From adaptive gearboxes to battery relocation kits, engine control systems, and pocket tire gauges, PRI’s Featured Product Award winners are “following the trends of where this industry is going.”

Innovation was the overriding theme for PRI’s Featured Products Showcase, which highlighted hundreds of new race parts, equipment, technology, gear, and more straight from the Trade Show floor. 

“There were so many new innovative products in last year’s Showcase—since we had two years off [due to COVID]—so I was not expecting to see as many cool new products this year. That’s not the case; I’m impressed,” said BangShift’s Chad Reynolds, who was selected as a Featured Product Awards judge in the traditional media category. “Some of the lesser-known brands are clearly stepping up their game and making better components.”

Like Reynolds, Skye Romanoff of Blanco Racing was impressed with the variety of cutting-edge options in the Showcase. “It was a little overwhelming at first, just because there are so many products to see,” said Romanoff, who judged in the social influencer category. A rally racer, she is also the president of California Rallycross and an event host for the Northern California SCCA National Rallycross. “It was difficult to choose my Judge’s Pick. I had three contenders, but I went with Radium Engineering’s spare tire fuel cell. I like that it’s a simple plug-and-play option where you don’t have to weld or do extra fab work. It’s all pretty much one system that you don’t need extra switch tanks or anything else—everything is ready to go in one little box. You take out your spare tire, and you’re good to go. It’s great for not only full-on race cars, but also for people like me who have production cars.” 

The theme of innovation carried over for JA Ackley of Grassroots Motorsports, who had his sights on inventive parts in the oval track and sports cars categories. 

“My Judge’s Pick is a fire suppression system from Lifeline for electric vehicles (EVs). It’s nice to see a product that is following the trends of where this industry is going. They’re clearly ahead of the curve right now, so kudos to them for taking advantage of the latest technology,” Ackley said. “I know for us at Grassroots Motorsports, we’re seeing more EVs in our $2,000 Challenge [event]. Safety standards haven’t [necessarily] caught up with these cars yet, so seeing a product from Lifeline address that is a good step toward meeting those needs.” 

For Kevin Wells of Formula DRIFT, the SST Transmission by Pure Drivetrain Solutions (PDS) caught his eye. “It is a manual transmission, so you can have a clutch pedal, and you can have it as sequential or H-pattern, and you can convert it to an automatic. It can work in damn near anything. [Someone] could go road racing, use it as a manual with the paddle shift option, then go sit in LA traffic, switch it to automatic, and you’re good to go. It’s a really cool setup that bridges both worlds of race cars and street cars,” Wells said. 

Two dozen PRI exhibitors received either a Judge’s Pick or a Category Award through the Featured Product Awards program. Following is the complete list of winners.