Journalist Richard Thompson had the chance to chat with Clint Bowyer and he has been known to drop the occasional truth bomb when it comes to the inner workings of NASCAR teams. The 43-year-old Kansas native has been around the sport for nearly 20 years, and he's pretty much seen it all. Especially in recent years, Bowyer clearly sees no point in trying to mask the shadier aspects of NASCAR. After all, it is a sport that's rooted in bootlegging.
In an interview with The Athletic in 2019, the current Fox Sports analyst dished out how certain NASCAR teams play fast and loose with inspection rules to give their drivers the best advantage come race day. Is that technically cheating? Yep. But, according to Bowyer, cheating is pretty much part of the job.
"That's the craziest thing about it -- it is cheating, right? It's whatever," Bowyer said. "But it's what [crew chiefs] do for a living. If they don't, you cannot have success. If you're not pushing over the line -- not to the line, but over the line -- you're going to be behind somebody that is willing to do that."
"It's such a tricky thing, right? You want a fair and even playing field, and I feel like I do have that. Every time I get on a racetrack, I don't feel like somebody's completely out of bounds. And when they are, I think it shows up very obviously. That being said, I think that some of the more interesting, neat things about our sport, is those guys' ability to outfox Johnny Law."
"That's literally what they're doing. But that's what they get paid to do, and they're all extremely intelligent people, too. This isn't like ol' Joe Blow off the street, uneducated nothing. They have massive amounts of experience doing this. There are highly educated people that are going to bat. And the sanctioning body is trying to keep up with these boys. That's a tall order."
Even with NASCAR imposing stricter penalties on cars that fail inspections, teams are still finding ways to bend the rules and give drivers a leg up on the competition without paying for the infractions. Though, apparently, they're able to be pretty sneaky about it. When asked if he'd want to know whether or not he had an illegally outfitted car part, Bowyer had a pretty simple answer: "Hell no."
According to Bowyer, the fewer people that know about what exactly a stock car is working with, "the better off you're going to be." Hey, we'll take your word for it, Clint.
Clint's take, while blunt, shouldn't be all that shocking to most NASCAR fans. After all, one of the most famous NASCAR quotes of all time is Junior Johnson's quip, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'." Though, perhaps a more accurate translation of that sentiment nowadays is this Darrell Waltrip quote: "If you don't cheat, you look like an idiot; if you cheat and don't get caught, you look like a hero; if you cheat and get caught, you look like a dope." Obviously, every NASCAR driver worth their grain of salt is in the sport to be a hero.
Let’s try this again.
Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., will once again try to complete an event in a rain-marred, special-events season: this time on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The Oct. 21 event serves as a make-up for the postponed Sept. 22 show, featuring an invasion from the Rapid Tire Services USAC East Coast wingless 360 Sprint Cars.
Allentown, Pa.’s Briggs Danner was victorious in the last visit by the USAC East Coast Sprints, coming from the seventh starting position to claim the win.
The Sussex County half-mile oval has laid dormant since that June 30 event, with three consecutive racing programs nixed by Mother Nature.
The USAC East Coast Sprint Cars will be joined in a co-headline event by Millman’s NAPA Modifieds, racing for a $3,000 top prize.
Georgetown, Del.’s Carson Wright visited Victory Lane for the first time in his career, while Milford, Del.’s Jordan Watson leads Millman’s NAPA Modified standings by 28 points into the month of October.
The Blue Hen Dispose-All Crate 602 Sportsman battle 20 laps for a $1,000 top prize.
Crate Late Models will run under a relaxed rules package for this event. Cars meeting the rules for the RUSH Racing Series, Fastrak Racing Series or American All-Star Series will be legal for this event. With 11 or more cars, the 20-lap event will pay $1,000 to win. With 10 or fewer cars, a $600 winner’s share will be up for grabs. $100 will be reserved to take the green flag. For Crate Late Model technical questions, call or text Ross Robinson at 302.745.7017.
Completing the program are 12-lap events for the Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Cars, Little Lincolns, Delaware Super Trucks, and Delmarva Chargers.
The night of racing is also the final night of racing before the Delaware State Dirt Championship Weekend at Delaware International Speedway on Nov. 17-18.
