2017 PCC Series Silly Season

Got some wild stuff to post that has no factual basis? Got some hot stove rumors? POST THEM! Go nuts.

Please note: I will be holding off on any team-related rumors or announcements (barring teams being bought out or such) until teams begin clinching themselves into their respective series later in the season. With that...

PCC Cup Series to Expand to 15 Teams?

Recent PCC Cup Series promotional materials for next season have strongly suggested that there will be 15 full-time teams in 2017, as opposed to 14 in 2016. This would see field sizes increase from 42 to 45 cars at each race. While this has not been confirmed or denied by any executives within the series, rumors have begun to swirl regarding the implications of this season's Promotion-Relegation battle.

The most popular rumor is that only the bottom two teams in the PCC Cup Series in 2016 will be relegated, while the top three teams from the PCC Lites Series (barring any promotion deferments) will still move up to the Cup Series. The series did confirm that "at least 14" teams will compete next season.

Mansfield to Dirt in 2017

For the first time since 1999, racing fans will see dirt back on Mansfield's half-mile track in the 2017 racing season. The facility originally opened in 1959 as a dirt track, but was paved over with asphalt in April 1999. All three PCC National Series are expected to return to Mansfield Motorsports Park in 2017, but disputes have begun between the track owners, promoters, and the PCC Cup Series over the track's status as an over-capacity event. If the PCC Cup Series returns as expected in 2017, it will be the first time the series has raced on dirt since 1995, the last year the series ran at Mansfield Motorsports Park prior to it's paving.

Truck Series to Expand to 28 Teams

The PCC Trucks Series grid will be expanding to 28 full-time teams in 2017, according to recent promotional material. The series has begun accepting applications and bids from prospective team owners, but no teams have been announced for the four open slots. This grid size increase is only expected to cause capacity issues at one track on the PCC Trucks Series calendar, the Round of Garrettsville at the Nelson Ledges Road Course.

(OOC: I would like to fill these four spots with trucks owned by users who have no teams or drivers competing full-time currently in any of the three PCC National Series. )

Preliminary Team Charts

PCC Cup Series (15/15 confirmed)

Manticore Engineering - Saturn Aura

#1 - Ike Durbin (USA) - Shinra Electric
#2 - Barry Juveno (USA) - Amazon
#4  - Chase Mayer -R- (USA) - Allstate
#8 - Louis Bellard (CND) - DataDyne

Griffith Motorsports - Juneau AMX-5

#39 - Nicholas Korodovos (GRE) - The Boring Company/SpaceX
#49 - Brian Gallagher (USA) - Pokemon
#59 - Alina Lazareva (RUS) - Gazprom/Arotel
#93 - Greg Maddox (CND)/Dmitri Ivanov (RUS) - Canadian Tire/Gazprom

Paloma Autosport - Saar Eagle

#12 - Gaspar de Sousa (POR) - Bang Energy Drink
#32 - Ian Elias (AUS) - Cedar Fair
#52 - Kyle McWulla (USA) - Line-X/7Key Aftermarket
#72 - Clay Gibson (AUS) - Wilson Harnesses

Team Ben Atkins - STS Arrow

#5 - Ben Atkins (GBR) - Girls Dead Monster
#15 - Israel Bruce -R- (SWE)- KX Energy
#50 - Cade Somerville (GBR) - ?
#55 - James Hewitt (GBR) - Phantom Trigger Grisaia

Australian Motorsports - Chevrolet SS

#V - Sapphire Anderson (NZL) - V Energy Drink
#18 - Josh Marshall (AUS) - Mother Energy
#19 - Michael Grant (AUS) - Monster Energy
#81 - Zachary Fitzwater -R- (AUS) - Big W

Triumvirate Motorsports - Various Was Double B Motorsports

#23 - Ingrid Haddeland (NOR) - Drekkar Trans
#24 - Kurt Plissken (USA) - Weyland-Yutani Corporation
#41 - Greg Woodard (USA)/Kurt Plissken (USA) - Starstream Satellite Radio/Terrell Corporation/Weyland-Yutani Corporation
#690 - Harry Black-Cox -R- (USA) - Blameless Racing

Johnson Racing - Chevrolet SS

#31 - Tom Wilson (USA) - Chevrolet Accessories/Samson Spark/TW@ Internet Cafes
#51 - Sam Burkhart -R- (USA) - Beyer Sound Systems/Chevrolet Accessories/Huffman
#71 - Alex Phillips (USA) - Chevrolet Accessories/Merrick Biotech/Whiterock Construction
#91 - Will Crawford (USA)/Bryce Tanner (USA) - Chevrolet Accessories/West Texas Capital

ROG Motorsports - Toyota Camry

#34 - Cameron Taylor (USA) - CVS Pharmacy/Great Lakes Brewery
#35 - Dustin Oliver -R- (USA) - Bitconnect/Cicero/Toyota
#36 - Frank Azzaretto (USA) - Doritos/Red Bull
#37 - Duncan Cobb (USA) - Code 3 Associates

Matthews Motorsports Team - Matthews Aspira

#00 - Hank Wheatfarmer Jr. (BRA) - Tide
#02 - Ryan Matthews (USA) - PowerMetal
#20 - Nikki Contey -R- (USA) - Etnies
#22 - ? - ?

Mr. LAID Motorsports - Gasnier Dragoon

#01 - Daniel Sharp (USA) - Mr. Aid
#13 - Casey Lester (USA) - Reese's
#33 - Ben Worthington (USA) - All City Leasing/Conquest/Dempster
#77 - Salvatore Torregrossa (ITA) - AGIP

Nice Coq Racing - Mercedes CL-600

#69 - Ramsey Coqinner (USA) - Scarlet's Gentleman's Club
#169 - Jacob Eichholtz (USA) - Facade
#969 - Jerry Myatt (USA) - Sandusky's Plumbing

Stephans Racing - Tonare ThunderGT

#65 - Donnie Olsen (USA) - Lucas Oil/Spinner Rotors
#75 - Preston Bell (USA) - Walmart/Wells Fargo
#85 - John Jefferson (USA)/Clay Gibson (AUS)/Scotty Thomas (USA)/Matthew Evans (USA) - B4/Wilson Harnesses/Enerjuice/ASH Fire Extinguishers
#95 - Kenny Stephans (USA) - ?

Lambert Motorsports - Dodge Charger

#7 - Andy Lambert (USA) - Z-Line Designs/LoanPros
#27 - James Beverley -R- (USA) - LoanPros
47 - Carson Lambert (USA) - Manscaped/Squarespace
#87 - Vincenzo Fochesato -R- (ITA) - Momo

PetrolTech Engineering - Lenard Cheyenne R20

#29 - Joe Craig (USA) - Mobil 1
#62 - Justin King (USA) - Rock Bottom Excavation/Yellowline Trucking
#92 - Lenore Scurry (HUN) - Tampax
#99 - Sam Smith (USA) - GripAll

DJ Motorsports - Omecha MA02

#25 - Denny Adams (CND) - Fujitsu
#48 - Damon Jones (USA) - KFC
#78 - ? - ?
#97 - Barney Ward (GBR) - Sharpie

PCC Lites Series Presented by Zastava (18/18 confirmed)

Lucas Motorsports

#6 - Scott Whullen (USA) - Getty Oil
#9 - Sam Smith (USA) - GripAll
#16 - Josh Wirth (AUS) - Bad Boy Power Drink

Accelerator Motorsports

#41 - Jack Dempsey -R- (AUS) - Sticky Hooves Glue
#96 - Dan Foray (CND) - Frozr Graphics Cards

Cleveland Speed Inc.

#73 - Will Crawford (USA) - Lokring Technology
#74 - Dave Endicott (USA) - FlyUS
#76 - Bryce Tanner -R- (USA) - West Texas Capital

Syzygy Engineering

#22 - Ben Worthington (USA) - Zagg
#72 - Jeff Fisher (USA) - Rent-A-Box Storage
#77 - Kelly Thomas (CND) - Meltdown Antifreeze

Team Canada

#18 - Alex Pausington (CND) - Peoples Progress Bank
#67 - Jean-Francois DeVila (CND) - The Church of Scientology/Silk Road
#? - Vinnie Lebouef (CND) - ?

