Advocacy Corner

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Tracking legal, legislative, and regulatory developments impacting the racing and performance industry.

PRI Track Ambassador Tom Deery and the Washington, DC-based advocacy team work continuously to protect race tracks, sanctioning bodies, and motorsports businesses around the nation. This month, we are tracking several initiatives, including details on the new PRI Membership Headquarters, an event to help support motorsports at Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval, a gathering of drag race operators, the Bonneville Salt Flats, how one elected official is supporting motorsports businesses, and more.

New PRI Membership HQ To Support Motorsports

PRI’s recently announced Membership Headquarters in Speedway, Indiana—set to open doors in May ahead of the 106th running of the Indy 500—is already making its impact on motorsports in the region. The 42,500-square-foot building is a critical tool in helping expand PRI Membership and includes spaces dedicated to boosting motorsports businesses and track operators, including a Content Factory for photo and video production, live and virtual educational opportunities, rooms for motorsports gatherings and meetings, and more.

“The new HQ positions the association in the very heart of the racing community within walking distance of the most well-known race track on the planet. Millions of people come to Speedway, USA, every year in search of speed and power. PRI will be right there, helping racers while encouraging the business of racing,” PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer said. “From an advocacy standpoint, we have to be in front of people, sharing information, getting them involved, and growing the PRI Membership. Community events, racing events, membership events—they will all be supported by our PRI Membership team at this new address. See you there.”

“Whether it’s a meeting of track safety crews or a race team sponsor meeting, we want the HQ to become a toolbox, library, and center where, when you walk in the door, everybody speaks the same language, and you feel welcome,” Deery said.

The new HQ will also serve as a meeting space for the Indiana Motorsports State Coalition, a group of race track operators and promoters.

“Each state has its own challenges, and unfortunately, without a coalition, everybody works through their issues on their own,” Deery continued. “The goal of state coalitions is to collectively identify, solve, or mitigate issues that may come from the state front, but more importantly, gather a group of like-minded people that can lean on each other for support, ideas, and forward-thinking steps to make sure motorsports thrives.”

The building also includes office space for dedicated staff, including PRI Membership Sales Manager Julie Freier.

“We want the new PRI HQ to be a place where drivers, crew, family, enthusiasts, and fans can all unite and support the industry,” Freier said. “We will be hiring additional staff and growing our organization to serve our members. This will include introducing new benefits, increasing our outreach, and expanding our membership organization in order to scale up, make an impact, and help build, promote, and protect the racing industry for many years to come.”

‘Save Our Racecars Night’ Coming To Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval

A night of racing next month will help bring attention to PRI Membership and the “Save Our Racecars” initiative. Set for April 16 at Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval—located in East Wenatchee, Washington, and known as the fastest quarter-mile in the Northwest—the event will feature Bump-2-Pass, B-Mod, and Roadrunner classes, as well as a fireworks show.

The event will highlight PRI’s Save Our Racecars campaign, a crucial initiative to preserve motorsports in North America and gain grassroots support for the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act 2021 (H.R.3281/S.2736). This bipartisan bill protects Americans’ right to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars and clarifies that it is legal to make emissions-related changes to a street vehicle to convert it into a dedicated track vehicle used in motorsports competition. The bill also enshrines in law the racing industry’s ability to produce, market, and install parts and equipment that enable racers to compete.

“The event highlights the importance of Congress passing legislation to protect both the right to race and for companies to be able to produce and sell parts that enable racers to compete on the track. It is critically important that the racing community is engaged on policy issues that impact the sport,” said Eric Snyder, PRI’s Director of Congressional Affairs.

PRI will be in attendance during the event, presented by AVD Motorsports, to promote PRI Membership, which is designed to unite the industry, address challenges and needs, provide support to race tracks and motorsports businesses, and more. For additional information, visit performanceracing.com/membership.

Race tracks across the US are invited to host Save Our Racecars events at their facilities. “We are committed to partnering with all segments of racing and the industry that supports it to protect the future of motorsports,” Snyder added. “It’s important that race tracks remind their patrons and racers that they must get registered to vote, and consider where politicians stand on racing issues when casting their ballot on election day.”

For more information, contact Deery at prisupport@performanceracing.com.

PRI, SEMA Support Effort To Save Bonneville Salt Flats

PRI and SEMA welcome the installation of a new water well and weather and hydrologic equipment used for measuring salt growth conditions at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Federal and state funds were released last year to install the monitoring equipment and help increase the volume of salt pumped onto the historic land speed racing venue this year to a total of up to 500,000 tons.

“The Bonneville Salt Flats are hallowed grounds for land speed racing enthusiasts. In addition, many race parts and aftermarket businesses have used Bonneville as testing grounds for their products. Accordingly, SEMA and PRI are leading the fight to save the Bonneville Salt Flats,” said Daniel Ingber, PRI/SEMA’s Vice President, Government Affairs.

In April 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly pursue restoration efforts in a program known as Restore Bonneville. Managed by DNR in conjunction with the BLM and operated by Intrepid Potash, Restore Bonneville is strongly supported by SEMA, PRI, and the Save the Salt Coalition, a collection of companies, organizations, individuals, and land speed racing teams.

Since 1914, hundreds of land speed records have been set and broken in a variety of automotive and motorcycle classes. Speed Week, the marquee event at Bonneville, began in 1949, with scores of racers and thousands of spectators descending on Bonneville in the quest for records.