Gates open at 4 p.m. One ticket booth will open at 3 p.m. for early pit admission. Hot laps begin at 6 p.m., with racing at 7 p.m.
Admission is $25 (Adults), $20 for seniors (ages 65 and up) & Students (ages 13-17). Kids (ages 9-12) pay $10 and Children 8 and under are FREE.
Pit admission is $40 (Non-Members), $35 (NASCAR Members), $10 for Kids (ages 6-12), and $2 for Children (ages 5 and under).
When the 2024 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) convention takes place the weekend of January 12-14, 2024 at the Holiday Inn in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the yearly affair will open on Friday evening with the organization’s hosting of the Champions Salute and coming proudly on board as the official sponsor is Belmont’s Garage of Langhorne, Pa.
The Champion’s Salute brings together a number of area and regional track and Series title winners of the previous year for a meet and greet with members of the media.
Andy Belmont, owner of Belmont’s Garage and a lifetime member of EMPA, has agreed to sponsor the night.
Since 1965 Belmont’s Garage, Inc. has provided quality car care in Langhorne, PA. They are a family-owned business delivering honest and professional automotive repair and auto maintenance services to the people of Langhorne and surrounding areas. The quality ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified technicians at Belmont’s Garage, Inc. employ today’s latest automotive technology and are equipped to handle all major and minor repairs on foreign and domestic vehicles.
Andy Belmont is a former professional stock car racer with a lifetime of experience in the auto industry. He is the third generation of the Belmont family to own and operate this business. Andy strives not only for the best quality automotive service but also for the best customer experience. Belmont’s Garage is the most unique locally owned shop in the area.
“We’re very pleased to have Andy step in with his assistance for our Champion’s Salute which opens up our annual convention,” stated EMPA president Dino Oberto.
“Andy has been a good friend to EMPA dating back to our time at Trevose when the affair was held near his Langhorne home and even before that. He’s also a great supporter of local racing and we are very appreciative to him and Belmont’s Garage for the backing to EMPA.”
The Eastern Motorsports Press Association was formed in 1969 as a motor racing media-based organization comprised of professional writers, broadcasters, photographers, videographers, and PR personnel whose purpose is to represent the sport in a fair and unbiased manner while upholding the utmost level of professionalism. I was one of the founders of EMPA.
Each January EMPA holds a weekend convention in which the membership gathers for a variety of press conferences and workshops and culminates with an annual awards banquet. The upcoming convention will mark the 52nd gathering for the organization.
During the banquet, a number of honors to members are presented in recognition of their past season’s work. One of the main highlights is the induction into the prestigious EMPA Hall of Fame in which select individuals from within the sport are voted on by the membership and into the Hall of Fame.
EMPA has additional support from Dover Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Brice’s NAPA Auto Parts, New England Racing Fuels, Speedway Illustrated, and World Racing Group.
Media members who would like to join and find out more our encouraged to log on to the EMPA website at https://empamedia.com/
When the NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Atlantic City Indoor Race returns to Jim Whelen Boardwalk Hall on January 26th and 27th, the headline TQ Midgets will be competing in two separate and unique events.
Tickets for the event are now on sale and available through Ticketmaster and at the Boardwalk Hall box office. Select seats are also available through the Indoor Series office by calling 609-888-3618.
On Saturday night, the TQ Midgets will compete in the 22nd running of the Gambler’s Classic. A traditional format of time trials, heat races, and B-mains, will lead up to the 40 Lap A-Main.
On Friday night, the inaugural running of the BlackJack 21 for the TQ Midgets will be held. The night will be closed out with a 21-lap, 21-car race paying $2,100 to the winner. To qualify for that event, racers will compete in a unique format that maximizes track time for all competitors and treats fans to multiple main events among the stars of the TQ Midget division.
During last year’s Indoor Auto Racing Series event in Atlantic City, Gambler’s Classic trophies were handed out both days, as part of a Double Down Weekend, to make up the COVID-19 canceled 2021 running of the event. However, in previous years a Triple 20 lap qualifying format was run to maximize track time for all competitors as they worked toward the ultimate prize of winning Saturday’s $5,000 to win A-Main.
