PINELLAS PARK, Fla. Showtime Speedway Sprints and the BG Products Southern Sprint Car Shootout announced a winged challenge race between the two series is scheduled for March 8 at Showtime Speedway on Monday afternoon.

The event will be a full points night for both series. In addition, the event will be run on both Hoosier Racing Tires and American Racer Tire. Showtime Sprints utilize Hoosiers while the SSSS uses American Racer. To accommodate both series, teams will be able to pick one or the other as well as mix and match.

Showtime Speedway was once a mainstay on the SSSS schedule from 2016 through 2023. When the SSSS switched to the American Racers last season, Showtime Speedway elected to continue doing its own sprint car series utilizing Hoosier Tires.

A full field of cars is expected. Combining both series on the same night should create a field larger than normal. The event will pit the best from both series with bragging rights on the line. American Racer will also go head-to-head in a pavement sprint car event on the same night with Hoosier Racing Tire for the first time in many years.

Talks about the possibility of a co-sanctioned event between Showtime Speedway promoter Robert Yoho and SSSS President Rick Day began almost immediately after a successful Dave Steele World Sprint Car Championship Weekend this past weekend.

Additional details including event purse and format will be announced in the coming days.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Tony Stewart will race in the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout for the first time in his NHRA career, as the motorsports legend and reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year is officially part of the eight-car bonus race that takes on March 8 as part of the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway.

Stewart will move into the eighth spot as Tony Schumacher will not be racing in Gainesville. The eight-time Top Fuel world champion and 88-time event winner is expected to announce his racing plans for 2025 in the coming weeks.

The big-money specialty race takes place with a unique callout format, offering an opportunity for eight Top Fuel stars the chance for a major double-up weekend to kick off the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season in Gainesville.

Im looking forward to competing in the Top Fuel Callout at Gainesville, Stewart said. The field is stacked with talent and we wont know who we are up against until we get there, so that adds an exciting element to the event. Hopefully were able to bring home the trophy and some extra bonus money for the team for all of their hard work.

Four-time world champ Steve Torrence secured the top spot in the one-day specialty event for a second straight year, while the official eight-car field looks like this:

Final Top Fuel All-Star Callout Field

1.   Steve Torrence

2.   Doug Kalitta

3.   Shawn Langdon

4.   Justin Ashley

5.   Antron Brown

6.   Brittany Force

7.   Clay Millican

8.   Tony Stewart

With the unique callout aspect of the bonus race, Torrence will get the first opportunity to select his first-round opponent. If he doesnt select Kalitta, the 2023 champ will get the second pick, moving down the line until all first-round matchups are set. The driver who makes the quickest winning run in the first round will then select their semifinal opponent, locking in the other matchup.

Stewart, who advanced to a pair of final rounds during his first Top Fuel season, will have his first opportunity to take part in the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout, and being in the eighth spot, he will get called out by a driver in the opening round.

Those first-round selections take place at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 7 in the Top Eliminator Club, with the opening round of racing slated for 12:15 p.m. on Saturday. The semifinals follow at 2:20 p.m. and the final round takes place at 3:30 p.m.

Torrence won the inaugural Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout in 2022, with the Texan capturing the victory after weather pushed the completion of the bonus race to Indy. Local native Josh Hart provided a feel-good story in 2023 by earning the victory from the No. 8 position, while Browns championship run started with his memorable specialty race victory a year ago.

Brown defeated Brittany Force in the final under the lights in Gainesville in 2024, setting the stage for a run at his fourth world championship. This year is a loaded field in the bonus race, as Torrence, Kalitta, Langdon, Brown and Force have won world titles. With a big purse, a special Callout trophy and plenty of bragging rights on the line, it can also provide the perfect boost to open the season at one of the most historic races on the NHRA schedule.

In 2024, Langdon (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won the Gatornationals to open the year. It marked the first double-up victory for Kalitta Motorsports, while six-time world champ Enders won the historic race for the first time.

CONCORD, N.C. Honest Abe Roofing, a national leader in premium roofing solutions, has partnered with World Racing Group to support and strengthen its top open-wheel divisions.

The collaboration will see Honest Abe Roofing provide special awards and programs for the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour, Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota and the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

This partnership brings together two forces defined by speed, strength and reliability whether its Sprint Cars or Midgets doing the unthinkable around the track or Honest Abe Roofing delivering industry-leading roofing solutions with unmatched efficiency.