AJ Murphy Racing

#28 - Duncan Cobb (USA) - Code 3 Associates
#29 - Samantha Mason -R- (USA) - Chipotle Mexican Grill
#30 - AJ Murphy (USA) - Joe Tree and Lawn Care

Hannigan Enterprises

#11 - Patrick O'Hannigan (IRL) - ExWife
#12 - Barry Juveno (USA)/Fergal Sheedy (IRL)/Connie Brooks (USA) - Unsponsored

Winsalot Motorsports

#07 - Matt Beck (USA) - Mountain Dew White Out
#08 - Greg Maddox (CND) - Pepsi
#70 - Kyle Winsloff (USA) - Mountain Dew

CircleTrack Racing

#69 - Zane Hayes -R- (USA) - Airlantis
#79 - Isaac Parsons (USA) - Brimstone HVAC
#89 - Nick Bishop (USA) - Bishop's Chicken

Tony Long Autosport

#191 - Dima Van Hall (DEN) - DSV
#919 - Romain Carpant (FRA) - Lance Snacks
#? - Tony Long (USA) - ?

Ike Durbin Inc. Was Eckdahl Autosport

#4 - Isaac Michaels (USA) - Box Coffee
#86 - Chris Benson (USA) - Box Coffee

Genesis Engineering

#964 - Ryan Pritchard (CND) - Amtrak
#972 - Daniel Bouchard (CND) - VIA Rail Canada

Impact! Racing was Turbosports

#51 - Cale Burnfardt Jr. (USA) - SCARABS
#52 - JC Carpenter (USA) - Enerjuice/Sliplube
#53 - Scotty Thomas (USA) - Enerjuice

Grand Strand Racing

#27 - Richard Scott -R- (USA)  - Gibson's Speedy Lube
#44 - Josiah Hofacker (USA) - Dryv
#88 - Hunter Robertson -R- (USA) - FarmStop

Jefferies Racing

#2 - Brendan Kelly (USA) - Guinness
#26 - Ryan Jefferies (USA) - Stor-It 4Get-It
#36 - Dale Kensington Jr. (USA) - Kensington Financial

Mason Yokoyama Racing

#376 - Mason Yokoyama -R- (USA) - Bush's Chicken
#673 - Dave Wilson -R- (USA) - Motorola

RUS Autosport America

#61 - Sergei Yakovski -R- (RUS) - Evraz
#62 - Izaak Kowalczyk -R- (POL) - LiveChat
#63 - Lev Zarapin (RUS) - LUKOil

Golden Eagle Motorsports

#1 - Pablo Calderon (MEX) - Tecate
#3 - Ruben Martinez Jr. -R- (MEX) - Pemex
#5 - Cesar Espinoza (MEX) - Telcel

PCC Trucks Series (28/28 confirmed)

Fat Drunk Stupid Racing - Honda Ridgeline

#02 - Dean Wormer (USA) - Faber College
#04 - Bluto Belushi (USA) - The Deathmobile

Ryan Matthews Racing - Lenard Lakota

#6 - Carter Fitzgerald (USA) - Ben & Jerry's
#06 - ? - ?

Tauger Racing Unit - Dodge Dakota

#60 - Matt Tauger (USA) - Phantom
#74 - Treck Tauger (AUT) - G-Vestoil

Alex Pausington Racing - Dodge Dakota

#333? - Vinnie Lebouef (CND) - Tim Horton's?

Andy Lambert Racing - Toyota Tacoma

#34 - Carson Lambert -R- (USA) - Manscaped/Skill Share/NordVPN/Raycon/Ridge Wallet
#35 - Andy Lambert (USA) - Z-Line Designs

Triple Threat Motorsports - GMC Sierra Was Cleveland Speed Inc.

#03 - Various - West Texas Capital
#33 - Various - West Texas Capital

Team 50 Racing - Isanni Mountaineer was Impact! Racing

#50 - Robert Markley (USA) - Maynard
#51 - Billy Ray James (USA) - Billy Beer

Wascher Motorsports - Saar Nebraska

#609 - Yusuf Hussein (TUN) - Red Bull
#906 - Kris Wascher (USA) - Red Bull

AJM Racing - Saar Nebraska

#28 - Chris Benson (USA) - E-Jrq Electronic Cigarettes
#82 - AJ Murphy (USA) - Joe Tree and Lawn Care

Lester Racing - TBA Was JuvenoSport Racing

#13 - Salvatore Torregrossa -R- (ITA) - AGIP
#? - Dave Endicott (USA) - ?

Davidson Motorsports - Honda Ridgeline

#46 - Ian Henderson (GBR)/Toby Davidson -R- (USA) - Big Caulk
#64 - Lucas Davidson (USA) - Carter Tools

Focus Autosports - Dodge Dakota Was Ike Durbin Inc.

#37 - Estel Mira -R- (ESP) - Office Depot/OfficeMax
#87 - Vincenzo Fochesato (ITA) - Office Depot/OfficeMax

ZakkTek - Saar Nebraska Was Kensington Financial

#23 - Blake Chandler -R- (USA) - Horizon Heating
#32 - Jason Prescott -R- (USA) - Dirtbreaker Garden Tools

Overton Motorsports - Chevrolet Colorado Was Great Lakes Motorsports

#62 - Robert Burton -R- (CND) - Bussman

Fitzwater Racing Australia - Dodge Dakota

#59 - Louis Jones (AUS) - Wilson Security

Lucstar Motorsports - Dodge Dakota

#43 - Luc Pellerin (CND) - Tim Horton's

Leckliter Racing - Chevrolet Colorado

#10 - Daniel Leckliter (USA) - Flex-Box

Racing for Kraff - Lycoia Rhino

#57 - Michael Formage (USA) - Racing for Kraff
#157 - Cris De Santa (CAY) - Racing for Kraff

Zamboni Motorsports - Chevrolet Colorado

#18 - Jeff Hanson (USA) - Charlestown Chiefs

Slap Shot Racing - Chevrolet Colorado

#16 - Jack Hanson (USA) - Charlestown Chiefs

The Goon Squad - Chevrolet Colorado

#17 - Steve Hanson (USA) - Charlestown Chiefs

David Russell Motorsports - Ford Ranger Was Crush Motorsports

#1 - Jim Russell Jr. -R- (USA) - Chepalle
#11 - Jim Russell (USA) - Top Less Bargain Outlets

Precision Motorsports - Pontiac G8 Ute was Mary Sue Racing

#92 - Tim Kourting -R- (USA) - Hugger Oranges
#99 - Ian Henderson (GBR)/Collin Kaiser -R- (USA) - Barnwell/Great Lakes Pontiac

JK Racing - Toyodgevy

#3 - John Kirkpatrick (USA) - ?
#15 - Jethro Jarvis (USA) - ?

Roy Inc. - Chevrolet Colorado

#12 - Dan Branch (USA) - Pennzoil
#29 - Rich Roy -R- (USA) - GM Budweiser Service Plus

Mid-Atlantic Motorsports - Dodge Dakota

#69 - Rocky Findlay -R- (USA) - Carquest

Pennsylvania Incorporated - Dodge Dakota

#555 - Zane Kordola -R- (USA) - 93.3 WMMR

Praise Your Prince Racing - Subaru Baja

#27 - TBA - ?
#84 - Prince Tlas Klyvixcismaxiblya -R- (ZAR) - PCC Intergalactic Series

PCC Europe East (36/40 confirmed)

Manticore Engineering Russia - Saturn Aura

#3 - ? - Umbrella Corporation

BG Racing - Kosovet KS17

#4 - Andros Baumgartner (HUN) - MOL

Hewitt Team Estonia - Hewitt Volari

#5 - Mihkel Jakobsen (EST) - Tallink
#15 - Paavo Tamberg (EST) - Tallink

RUS Autosport - Lada Vesta Sport

#6 - Grigoriy Novakovsky (RUS) - LUKOil
#16 - Lev Zarapin (RUS) - Cemeltex
#61 - Leonid Chernov (RUT) - LUKOil

Altoros Gessler GP - Gessler MTR-94

#7 - Kristoffer Laaksonen (FIN) - Sininen Aurinko Logistiikka
#27 - Jan Schmidt (DEU) - Altoros
#72 - Stjepan Svetadic (SRB) - Altoros

SW Rally Team - Kosovet KS17

#10 - Stanislaw Warszawski (POL) - Arotel

Kuningas Autosport - TBA

#11 - Kaale Rauttio (FIN) - ?
#12 - Nikolai Mahlyenki (RUS) - Dyavol Energy Drink

Tampere Racing Team - Saar Carolina

#17 - Aleksi Makinen (FIN)  - Baltomorsk
#18 - Lauri Kivi (FIN) - Nordic Cargo Handling

Keskula Team BMW - BMW i8

#32 - Ott Keskula (EST) - Kuula Entertainment

Northern Lights Motorsport - Volvo S80

#33 - Anders Magnussen (SWE) - Ericsson
#34 - Heikki Ventola (FIN) - Husqvarna
#35 - Aapo Anselmi (FIN) - Neste Oil

Griffith Motorsports Europe - Juneau AMX-5

#39 - Dmitri Ivanov (RUS) - Gazprom
#49 - Oksana Gillen (RUS - S7 Airlines
#59 - Viola Aling (GRE) - ?

Autosport Transfagarasan - TBA

#52 - Maria Tepes (ROU) - ?

SMP Team Katzev - Katzev KE03

#85 - Lev Tabakov (RUS) -  LUKOil
#86 - Vitalij Sydorenko (UKR) - SMP Bank
#91 - Alexey Lyutov (RUS) - LUKOil

Russian Bears Motorsports - Katzev KE03

#90 - Nikolas Marchankov (RUS) - UTair
#96 - Pyotr Lyovkin (RUS) - Megafon
#99 - Dmitri Genkin (RUS) - NLMK Steel

Williams Racing Team - Matthew Aspira

#92 - Barbora Nováková (CZH) - ?
#93 - Katherine Williams (USA) - ?

Smirnov Racing - Katzev KE03

#109 - Alexey Motov (RUS) - LUKOil
#910 - Georgi Konstantinov (BUL) - LUKOil

Hannigan Enterprises - ?

#500 - Gisele Vignon (FRA) - ?
#550 - Stasya Filipova (RUS) - ?

Vovicic Inc. - EFR Journey LSX

#991 - Joha Vovicic (CRO) - ?

Racing for Sovereignty - Saar Tyrant?

#? - Boris Tolbanov (PMR) - ?
#? - Kristijan Srna (LBR) - ?

PCC Europe West (40/40 confirmed)

Full Throttle Motorsports - Audi R8

#2 - Pat Keda (IRE) - Scilab Technologies

Ed Carroll Racing - BMW M3

#4 - Ed Carroll (GBR) - ?
#14 - Sam Watkins (GBR) - ?

TVR Motorsports - TVR Sagaris

#5 - Avery Jones (GBR) - ?
#13 - ? - ?
#46 - Bethan Kelly (GBR) - ?

Manticore Engineering Europe - Saturn Aura

#6 - ? - Umbrella Corporation

Bergmann Autosport - ?

#7 - Franz Bergmann (DEU) - Red Bull
#8 - Marius Rutger (NED) - Red Bull

Eckdahl Racing Team - Volvo S80

#9 - Lucian Eckdahl Jr. (SWE) - Red Bull
#19 - Tim Jenson (GBR) - ?
#29 - Callum Morgan (GBR) - ?

Karin World Racing - Karin Sultan

#03 - ? - ?

Autosport Rouen - ?

#05 - Jean Serre (FRA) - ?

JP Autosport - ?

#10 - ? - ?
#11 - JP Beaufort (FRA) - ?

Paloma Autosport Europe - Saar Eagle

#12 - Clay Gibson (AUS) - Wilson Harnesses
#22 - Jose Carlos Santander (ESP) - Santander Bank
#32 - Fabien Lauzier (FRA) - AXA

Crown Racing - ?

#XV - Caelum Lucis - Chocobo Express

Scuderia Gianunzio - Tutino T11

#18 - Giampaolo Fini (ITA) - San Pellegrino
#31 - Ricards Lipsbergs (LAT) - Double Coffee
#51 - ? - OZ/Brembo
#64 - Warren Koen II (RSA) - Standard Bank of South Africa

Scuderia Forza - Tutino T11

#42 - Giuseppe Balducci (ITA) - AGV
#43 - ? - ?

Joker's Wild Racing - Pontiac GTO

#44 - Stuart Buchanan (USA) - Harrah's

JB Autosport - Chevrolet SS

#63 - John Bracchi (ITA) - Repsol
#77 - Anna Kostopolous (GRE) - Stix

DHRE - ?

#76 - Keegan Mallory (IRL) - ?
#78 - David Hetzel (USA) - ?

Williams Racing Team - Matthew Aspira

#94 - Laras Ryu (INA) - ?
#95 - Dalia Aliwi (IRQ) - ?
#96 - Anna Rasmussen (DEN) - ?

Marlone R&D - Marlone Faraday

#161 - Fritz Steiner (DEU) - Poinsettia Restaurant
#162 - Gretchen Amspinradde (AUT) - GoDaddy?

DS Autosport - ?

#? - Thomas Dietrich? - ?
#? - Alex Dietrich? - ?
#? - Simon Appeldoorn? - ?

Racing for Sovereignty - Saar Tyrant

#? - ? - ?

Delgado Looking For Equal Billing With Durbin & Bellard Before Re-Signing With Manticore

Tom Delgado is 3rd in the drivers points with 8 top 10's. Yet, he is the only Manticore driver yet to record a win or even a top 5, and he believes he knows why. Delgado, 42, claimed in an interview that his #3 team are "left to our own devices while they work with the #2 and #8 teams, and thus I don't feel like I have equal billing with Louis (Bellard) & Ike (Durbin)". Delgado went on to express concerns that down the stretch if both he and Durbin are still in contention, they will throw all their weight to Durbin and deny him a proper chance at the championship.

"I want to stay at Manticore. I want to win championships, and the equipment provided gives us a chance to do it. However, I need to have renewed assurances that I will be on equal footing with my fellow drivers. I don't know what I'll do if I don't get them, but I'll cross that bridge if I have to. I'm not asking for any more money than I'm already making, just a commitment" Delgado added. If by chance he ends up out at Manticore, there are rumblings that he will re-open Tom Delgado Racing and race trucks at the bottom of the PCC pyramid in a bid to carry his team up the ranks.

In his career, Tom Delgado has 1 PCC Cup win, coming in 2014 in his home state at the New York Autoring.

Long Wants Chance at PCC Cup Series

PCC Lites team co-owner Tony Long announced earlier today that he wants an opportunity to drive in the PCC Cup Series no matter if his Lites teams gets promoted. Tony would be contending for rookie of the year if the ride happens.

"Yeeeesssss….my creations in Lites have been a little, hehe, buggy to say the least" Tony stated. "Once I rebooted...I mean, once they got their heads out of their rears, they have actually looooookked decent behind the wheel of those speed demons. Ahhh...I can see it now, my plan for world domination is coming together!"

Umm...what he is referring to is his Lites drivers, Romain Carpant and Dima Van Hall, had a slow start to the season but have recently climbed their way up the team standings. Neither driver has made it to the podium but they have both come close.

"I think that the screws loose were finally screwed in" Tony continued. "Ah, just wait, Carpant Deux and Van Hall To will conquer the Lites season because EVERYTHING...is better than the original!"

If you excuse us, we might have to have a couple of drinks.

(OOC: I am turning my name sake in to a mad scientist whose drivers are robots disguised as human beings. I am still working out a few bugs with the characters.)

Status Quo to most likely return for TurboSports in 2017

TurboSports team owner, this time speaking only in screams of pure agony, was interpreted to be saying that the status quo will stay with the team in 2017. Assuming the team stays in PCC Lights, Constantine thinks that the team can be turned around. "We really messed up the setups for 2016. We can't change it now, but we can in 2017, and as we have learned a lot we can make ourselves at least a competent team" Constantine was quoted as while the entire room fell into despair from the eldritch noises that were actually coming out of his mouth.

BREAKING: Tom Delgado Leaving Manticore Engineering

Days after seeking assurances that he will have equal billing with teammates Ike Durbin and Louis Bellard, it is apparent that Tom Delgado has not been given such accommodation. Therefore, Delgado has announced via Twitter that he will not return to Manticore Engineering next season.

"Tonight after my tier two qualifying race, I have informed Manticore Engineering that I will not be returning for next season. I would like to thank Manticore Engineering for taking a chance on me this season, and I hope to provide good results for the rest of the season before moving on. My future has never been brighter, and I expect to be making noise next season wherever I race. Please continue to join me on this wild ride we call motorsports." Delgado said in a series of tweets hours after his tier two qualifying race for the round of Russia. While there is a chance that Delgado, 42, could stay in the top division, it is almost certain that there will not be a demand for his services due to his high wages, thus assuring that he will have to drop down at least one tier in order to find a race-winning drive.

The popular rumor at the moment is that Delgado will take next season off to assess whether or not he has a future in the sport, despite his bullish tweets.

Kordola seeking a drive for 2017 season
Zane Kordola, out of Pennsylvania, has announced that he plans to enter PCC Competition. Kordola has not confirmed where he plans to make his appearances, but it will likely be in PCC Trucks. Kordola successfully qualified for his first PCC Cup Series race in his maiden attempt by winning his qualifier, despite some controversy relating to him sandbagging in pole qualifying.