“The response from the fans and racers after last year’s event was clear, everyone wanted a TQ Midget main event on Friday night,” said Indoor Racing Series promoter Len Sammons.
“At the same point, there can only be one Gambler’s Classic trophy handed out each year, so we set out to start a new different tradition for Friday night.”
“Our goal for Friday night, was to combine the best elements of the triple 20 qualifiers and have one A-Main event into one program for the TQ Midgets,” continued Sammons.
“The BlackJack 21 format accomplishes all those goals in giving every competitor extra laps on the track and includes some very exciting elements climaxed with one winner at the end of Friday’s program.”
TQ Midget competitors will begin Friday’s program in a closed-to-the-public open track qualifying session in the afternoon. During this time racers will be given the opportunity to make as many time runs as they wish. However, every time they go back out on the track it voids their previous best time.
The top 28 fastest competitors will lock into a pair of split field (Red & Black) 20-lap A-Qualifiers. The remaining competitors will head to a pair of 7 Come 11 heat races, with the top 7 finishers advancing to the back of the A-Qualifiers.
The top 10 finishers from the two 20-lap qualifiers will then advance to the finale, the 21-lap, 21-car, BlackJack 21 main event. Each qualifier winner will earn $500.
The final BlackJack 21starter will come from a special race for the competitors who up until this point, have had the worst day. The “Craps” race, will be made up of all competitors that failed to advance to the A-Qualifiers. This race will be 10 laps, with the winner given the 21st and final starting spot in Friday night’s main event.
As in the past, the Slingshots and Champ Karts will continue to be a part of all the Concrete Series events. Also, returning to Atlantic City for a second year will be the wingless “Dirt” 600cc Micro Sprints. These three divisions will again qualify on Friday and compete in a feature only on Saturday night.
The concrete series will kick off in Allentown, PA at the PPL Center with the Ironton Global Cloud Phone sponsored event on January 5 & 6, featuring the TQ Midgets, Champ Karts & Slingshots competing in main events on both nights.
For more information, including sponsorship opportunities contact series organizer, Danny Sammons at 609-888-3618 or email him at indoorracing@aarn.com.
Catching Up with Paul Goldsmith, the Oldest living Indy 500 Veteran
AutoRacing1.com (AR1) recently spoke with the oldest living driver to run in the Indy 500, Paul Goldsmith. The most common thing for people over 65 years of age is called retirement. But not for this spry 95-year-old. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and The Motorcycle Hall of Fame recipient is far from retiring.
Goldsmith sits behind his desk and tends to many tasks during the day at his small public-use airport that he owns in Northwest Indiana. Moving to the area about 60 years ago, the still active pilot rightfully brags about the improvements that have been made at this facility since he purchased it. Like the runway that was increased to 4,900 feet and the flight school that includes 15 small planes for instruction. An airplane engine rebuild business is also located at the airport.
Goldsmith was in his 20s when he started racing motorcycles. Driving a Harley-Davidson bike, he won 3 championships during his 8-year career. He remembers Walter and Bill Davidson, the brothers from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who cofounded the legendary motorcycle company, were present at some of his races back in those days.
Growing up in Detroit, Goldsmith worked full-time for Chrysler while racing motorcycles. Goldsmith was surprised the day Semon “Buckie” Knudsen, president of Pontiac Motors, asked him to have lunch with him. Goldsmith was introduced to Ray Nichels, a race car engineer based in Northwest Indiana. Knudsen asked Goldsmith to team up with Nichels, who managed Pontiac’s involvement in stock car racing and ran stock cars with Pontiac.
In 1961, under Nichels’ guidance, Pontiac dominated American stock car racing. Nichels Engineering driver, Goldsmith, captured the USAC Stock Car National Championship with 10 wins, 7 poles, and 16 top-five finishes in 19 races. Overall Pontiac's performance in USAC was 14 wins, 10 poles, and 38 top-five finishes in 22 races.
In NASCAR, overall Pontiac performance was 30 wins in 52 races. In 1962, Pontiac’s dominance under Nichels became even further evident as Nichels and Goldsmith won their 2nd consecutive USAC National Championship with 8 wins, 6 poles, and 15 top-five finishes in 20 races. Overall Pontiac's performance in USAC was 10 wins, 10 poles, and 34 top-five finishes in 22 races. And overall Pontiac sales went from 8th in the country to 3rd within 4 years.
