Our Changing World

What was effective just five years ago no longer works today in terms of race strategy, car setup, tuning, manufacturing, design—all across the motorsports spectrum. This August edition of PRI Magazine touches on the critical nature of not accepting the status quo and instead, making different choices that bring remarkable results.

Leading the way in a hefty (both literally and figuratively) way is the shop machinery and tooling that will be on display at the PRI Show Machinery Row in December. Some perfect examples include the GH8 SMART from Robins on this edition’s cover, which allows a machine operator to learn to program the machine that can then run automatically. Plus, those who spend hours to hone valve guides manually with hand tools can use this machine to complete a set of V8 heads in as little as 10 to 20 minutes! Turn to the inside cover and you will see ultrasonic cleaning machines from Ultrasonic LLC, or turn to page 40 where our annual Machinery Row Preview coverage begins, with a sneak peek of equipment from a CNC machine to welding equipment to a seat-and-guide machine, and much more. If that hasn’t convinced you yet, turn to page 48 for a list of well over 100 machinery and equipment suppliers that have already signed up to exhibit on Machinery Row. If you are in the market for new equipment that can improve processes, save time, offer additional services or machining techniques, or fill a gap from the workforce shortage, then Machinery Row should be your first stop when you visit the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, December 7–9.

• “It seems like we say this every year, but we’re still nowhere near the limit of diesel performance.” That’s the observation from diesel performance tuner extraordinaire Dan Scheid of Scheid Diesel Service Co. He, along with several other diesel performance experts, share their thoughts on the latest innovations that are leading to new records and advancing technology in the diesel race market, beginning on page 56. Our diesel coverage also includes products that promote “clean diesel,” beginning on page 62. No more billowing black smoke is necessary to be the fastest in these classes. In fact, the legendary Gale Banks of Banks Power told us, “That’s horsepower that you can see, but not feel or use. It’s wasted fuel.” So, waste no more. Calibrated Power’s Nick Priegnitz added, “In general, the attitude in the industry now is to use as little smoke as possible to make the power you need to make. It’s kind of the unspoken tuner’s rule now. It used to be a ‘more smoke is better’ mentality, but that has changed.” He added, “A sooty truck is just performing under its potential.”
• While we can count on motorsports to evolve and deliver enhanced performance, we at PRI constantly strive to be better and deliver a product the industry expects and demands. We recently welcomed our new Editorial Director Jason Mulroney, who is embracing the digital possibilities of the PRI brand. And, this is my first column as the magazine’s Executive Editor. While I’m not new to our industry, having been a part of PRI for 27 years, I look forward to hearing from you about how we can work together to improve PRI along with our industry. Feel free to email me at meredithb@performanceracing.com and share any ideas you have about what we can do together to embrace change.