camaros with the brake conversion that is offered through Chevrolet Performance. It is a licensed Chevrolet product so you will see the wheel will have the Chevrolet Performance logo alongside Weld Racing and it will be available both through Chevrolet and Weld, so you will be able to find it at Jegs, Summit and more.”

Learn more at WeldWheels.com.

 

STRANGE NEW THINGS - One booth that was most excited to showcase the latest and greatest to the racing masses was Strange Engineering.

Always one of the most helpful and eye-catching booths at the show, Strange had several new items on display, including a few that should prove very helpful to the racing public.

“One of the biggest things we have out this year is the new modular dragster housing,” said J.C. Cascio, Sales and Marketing Manager at Strange Engineering. “We have dealt with a lot of builders and got a lot of feedback from them on what they want to see. What we heard was our regular dragster housing that we have had out for several years was that they wanted wheelie bar mounts and floater kit options to fit the new bigger gears a lot of guys are going to, especially in Top Dragster. So this new housing is available in a couple different widths, available in different mounts with a wheelie bar mount on top cleared to accept the bigger cases.”
Of course, one of the ways in which Strange keeps its customers happy and up-to-date on the latest at the company is through its use of social media, something the marketing team at Strange does as well as anyone in the industry.

“The social media aspect is always important. It is a way to get the info in front of the right people, so we spend a lot of time just trying to locate our customers and get people interested in what we have to say,” Cascio said. “We have been doing a lot of video lately and, of course, we like to hear back from our customers. And we start seeing where the products are being used and abused and we start seeing feedback both good and bad, which makes us better across the board.”

Learn more at StrangeEngineering.net.

 

 

HELPING YOU AT ARP - Automotive Racing Products wants to help the average person better understand how to get the most out of their ride.

That is why ARP is making a big change to its installation instructions, better helping individuals maximize their setup.

“The biggest change that is going on right now is our new installation instructions to better help our customer and address potential issues,” said Jay Coombes with ARP. “We are also including this new washer in a lot of the new aluminum head late model kits. We had some issues with the washer spinning below the nut which reduced friction and led to issues, so we added this pattern to it and the pattern below the washer grips the cylinder head and keeps the washer from spinning. So you have a nice hard, flat surface and it doesn’t rotate..”

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR - Miss anything? Preparations are already underway for the 2018 PRI Trade Show at the Indiana Convention Center, December 6-8, 2018.