The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) today announced the Top 12 builders in the seventh annual SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, the event that determines the builder the aftermarket community considers best.

Iconic chassis builder Jerry Bickel has built a lot of top-name race cars throughout his career.

However, for the chassis builder from Moscow Mills, Mo., there hasn’t been one like Mike Achenbach’s ’55 Chevy.

As Bickel puts it, Achenbach’s '55 Chevy is more detailed and equipped than any car has had roll out of his shop. This shoebox retains a large measure of steel body, and flows with full-size carbon fiber elements. It is powered by a twin-turbo ProLine engine.

PerTronix Performance Brands adds Aeromotive Inc. and Waterman Racing Components to its portfolio of brands.

PerTronix Performance Brands, a leader in the automotive aftermarket with key brands in the ignition and exhaust segments, announced today it acquired Aeromotive Inc. and Waterman Racing Components.

Over the past 26 years, Aeromotive has designed and manufactured the highest quality fuel systems and components for the automotive aftermarket and OEM manufacturers. Aeromotive will continue to operate out of its Lenexa, Kansas manufacturing and development facility, while Waterman Racing Components will continue to operate out of its Concord, North Carolina, and Brownsburg, Indiana locations. Aeromotive’s leadership team will continue to manage the business.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) announced the industry’s Best New Products Award winners, with the products featured this week in the inaugural SEMA360 online trade event. The winners, which are selected from more than 2,200 products in the SEMA360 New Products Showcase at www.sema360.com, Nov. 2-6, 2020, represent the most innovative and cutting-edge automotive aftermarket products that will be consumable in 2021.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) announced the Top 40 builders in the SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition. Battle of the Builders is a competition to honor and recognize builders at SEMA360, the trade-only online eMarketplace.

Bo Butner pressed his thumb and index finger together.

That signified what the 2017 Pro Stock champion – who raced last weekend in a Camaro decked out in the style of the Presidential airplane and dubbed “Bo Force One” – plans to do next year.

“Zero,” he said. “Zero plans. I have nothing planned whatsoever. Did this long enough to where I just want no schedule and I want to go where I want, when I want.

“I might be in the Pro Stock car every now and again. I might be in a Pro Mod car. Definitely bracket races. But right now, I have zero plans other than go home and enjoy life for a while,” Butner said

Chip Lofton and Mark Beaver have tried to gauge Butner’s interest in competing in their Pro Stock car for maybe as many as eight races. But Butner said, “I haven't told them no, but again, I have to really see if that fits in my schedule of doing nothing, if that makes sense.”

Before he ever fired up his Capco Contractors Dragster at the starting line for the first round of Sunday’s Dodge Nationals, Steve Torrence made NHRA Top Fuel history at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the fourth pairing of eliminations for the Dodge Finals, newly named NHRA Rookie of the Year Justin Ashley set low elapsed time of the meet to defeat Doug Kalitta, Torrence’s closest pursuer. Torrence became just the third NHRA Top Fuel racer to earn three straight championships. Joe Amato (1990-92) and Tony Schumacher (2004-09) did it before him.

Antron Brown, who hadn’t won since the August 2018 race at Seattle (which also ended a sizeable winless streak), turned out to be one of the few Top Fuel racers who could tame newly crowned champion Steve Torrence.

In Sunday’s Top Fuel final of the NHRA Dodge Finals, Brown used a better reaction time (0.042 seconds to 0.128) and a 3.759-second pass at 315.34 mph to bring Torrence back down from the stratosphere in winning again. Torrence countered with 3.740, 322.19 on the 1,000-foot course at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

You win some, you lose some.
And sometimes, others win some for you by losing