Compiled by SEMA Editors
 The Save the Salt Coalition and Utah Alliance are working with government officials and adjoining mine owners to replenish the Bonneville Salt Flats through a comprehensive salt-brine pumping program. |
Bonneville Racers Launch Clean-Up Campaign
The Save the Salt Coalition and Utah Alliance have begun a volunteer salt clean-up program called “Saving Bonneville One Wheel at a Time.” As vehicles exit the Bonneville Salt Flats, drivers will have a chance to stop and scrape-off salt from wheel wells, bumpers and undercarriages. The clean-off area will be located where the access road ends at the salt crust. The Bonneville Salt Flats is a unique land formation in northwestern Utah with a hard salt crust that is perfect for both speed and safety. However, the once-13-mile race track is now less than eight miles due to salt erosion. The Coalition/Alliance is working with government officials and adjoining mine owners to replenish the Salt Flats through a comprehensive salt-brine pumping program. The Save the Salt Coalition, of which SEMA is a founding member, is comprised of automotive and motorsports companies and organizations with a vested interest in restoring the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is a collaborative effort with the Utah Alliance—a volunteer Utah-based advocacy group with expertise and contacts at the local level. The “One Wheel at a Time” program allows racing enthusiasts to do their part in helping protect Bonneville. The program will be sponsored by the venue’s four sanctioning bodies, the Southern California Timing Association, Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials and Land Speed Events. For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org. For the latest information on Bonneville, go to www.savethesalt.org.
RPM Foundation “Off to the Races with RPM” Program to Return for 2018
The RPM Foundation has finished its inaugural “Off to the Races with RPM” program. Aimed at inspiring young adults to pursue careers in the automotive restoration industry by introducing them to the world of vintage racecars, the initiative brought students to world-renowned tracks, including Road America Wisconsin and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At the tracks, students passionate about vintage automobiles met vehicle owners, racers and their teams. Participants also received guided tours of the pit and paddocks, viewed the work of the teams between sessions and connected with sanctioning organizations and track management. Off to the Races with RPM was inspired by the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, and launched by two iconic racing legends, Lyn St. James and Bobby Rahal. Together, they are major proponents of getting young adults to fill the employment void in the automotive restoration/preservation industry being created as existing master craftsmen enter retirement. The RPM Foundation is a member entity of America’s Automotive Trust (AAT), which is at the center of the movement to secure America’s automotive heritage and to promote the continued enjoyment of the automobile.
 The overall winner of The Great Race was car #66, driven and navigated by Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry from Tyrone, Georgia, in their ’32 Ford Cabriolet. |
Champion Racing Oil Team Wins Top Honors at 2017 Great Race
Champion Oil has announced that the overall winner of The Great Race was car #66, driven and navigated by Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry from Tyrone, Georgia, in their ’32 Ford Cabriolet. The team won the top honors for the lowest accumulative score over the 2,500 miles on the 2017 professional road rally. The team, which ran Champion Racing Oil in their classic race car, won the 2017 Champion Motor Oil Top Performer Trophy and also won the Expert Class and $50,000 in the competition. In all, their prizes included trophies, cash and a garage full of Champion Motor Oil. The Great Race, presented by Hemmings Motor News, Hagerty Insurance and Coker Tire, is an automotive competition based on precision driving and navigational skills in classic, antique and vintage automobiles. This year, the race went from Jacksonville, Florida, to Traverse City, Michigan.
Riccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman Win From Pole in Second Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race
Riccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman finally claimed their first victory of the season in last weekend’s second Super Trofeo North America race at Watkins Glen International. Hindman brought the No. 1 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus, home to the checkered flag, holding off a late-race charge from Austin Versteeg, who closed to finish just .541 seconds behind the race winner. Versteeg’s second-place finish overall also netted him his second ProAm class victory. Ashley Freiberg finished in third place overall, becoming the first woman to stand on the overall podium of any of the worldwide Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. The next Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America event will be August 4–6, at Road America as part of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase in conjunction with the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship.