NHRA and Gainesville Raceway officials announced today that the facility will be installing a new concrete racing surface prior to the start of the 2019 season and the historic 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Construction kicked off on Monday, Dec. 10, at the NHRA-owned facility with plans to have the track prepped well in advance of the Gatornationals. As part of the project, the old track surface will be removed and replaced with an all concrete surface. New asphalt will also be installed beyond the finish line.

“Once the existing concrete and asphalt is removed, the base underneath will be reworked to improve drainage. After that is completed, they will pour a new 60-feet wide concrete track from the water box down past the finish line. Asphalt beyond where the concrete ends will also be replaced,” said Michael Yurick, track manager for Gainesville Raceway. “The new surface will make for better racing for all our week to week events as well as the Gatornationals. When completed, Gainesville Raceway will be one of the premier racing surfaces in the country.”  (Adam Cranmer photo)   [12/13/18]

The final half of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge 2018 Dual Championship took place Dec. 7-8 at the PRI Show in Indianapolis. It included 17 teams which came from coast to coast to battle to become one of the Top 4 teams to move on and compete in the Elite eight playoffs for the 2018 National Championship.

A total of forty-four teams competed at the SEMA and PRI shows just to get into the Elite Eight competition. The top four SEMA show seeds against the top four PRI show seeds.

It was a close competition as all of the Elite Eight teams flew around the Chevy 350 high performance engines tearing them apart and then re-assembling them. All eight teams had at least one perfect engine build. Teams Engine & Performance Warehouse, Vibrant, and Edelbrock each had two perfect engine builds during the Elite Eight Playoffs. The total time difference between first and fourth place teams was only two minutes and eight seconds! In the end Team Vibrant Performance, from Burton Center for Arts & Tech in Salem, VA, won with an average time of 17:26. Burton Center’s coach Chris Overfelt now has won the national championship for a third time.

Each student earned scholarship opportunities ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from Ohio Technical College, School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, and Universal Technical Institute.    [12/13/18]

Design Engineering Inc. has developed a way to eliminate the amount of horsepower racers can lose in their car’s oil with their new Oil Filter Heat Shield. Made from DEI’s Reflect-A-Cool material this shield is designed to reflect the heat away and is good for temperatures up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Shields come in a pack of three and have an adhesive backing to help making applying them to your filters simple. Can easily be trimmed to fit with a pair of scissors.   [12/13/18]