Performance Racing Industry (PRI) 2024

Jim

It was a cold day in Indianapolis but that didn’t stop the thousands that were there for opening day and the largest exhibition of racing products in the US or perhaps the world.

Debbie was there to greet our bus that brought us from our hotels to the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

From the bus we entered the convention center and took the stairs to the Sagamore room where we shared breakfast with thousands of other PRI attendees.

It is always fun to meet new people each year and hear their personal stories on their involvement with the racing industry as race team members and the many companies that support the racing industry.

After breakfast we heard from the president of PRI and from people that were admitted into the PRI hall of fame.

From there we went back downstairs to the huge show and exposition area. It would be about an hour before the exhibition floor would be open, so we spent some time browsing the hallways checking out the cars there. This year there was an emphasis on drag cars, which is a great way to get involved with racing. In these photos is a fine example of the top echelon of the sport.

Along with the rail was this fine example of a gasser.

PRI is more than just the cars; it is all the things that provide a competitive advantage. We stopped at this display of NEGP, New England Gear Polishing. (smootherisfaster.com)

From their name I expected examples of highly polished gear sets, which there were, but what blew me away were the highly polished roller bearings!

Reducing parasitic loss by their processes is certainly a competitive edge.

Another stop was at the Shure Shot booth of Milwaukee Sprayer (sureshotsprayer.com). Many shops have transitioned from rattle can sprayers that are disposed of once the product is empty to these refillable sprayers.

Certainly, there are plenty of imitators that look the same, but it is hard to beat the quality of the Sure Shot. These come with a one-year warranty, and they offer replacement parts as well as support for their products.

Hunter is well known for their alignment rigs, tire changers, and balancers. Every year they continue to make improvements that save time and ensure accuracy.

The lifts are now designed to accommodating lowered cars with ease. The targets no longer clamp to the wheel rims themselves and provide even more accurate results.

The Road Force balancers can provide even better balancing than ever before.

While your race car may not have TPMS sensors to worry about, many of the top street cars do. Hunter ensures trouble free dismounting and mounting for many previously challenging tires such as run flats, thin sidewalls, and reverse mounting.

I didn’t think that Mityvac could improve their product, but they have. Now their tool doesn’t just vacuum bleed or evacuate various fluids from the engine and drivetrain, it now allows you to either vacuum or pressure bleed.

It is worth checking out their line of products.

If you are a F1 fan then you are familiar with the Haas F1 Team. It is probably the smallest of the twenty F1 teams that compete and yet they continue to be advancing their way up the field.

Their automated machines are also impressive. This one takes brass blanks and robotically positions them in a lathe chuck and then does precise machining. When the process is done on a piece, then the robot arm loads a new blank as it collects the completed part and positions it back on the tray.