National Performance Warehouse (NPW) named Pat Saunders to the newly created position of vice president of sales and marketing west, effective September 13. With the appointment, Saunders is responsible for West Coast business development, including strengthening the sales forces both inside and out, expanding into new markets and energizing the existing customer base, according to NPW.
American bike racer Chip Yates will officially debut his electric superbike at The Battery Show, set for October 5–7, at the San Jose Convention Center, in San Jose, California. According to a recent announcement, the superbike, which will compete in next year’s FIM ePower and TTXGP Championships for electric motorcycles, has pushed the boundaries of electric-vehicle engineering to new heights. Although a pure race bike, major OEMs and the wider EV industry are eager to see the bike in detail to fully understand some of the cutting-edge technology that Yates and his Swigz.com Pro Racing team have developed.
DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) has partnered with The Body Shop @. The agreement between the parties covers the sharing of The Body Shop @’s Star-Link Collision Repair System, a Kaizen-centered “lean” business model that was developed by John Sweigart and Brad Sullivan over the past 12 years. The model is currently practiced in all of The Body Shop @’s Pittsburgh and New Jersey locations as well as in several other independent repair shops in the United States and Canada. DPC is partnering with The Body Shop @ to offer a refined version of the model to DPC body shops.
TMG Performance Products, a division of The Mifsud Group, announced that Craig Kohrs was promoted to vice president and general manager. Kohrs, who previously served as vice president of marketing and sales, will be responsible for the everyday operation of TMG Performance Products. TMG Performance Products owns and operates CORSA Performance Exhausts, a manufacturer of performance exhaust systems for cars, trucks, SUVs and marine applications. According to a press release, under Kohrs' direction, CORSA has expanded its product line, increased sales and launched a new brand—dB Performance Exhausts—for the truck and off-road market. The Mifsud Group also announced it will consolidate all of its operations to the TMG Performance Products headquarters in Berea, Ohio, to best serve existing and future business partners.
Traction Media, the company that acquired the rights to Speedway Illustrated, announced that the monthly motorsports publication is back. Speedway Illustrated returns with familiar names in the driver's seat, including Bones Bourcier, Joyce Standridge, Mike Adaskaveg, Lew Boyd, Rob Sneddon, J.A. Ackley and Dan Anderson. Also returning is the magazine’s founder and namesake Dick Berggren, who launched Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated in 2000 but left the magazine in 2009.
VP Racing Fuels was named the the Official Fuel of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. As part of the agreement, VP will be the exclusive supplier of race fuels on site at the track. VP Racing is the Official Racing Fuel of the American Le Mans Series, NHRA Championship Drag Racing, Star Mazda and USF2000.
The International Show Car Association (ISCA) has added three indoor custom car events to the Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series schedule for the 2010-2011 show season. The new events include the Grand National Roadster Show in Los Angeles, home of the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award; the Sacramento Autorama in Sacramento, California, known for their Custom d’Elegance and King of Kustoms awards; and the Little Rock O’Reilly Auto Parts Auto Extravaganza in Little Rock, Arkansas, which features a $5,000 prize for the winner of the Top of the Rock award. The California shows both have run for more than 60 years. With these additional shows, the Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series now encompasses 37 events across the United States and Canada. Visit www.theisca.com for a complete show schedule.