Lester's future uncertain, aims to return to Cup

Through a solid season in PCC Lites thus far, Casey Lester's 2017 plans are up in the air still. The 29-year-old has performed within the top ten in Lites standings for A.J. Murphy's team in their second car, currently 99 points behind title favorite Sam Burkhart and sitting 5th overall.

"Things have gone very well this year," Lester told media Friday morning. "I was not expecting to be a championship contender, but I knew we were capable of results like we've gotten this season and A.J. [Murphy] has been nothing but great to me. I am very grateful for the opportunity and I hope we keep climbing the standings and make a run at Burkhart and company."

He has yet to win a PCC-sanctioned race, having scored a top five and four top tens while experiencing two DNFs. After entering the Cup series in 2011 with Dodge Performance Racing, he struggled mightily in his rookie season and was later replaced in the middle of the 2012 season after 5 races in Ryan Griffin's #44 Mopar Dodge for poor performance. He has been a mainstay in the PCC paddock and aims to return to the Cup series eventually. Will that return be in 2017?

"I can't say for sure. I haven't been too focused on that situation and moreso am trying to focus on the task at hand of performing well with this 29 team. I hear that Sal Torregrossa is looking to come to the U.S. and race more over here and I've reached out to him about it; I'd be interested to work with him and see what plans we could come up with. He's a very talented driver who would be exciting to watch. I could learn some more road course tips from him too, I'm sure! This team has been great to me and we haven't ironed out anything for next year yet, but I am keeping all options open. Like I said, they have been nothing but great to me and there is still room for us to grow before the season is up."

Genesis Engineering to return?
Genesis Engineering is very likely to return in the 2017 season, it is unclear exactly which series they will be in but only time will tell.

Fitzwater Australia Racing will return to Trucks for 2017 Season

FAR driver and team owner has hinted that a return to the PCC Trucks will happen and Wilson Security will also return as his sponsor

Delgado Clarifies Future Status, Confirms He Will Not Race in 2017

After some confusion on the Finland broadcast about his status going forward, Tom Delgado clarified everything on Twitter, confirming that he would not be racing in 2017 and potentially beyond.

"To correct the TV broadcast on comments made about me earlier...I'm not looking for a drive next season. I am hoping to step into an ownership role at the lights level, as well as pursuing other opportunities outside of motorsports" Delgado tweeted. This news takes a pretty big name out of the silly season carousel. Even if he had intentions of racing in 2017, it's believed that Delgado's high wage demands would be seen as a deal-killer for most teams.

Tom Delgado currently sits 2nd in the PCC Cup driver's championship, 46 points behind teammate Ike Durbin. Delgado leads the series in top 10's with 10, but is the only Manticore driver yet to win on the season.

Accelerator Motorsports has uncertain future after horrendous 2016 season.

Regardless or not the team is relegated to the PCC Lights series, it may seem the team may not return next season due to the team owner nearly bankrupting the team. While Woodard, Foray, and Plissken did bring in enough money to cover the rest of the season, it is likely the team will shut down at the end of the season.

If the team does return to any form, it'll be under new ownership, likely owned by Woodard's family which runs a very successful trucking company. Dan Foray will likely be relegated down to the PCC Trucks series for a couple of seasons with Jack Dempsey, the former tv show host, taking his place as the team's third driver. Plissken, if he stays with the organization, will be the second driver. The team will be moving to Lycoia's new Invader chassis for the cup series, be it full time.

However, Woodard has stated that he may also be looking to join another team and bring a lot of manufacturer support with Lycoia if the team isn't taken over by his family or if the team is not allowed to continue on in Cup.

2017 PCC Schedules Released

Today, PCC Supremo John Kowalski unveiled the 2017 schedules for all three PCC National Series, and there are several major changes. A new event has been added for the Cup Series in South Korea at the Gangneung Speedway, a half-mile short track. Gone from the calendar are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Eight Bowl, and most surprisingly, Mansfield Motorsports Park. These three tracks have been replaced with the Lone Star Supercell, a 1.3-mile egg-shaped oval in Houston, Texas, Ocean State Speedway, a 3/4-mile short track in Coventry, Rhode Island, and the Los Angeles Maxwell Center, a 1/2-mile stadium short track in downtown Los Angeles.

The PCC Lites and Trucks Series also have several changes to the calendar. New races in Oregon and Utah replace the previous opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is undergoing renovations to become 777 Speedway for the 2018 season. Lites and Trucks will also make the trip to Rhode Island and Texas with the PCC Cup Series. However, both lower series will continue to run at Mansfield, which has switched back to dirt for the 2017 season. The PCC Lites Series will not return to Louisville Motor Speedway and Green Valley Motorplex next season, but those races have been added to the Trucks calendar. Replacing those races on the Lites calendar are Memphis International Raceway and Middle Georgia Raceway.

The three PCC National Series will run 26, 24, and 22 races respectively in 2017, up from 25, 22, and 19 races in 2016.

PCC Europe Series Splits

Another notable announcement from John Kowalski today is the split of the PCC Europe Series into two divisions. The two series will now be known as PCC Europe East and PCC Europe West. Each series will run seven standalone races, plus the Vnukovo Airport combination event to start the season. At the conclusion of the eighth round for both East and West, the top-15 drivers from each series will then contend for the championship in the final four races of the season. Both series are moving towards a model resembling that in the three PCC National Series, only allowing full-time cars to run. However, the strict team limits applied in the Cup, Lites, and Trucks series will not be enforced in either Europe Series.

15 Teams CONFIRMED for PCC Cup Series

After months of speculation, PCC Supremo John Kowalski confirmed that the PCC Cup Series would be expanding to fifteen teams for the 2017 season, an increase from the fourteen teams on the grid this season. This means that the series will run 45 cars at every track next season, something the series has experimented with first at Mansfield in 2014. Kowalski also confirmed that only the bottom two teams in the PCC Cup Series would be relegated to the Lites Series, while the top three teams in the Lites Series will still be promoted to the Cup Series.

More Double Points Races

When unveiling the 2017 schedule, PCC Supremo John Kowalski confirmed that the season-ending Cleveland Grand Prix would once again be a double-points race, and will continue to hold that distinction into the next season. Joining the Cleveland Grand Prix with that distinction next year will also be the Los Angeles Maxwell Center and the Vnukovo Airport Circuit, the two other over-capacity races on the calendar.

Kowalski said, "If you're able to qualify for one of those races where we invite everyone and their mother to compete, you should be properly rewarded. That's why all the over-capacity races will now be double points. To think we started this as a gimmick to get more cars eligible for the championship and boost ratings!"

Burkhart to Johnson Racing 51 in 2017

The worst-kept secret in the garage was confirmed the Wednesday before the Round of Indiana. 2014 PCC Lites Champion Sam Burkhart will be headed to the PCC Cup Series to drive for Johnson Racing and contend for Rookie of the Year. He will be driving the #51 Chevrolet SS, replacing Cale Burnfardt Jr., who has been the weak link at Johnson Racing all season. This is not the first time Burkhart has replaced Burnfardt; when Burnfardt got the call up to drive the 51 after the untimely suicide of Craig Jonser, Burkhart took his place in the #51 Johnson Racing PCC Lites car.

Burkhart currently sits 3rd in PCC Lites Series points, having led the championship all but two weeks this season. Burnfardt Jr. sits 31st in PCC Cup Series points, with a win at Eurospeedway being his only bright spot of the season. There is no word on Cale Burnfardt Jr's plans for next season.

Clason Enterprises For Sale, Hakai OUT, Gibson IN

(OOC: Tanner okayed this post)

Major news in the PCC Cup Series paddock as Team Principal Tanner Clason has announced his team will be leaving the series at the end of the season and all assets, including a Team Charter, are for sale. Clason Enterprises has competed in the PCC Cup and PCC Lites Series since 2012, and has been a full-time mainstay in the Cup Series since 2014. The team has already petitioned the series to allow for the points accrued this season to carry over to the new owners for next season, and this request has been approved. Bids for the Team Charter are expected to open later this week. Clason Enterprises currently sits 12th in team points, the last safe position, 75 points above 13th-place Accelerator Motorsports.

In the same announcement, Clason announced that Clay Gibson will be the new driver of the #77 Panda Express Dodge Charger for the remainder of the season, effective immediately. Gibson, who drove V8 Utes prior to a one-off win in the PCC Trucks Round of Garrettsville, has taken the PCC Cup Series by storm in a substitute role at Paloma Autosport, scoring a pole and two top tens in just seven starts. Gibson replaces Kiuga Hakai, who currently sits 39th in points with just one top-ten, the lowest of all drivers who have attempted the full season.

