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2023 PRI Show (Saturday, 12/9)
The final day of the PRI Show ended with another full day of the newest motorsports parts and technology, access to countless manufacturers and service providers and opportunities to network face-to-face with industry leaders.
As race tracks and sanctioning bodies are the backbone of the motorsports industry, the PRI Show provides a dedicated headquarters for these professionals with the T.O.P.S. HQ (Track Operators, Promoters and Sanctions) presented by MyRacePass.com.
This year, the dedicated area was expanded to offer a better atmosphere to conduct business, plus dozens of targeted seminars and learning opportunities to improve operations.
"For track-to-track people, [the T.O.P.S. HQ] is what's really important here. We could spend all day here just picking up new ideas," said Jim Hughes of Tucson Dragway.
Among those sessions was a panel led by Kurt Johnson of Total Venue Concepts covering topics on starting line and timing systems, including new technology and solutions for customers. Tucson Dragway’s Hughes found value in learning how to keep systems clean to keep up the accuracy. "That's something that you don’t think about all the time; spider webs, crickets and stuff that can get into the sensors. [Tips like that] give your customer a better facility and race track, because what they want is the confidence that you’ve got the accuracy. Otherwise, they’re spending money going out to a track that’s inaccurate, with a timing system that doesn’t work."
In the "Ultimate Dirt Late Model Set-Up: Updated for 2023" seminar, presenters Mike Nuchols of Warrior Race Cars, and Bubba Gale and Frank Simonetti of Swift Springs covered basic setup techniques for dirt late models. Last year's version of the session was so popular in its inaugural run that it was extended by a half hour this year.
"If you take one thing from this [session], know it's all about controlling the shock, springs, bump stops or whatever you wanna do--and what that [setup] makes the tire do to grip. That's what you're controlling, the tire grip," emphasized Gale. "And, if you have more than one brand of shocks you're working with, do your research. They all have different thread loads."
When asked by Gale if they learned something from the seminar that would ultimately improve their race cars, nearly every builder, technician and related professional in the room raised their hands, indicating another successful suspension session this year.
The PRI team is already hard at work for next year's Show, and we can't wait to see you in Indianapolis, December 12-14, 2024.