Were honored to partner with World Racing Group and support these incredible racing series, said Kevin Newton, president of Honest Abe Roofing. Just like the drivers pushing the limits on dirt tracks, we push the limits in roofing by providing the fastest response times, the highest-quality craftsmanship, and the most reliable service in the industry. This partnership reflects everything we stand for performance, durability, and results.

As part of the collaboration, Honest Abe Roofing has a special program set up to enhance each series.

Honest Abe Roofing will be the sponsor of the Redraw and Dash for every ASCS National Tour event and will be the sponsor of every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Qualifying session.

The companys generosity continues with contingency programs for the ASCS National Tour and Xtreme Outlaw Midgets, providing a bonus to the drivers that finish 16th in each feature for both series.

And the support doesnt stop there. Off the track, Honest Abe Roofing will be the title sponsor of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series Pinewood Derby at Jacksonville Speedway, Oct. 3-4. With their support, the winner of the Derby will get $300, while second gets $150 and third gets $50.

Additionally, race fans will have access to exclusive discounts on roofing services, making it easier than ever to upgrade their homes with the strength and durability that Honest Abe Roofing is known for.

Just as Winged Sprint Car drivers and Midget racers push limits on the track, Honest Abe Roofing franchisees push limits in business, Newton added. Were excited to offer race fans the opportunity to join our mission and bring top-tier roofing solutions to communities nationwide.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame will memorialize its second class of its Pioneers of Speed during this years Induction Gala, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, on March 13, at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The Pioneers of Speed category recognizes those whose accomplishments created the foundation of the racing we know today. This years inductees recognize many stars of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

These are the pillars of racing that I grew up learning about, following and in many cases, watching them perform and getting to know them on a personal basis, said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. Although each of them has passed, it will be an honor to memorialize them, for their children and grandchildren.

The 2025 Pioneers of Speed are:

Michael (Blackie) Gejeian

• Michael (Blackie) Gejeian, born in 1926, was a preeminent promoter of auto races and car shows in Californias Central Valley.
• Returning from World War II in which he served in the U.S. Navy, the Easton, Calif. native built a roadster which he wrecked in its first race. He rebuilt it as a shiny black show car, which he accompanied clad in all black leathers deriving the nickname Blackie by which most knew him.
• Gejeian won five racing championships and promoted NASCAR weekly races at Clovis and Madera speedways as well as the Fresno Dragway, which he operated for 18 years.
• Gejeians Fresno Autorama was known as one Americas largest car shows and ran for 51 years beginning in 1958. Gejeian died Sept. 2, 2016, at age 90.

Ted Halibrand

• Ted Halibrand was a pioneer in many facets of racing, first as the designer of magnesium wheels and disc brakes.  Working behind the scenes, Halibrand was tireless in revolutionizing numerous safety aspects throughout the sport.
• A Paterson, New Jersey native, and later a resident of Southern California, Halibrand long served as the Chairman of USACs safety committee where he introduced many regulations in terms of car design and racetrack construction that remain in use to this day and have been adopted by racing organizations throughout the world.  His ideas were ultimately illustrated in a series of Halibrand Engineering manuals.
• In 1951, Lee Wallard won the Indianapolis 500 with Halibrand mag wheels, and his disc brakes were aboard Bill Vukovichs 1953 winner. In fact, Halibrand quick-change rear-end assemblies, steering gears and suspension components were on every Indianapolis 500 winner from 1951 until 1965.
• With the advent of the rear-engine car, Halibrand had begun building complete chassis, named the Shrike, which were outfitted with an innovative fuel cell. He is a member of multiple halls of fame including United States Auto Club and Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Ed Iskenderian