Accelerator Motorsports to accept relegation for upcoming season.

Accelerator Motorsports management have stipulated that the team will accept their relegation, if they're relegated. Dan Foray to be the primary driver with Jack Dempsey, from Australia, as the likely second driver for the team. Given that the series uses Yugos, the team feels that they would likely be able to get their finances in order since the cars are far cheaper than the PCC cup level chassis to race. There was absolutely nothing related to their failure to pay Lycoia for their engines and the chassis supplier for the race chassis, nope, not at all. The team plans on Frozr Graphics and Sticky Hooves Glue to join them for the upcoming season. It's not known what numbers that they'll have.

Woodard to become free agent for the 2017 season.

Accelerator Motorsports also announced that their current primary driver, Greg Woodard, was being let go at the end of the 2016 season, much to the surprise of Woodard, who wasn't told by management or anyone he had been working with. The team felt that Woodard was what was causing all of the team's problems. That it totally wasn't the team blowing money and only giving him second hand parts and shoddily rebuilt chassis. Nope, not at all! At least that's what they told reporters when questioned. It was totally Woodard's fault. Woodard could not be reached for comment because he slammed the door in the faces of reporters, commenting that he needed to make a few phone calls.

Lycoia, which has been supplying the team for their entire tenure in the cup series, told reporters that they would be following Woodard and would provide manufacturer support for any team that didn't blow their money like drunken sailors. Woodard Trucking and Freight, along with a slew of other companies, have pledged to also bring a lot of sponsorship funding as well. Woodard, if he was able to secure a ride, would like to retain the number 41 however, was open to using the number 96.

So I went ahead and started confirming teams in all 5 series that are going to be run next year. I went ahead and gave Tom Delgado Racing a special dispensation in that the team will be starting in the Lites Series, because in my infinite wisdom I forgot that by promoting 3 teams to Cup and only demoting 2 that would give only 17 teams. I think this compromise solves that nicely (and plus, this is International Racing Superstar Tom Delgado we're talking about here )

Sam Brown Racing to Close, Cleveland Speed Inc. to Lites

Sam Brown, competition director of Johnson Racing and owner of PCC Lites team Sam Brown Racing, announced today that he would be shuttering operations of his Lites team, effective at the end of the season. Sam Brown Racing, which began it's life as Johnson Racing's junior team in years past, had remained in the Lites Series as a result of a rules loophole stating that teams in two different PCC National Series could not share an owner. This loophole has allowed teams such as ROG Motorsports' Lites team to continue life as Lambert Motorsports, and for AJ Murphy to run a Lites and Trucks team at the same time by listing his wife as the owner of the Trucks team. As such, Johnson Racing has managed to maintain a healthy pipeline of developmental drivers for several years to come. In discussing the reason for the shuttering of the Lites team, Brown indicated the Lites team was putting a strain on resources, and that Johnson Racing is now committed to contending for the PCC Cup Team Championship in the upcoming season.

All of Sam Brown Racing's equipment, as well as their Team Charter, were purchased by Cleveland Speed Inc. soon after the announcement. CSI, one of the longest-running teams in PCC competition, had aligned itself as the Truck Series arm of the Johnson Racing developmental ladder, with former Lites competitor Will Crawford behind the wheel. Cleveland Speed Inc. will move up to the PCC Lites Series in 2017 as Sam Brown Racing was to defer their Cup promotion to remain as a junior team, with Crawford and rookie Bryce Tanner behind the wheel. Tanner, a standout in the Texas Late Model scene, is expected to make his PCC national series debut in the Truck Series Cleveland Grand Prix Jr. in a second truck for CSI next month. Tanner will be bringing sponsorship from West Texas Capital,  an investment firm owned by his father Scott Tanner.

In moving up to the PCC Lites Series, Cleveland Speed Inc. have sold their Team Charter and equipment to a new team in the PCC Trucks Series, called Triple Threat Motorsports. Owned by investment banker Scott Tanner, Triple Threat Motorsports will be fielding several PCC Cup and PCC Lites Series drivers throughout the season who are one Truck win away from achieving the Triple Threat (winning a race in every PCC national series). Drivers specifically named in the announcement were current Johnson Racing drivers Alex Phillips and Cale Burnfardt Jr., as well as John Jefferson and Zach Meyer, but Tanner indicated that the driver lineup is still subject to change.

Greg Woodard announces new team to be formed with Kurt Plissken and announces sponsorship package.

Greg Woodard, the current driver of the number 41 car in the PCC cup Series, announced that he and Kurt were in talks about forming a new team that would fit the motif of the chassis they were planning to use and the sponsorship package that both drivers were able to obtain. Woodard told those who were listening, that the planned name for the new team was Space Invader Racing or SIR for short. He would go on to explain that the sponsorship package that both Kurt and he currently were planning on running we're both based on corporations that  had space-based and otherworldly operations. He revealed that he himself would be primarily sponsored by a satellite radio company along with several sponsors including the Union Aerospace Corporation and Ultor Corporation as teritiary sponsors.

It was revealed that Kurt would be sponsored by the Weyland-Yutani corporation as a primary. As for secondaries and teritaries, Woodard was not able to give much detail on.

The team plans to use the 2017 Lycoia Invader chassis and both drivers along with the possible members of the team are hoping to be able to get in the cup series next season by some miracle. Woodard stated that even if he planned on entering the special event races if the full-time field was already locked up for 2017. As for his opinion on Accelerator Motorsports, he said that the higher-ups on the team can go fuck themselves and would give a rat's ass what happens to the team. As for the numbers that they plan to use, they hoped that they could either retain the same numbers or that Kurt would get the number that he would normally want.

Jack Dempsey and Dan Foray to enter PCC Lites under reformed Accelerator Motorsports.

With both drivers who have experience in other automotive racing series with Dan currently being in the cup series, it seems that a reformed Accelerator Motorsports is going to enter the Lites Series. The team plans on bringing on Sticky Hooves Glue and Froze Graphic Cards. They are applying for the numbers 41 and 96 respectively.

Wheatfarmer unsure about future

One of the biggest names to come out of the 2016 rookie class, brazilian Hank Junior Wheatfarmer does not know where he will head towards after this season.

As Clason Enterprises leaves the sport, the 39-year old, who took into stock cars after a successful sports car racing career finds himself in search of a ride for the 2017 season.

North American Auto Club seeking to expand operations into PCC

It has been strongly rumoured that S2 Motorsports, NAAC team owned by Marcus Stanton and Matt Stern, could be doing a PCC Trucks or Lites foray in the forseeable future, possibly already in 2017, however details about the effort are small.

Lester to return to Cup grid in 2017?

A few weeks ago, journeyman driver Casey Lester released via his Twitter account that he has "some news that [he] cannot discuss right now but it is about next season and [he is] super excited for when it finally comes out". What this news relates to is not certain, but some insiders in the PCC garage claim that it may involve the sale of Clason Enterprises; perhaps Lester will be returning to the Cup series as a result of being part of the buyout process.

"I still cannot say much, but it is a very exciting time for me", Lester told a small scrum of reporters Monday afternoon. "If I could blurt everything out, I would, but that's not how these things work. It is something I have been looking forward to for a very long time and I feel like a kid again. When we are able to disclose what it is, then you can ask away. I have no reason not to be smiling again."

Lester has made various appearances with Matthews Motorsports Team throughout the second half of the season and even competed in the PCC Europe Round of the Czech Republic with Scuderia Gianunzio with unimpressive results. His merits have not exactly cemented him as a Cup mainstay thus far, but an opportunity appears to be presenting itself for a driver approaching thirty.

Australian Motorsports looking to return, unsure about Jones

Australian Motorsports are planning on being on the grid in 2017, with both Anderson and Marshall retaining their seats, sponsors and numbers. The team is unsure about keeping Louis Jones though.
After a disastrous 2016, Jones was to have been dropped should the team get relegated, but are now looking at whether or not to keep him should they remain in the Cup Series.

"We're keeping all our options open on the #81. If that means a new driver, then so be it." - John Wargle, Australian Motorsports owner

Ryan Matthews "unsure" about lower-tier team's future

With the struggles of his PCC Lites team well-documented, Ryan Matthews said today that he's not sure if he'd accept demotion or if he'd close up shop entirely.