“Unrivaled in its beauty, the Salt Flats are the crown jewel of natural race courses,” Ingber said. “Of the thousands of people who come out to the Salt Flats each year, it’s an annual pilgrimage for many that’s shared with their fathers and grandfathers. Bonneville is a special place, not only because it’s beautiful and is a wonderful place to compete. Racing at Bonneville is about family and working together to achieve speeds that are almost unthinkable. The fight to save Bonneville is all about preserving this remarkable place for young racers and future generations.”

In the 1960s, the racing venue was over 13 miles in length; but the course is now around eight miles. According to a study by the BLM, the Salt Flats have also shrunk in size from 96,000 acres to about 30,000 acres.

While the bulk of the program funding will come from federal and state appropriations, both industry and the land speed racing community will voluntarily help pay the costs. Financial contributions from the racing community are being accepted at savethesalt.org, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Drag Strip Operators Optimistic Over 2022

Drag racing track operators expressed optimism ahead of the 2022 race season as they gathered in Quapaw, Oklahoma, for the Dragstrip Operators Meeting & Expo (DOME) in late January. Dozens of drag strip owners and operators, primarily from America’s heartland, took part in the meeting that also featured representatives from the NHRA, IHRA, and other sanctions, as well as Tom Deery.

“The big takeaway would be the generally positive outlook going into this season by the track operators. The country’s mood is ‘let’s go racing,’” Deery said. “The basis of the meeting was nuts-and-bolts operations of a facility, which everybody always needs. A big session was on track prep and the advanced ways of managing the surface of your race facility. But mostly, it was a group of like-minded businesses finding solutions to issues.”

Hosted by Gerald Kramer, Carl Blanton, and Al Schoenwetter, the fifth annual event featured special guests including Kurt Johnson of Total Venue Concepts, Scott and Laura Gardner of Gardner Race Track Consulting, Joe Trull of Safehold Motorsports Insurance, and Rex Simmermaker of Winlight Bets.

Three days of educational sessions covered topics including track preparation, digital marketing, track insurance, racing promotion, media, track operations, gate software, hiring and retaining employees, and more. The event was rounded out with an SFI Incident Response Training seminar conducted by Ron Connor.

Deery and drag race operators continued the dialogue in Florida during Racing Promotion Monthly’s 49th RPM@Daytona Workshops on February 13–15, at the Plaza Resort in Daytona Beach. Details from this gathering will be revealed in next month’s Advocacy Corner.

U.S. Rep. Latta Visits PRI Founding Member Callies

Callies Performance Products, a PRI Founding Member based in Fostoria, Ohio, recently hosted U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) for a tour of the company’s headquarters. The event marked Rep. Latta’s second time visiting Callies, as the tour provided him an opportunity to interact with the company’s employees and watch them manufacture and assemble crankshafts, connecting rods, and camshaft cores.

The Congressman was excited to discuss the most pressing issues facing Callies and the motorsports parts industry, including the RPM Act, tariffs, the ability to hire workers, and federal policy proposals to incentivize electric vehicles. Rep. Latta is a cosponsor of the RPM Act and a strong supporter of the legislation, volunteering to work with House Energy & Commerce Committee leadership to pass the bill.

“With every site visit I have the opportunity to participate in, I always ask if there are any legislative priorities that the companies would like for their Representative to focus on. During my visit at Callies, they emphasized the importance of the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act. I am a proud cosponsor of this bill because it would allow motorsports to legally continue by clarifying that the Clean Air Act permits street vehicles to be converted into dedicated race cars,” said Latta.

“We are fortunate to have PRI and SEMA represent manufacturers, engine builders, and racers to protect our source of livelihood,” said Heath Norton, Vice President of Callies Performance Products. “Thank you, Rep. Latta, for visiting Callies and for all you are doing to fight to protect manufacturing in America.”

Visits like these help lawmakers understand the importance of race parts businesses as an economic driver in many communities. Hosting lawmakers at our Member companies is one of the many advocacy efforts supported by PRI Membership, which is actively working to address challenges and needs, such as providing support for race tracks to prevent them from closing, advocacy for the racing community against current legal threats, and educational programs that help businesses and racers succeed. For more information on PRI Membership, visit performanceracing.com/membership.

For additional information about how to host a legislative representative at your facility, contact Snyder at erics@sema.org.

WV Reintroduces Bill to Aid Construction of Motorsports Complexes

West Virginia has introduced PRI-supported legislation (S.B. 467) to aid and incentivize the construction of motorsports complexes. The bill was introduced in the previous legislative session but failed to pass prior to adjournment. This version of the bill currently awaits consideration in the Senate Economic Development Committee.

“The bill acknowledges that motorsports represent an important part of preserving the technological achievements and cultural heritage of the United States,” said Christian Robinson, Director, State Government Affairs & SEMA PAC.

S.B. 467 recognizes the important economic and civic value that additional motorsports can provide to the state, plus the importance of providing incentives to attract large-scale investment in motorsports entertainment complexes.

The bill would provide tax exemptions for building materials and equipment used in the construction, repair, or improvement of a motorsports entertainment complex.

PRI encourages the racing industry to back this bill by visiting votervoice.net/SEMA/campaigns/91140/respond.

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