OAKS, PA December 30, 2021 . . . A roundtable discussion and several key seminars are in place for the 36th edition of Pioneer Pole Building Motorsports Trade and Race Car show taking place at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA January 21 and 22.
Richard Tobias, Jr., founder of Speedway Entertainment, will help define the difference between a “Racer or just a Driver?” along with a veteran roundtable discussion panel. The group, which will go on stage in D-Hall at 4:30 for one hour, will include Hall of Fame racers Billy “The Kid” Pauch and Fred Rahmer. They’ll be joined by two of the best today, Billy Pauch, Jr. and Mike Mahaney.
Tobias, who has designed and built Slingshots and SpeedSTRs after his own successful driving career, has helped through his affordable divisions to grow the careers of many young drivers. He’s also worked to showcase these upcoming racers in their starts weekly at the Kutztown, PA Action Track he co-promotes.
Each panelist will share their views on differences between those who merely drive race cars and those who are becoming racers, and what it has taken for them to transition to a consistent up-front runner and race winner.
Is it just consistency – or are there other intangibles? It’s a discussion that promises to be time well spent for aspiring young drivers trying to make their ways in the sport, and for their parents who seek to find the most productive path for their children in the sport!
Free seminars have always been an important part of the PPB Motorsports Show. Hot topics at this year’s show will be Dirt Modified Four-Coil suspension, Dirt Sportsman A To Z, and Engine Maintenance and Tuning for carburetor and fuel injected race cars.
Chuck Schmick of Mooresville, NC, a Technical Sales Advisor for Behrent’s Performance Warehouse and a renowned suspension expert with Eibach Springs, will present an informative one hour presentation.
Beginning at 12:30 in the seminar room, Schmick will present an information seminar on the advantage of using coil springs; stacking coils; loads vs. rates; linear, progressive, digressive rates; tunning with spring rubbers; tender spring vs. helper spring; compressed vs extended load numbers and coil spring maintenance.
Schmick’s the expert and he’s will to share his knowledge and answer questions so come with your pad and pencil and have questions ready. A free drawing will also be held with the winner receiving two Eibach Springs.
Dirt Sportsman racing will be the topic in the seminar room for one hour beginning at 2:00 PM on Saturday. Matt Janczuk, the 2021 DIRTcar Sportsman champion from Oneida, NY will be the key note speaker.
Janczuk, a respected veteran of the dirt Sportsman ranks, will cover all the basics he used to win 19 features and five championships in 2021 from the work at the race shop to race day changes.
Janczuk, a nine-time champion at Utica-Rome Speedway, will cover what he feels is needed for a new race team moving up to get started. He’ll go over his weekly maintenance check-list, touch on motor maintenance, valve springs and oil. He’ll spend time on chassis set-up, shocks and springs.
As a successful driver, he’ll be able to answer questions on following an ever-changing track surface and what tire prep is needed to be successful and save money. Drivers making the move up from small cars or current Sportsman drivers wanting to up their game need to attend with questions in hand for a driver known for helping his fellow competitors!
Racing Engine, Carb & Injector Maintenance and Trouble Shooting will be the one hour topic in the seminar room on Saturday beginning at 3:30. Mark Bitner, a veteran Modified and Sprint Car racer as well as a successful engine builder at Bitner Automotive in Trenton, NJ, will offer his insight and help to race teams.
Bitner will outline the proper engine care program for race cars fueled both by carburetors or injectors a team should follow. He’ll also help prepare team members on how to trouble shoot when problems develop.
Racers often lose valuable laps and thousands of dollars trying to solve a nagging, missing engine. What Bitner has to say could come in handy on race night.
Asphalt Modified and Budget Race cars be the subject of two uniquely different seminars on Friday.
At 4:30 Asphalt Modifieds By The Book will be presented by Matt Hirschman, a 22-time 2021 winner during another Driver Of The Year season. Hirschman is also a car owner and a speed shop operater so he can cover all the bases.
Hirschman will present the proper methods of maintaining, setting up and documenting the work to help advance a team into a winner in asphalt Modified or Sportsman competition. He’ll be available to answer questions and offer driving advice, race strategy and planning that can especially benefit the young racer trying to advance in the sport.
Also on Friday night, at 6:00 PM, Roy Anderson will return for another information seminar. The owner of Anderson Race Cars will focus one hour on set-up, tire and general maintenance on Street, Pure, Factory Stock and Front Wheel Drive (asphalt and dirt) “U-Car” divisions.
Area Auto Racing News photographer Bob Yurko will take the the seminar roon on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 to offer help in taking racing photos.
The award winning racing photographer has helped others step up their game before and he’s back to do it again this year. His seminar will focus on the “amateur” photographer and the person looking to enter the business. His seminar will provide “the basics” of racing photography.
A Race Track/ Tour & Series Media Workshop will be hosted by Wayne Harper, the Lincoln, Pa., Speedway press director. This Open discussion between racing writers/ photographers and track/ series Promoters/ Managers and Press Directors is set for 2:30 on Saturday.
Planned discussion includes professionalism, credential usage and pre and post-event coverage.
A featured topic will be “Today’s Racing Social Media”, with emphasis on how tracks and organizations are using Facebook, Twitter, and related social media in publicizing their events, and “credential approval by tracks in the new era of social media.”
The show itself will include nearly 200 race cars of all kinds on display. Many speedways and organizations will use the show to announce their plans for the new season.
A special Penn National Speedway reunion will be held with cars that raced there over the years on display and winning drivers signing autographs.
Aqua-Duck Water Transport is returning as sponsor of the always popular Ms. Motorsports Pageant which will be held on Friday evening this year in the larger D-Hall. Cash prizes will again go to the top three with the winner receiving $1,500 and a poster deal. Applications are currently available on-line at the event web-site.
Show hours will run 2-9 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
A limited amount of exhibit space remains. This information is available on line at motorsportstradeshow.com, by sending an email to Danny Sammons at danny@aarn.com or by calling the show office at 609-888-3618.