SEMA News—January 2013 

SEMA Unifies Racing Industry Trade Shows

	The International Motorsports Industry Show will be consolidated with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show for 2013 and beyond. The 2013 PRI Trade Show will occupy the entire Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. It will be held December 12–14, 2013.

SEMA has finalized an agreement to purchase the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS)—the racing trade show that has been held annually in Indianapolis since 2009.

The IMIS will be consolidated with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show, which returns to Indianapolis for 2013 and beyond. The 2013 PRI Trade Show will occupy the entire Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, with Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 12–14, 2013, as the show days.

“We have all worked toward a common goal and have succeeded on behalf of the industry,” said Scooter Brothers, chairman of the SEMA Board of Directors. “To have a single home for the racing trade show is clearly the best thing for the industry, and working together with Chris Paulsen [co-founder of IMIS], we got it done.”

The acquisition unifies the racing industry’s two trade shows, creating the opportunity for exhibitors and buyers to do business in a single location.

“We formed IMIS in 2009 to bring a hardcore racing trade show back to Indianapolis,” Paulsen said. “We grew a lot faster than we ever could have dreamed, and we couldn’t be happier that a hardcore racing trade show will remain in Indianapolis for years to come. SEMA will be a great steward of the hardcore racing industry, and I couldn’t be more pleased that Indianapolis will remain the center of motorsports both on and off the track.”

Tony Stewart, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and co-founder of IMIS, also expressed his appreciation.

“Being from Indiana, having a hardcore racing trade show in Indianapolis was very important to me,” Stewart said. “That’s why I got involved with Chris and Jeff [Stoops, co-founder of IMIS] to help form IMIS and bring back a show to Indianapolis. I know SEMA will do a great job to make sure Indy remains the place for hardcore racing.”

The 2013 PRI Trade Show will be organized and produced by the PRI team based in Laguna Beach, California, with John Kilroy at the helm as vice president/general manager. The 2012 PRI Trade Show in Orlando was the 25th edition. PRI also publishes the racing industry’s only business magazine, Performance Racing Industry.