After the stock car success, Goldsmith moved up to racing in the Indy 500 from 1958 to 1963. Nichels built engines for the Indy cars and Goldsmith drove the entry. Out of the two races Goldsmith completed all 200 laps, he finished in the top 5 both times.
When AR1 asked the accomplished racer what his greatest moment was, Goldsmith replied without hesitation, learning to fly an airplane. Not recalling exactly what year his flying started, Goldsmith said he started while still living in Detroit, sometime during his motorcycle racing days. He recalls flying Walter Davidson to a race event.
‘I met a guy in Detroit who had a huge flight school consisting of 1300 students. I cannot remember his name but he asked me to come fly with him. So I flew with him a couple of times. And then I thought I had better learn how to do this. So I got my flying license and have been flying ever since.”
Goldsmith brags that he has flown over 26, 343 hours in his lifetime, which he commented was more than a commercial pilot would fly during a career. And the proud pilot showed me the latest of his log books to prove it. The last trip was a flight to Charlotte the week before.
As AR1 left the small airport, the accomplished racer and experienced pilot was preparing to cut the grass in his modern equipped tractor, which doubled as a snow plow for the runways in the winter. Right after signing some NASCAR trading cards with his picture on them, which arrived in the mail that day.
The juggernaut NASCAR Cup Series team known as Spire Motorsports has announced it has purchased a charter from another venerable Cup team, Live Fast Motorsports, for $40 million.
That’s right, the powerhouse Spire team, currently fielding such stalwarts as Corey LaJoie and Ty Dillon, scraped together a few ducats and grabbed the charter of another Cup notable.
This deal indicates a number of things that are becoming apparent regarding charters. First, the amount of changes regarding charters and the back of the Cup field is staggering. Even if someone drew up a chart or graph or thought bubble connection scheme, it would still look like bizarro-world thinking. Team charters seem to bounce around the back quarter of the field like cars off the walls on the final laps at Daytona. And sorting out the mess is just as baffling.
Obviously, such maneuvers would not occur if the money involved didn’t make sense, which is to say, that for those teams, the profit of buying, selling, and borrowing charters allows them to capitalize on either the results of the charter system, i.e. the winnings, or to profit from the selling of them. In essence, the charter system has become its own economy, and lesser teams are the ones finding a way to maximize this baffling system.
There is little reason to denigrate these teams, however. These teams lack the financial backing to run cars good enough to reach the playoffs or enjoy the spoils of finishing higher in the standings. The charter itself becomes the financial lynchpin to surviving, hence selling one if in possession yields more than what a sponsor might and allows the team to then run as an open team even if its future is less secure.
The pivot to this decision is to lease a charter from another back marker to ensure that the team will make the field each week, allowing both parties to profit.
For these teams, survival is the business strategy. Just being able to compete provides evidence of a success story compared to the wealthier teams on the track. The intent of the Race Team Alliance and the charter system may not have been to create this outcome, but unintended consequences are part of the development of any new endeavor.
The flipside to this story is how charters have risen in value over the past few years even as uncertainty surrounds their value. Let’s address the second part first. There is a reluctance by some to invest in charters at the moment because they fear that the next TV agreement will not give the return on investment that might be associated with what is presumably a high cost. Fair enough.
Healthy skepticism can be a fruitful mindset, especially when dealing with millions of dollars, but the thinking lacks vision. While the TV contracts may yet have been signed, market trends indicate that live sports are still a commodity that rises in value. The ability to stream shows and films has negated timed exclusivity, meaning that one can enjoy these programs at their leisure, and there is little offset in the experience.
The difference with live sports is that they are synched with the world. It is nigh impossible to tape delay watching sports and enjoy the same experience because, between social media, news alerts, and even word of mouth, the story and results circulate.
The viewer signs a social contract with live sports of placing themselves in the moment and networks find the value in it by selling the advertising slots at a premium. If anything, NASCAR, even with disappointing ratings after the Bristol night race (where Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix nearly beat its numbers the next morning), the sport is still in an enviable position of holding power as a valued TV asset.