"I'm really unsure about the whole thing, to be honest. I didn't invest all this money to field a Trucks team," he said. "At the same time though, it'd be a disservice to both Tiffany and to Carter if they weren't racing somewhere next season. I'd never hear the end of it - from either of them. So it's very much up in the air."

Rumors are that if Matthews decides to accept Ryan Matthews Racing's inevitable demotion to the Trucks series he'll field the new Lenard Lakota, as he's had ties with that manufacturer in the past.

Focus Autosports Preparing PCC Truck Series Entry for 2020


Self-proclaimed Venetian race car driver Vincenzo Fochesato is reportedly working to expand the Focus Autosports racing team to include a PCC Truck Series program for 2017.

The family team thus far has fielded only a single PCC Cup Series entry for himself at both Mansfield and Cleveland. But FAS recently purchased a new warehouse outside of New Baltimore, Michigan and has acquired some used truck chassis.

No potential sponsors are known at the time of this report, as none have featured on his one-off Cup Series entries this season. It is expected, however, that the car will largely be self-funded with money from his family's small but successful chain of cafés, whose logos did appear on the #00 car for the Matthews Motorsports Team during Fochesato's mid-season stint for the organization.

Fochesato, himself, has been searching for a ride as a full-time Cup Series driver for next year's edition of the series ever since his final race for MMT. Suspicions have arisen, however, that the primary motivation behind his new Truck Series team could be to serve as a backup plan in case he is not able to land a ride in Cup.

Eckdahl to Return to Europe to Compete in PCCEW

After debuting in PCC Lites this season, the Eckdahl Racing Team will move back to Europe to join the PCC Europe West Series. The team is rumored to run three cars, bringing Lucian Eckdahl, Jr. to one of them. The other two are unknown.

Other PCC Europe Notes:
- Ott Keskula, who made his PCC Europe debut this season, plans to run a full PCC Europe East schedule.
- British driver Tim Jensen will run in PCC Europe West with a rumored three car team.
- Irish driver Pat Keda will run the PCC Europe West tour with support from Full Throttle Motorsports in a #2 car.
-Frenchman Jean Serre will compete in PCC Europe West, current number and sponsor unknown.

Kyle Chadson to enter the PCC cup as a free agent, backed by Monster Energy.

Kyle Chadson, the 21 year old college dropout from Milwaukee Wisconsin, has applied as a free agent for the upcoming PCC cup season. Chadson told reporters he was being backed by Monster Energy. He then opened a can of Monster Energy and chugged it, slamming the empty can to the ground shouting like a lunatic. "YEAAAAAAAAH BRAH!" He also told reporters he wanted to drive for Tonare, calling it a lit car.

Work Underway on TDR Lights Entry, Delgado Expected to Hold Tryouts
The Tom Delgado Racing shop in Brooklyn, New York has been very busy. With their return to active competition confirmed for next season in the PCC Lights series, they have been hard at work building and perfecting every aspect of their cars.

Team owner Tom Delgado stated in an interview with local media that he'd be looking for two New York-based drivers under the age of 26 to drive for the team. "We want to turn New York into a hotbed for racing. People don't think of New York as someplace a race car driver can succeed, but I intend to do my best to dispel that myth" Delgado said.

Tom Delgado is currently under contract to Manticore Engineering, but has activated a clause in his deal where he is allowed to leave to pursue non-driving opportunities, which include re-forming Tom Delgado Racing with no intention to drive any of its cars until after the 2017 season, the year of which his contract would have expired. However, when given the chance to clarify that his driving career is over, Delgado refused to do so, instead calling it an "indefinite break".

New Cleveland Entries Hint at Potential 2017 Debuts
The latest entries for the 2016 Cleveland Grand Prix and the supporting PCC Lites and Trucks races have sparked rumors that each may compete in a PCC sanctioned series in a greater capacity in 2017.

For the feature race, Virginian short track star Richard Scott will attempt to make his debut for his family owned team, while seeking to enter either the Cup Series or PCC Lites at least-part time in 2017. With sponsorship backing from Gibson's Speedy Lube and Vitaminwater, Scott is primarily looking to negotiate with established teams, but if a drive with one is not available, he may instead attempt to work his way up from the truck series.

Also attempting to make his debut is the German veteran of the Euro Touring Car Tour, two-time champion Thomas Dietrich, who has publicly expressed interest in moving to the PCC Europe West championship with his co-owned team DS Autosport. However, he would most likely prioritize fielding entries for his son Alex and protege Simon Appeldoorn, and only compete himself if sufficient funding is available.

Aaron Singer is looking to make his PCC Cup return after making a few starts with The Motorsports Team in 2012, a more unexpected appearance. The sports car racer and heir to the Lou Singer Hotels and Casinos corporation has been less candid about 2017 plans, but may appear in select races in the western United States in either the Cup or Lites Series.

In the Lites support race, the appearance of a #66 car fielded by Stan Darryl- owner of the Dodge factory team in the North American Auto Club- has drawn considerable intrigue as to whether they may defect to the larger PCC league. Darryl has been mum on this speculation, stating that the intention of this entry is to gain valuable additional seat time for Dodge development driver and top prospect Samantha Mason on road courses.

Meanwhile, with much less fanfare, Southeast short track racers David Davis and Heff Jefferson entered the Trucks race announcing their intention to compete full-time in the series in 2017. Jefferson-David Racing has posted Facebook updates stating that they plan to field at least two full-time trucks, either fielded by the co-owners themselves, or in conjunction with the young rookie they signed to join them at Cleveland, 16 year old Akron native Kevin Keenen.

Nikki Contey Looking to Enter PCC Cup Full-Time in 2017

I don't feel like typing up an article. Just wanted to put this out there.

Scuderia Gianunzio to return to PCC Europe West, hints at possible Europe East entry as well

As the 2016 season begins to wind down for all PCC divisions, teams have begun to move pieces around to prepare for next year. While some teams have remained mum as fair as their intentions or future plans, team founder and CEO Fabrizio Gianunzio broke some of that silence this past weekend in response to some questions about what they intend to do next season. He has had a reputation of being an owner who enjoys the spotlight of the press despite not utilizing social media regularly, so he typically has something charming to say to reporters.

"We have done quite well," Gianunzio said about his current efforts. "However, we strive for nothing short of the best in terms of performance and results. There are drivers in the world who we feel can bring much success to this team even if they are not comfortable in heavier [PCC Europe stock] cars such as these. What we have gained so far in PCC Europe has not been adequate to what I see for this team moving forward. All great teams do take time to build and we have the resources capable of being a team that can win many races and a championship. Changes are going to be made so that we start to become more of a winning organization."

While it would not be a shock to hear of the bombastic owner's return to PCC Europe, their results during their debut full-time season have not been overly notable compared to more established teams. Scuderia Gianunzio's best finish was a fourth place from the team's lead driver, Giampaolo Fini, at their home race at Dallara, but there is not much to note aside from that. Various top ten efforts from Ricards Lipsbergs and Tussi Antonen have also been bright spots and results the team can build upon. Lipsbergs, a young touring car driver from Latvia, has run on occasion for the Italian effort and performed adequately when other drivers or mechanical issues have not impeded him. Rumors have swirled around that he may be replacing Artur Misko in the 31 car for 2017 as the latter driver has only scored 9 points in the championship throughout the entire season.

"Gia [Fini] has been wonderful to us and we plan to keep him around next year, but do not forget that this is a business," Gianunzio said with a sly smile that he often adorns in interviews and appearances. "Artur [Misko] has not been performing at the same pace as him, obviously. We have not made any changes yet, but they will be coming. We're starting in the west, but the east needs to be a little nervous too."

Names that have been linked to the team are Gianunzio's youngest son, Matteo, who has not fared well in lower open wheel categories in Europe and reportedly has been offered a position either as a driver or an executive at the team. Mardiros Fermanian replaced Eun Yong Kim after Kim's funding seemingly dried up and although his result at Belgium was better than anything Kim or Misko have managed all season, it seems largely up to Air Armenia whether or not Fermanian will continue to be an asset for the team. Another recent option appears to be Warren Koen II, son of notorious former Formula A backmarker Warren Koen. The Standard Bank of South Africa, just as it supported his father, looks to be backing the 22-year-old Cape Town native and stock cars could be his destination as he has achieved zero points in two seasons of Formula C thus far. For Gianunzio's sake, the team has to hope that Koen II will be somewhat easier to work with than his father was fifteen years ago.

Interdimensional Fighter Pilot Ace Enters Cleveland, also announces 2017 Bid in PCC Trucks with Osean Fried Chicken remaining as sponsor

In a not surprising move the Interdimensional Fighter Pilot ace simply known as "Trigger" is entering PCC Trucks full time next season, as the Penal Unit enters as well.

