AACF Promotes Misty Walker to Operations Manager
The Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation (AACF) has announced the promotion of Misty Walker to operations manager. Walker had served as AACF executive assistant to Joel Ayres since 2015. Walker previously worked as a project manager with a web development company.
For more information on AACF or how to get involved, contact Ayres at joel@aftermarketcharity.org.
Speedway Motorsports Announces Five Promotions
Speedway Motorsports has announced the promotion of five industry veterans. Daniel Bandoly has been elevated to the vice president of sales operations. He will oversee technology platforms to drive business and productivity and assist the company’s sales leaders in growing revenues across Speedway Motorsports’ 11 venues.
In addition, Nick Skrabalak has been promoted to vice president of consumer sales. He will be responsible for providing executive leadership and direction of the company’s consumer sales efforts for admissions, camping, hospitality, parking, and value-added inventory across all venues. Skrabalak is a 13-year ticket sales veteran at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jason Christofferson has been promoted to vice president of consumer operations, where he will provide executive leadership and direction of the company’s consumer operations efforts across all properties. Prior, he was a longtime vice president of ticket system operations at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Landon Owen has been promoted to vice president of consumer sales for Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tennessee) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon, New Hampshire). Before, Owen served as senior director of ticket sales and service for Bristol.
Finally, Kacy Harmon has been promoted to vice president of consumer sales for Nashville Superspeedway (Lebanon, Tennessee) and Dover Motor Speedway (Dover, Delaware). She previously joined the company in January 2022 as senior director of ticket sales for both speedways.
Pertronix Performance Brands Hires Dr. Jamie Meyer to Lead Product and Innovation
PerTronix Performance Brands has announced the appointment of Dr. Jamie Meyer as its new chief product and innovations officer. This change takes effect immediately. In his new role, Dr. Meyer will oversee product development, engineering and innovation for all brands within the PerTronix Performance family, including PerTronix Ignition, JBA Performance Exhaust, The Original Doug’s Headers, Patriot Exhaust, Compu-Fire, Spyke, Aeromotive Inc., Waterman Racing Components and Taylor Cable Products.
Most recently, Dr. Meyer served as the president of Performance Racing Industry (PRI), where he transformed the PRI Trade Show into a top 40 trade event in North America, developed an exclusive membership program for the racing industry, led the purchase of the PRI headquarters in Indianapolis and produced a powerful media footprint for PRI, which included the PRI Road Tour program. He is also known for his leadership role in the government and public affairs teams at SEMA. Dr. Meyer served two years on the SEMA Board of Directors before taking the position at PRI.
Prior to PRI, Dr. Meyer spent 15 years at General Motors, leading multiple product development teams. He is most noted for his innovative work with the COPO Camaro, the LS and LSX line of crate engines and components, the emission-compliant E-ROD drivetrains and multiple vehicle-specific performance parts, including the first-ever factory lift kit for full-sized Chevrolet and GMC light-duty trucks. Meyer also spearheaded a line of EV-specific performance parts while at GM.
Polaris Unveils RZR XP New Generation
Polaris Off Road has unveiled the next generation of the RZR XP sport side-by-side. The all-new ’24 RZR XP has been completely redesigned from the ground up, delivering class-leading durability, comfort and performance.
Stronger than ever before, the Polaris RZR XP chassis provides improved trail agility and rugged durability in rough conditions. It showcases a new, aggressive style, with integrated doors, LED accent lights and an upgraded level of fit and finish delivering a premium experience. A newly designed, reinforced driveline withstands rough terrain with stronger half shafts, prop shaft and bearings. The RZR XP’s Walker Evans Racing Needle Shocks with 16-position adjustability provide a plush ride, while a redesigned cockpit improves legroom and line of sight for drivers and passengers. Featuring responsive acceleration due to an all-new ProStar 1000 Gen 2, 114hp engine, the RZR XP also provides extra traction through technical terrain via Polaris’ on-demand all-wheel-drive system. To learn more, visit Polaris.com/RZR.
Race Winning Brands Adds Bob Cook Sales
Race Winning Brands (RWB)—the Mentor, Ohio-based portfolio company of MiddleGround Capital in Lexington, Kentucky, and manufacturer of high-performance components—has announced Bob Cook Sales (BCS) joins the “team of RWB representation... brands in Southeastern United States territories.”
