IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series Forge Promotional Partnership with Raybestos Brand Brakes
Indy Racing League officials have announced a two-year promotional partnership with the Affinia Under Vehicle Group, manufacturers of Raybestos brand brakes. The partnership designates Raybestos as the preferred competition brake friction of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights at all road and street course races through 2009. The announcement renews a relationship between Raybestos brand brakes and Indy-style open wheel racing that dates back decades
MAHLE Clevite Transitions to MAHLE White Decal Beginning at 2008 Daytona 500
ANN ARBOR, MI — Beginning with the 2008 Daytona 500 in February, MAHLE Clevite will begin the transition to the MAHLE white decal on the front fender of NASCAR vehicles. Emblazoned with big blue letters, the MAHLE white decal will take the place of the former Clevite blue decal and marks a new MAHLE identity
Delphi Settles with GM, Files Reorganization Plan
Delphi Corp. filed its plan of reorganization with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, clearing one of the last major hurdles the company faces as it attempts to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy. If the plan is approved by creditors and a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge, Delphi would be in position to emerge from bankruptcy. Delphi also said it reached a settlement and restructuring agreements with General Motors, its former parent company, on a number of issues.
OBITUARY: Son of NASCAR Founder, ISC Chairman Bill France Passes Away
William (Bill) C. France, 74, chairman of International Speedway Corp. (ISC), passed away yesterday in Daytona Beach, FL. Funeral arrangements are pending. Effective immediately, ISC Chief Executive Officer James (Jim) C. France will assume the role of chairman.
Ford Drops Sponsorship of Champ Car Series
Ford Motor Co., a backer of Champ Car racing since 1992, announced Wednesday that it will no longer serve as a sponsor of the U.S.-based open wheel series. "We evaluate all of our racing programs on an annual basis and have decided that this sponsorship does not align with our current business objectives," Ford Racing technology director Dan Davis said.
Steve Memishian Presented with SEMA’S Chairman’s Service Award
DIAMOND BAR, CA — Steve Memishian, president of the American Hot Rod Foundation, received the 2006 Chairman’s Service Award at the SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet held in Las Vegas earlier this month. “I am honored to accept this very special award on behalf of my crew, simply because it came from SEMA, which has
Chrysler Cuts May Include Structural Trims, LaSorda Warns
From Detroit Free Press DETROIT — Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda said Monday that the company will continue to focus on cost cutting and warned again of possible structural cuts – not just production cuts – in response to bloated inventories, high incentives and an expected $1.5 billion operating loss for the three months ending
Bill Ford: Savior or Last of a Kind?
A fish tank dominates one wall of Bill Ford’s office. Tulips, tired and randomly arranged, droop from vases on nearby tables. A jumble of orchids and other tropical plants compete for space behind his desk, and a closet has a hidden espresso machine where Ford, the chief executive of Ford Motor, retreats several times a day to brew high-octane shots. If Ford’s office smacks of an overgrown boomer’s pad, nearly everything else around it projects the image of an elite corporation from the automotive giant’s headquarters, built in 1956 and known locally as the Glass House, to the hallways dotted with stylized black-and-white photographs from the company’s glory days decades ago.
Delphi Outlines Transformation Plan
Delphi this morning outlined its strategy to prepare for its return to stable, profitable business operations through a broad-based global restructuring in order to complete the Chapter 11 cases for Delphi and 41 of its domestic U.S. subsidiaries in the first half of 2007 as previously announced. Delphi’s transformation plan is intended to allow the company to become competitive in the global marketplace.
SEC Probes Dana Accounting Errors
Dana Corp., the largest supplier of light-truck axles, said Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating accounting errors that led Dana to restate more than three years of earnings. In September, directors of the Toledo-based company began investigating accounting problems related to inaccuracies in its commercial-vehicle business. They also hired an outside firm to conduct a separate investigation. During October and November, Dana’s directors reported the preliminary findings of the investigations and decided to restate financial statements for the first and second quarters of 2005 and for the years 2002 through 2004. Consequently, the firm Dana hired informed the SEC of the investigations and restatements.