Clason Enterprises bought by Lester and Sharp, to be rebranded to Mr. LAID Motorsports

The mystery of who will be purchasing the for-sale Clason Enterprises team has been solved. Perhaps an out-of-left field answer compared to what might have been expected.

Casey Lester and Daniel Sharp formally announced a future partnership for the 2017 season with Sharp's sponsor Mr. AID taking primary sponsorship of the team. Lester brings Dunkin' Donuts backing as well and both drivers will be MLM's full-time drivers. Manufacturers and team numbers are to be determined.

"I am beyond excited that we are finally able to make this formal," Lester said at the announcement. "We have had this is the works for a while and I have never been so ecstatic about Cup before. I am humbled to be alongside the caliber of Mr. Sharp and with Tanner [Clason] being one of my closer friends in the garage, I could not have more faith in the top-notch operation he has run over the past several seasons. I will make sure it stays in good hands now and beyond."

The third driver has been rumored to be current Clason Enterprises driver Duncan Cobb, who has performed adequately in his PCC Cup Series career. While not confirmed, there are not many other names aside from Cobb who may join Sharp and Lester at this time.

In unrelated PCC news, SMP Katzev is poised to return to PCC Europe with three cars instead of four, and they look to be running the entirety of the East series schedule. Lev Tabakov and Alexey Lyutov will return virtually unchanged from 2016, but their teammate in the 86 car will be Ukrainian driver Vitalij Sydorenko who joins the team from touring cars.

Kaitlyn Tannehill is a young, experienced race driver. And she might join the PATotoya team in 2017 PCC Cup Series. The PAToyota team will go up to 2 cars, with Tannehill and Entity Brown. Tannehill will drive the #17 while Entity's will be #77. Both will be with Toyota. Meanwhile in the Trucks, Lorenzo Tate will make his own team driving the #67 Chevy.

Beck Hopeful for 2017 PCC Lites Ride

Despite a lack of indication of if Winsalot will be returning for the upcoming season, Matt Beck, driver of the #07 Mountain Dew White Out entry for the team, is planning on continuing his efforts in the PCC Lites Series. Reports that he slid into Tom Delgado’s DMs looking for a possible ride if Winsalot does not return upon the announcement of the new TDR Lites program are unconfirmed, but sources close to Beck claim “if he did, he almost certainly got left on read.”

BREAKING

Pennsylvania Ford Racing forms up, signs Kaitlyn Tannerhill to the #17 and Entity Brown to the #77

Pyrozooka0 wrote:Beck Hopeful for 2017 PCC Lites Ride

Despite a lack of indication of if Winsalot will be returning for the upcoming season, Matt Beck, driver of the #07 Mountain Dew White Out entry for the team, is planning on continuing his efforts in the PCC Lites Series. Reports that he slid into Tom Delgado’s DMs looking for a possible ride if Winsalot does not return upon the announcement of the new TDR Lites program are unconfirmed, but sources close to Beck claim “if he did, he almost certainly got left on read.”

Winsalot will be back, I just haven't confirmed them because there's still a possibility (however slim) that they'll be promoted

Fred Jones announces Papyrus Racing to attempt "something" in PCC

Fred Jones, the breathes in 8 time NASCAR Monster Energy Winston Nextel Sprint Cup Series champion, 2 time World Rally Champion and 3 time Formula One World Champion breathes out, has announced intentions to absolutely dominate in the PCC organization next year, it is unknown where the team will be competing next season, but the #86 Papyrus Racing Games Chevrolet, is guaranteed to be on the field somewhere this season.

Rich Roy to Enter Truck Team
Rich Roy, 20, has announced that he has intentions of entering a truck for himself to drive next season. Roy has been tearing up the Dirt Late Models and decided with all the money he stole collected, he decided now would be the perfect time to make the jump.

Oliver to ROG in 2017

One of the surprises on the Cleveland Grand Prix entry list was the driver of the #43 Lambert Motorsports entry. With Zach Meyer filling in the 4th car for ROG Motorsports, it was expected that the de facto 5th ROG Motorsports car would not be making the trip to Cleveland. However, the Lambert Motorsports team, one of the contenders for the PCC Lites team championship this year, not only filed an entry but put an unusual name in the seat: Dustin Oliver.

Oliver, currently contracted with Sam Brown Motorsports as part of the Johnson Racing development ladder, set the PCC Lites world on fire this year with a championship triumph over his more highly-touted teammate Sam Burkhart. Despite winning the championship over Burkhart, he was not chosen to replace Cale Burnfardt Jr. the #51 for Johnson Racing next season as there was "no more room" for Oliver at the highest level of PCC competition. It's no secret that Oliver has grown tired of being in the shadow of the 2014 PCC Lites champion; one can simply look at his tweets whenever Burkhart gets a drive in the 4th Johnson Racing car. One can also point to the fact that Oliver has never won a race in the Lites Series despite racing there for 2 1/2 years as to why Burkhart continues to get preferential treatment from the team. Either way, it became clear to Oliver that the only way to move forward would be to jump ship, and that's exactly what he did.

With the announcement that Kelly Blackwater would not be returning to the ROG Motorsports #35 next season, Oliver's chance had opened up. A successful test with ROG Motorsports at Nelson Ledges in October impressed Andy Lambert, who offered Oliver a drive at Cleveland when Blackwater was confirmed to be out for the rest of the season after the Round of North Carolina. "He's a good smart kid, got a level head on his shoulders and is damn fast in qualifying," Lambert said regarding Oliver. "Hasn't won a race since he left Late Models a few years ago, but the Lites Series has gotten a lot more competitive in the past three or four years so you can't just hop into the best equipment on the grid and just automatically win. Hell, I tried it this year and [Barry] Juveno beat me in points so they've gotten a lot more equal down there! Either way, Dustin was setting times right with me and Jimmy [Beverley] and he's told me how he's felt trapped in his development contract, so I figured I'd give him an out. From what I gather, he probably wasn't going to have a seat over there next year with the whole Cleveland Speed deal going down. It would be a shame to see such a talent go to waste."

After that, one thing led to another, and Oliver inked a deal with ROG Motorsports to drive the #35 car next season in the week leading up to the Cleveland Grand Prix. "I'm just over the moon to have this kind of opportunity open up, really," Oliver said about his chances next year. "ROG's got a really good thing going on. Andy [Lambert] is gonna be a great mentor for me I think, and Frank [Azzaretto] is no slouch either. I was worried that Jimmy [Beverley] and Zach [Meyer] were gonna be upset with me jumping in front of them like that after they've done a lot of the heavy lifting for them on the testing and development side this year, but they told me it's all cool and they're happier running in the Yugos every week, like you know, that I earned this opportunity, so that was a weight off of my shoulders. We're still working on piecing together sponsorship for next season, but I'm really excited to have made it this far and have a chance to compete with the best in the business out there on Sundays!"

Oliver will compete in the #43 Lambert Motorsports Toyota in the Cleveland Grand Prix, using the Lites Points Provisional to make the race. It will be his first PCC Cup Series start.

Bindernagel explains his lack of participation in Cleveland GP

Timothy Bindernagel has reappeared, offering some clarification about the heretofore unknown reasons he missed the PCC Cup Series’ Cleveland Grand Prix.

“I was all ready to go for the GP, yes, but sometimes life makes you take detours. I was preparing for the race when I got a tip that my old nemesis (Cosa Nostra crime boss) Matteo Sostituri was hiding out in the Mideast. Apparently he was running some sketchy Caspian Sea oil-drilling racket and got in some real s**t with the Azerbaijani government. I heard from my sources he was holed up in the Alborz Mountains of Northern Iran, and I couldn’t pass an opportunity to get back at him.”

Bindernagel, a martial artist and occasional actor who’s best-known role was starring as The Force in the first Star Wars trilogy, says he used some connections he made in Hong Kong to stowaway on an freight ship to the port of Istanbul before making his way to Sostituri’s location via a glider crossing of the Turkish-Iranian border.

“Matteo didn’t know what was coming. I found his secret hideout in a Persian mountain deep in the wilderness. He had his guards with him, but I took them down one by one.” After dealing with Sostituri’s security staff, he “went mano a mano with Matteo for a while, then roundhouse kicked him to win the fight.” Bindernagel then turned Sostituri over to Interpol “in time to make it back to Balkon’s," a rooftop bar in Istanbul, where he “celebrated with a cold beer and a warm doner.” Sostituri was subsequently deported back to Italy, where he faces racketeering charges.