BCS will help represent nine RWB brands, including BoostLine Products, Dart Machinery, K1 Technologies, MGP Connecting Rods, Trend Performance, Victory 1 Performance, PAC Racing Springs, Transmission Specialties (TSI) and RevMax. Southeast territories include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
ORBA Names RealTruck Vice President Lee Riser to Board of Directors
RealTruck Inc. has announced the appointment of Lee Riser, vice president of marketing and passionate off-roader, to the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) board of directors, where she will serve as the organization’s only female member. The announcement comes today from RealTruck in celebration of International Women's Day.
“I‘m thrilled to join the ORBA board of directors,” said Riser. “ORBA is at the forefront of policy change that may impact our current and future access to public lands and our right to ride. As an avid off-roader myself working in the industry, it’s extremely important to me to advocate for those in the off-roading community.”
Riser has vast expertise in the off-roading space and recently competed in The Rebelle Rally, a women-only off-road navigational competition that covers more than 1,600 miles of the western desert in the United States. With more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, she will be a part of the only female-featured team in the upcoming season of “Overlanders,” airing on The Outdoor Channel this summer.
“It's important at RealTruck to recognize and celebrate the trailblazing women in our company who are leading the way for others,” said Tony Ambroza, chief growth officer at RealTruck. “Lee embodies what it means to be a true off-road advocate and enthusiast. I know she'll bring her passion and experience for life off-road to the ORBA board of directors and be a powerful asset to the organization.”
Autotrader Announces Best New Cars of 2023
Autotrader has curated a list of the Best New Cars of 2023 by narrowing down the consideration set to 11 vehicles that shine above the rest. Each chosen vehicle has unique features specific to various lifestyle needs, including interior comfort, build quality, tech features, driving experience and more, with the editors giving particular focus to vehicles that are groundbreaking in some way or that offer significant value. Because there are many new or redesigned vehicles for 2023, the editors only considered models available for purchase within the next nine months.
This year’s list includes one pure electric vehicle and three hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles (HEVs), joined by seven traditional gas internal combustion engine (ICE) models:
- ’23 Acura Integra
- ’23 BMW 740i/760i xDrive
- ’23 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
- ’23 Genesis GV60
- ’23 Honda Civic Type R
- ’23 Honda CR-V
- ’23 Hyundai Palisade
- ’23 Kia Sportage
- ’23 Nissan Z
- ’23 Toyota GR Corolla
- ’23 Toyota Prius
MAE Installs E-Mobility Dyno at University of Windsor
Mustang Mustang Advanced Engineering’s (MAE)—an American manufacturer of equipment especially for electric-vehicle testing for research and development—most recent e-mobility dyno has been installed at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. The MAE-AWD-500-AC/EC-LEGACY-BG chassis dynamometer was a custom-built piece of testing equipment to meet the school’s requirements for research into electric vehicles, including BEV, PHEV and FCEV. MAE was contacted because of its significant background in designing and building custom testing equipment for a wide variety of vehicles.
The University of Windsor is regionally connected with the automotive industry, and since 1996, has partnered with Stellaris to establish the Automotive Research and Development Centre (ARDC), home to research and expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, autonomous and connected vehicles, sensors, sustainability, data and AI, supply chains and greenhouse growing conditions.
Mustang’s testing equipment is used at a variety of universities and technical schools throughout the world. One such institution is the University of Windsor. When looking for a dynamometer as a training tool for their automotive technical school and for the research and development of the vehicles of the future, they turned to Mustang Advanced Engineering for the right dyno for their needs. The product recommended is a dynamometer that can handle the torque and loading from a performance vehicle to a large diesel truck to the high horsepower of an electric vehicle, such as a Tesla.
VP Racing Announces New Licensing Agreement With Greenlight Collectibles
VP Racing Fuels Inc. has announced that Greenlight Collectibles is joining VP’s lineup of licensees. The licensing partnership will allow GreenLight to produce new vehicles, gas pumps and more featuring the VP Racing brand. Licensing the VP brand to manufacturers of various product categories expands the brand’s reach, exposure, recognition and sales.
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