The 4th Annual Racing Industry Week hosted by EPARTRADE, RACER and SPEED SPORT has reached a new level in 2023, with over 100 racing industry leaders from virtually every form of racing participating.
Race Industry Week, held from November 27 to December 1, included five days of live webinars featuring racing industry leaders, sanctioning bodies, racing series, OEMs, promoters and much more.
“We had an amazing five days with an incredible lineup of speakers,” said Francisque Savinien, who with Judy Kean is producer of Race Industry Week and founder of EPARTRADE, the digital sourcing platform for the global racing industry. “If you work in the racing industry, you had to watch. It was wonderful to talk and learn from all of these industry leaders. Truth be told, I don’t think anyone has assembled a range of loudspeakers of this quality in the history of motor racing and this underlines the tremendous support EPARTRADE enjoys within the industry.
Guest speakers included Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing; Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Adrian Newey OBE, technical director of Red Bull Racing; Tony Stewart, owner of Tony Stewart Racing; Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing; Steve Phelps, president of NASCAR; Mark Miles, President and CEO of Penske Entertainment (IMS, IndyCar and IMSP); Mike Burch, chief operating officer of Speedway Motorsports; Brad Sweet, sprint car champion and owner of High Limit Racing; Cal Wells, CEO of Legacy Motor Club; Jay Frye, president of IndyCar; John Doonan, President of IMSA; Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E; Carlos Ezpeleta, MotoGP sporting director; Ricardo Juncos, president of Juncos Hollinger Racing; Frédéric Lequien, CEO, FIA WEC; Rick Ware, owner of Rick Ware Racing; Beth Paretta, owner of Paretta Autosport; John Force, 16-time Funny Car champion; Doug Kalitta, 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion; and NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty.
“We all deeply love the industry and the people who work in it. » said Paul Pfanner, founder of RACER Media & Marketing. “Last week we sent our love letter to everyone who makes this sport happen. Your hard work has built a vibrant, dynamic sport that is accelerating in ways we’ve never seen before. In the winter of 2020, things stopped and barely started again, and look at the sport now. Runners learn faster than the competition. Evolve and adapt. The audience for our sport is growing. We have a multitude of opportunities to develop this sport in the years to come. It’s great to see the whole sector showing so much energy and positivity as we approach 2024.”
Nearly 40 sanctioning bodies and racing series spanning six continents were represented, from two-wheelers to four-wheelers to tractors and powerboats, throughout the week’s webinars.
“This week we spoke with executives from across the motorsport spectrum, from Formula 1 to trucks and tractors, and from the sport’s iconic legends to the next generation of innovators and athletes.” said Joe Tripp, Managing Partner and CEO of SPEED SPORT. “What’s really exciting is that the industry is experiencing phenomenal growth – but as we know, it must continually reinvent itself, and that theme was consistent throughout each information-packed day this week. Our business is no different – and although we will celebrate our 90th anniversary next year, we still need to continue to adapt to change, and a vital part of doing this is supporting and participating in events like the Race Industry Week.
Manufacturers, teams, circuit promoters, drivers and engine builders also played a leading role. Featured OEM executives included Ford’s Mark Rushbrook, General Motors’ Jim Campbell, TRD’s David Wilson and Mazda Motorsports’ Jonathan Apple, who evaluated their 2023 seasons, went behind the scenes of their programs and also examined what’s awaits us in the future.
The week also featured six special panel discussions that covered a variety of topics touching on a variety of industry topics.
“EPARTRADE is a grocery trade-only platform where buyers can connect with suppliers year-round,” Kean said. “In addition, we also organize weekly technical webinars and, best of all, this special and spectacular week with this gathering that we have created for the industry. It was dynamic. We are very grateful and proud of all our iconic presenting sponsors, so thank you to them. This week was developed as a result of the pandemic when there were no trade shows, so we decided to create one and we are now in our fourth annual Trade Show Industry Week. race and people are already calling it a tradition. It warms the heart.
This year’s five-day event featured expanded content delivery via Zoom, YouTube channels EPARTRADE, RACER and SPEED SPORT, as well as online sites RACER.com and SPEEDSPORT.com and on television with SPEED SPORT 1, with all the content available this week on the EPARTRADE platform.
Race Industry Week 2023 was presented by ETS Racing Fuels, Fifth Third Bank Motorsports, PEAK, Penske Racing Shocks, Scott Lewis Associates and Total Seal Piston Rings, and sponsored by ARP – Auto Racing Products, Performance Plus Global Logistics and Shop Monkey.
The webinars were hosted by Jeff Hammond and Brad Gillie of SiriusXM, Ch. 90; Paul Pfanner of RACER, Ralph Sheheen, Mike Kerchner and Jim Roller of SPEED SPORT; Marshall Pruett, David Malsher-Lopez, Richard James, George Tamayo, Laurence Foster and Chris Medland of RACER; Joe Castello of WFO Radio; Judy Kean and Francisque Savinien from EPARTRADE.
The fifth edition of Race Industry Week will take place from December 2 to 6, 2024.
The EPARTRADE platform continues to offer the motor racing industry its very important annual opportunity to purchase racing technology introduced for 2024. Buyers can find information on new and established racing products and services, as well as Informative technical videos, catalogs and much more.