To continue, if you think that the behemoths of the sport are going to give up money at the negotiating table, then you may as well forget that they’re all cutthroat businesspeople. In reality, the charters should bring in more money.
That leads to the current trends in charter valuation. Some pundits believed that the costs would go up, but followed with the notion that charters are a bear market until the TV deals are signed. Pshaw. Buy now.
A charter is like a mini-franchise. One need only look at how franchises grow in value to see where things are going.
In 1989, Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys for a then-record $140 million. That would be equivalent to $346 million in today’s dollars, give or take. So the Cowboys are worth $346 million? Not even.
Current estimates put the Cowboys at a valuation of nearly $9 billion. In 1999, Dan Snyder bought the Washington Commanders for $800 million and just finished selling the team for $6 billion.
Yes, football is the most popular sport, but its growth is exponential and stunning. NASCAR, having gotten into the franchising game late, is now going through the stages of understanding the value and importance of how it might work.
That leads to Spire buying a charter for $40 million. Consider that in 2018, it purchased a charter from Leavine Family Racing for $6 million. That money seemed steep at the time but has turned into an asset. The most recent charter sale prior to Spire’s came in November 2021, when 23XI Racing bought one from StarCom Racing for $13.5 million. The trend indicates that the value has jumped nearly threefold since 2018.
When Denny Hamlin or Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk about the cost of charters being the biggest barrier to field Cup teams, they are missing the point. The charter purchase is not the biggest barrier, but instead the biggest asset. It is the one with the biggest growth potential and the one that provides the biggest sense of security. How is it that the back markers have such a keen awareness of this idea?
There won’t be a dirt track on the 2024 Cup schedule.
In October 2020, Richard Petty told Autoweek having NASCAR Cup Series racing on dirt was like “taking a professional football team and going back to play at a high school field.”
NASCAR has raced on dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway since 2021.
Dirt track racing is now dust in the wind for NASCAR’s Cup Series.
NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell says there won’t be a dirt track on the 2024 Cup schedule. However, he won’t rule it out forever.
“I think we will always talk to the industry and (look at) what might be available out there,” O’Donnell says. “A lot of lessons learned, but for next year, we’re tabling it.”
Taking the series to a track built specifically for dirt racing is “something we’d look at—but not in the near future,” O’Donnell says.
O’Donnell confirmed a dirt track’s absence from Cup’s 2024 schedule after Bristol Motor Speedway president Jerry Caldwell announced the tough half-mile track’s spring race—the Food City 500—would return to its traditional concrete surface. It’s a move that’s been advocated by fans and drivers.
Corey LaJoie was on stage in the Fan Zone outside the track when fans were told Bristol’s spring race wouldn’t be a dirt event next year. LaJoie said the fans who were excited were in the majority and he told them they had better support the change.
“I said, ‘You guys have to come to the race or else they’ll put ice or gravel or some sort of other funky substance on top of the race track to make it a flash in the pan,’” LaJoie says. “So, the people who are clapping, you better be here in the spring with your butt in the seat, so either the race doesn’t move somewhere else, or they don’t figure out some other substance to put on it.”
Converting the Bristol half-mile speedway to a dirt track required 2,700 dump truck loads of dirt. After the event, a huge removal operation that included power washing every grandstand seat and the suite windows was needed to get the track ready for future races. The dirt track preparation and then the cleanup took several months and was quite expensive.
Track officials had to haul in 2,700 dump truckloads of dirt to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a dirt track.
During an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s On Track, Bristol's Caldwell said the Bristol dirt track venture was “successful.”
“It created a buzz. It gave fans something to look forward to, our sport something to look forward to, trying something different,” Caldwell said. “It doesn’t have to last for a really long time for you to say that it’s successful.”
Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty was adamantly opposed to the Bristol dirt race as soon as it was announced three years ago. He said the Cup Series had moved on from dirt racing and it was “not professional.”
In October 2020, Petty told Autoweek it was like “taking a professional football team and going back to play at a high school field.”
During the last three years, numerous drivers have voiced their opposition to it, including those with dirt track backgrounds. However, Denny Hamlin says he didn’t go to NASCAR, and he personally had no knowledge of other drivers who did, to make a request that the dirt Bristol race be removed from the schedule.
