This year's upcoming Performance Racing Industry trade show, held in Orlando the first week in December, features several key events scheduled for teams, drivers and other motorsports professionals.
PRI runs Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 1-3, at in the North/South building of Orlando's Convention Center. Exhibits are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, 9 to 5 on Friday and 9 to 4 on Saturday. The event is only open to those within the industry.
The show is timed to allow racing retailers, race engine builders, race car builders, professional race teams, motorsports engineers and more the opportunity to shop all the new racing products, make purchase decisions, and have them in stock for the start of the next racing season.
The trade show itself provides a host of displays, with more than 100 companies expected to set up in the show's Machinery Row. That's mainly targeted for engine builders, but with 40,000 racing businesspeople in attendance from 65 different countries, there won't be a shortage of things to see or buy.
PRI also features Race Industry Week 2011, which runs concurrently during the week. That kicks off with the annual industry roundtable, led by SPEED NASCAR analyst and commentator Jeff Hammond, on Wed. Nov. 30 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Convention Center. While Hammond will moderate, the panel also includes SPEED open-wheel analyst Robin Miller, Mazda Raceway CEO and general manager Gill Campbell and seven others.
Thursday night after the first day of the show concludes, PRI also showcases a go-kart race adjacent to the Convention Center. The Red Bull Kart Fight features 15 all-stars and 30 up-and-coming go-karters.
In the all-star race, IndyCar drivers Ryan Briscoe, Alex Tagliani, E.J. Viso, James Jakes, Townsend Bell, Jay Howard and Martin Plowman make up roughly half the field alongside drifting ace and TV personality Tanner Foust, NASCAR's A.J. Allmendinger and Cole Whitt, and others including Oswaldo Negri Jr., Jan Heylen, Alan Rudolph, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Kyle Sarasin.
The 30-kart field Karters division includes this year's KZ1 World Champion Jonathan Thonon, along with 5-time world champion David Fore and last year's world champion Bas Lammers.
Additional key events during the industry week include the Advanced Engineering Technology Conference for race engine builders, the International Council of Motorsports Sciences for a safety congress, the Professional Motorsport Circuit Owners & Operators Convention for racetrack owners to increase revenue and profit, and seminars from Claude Rouelle (Vehicle Dynamics & Data Acquisition Seminar) and EFI University.
PRI's own business management seminars will cover such topics as Strategies for Race Engine Builders; Marketing Tips For Racers; Managing Your Website; Social Media Marketing; Opportunities In The Legends Market; and Inside the Heat Treating Process.
“The PRI Trade Show is where you go when you want to get absolutely current with the latest in racing technology,” said Steve Lewis, producer of the PRI Trade Show. “Plus, the expertise of the people gathered at the PRI Trade always amazes me. I believe there's no racing challenge that can't be solved there.
“It's fun to visit with the racing companies that you already know, but the PRI Trade Show also offers those moments when you discover something new and important and unforeseen,” he added. “The ‘surprise factor' is a big part of the fun of the PRI Trade Show.”