Where the serious racers and performance folks hang out!

Billed as the “Three Biggest Business Days in Racing,” the 28th running of the Performance Racing Industry show (Dec. 10-12), at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, was attended by more than 1200 manufacturers and “tens of thousands” of enthusiasts from every state in the U.S. and more than 70 countries.

“We’ve grown each of the three years since returning to Indianapolis, and it’s safe to say that 2015 has been one of the most successful PRI Trade Shows ever,” said John Kilroy, PRI Show Producer.

The show included the launch of many new performance aftermarket components and complete racing engines. Large booths hosted by Chevrolet Performance and Ford Racing provided the centerpieces for the show. All forms of racing were represented including NASCAR, Indy Car, Drag racing, Sprint car, Monster truck, Drift racers, and just about anything you can imagine. For anyone who loves cars and car racing, this was the place to be.

To add color, famous racing celebrities in attendance included John Force, Antron Brown, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sammy Swindell, and what seemed like the entire cast of Street Outlaws, among many others. NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski headlined the Grand Opening Breakfast emceed by morning talk show host Dave Despain.

The show also staged a wealth of seminars to help manufacturers improve efficiency and allow business leaders to share a variety of new skills on a vast array of topics. Seminars were ongoing for all three days and included sample topics such as Advanced Vehicle Dynamics and Data Acquisition, Tools to Grow Your E-commerce Business, and An Introduction to Diesel Tuning. In addition, the Media Room provided the stage for manufacturers, warehouse distributors, and race sanctioning body personnel to announce their newest plans and products.

The PRI week kicked off with the Advanced Engineering Technology conference (AETC) where some of the biggest names in engine building revealed their latest research and experiences. Headline speakers included Jon Kaase of Jon Kaase Racing Engines, Bill McKnight of Mahle/Clevite, Tom Lieb of Scat Crankshafts, and Scott Shafiroff of Shafiroff Racing Engines just to hit some highlights. For anyone who has never attended the AETC, it is an event that is always packed full of amazing information from cutting edge technology leaders.

Other key events included the International Council on Motorsports Sciences, The MPMC Hall of Fame induction of Dick Berggren and Ron Johnson, and both the National Muscle Car Association and National Mustang Racing Association awards ceremonies, which were hosted by Pro Media President Steve Wolcott.

Throughout the PRI show, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition staged its “playoff” round of competition for the top eight teams from the original 40 who competed throughout 2015. The HROT competition pits teams of five to eight members against the clock disassembling and reassembling a small block Chevrolet engine in the least amount of time with the least number of penalties. In the end, it was the team from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center led by their instructor Jim LaFevers, and sponsored by Weld Wheels, that took home the trophy and top cash reward for their efforts.  Their average time for the three days of competition: a very impressive 18.19 minutes.

Overall, the PRI show was a huge success as attested by the huge number of manufacturers who are committed to attend next year’s show. Dates for PRI 2016 are set for Dec. 8-10 at the same Indiana Convention Center. Make plans now!

Edelbrock LS3 Cross Ram

On a scale of 1-10, the new cross ram LS3 intake from Edelbrock rated a solid 11. The After three years of extensive development that included computer modeling, rapid prototyping and plenty of dyno time, the go-fast gang at Edelbrock was ready to introduce their latest creation. The dual-plenum, cross ram featured full-radiused, 90mm throttle entries, 13-inch runners and no less than 4 balance tubes. According to Edelbrock, this combination was designed to optimize both overall airflow and resonance tuning to maximize power production over a broad range. Testing has shown gains as high as 27 hp over the competition. Best of all, the low-profile cross-ram design allows the system to fit under the hood of Camaro and Corvette applications. For more information contact Edelbrock or visit the intake section of their web site at edelbrock.com.

Ford Performance A52XS Aluminator

We loved the previous 500 horsepower, A50XS Aluminator crate motor offered by Ford Performance but we’re amazed what happened to the combination when they changed just 1 number. Right off the bat, the Aluminator was sporting an additional .2 liters of displacement, but that was just the beginning. Taking full advantage of the recent GT350 development program, the A52XS crate motor combined a GT350 block and matching CNC-ported with existing GT, Cobra Jet, and aftermarket components to produce a normally aspirated 5.2L Coyote capable of exceeding 570 horsepower! Stuffed inside the 94mm, fortified aluminum GT350 block was a standard GT crank (the flat-plane design is exclusive to the GT350 vehicles), Manley H-beam rods and Mahle forged 12.0:1 pistons that featured hard anodizing and graphite coating. Topping the Aluminator was a set of CNC-ported GT350 heads, a set of dedicated cams that featured the GT350 profiles with the revised GT (standard crank) firing order and Cobra Jet intake. Additional features included a dual-bore throttle body, 47-pound injectors and 12-quart oiling system. For full alumination, contact your local Ford Performance dealer or racing.ford.com.

World Product Racing Blocks

Modern technology has accelerated power production. Cylinder head, camshaft, and intake technology has advanced to the point that power production we thought impossible not many years ago has become all but common place. Toss in the proliferation of power adders and you have the makings for power levels that will tax not only the limits of available traction (and common sense), but the strength of production cylinder blocks. Lucky for enthusiasts, World Products has been providing cast-iron engine blocks and cylinder heads for over 25 years. The line up from World Products includes small and big-block Chevy applications as well as small-block Fords. They even offer a small block/LS hybrid block that allows small-block owners to take advantage of the tremendous airflow offered by modern LS cylinder heads (and intakes). The blocks from World Products are offered in a variety of different deck heights, bore sizes and cam journals to suit any performance application. So whether you are looking to build a 302 Ford or a 632 Chevy, the right block can make of World of Difference.  For more details on their full line of blocks (and heads), check out pbm-erson.com.

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