RACE INDUSTRY WEEK Sets Stage For 2023 In Spectacular Fashion
After a return to normalcy in 2022, the 3rd annual RACE INDUSTRY WEEK showed that the industry has been totally re-energized as it prepares for one of the biggest years ever in terms of development and new technologies in 2023.
RACE INDUSTRY WEEK 2022, produced by EPARTRADE, RACER and SPEED SPORT was held November 28 – December 2, and featured 5 Days and 55 Hours of LIVE Business and Technical Webinars from race industry leaders, race sanctioning organizations and key industry suppliers from around the world.
"We had five amazing days,” said Francisque Savinien, who along with Judy Kean are the producers of RACE INDUSTRY WEEK and founders of EPARTRADE, the digital sourcing platform for the worldwide performance and racing industry. “The world is moving forward. We had to learn from the pandemic, and we’ve had to learn new ways of engaging and communicating and taking advantage of what’s available out there. The energy and passion that we saw this week is what this industry is all about.”
“We were able to bring together people from all over the world to connect, exchange information and to improve the racing world because they believe in our platform. A big thank you to our sponsors ETS Racing Fuels, Scott Lewis Associates, Total Seal Piston Rings, ARP, Motul and Performance Plus Global Logistics” added Judy Kean, co-founder of EPARTRADE.
More than 130 speakers, including 20 sanctioning bodies worldwide were represented throughout the 55 hours of webinars, along with teams, promoters, drivers and, of course, race industry suppliers that are set to go flat out into 2023 with the latest innovations for the new season and to grow the industry well into the future
“We’re all a part of RACE INDUSTRY WEEK to communicate – this came out of a need in the darkest depths of the pandemic,” said Paul Pfanner, founder of RACER Media & Marketing. “A lot of people didn’t know if their business would survive or if they’d be racing, but people kept working on their race cars. They wanted to go out and race. As bad as everything was, racers kept focused on what they love and what they want to do. And here we are, we’re moving back into the daylight as a business and more vibrant than ever before. We’re a community of people who work together, and I think racers figure things out faster and better than the competition.”
EPARTRADE, RACER and SPEED SPORT produced 55 hours of live content via Zoom, with all of the content available later on the EPARTRADE platform. Not only did RACE INDUSTRY WEEK highlight leaders from around the world, but it also continued to provide the racing industry with its all-important annual opportunity to shop and buy racing technology being introduced for 2023 on the EPARTRADE platform. Buyers can find information about both new and established racing products, as well as informative technical videos, catalogs and more.
RACE INDUSTRY WEEK was presented by ETS Racing Fuels, Scott Lewis Associates and Total Seal Piston Rings, and also sponsored by ARP, Motul and Performance Plus Global Logistics.
"We had an unbelievable line-up join us who wanted to be a part of RACE INDUSTRY WEEK” said Ralph Sheheen, Managing Partner & President, SPEED SPORT. “Not only featuring the technologies that go into racing products, but also in addressing key issues such as logistics and supply chains, as well as the developing opportunities available in engaging new emerging fanbases. I’m most proud of the fact that we are helping the industry grow”
"RACE INDUSTRY WEEK fills a very important role," said Joe Tripp, Managing Partner & CEO, SPEED SPORT, who announced the formation of SPEED SPORT 1 motorsport network with plans to televise 400 live events and thousands of hours of motorsports content from around the globe each year. The streaming and TV panel was one example of the industry coming together where we had the leading tv and streaming providers, all with all different business models, share their insight and outlook as the look to fill different needs and work together for the betterment of the sport."
Featured speakers included Justin Marks, Steve Phelps, John Force, Robert Hight, Tom Kristensen, Brad Sweet, Clay Millican, Jay Frye, Mike Beam, Mike Burch, John Doonan, Alan Gow, Kyle Petty, Mike Hull, Sheikh Salman Al-Khalifa, Walt Czarnecki, Sr., Bobby Epstein, John Clagett, Ed Pink, Steve Lewis, Peter Thul, Greg Gill, Jason Dienhart, Cal Wells, Bisi Ezerioha, Carlos Ezpeleta, Adam Bailey, Kevin Miller, Rob Herrod, Johnny Rutherford, Michael Cobb, Wilfried Eibach, Herb Fishel, Brian Carter, Tony Parella, Chris Stewart, John Schwartz, Matt Martelli, Marty Fiolka and more.
OEM leaders once again played a prominent role during the event. Ford’s Mark Rushbrook, General Motors’ Jim Campbell, TRD’s David Wilson and Mazda Motorsports’ Jonathan Applegate all were featured explaining where the OEM racing programs are positioned currently, and how they plan to move forward in the future.
As the sport continues to grow in popularity with women and younger followers, women took an expanded role in this year’s RACE INDUSTRY WEEK. Speakers included 2022 NHRA champions Brittany Force and Erica Enders, along with Kelly Earnhardt Miller, Beth Paretta, Michelle Lackey Maynor, Melissa Eickhoff, Lyn St. James, and Linda Vaughn, while Lauri Eberhart, Julie Giese, Alba Colon, Sabre Cook, Hannah Grisham, Cristiana Pace and Jessica Runicles all took part in panel discussions. In addition, special panels included “Women in Motorsports,” and “Women in Motorsports - Drivers to Celebrate.”
Once again, the biggest part of RACE INDUSTRY WEEK was devoted to race technology, with highly informative technical webinars organized by industry suppliers with showcases on EPARTRADE. The latest advances in racing technology were definitely one of the highlights with buyers having the opportunity to shop the hottest new racing products on the EPARTRADE platform.
Suppliers that presented webinars included Grainger and Worrall, MAHLE Motorsport, SRI, HMS Motorsport, Speedmaster, Voodoo Speed Cult, Materion, Total Seal Piston Rings, Trensor, ETS Racing Fuels, MidwayPlus, Elgin Industries, ChassisSim Technologies, Oerlikon, HRX, DSPS Engineering, My Race Pass, Eibach, EngSim, Racing Radios, TotalSim, K1 Race Gear, SPEEDiagnostix, Performance Plus Global Logistics, AVIAID Oil Systems.
Additional special panels included “The Importance of Sustainability in Motorsport", “Figure 8, Demolition Derby, Tractor Pulling and Diesel Motorsports”, “Drivers & Crew Chiefs”, "Going to the Gemba: From Racer to Warfighter at the Speed of Combat”, “F1’s American Lift Off,” and "Motorsports Broadcasting - Television and Streaming."
Webinars were hosted by Jeff Hammond and Brad Gillie of SiriusXM, ch. 90, Late Shift; Paul Pfanner of RACER, Ralph Sheheen, Mike Kerchner and Joe Tripp of SPEED SPORT; Laurence Foster and Chris Medland of RACER; Joe Castello of WFO Radio; Judy Kean and Francisque Savinien of EPARTRADE.
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