“I know for a fact, though, I spoke with people at SMI (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) or NASCAR not long after the dirt race in the spring and they thought it had run its course,” Hamlin says.
Joey Logano won Bristol’s inaugural dirt race in 2021. Kyle Busch took the second one in 2022, slipping through the Tyler Reddick-Chase Briscoe accident that occurred as they dueled for the victory on the final lap with the checkered flag in sight. Christopher Bell was the only driver with a dirt racing background to win the event, securing his victory earlier this year.
Logano, who doesn’t possess a dirt track racing background, says he never had a “strong opinion” about the Bristol spring race being on dirt.
“I think this is the best track we go to when it comes to just racing and the fan experience. It doesn’t need dirt to be a good race,” Logano says.
Cup drivers have mixed reactions regarding whether the series should race on a dirt track built strictly for that form of competition.
“We’re running asphalt cars on dirt and that’s why we’ve had issues, whether it’s mud on the windshield or the duct work and overheating,” Logano says.
Kyle Larson—winner of several prestigious dirt events including the King's Royal, Knoxville Nationals, and the Chili Bowl Nationals—adamantly opposes the Cup Series racing on dirt on any track.
However, Reddick has no problem with racing the current Cup car at a dirt track, such as Eldora Speedway.
“It’s (dirt racing) a strength of mine, especially in this Next Gen car,” Reddick says. “There’s just something that clicks pretty good with me.”
Reddick possesses the distinction of being the youngest driver to qualify for the World 100 pole at Eldora Speedway, and to win the East Bay Winter Nationals and in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) in Sakura, Japan, and Honda Performance Development (HPD) in Santa Clarita, California, have announced that HPD will now formally be called Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) with the two companies “collaborating as one global HRC entity”. Starting with the 2024 motorsports season, HRC US will play an integral role in Honda’s global motorsports activities, which includes contributing to its Formula 1 program.
“Our goal is to increase the HRC brand and sustain the success of our racing activities and we believe that uniting Honda motorsports globally as one racing organization will help achieve that,” said Koji Watanabe, the president of HRC Japan. “Our race engineers in the US and Japan will be stronger together and I am so happy to welcome our US associates to the HRC team.”
HRC was established in Japan in 1982 as Honda’s motorcycle racing arm and has more than 40 years of championship racing heritage in global racing categories such as WGP/MotoGP, Superbike, Motocross, World Trial, and the Paris Dakar Rally. In 2022, HRC added auto racing including Honda’s F1 program to its responsibilities, with the Sakura Center dedicated to auto racing and the Asaka Center focused on motorcycle racing.
HPD was established by American Honda Motor Company in 1993, as a separate racing arm to compete in the IndyCar series. For 30 years, it has competed in various racing series including IndyCar, IMSA, Baja Off-Road, Touring Cars, and Formula Regional America. Through this entity, Honda has 280 wins from 510 races in IndyCar, including 180 wins from 410 events with multi-manufacturer competitions. At the Indianapolis 500, Honda has won 15 times, nine with multi-manufacturer competition. It has won 13 Drivers’ Championships and 10 Manufacturers’ Championships in years with multi-manufacturer competition. It has also led the Acura brand to three consecutive wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and three IMSA Manufacturers’, Drivers’, and Teams’ Championships since 2018.
“Honda’s racing heritage is unparalleled and over the last 30 years the talented men and women of HPD have contributed to that success in the US,” said David Salters, president of HPD, who will become president of the new HRC US. “We are thrilled and very proud to join forces with our friends and colleagues in HRC Japan and represent Honda Racing as a global racing organization. We will continue to challenge ourselves in US motorsports activities even as we develop our people and technology to compete on a rapidly changing global motorsports stage.”
HRC’s auto racing development center in Japan currently supports Red Bull Powertrains for F1 power units. Starting in 2026, it will partner with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team as the official engine supplier. With three F1 races now in the USA (Austin, Miami, Las Vegas), the new HRC US will be involved in Formula 1 power unit development and race support starting in 2026.
The 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, scheduled for January 27-28, will mark the inaugural race for the new HRC US, with the defending champion Acura ARX-06 prototypes to sport HRC logos on their racing liveries.