• Ed Iskenderian was born in 1921 in Tulare County, California and, with his family, moved to Los Angeles. While attending Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles, Iskendarians pet project was building a Model T Ford roadster, on which he learned the fundamentals of mechanics.
• After graduation, he obtained mechanical experience working as an apprentice tool and die maker. His career was interrupted by World War 2, enlisting in the Air Transport Command. After his war-time absence, Ed lost no time in getting back to his hot rod and getting it ready for Californias dry lake meets.
• When rebuilding his V-8, he wanted to obtain a special camshaft, however, the boom had hit hot rodding and there was a great deal of business for the few racing camshaft manufacturers on the west coast. Ed decided to enter the cam grinding business, buying a used conventional cylindrical grinder.
• Drawing on his tool making and mechanical experience, he converted it to a universal cam grinding machine. The cams were the first to produce one horsepower per cubic inch on gasoline in postwar overhead valve V-8 Dodge Hemis and 1.3 horsepower per cubic inch on gasoline in postwar overhead valve 283 Chevy V-8s. Later he created the first hard- face overlay camshafts in the industry and became the first to employ computers in camshaft design.
• With the computer, Iskenderian created the most advanced cam-profiles of the late 1950s and early 60s, along with the very first hydraulic racing camshafts in the industry. Iskenderian developed the first high-density chilled-Iron lifters for the ever-growing fuel burning supercharged dragster class (now known as Top Fuel Dragsters); the first drop-in self-locking roller tappets; and the first anti-pump-up hydraulic lifters enabling hydraulic camshafts to produce higher RPMs.
• New cams and components were not the only thing he brought to the evolving drag racing scene. Iskenderian and a young racer from Florida named Don Garlits entered the first corporate sponsorship of a race operation. During this time Ed was given the nickname of Esky the Camfather. Iskenderian is 103 years old.

 Jack London

• Nobody has had a more important impact on Northern California Midget racing than Jack London, who started racing Midget Cars in 1936 at the old Neptune Beach Speedway in Oakland, California.
• By 1948 London concentrated on being a car owner and engine builder, buying his first Offy. His ability to get every ounce of power out of the potent 110 cubic inch engine brought the finest Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) and USAC drivers to his door.
• No one had more success than London as car owner in BCRA and the West during his era. His list of drivers is impressive, led by his favorite, A.J. Foyt, who won two of three straight USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ascot Park (Billy Cantrell won the other) driving for London.
• Just as important, London was the BCRA (second oldest midget group in the country) business manager off and on for 29 years, guiding the organization through some rough times. It was said he ruled with an iron fist, which under the circumstances at the time was a good thing. The organization prospered under his leadership.
• London is a member the National Midget Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the BCRA Hall of Fame.

Wally Parks

• Wally Parks was born in Oklahoma in 1913 and took pride in his humble roots, always referring to himself as an Okie. He was eight years old when his family moved west, and he remained in Southern California for the rest of his life.
• Parks helped found the Southern California Timing Association in 1937 to organize dry lakes racing. Then, like most of the racers, he went into the military during WWII. Parks returned home in 1946 and was elected president of the SCTA.
• In 1951, Parks, Ak Miller and Marvin Lee signed the incorporation papers that founded the National Hot Rod Association. Naturally, Parks was its president. The NHRAs original goals were very close to todays: adopt and maintain the strictest safety standards in motorsports, establish rules governing the sport and educate the public about drag racing; nobody had ever done anything like it before.
• The NHRA took what had existed illegally across the country and molded it into something safe and presentable without removing any of the elements that made it fun. The task was equal parts public relations and organization.
• Parks, who died Sept. 28, 2024, at age 94, received countless awards in the motorsports world and played a pivotal role in the establishment of an entire industry devoted to speed and automotive aftermarket parts and accessories that today is a multibillion-dollar business. He has been inducted into multiple halls of fame including the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

The Class of 2025 inductees are A.J. Allmendinger, Los Gatos, Calif., NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series veteran; Chuck Gurney, Oakland, Calif., United States Auto Club Silver Crown and supermodified champion; Davey Hamilton, Nampa, Idaho, Canadian-American Modified Association champion, Indianapolis 500 veteran and race promoter; Jeff Jefferson, Naches, Wash., three-time NASCAR Northwest Series driver champion and former NASCAR ARCA Menards Series West owner; Justin Marks, Menlo Park, Calif., founder and team owner of Trackhouse Entertainment Group and Trackhouse Racing; Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif., Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am and GRAND-AM GT champion; Rick Ware, Los Angeles, Calif., owner of teams competing in NASCAR Cup Series, the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NTT IndyCar Series, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, and FIM World Supercross and AMA American Flat Track motorcycles.

The 2025 Heritage Class is comprised of the racing Unser family, nine-time Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser; three generations of the Hunt family Joe, Tommy and Tony; California supermodified champion Mike Sargent; and two-time United States Auto Club national midget champion Sleepy Tripp.