Performance Racing Industry was started in 1986 by Steve Lewis, owner of Laguna Coast Publishing, based in Laguna Beach, California. Now based in Aliso Viejo, California, the company operates PRI magazine, a monthly business publication for entrepreneurs in the auto racing industry; the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, which launched in 1988 and showcases thousands of new racing products along with dozens of networking events and educational programs for motorsports professionals; and online properties including performanceracing.com.
Performance Racing Industry is also known in the racing industry as PRI. The PRI Trade Show has grown to become the world's largest racing trade show. It is now presented in Indianapolis, Indiana, every December. Tens of thousands of racing industry buyers from all 50 states and 70 countries come to the PRI Trade Show to view the latest products and services by more than 1,100 companies. The PRI Trade Show is not open to race fans; a person must demonstrate they are part of a racing business in order to be admitted.
2009 Performance Racing Industry Trade Show
Readers of PRI magazine and attendees at the PRI Trade Show are involved in such businesses as selling racing products in a retail store, building race engines professionally, building race cars professionally, operating professional race teams, warehouse distribution, operating a race track, promoting auto races and manufacturing racing components.
Racing components introduced at the PRI Trade Show each year apply to all forms of auto racing and karting, including drag racing, stock car racing, Open wheel racing, road racing and off-road racing, as well as diesel, performance marine, truck and tractor pulling, trailers and tow vehicle performance, and more.
Longtime editor John Kilroy was named publisher of PRI magazine in 2012, when the company was purchased by the Specialty Equipment Market Association. He was also vice president and general manager of the company until his retirement in 2016. SEMA Vice President and COO Bill Miller then aassumed the additional role of PRI general manager until 2021, when Jim Liaw was named full-time GM. Meredith Kaplan Burns is the editor of PRI magazine since 2023. Other company principals include longtime Trade Show Director Karin Davidson and Sr. Art Director Paul Graff.
The first PRI Trade Show in Louisville in 1988 had 169 companies exhibiting in 238 booths. In 2022, the Show featured approximately 1,000 companies exhibiting in over 3,300 booths throughout the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.
Autoweek is a car culture publication based in Detroit, Michigan. It was first published in 1958 and in 1977 the publication was purchased by Crain Communications Inc, its current brand licensor. The magazine was published weekly and focused on motor sports, new car reviews, and old cars, events and DIY. Autoweek now publishes Autoweek.com. Autoweek brand is owned by Crain Communications Inc., publisher of leading industry trade publications Advertising Age and Automotive News, among others, and is based in Detroit, Michigan.
The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT, SGT, and XGT.
Warren Wilbur Shaw was an American racing driver. The second three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, he is also remembered for serving as president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death in 1954.
Roger Searle Penske is a retired American professional auto racing driver. Penske is most known for his ownership of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other auto racing-related businesses. Penske is the founder and chairman of the Penske Corporation, a holding company for his various businesses. Penske is also a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Eldora Speedway is a 0.5 mi (804.672 m) high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, its website claims capacity for 22,886 spectators in the permanent grandstand, and unlimited admittance for the grass hillside spectator area. The permanent grandstand and VIP suite seats make it the largest sports stadium in the Dayton, Ohio-region according to the Dayton Business Journal.
Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a medium size manufacturer of lubricants, including engine oils, greases, gear lubes, as well as problem-solving additives and car-care products. It produces and markets approximately 270 formulations in 40 countries. In the U.S., Lucas Oil is sold in more than 30,000 auto parts stores, displaying the most variety of shelf products of any oil company, and at truck stops nationwide. Lucas Oil has its plants in the United States. The original plant in Corona, California, which also housed Lucas Oil Corporate Headquarters and several affiliated companies, was closed in late 2022, moving the corporate HQ to Indianapolis, Indiana.
A promotional model is a model hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. Most promotional models are conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to make a product or service more appealing, and can provide information to journalists and consumers at trade shows and convention events. Promotional models are used in motorsports, other sports or at trade shows, or they can act as "spokesmodels" to promote a specific brand or product in advertisements.
Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who is best known for serving as the play-by-play commentator for the Indianapolis 500 for a total of 27 years across radio and television. Page was the radio Voice of the 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1977 to 1987, and again from 2014 to 2015. He served the same role on television in 1988–1998 & 2002–2004.
The Performance Racing Network (PRN) is a radio syndication network controlled by Speedway Motorsports (SMI) founded in 1981. PRN airs NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series events held at Speedway Motorsports and Penske Corporation-owned and managed tracks.
The 1999 FedEx Championship Series season, the twenty-first in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 21 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 31. The season was marred by the fatal accidents of Gonzalo Rodríguez during practice for the Laguna Seca round and Greg Moore at the final round, in addition to various injuries that took several drivers out of championship contention.
The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and three multi-purpose ballrooms. The connected facilities of Lucas Oil Stadium offer an additional 183,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of exhibit space and 12 meeting rooms.
The Auto Care Association is a not-for-profit trade association based in Bethesda, Maryland. Auto Care Association's nearly 3,000 members and affiliate companies, represent approximately 150,000 businesses that manufacture, distribute, sell and install motor vehicle parts, accessories, tools, equipment, materials, supplies, and services. Representing suppliers, distributors, retailers, service providers, program groups, manufacturers’ representatives, educators, and publishers, the Auto Care Association protects and advances the interests of businesses providing aftermarket products and services for all classes of motor vehicles.
Leonard W. Miller is one of two black motor racing pioneers living in the United States.
Robert Douglas Yates is a race car engine builder, former NASCAR team owner, and mechanic. He is the son of championship team owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Robert Yates and formerly operated Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Yates currently is the President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines, the primary builder of Ford engines in the top-two NASCAR series ; as well as Ford Performance teams in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series. Yates has a wife, Whitney, and four children.
Klein Tools, Inc. is an American company based in Lincolnshire, IL that manufactures hand tools. The company is known for its popularity with workers in the electrical and telecommunications industries. Lineman's pliers in the past were often called "Kleins," an example of a genericized trademark.
Ferdinand Nickolas Kahler Sr. was an American inventor, entrepreneur and automobile pioneer who founded The Kahler Co. in New Albany, Indiana.
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., also known as simply Axalta, is an American company specializing in coatings in a wide variety of industrial applications, materials and sectors, including automotive paints. The company is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and incorporated in Bermuda. Axalta develops and manufactures coatings for light and commercial vehicles, industrial, and refinish applications. The firm does business in 130 countries, has nearly 13,000 employees, and has more than 100,000 customers.
Steve Lewis, born in Colton, California, is an owner of Nine Racing, founder of Performance Racing Industry, magazine publisher and trade show producer.
Stock car racing events in the ARCA Menards Series have been held at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana since 1979. The track currently hosts one race for the series, currently known as the Atlas 200, in the fall. The track previously had a second ARCA race from 1996 to 2019 that was held in the spring.
SuperATV is a United States based privately owned company founded in 2003. The company sells aftermarket products for Utility task vehicles (UTVs) and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). SuperATV is a family-run business located in a small Indiana town. The business has grown substantially from its founding to the current day.
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