“By the time my little score-settling with Matteo was over, any chance the Timothy Bindernagel Experience could roll into Cleveland in time for qualifying was over,” the PCC Cup driver said.

Bindernagel claimed to have been given “the biggest award from Italian law enforcement,” though representatives of Italy’s Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said they had not found any records of such an award at press time.

That being said, Bindernagel told reporters he would compete in additional PCC Cup Series races next season. "I love the PCC Cup Series. I'll be back. That's how I live. I do things." Bindernagel is expected to return to the US after a "little trip to Nepal to reconnect with some of the great martial arts masters."

Lambert Motorsports Accepts Promotion to PCC Cup

In a shocking move, PCC Lites and de facto ROG Motorsports junior team Lambert Motorsports has accepted promotion to the PCC Cup Series after finishing 2nd in team points. This decision comes just 24 hours before the deadline for team confirmations for all three PCC National Series. As a result of this decision, Lambert Motorsports becomes the first of three teams promoted to the PCC Cup Series, joining PetrolTech Engineering and DJ Motorsports. Consequentially, Syzygy Engineering will NOT receive a promotion spot as a result, and will remain in the PCC Lites Series in 2017.

Team owner Andy Lambert commented, "It's been a dream of mine to have my own team, to you know, be my own boss. I'm getting older and won't be around forever, and this is the best chance I'll probably ever have to bring my team to Cup with the current promotion-relegation format." When asked about why he chose to have the team promoted after stating all season that the team would defer their promotion, Lambert was not apologetic. "I know there's going to be a lot of pissed off people because of this, but it's the nature of the beast. They wanted to put in this Team Charter and promotion-relegation system that's trying to stratify everything and lock out new teams, so if you want to play the blame game and say it's my fault or whatever for making this business decision then I don't know what to tell you. Jimmy [Beverley] and Zach [Meyer] both understand where I'm coming from, both of them driving for smaller teams that have come and gone from the sport, so we're just trying to survive. Being a development team didn't really give us a chance for moving up, and I felt like I had reached my peak in the current situation, so it took a long time for me to decide if and when it was the right time for the team to spread it's wings and fly so to speak."

Based on Lambert's comments, it can be assumed that current Lambert Motorsports drives James Beverley and Zach Meyer will continue to race for the team in the PCC Cup Series, with Lambert himself joining the team as the third driver.

ROG Motorsports boss Cal Rogers, when contacted about Lambert's move, said "This really did come out of nowhere, you know. We're about as blindsided by this as you guys. To say that we're disappointed with Lambert's decision is an understatement, and this is a pretty big blow to our team as a whole. Andy [Lambert] had been a big part of our team for a really long time, and we trusted him with running our Lites development team at the start of the year. I guess having the chance to be in charge went to his head, and having all that control went to his head. Needless to say, we're not on speaking terms right now. We're currently looking at all options for our 34 car next season. We will recover from this, and come back stronger than before. Mark my words, we'll make sure that his team doesn't have the last laugh."

Mason Yokoyama Announces Team for 2017

Mason Yokoyama announces details for his PCC Lites team. He will once again drive the #376 car with Bush's Chicken as his sponsor. His teammate will be Dave Wilson. He will drive car #673 with Motorola as his sponsor.

Smirnov Racing to Go Full-time in PCC Euorpe East

Smirnov Racing will go full-time in PCC Europe East in 2017. Their lineup of cars consist of the #109 car of Alexey Motov, and #910 of Bulgarian driver Georgi Konstantinov. Both cars will carry sponsorship from Lukoil and Katzev as the manufacturer.

Australian Motorsports signs Zachary Fitzwater

Australian Motorsports have signed 2016 PCC Trucks driver Zachary Fitzwater to drive the No. 81 car for the 2017 season, sponsored by retail chain Big W.

'Zach impressed us in his truck campaign last year, and we believe has the ability bring us the results we are looking for.' - John Wargle.

Fitzwater Australia Racing announces driver change for the 2017 PCC Trucks Season. 

Originally Fitzwater was suppose to drive the 59 Truck for 2017. However with him signing with Australian Motorsports for Cup FAR signs Louis Jones to drive the 59 Wilson Security Dodge Dakota for the 2017 PCC Trucks Season

Greg Woodard finds out what's happening in the 2017 season.

Greg Woodard found out from officials earlier today that Space Invader Racing was in, however, they would be scored as Triumvirate Motorsports as a scoring mechanism. Plans are for him and Kurt Plissken to split races in the 41 with the exception of one-off qualifying attempts. If both Plissken and Woodard make it in for one-off races, they'll use the 24 and 41 respectively. However, depending on which driver is originally scheduled for that one-off race, if they don't make it in and the other does. Then the originally scheduled driver swaps places with them. Woodard plans on using Starstream Satellite Radio as his primary with a load of secondary and tertiary sponsors with less than reputable reputations. Plissken plans to use the Terrell Corporation for US events Weyland-Yutani Corporation for international events. The team plans on using the 2017 Lycoia Invader.

SIR will be scored along with Williams Motorsports and Blameless Racing. There are no plans on consolidation and all three teams plan on using different chassis. SIR plans on bringing in Sergio Power to take the reigns after the Accelerator Motorsports debacle. Woodard plans on taking races 1-3, 7-9, 13-15, 19-21, and 25 while Plissken will take races 4-6, 10-12, 16-18, 22-24, and 26.

Both drivers will attempt to qualify for the races at California, Russia, and Cleveland using 24 and 41 respectively. The 41 will be used by either driver in every other race.

Cameron Taylor Signs With ROG

ROG Motorsports announced today that three-time PCC Cup Series winner Cameron Taylor will join the team, driving the #34 Toyota Camry for the 2017 PCC Cup Series season. A sponsor has not been announced.

Taylor, a 26 year-old Bay Village, Ohio native, sat out the first part of the 2016 PCC Cup season opting to race sports cars before substituting at Griffith Motorsports for the then-dead Nicholas Korodovos. Taylor was immediately competitive, scoring a top-ten in each of his first four starts, including a win in the Round of Decatur. In his six starts last season Taylor earned an impressive 13.5 average start, a 6.2 average finish, led 43 laps and completed every lap of the 669 laps contested in that time period.

"Obviously this is a fantastic hire for the whole team," said ROG Motorsports boss Cal Rogers. "Cameron's super experienced, and he's a great person to work with on and off the track. We're both very excited about where this is going to take our organization, and hopefully we can make that extra step to put ourselves in the team championship fight next season."

Taylor joins 2016 PCC Lites champion Dustin Oliver, and 2016 Round of Quincy winner Frank Azzaretto at the team. A fourth test driver for the team has not been announced after James Beverley and Zach Meyer both departed for Lambert Motorsports.

Prince Tlas Klyvixcismaxiblya puts in offer to buy PCC Organization

Prince Tlas Klyvixcismaiblya, noted PCC Intergalactic Racer, ruthless dictator, and once voted sexiest carbon-based lifeform of the galaxy by Zarklon Today, has recently took his vast wealth to Earth in order to possibly buy the PCC Cup Series. Reports from inside the Prince's personal entourage stated that upon returning to Zarklon XII after losing the Cleveland Grand Prix, he was humiliated by his father, King Thu'ul of Zarklon XII, long live his reign. "The divine Prince apparently is humiliated by his recent loss. Insiders have also reported that Prince Tlas believes the race was rigged against him, and that the Earthling forces of the PCC Series are trying to humiliate him. Which is driving him to reported, 'insanity,'" according to Intergalactic Political Analyst, Fred Smith.

An unnamed motorsports analyst has stated that Prince Tlas has recently taken out a Zarklonian loan of "obscene amounts" in order to possibly make a run at purchasing the PCC organization. No word on if the organization will sell up to him, or anyone for that matter.

Due date for 2017 cars is August 15th.

PCC Teams form Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams

Fifteen PCC National Series teams have formed the Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams, a business association intended to advocate for "equal fairness and access", according to their initial press release.

APART is comprised of Paloma Autosport, Griffith Motorsports, Johnson Racing, ROG Motorsports, PetrolTech Engineering, Lucas Motorsports, Syzygy Engineering, Winsalot Motorsports, CircleTrack Racing, AJ Murphy Racing, Jefferies Racing, Impact! Racing, Davidson Motorsports, ZakkTek, and David Russell Motorsports. It intends to open its membership to all teams in the top three PCC National Series.

A release said the organization "intends to advocate for drivers and teams on all levels of PCC competition. As part of its focus, APART plans to work with the Professional Car Club organization to improve driver safety, transparency within the promotion-relegation system, fair and present officiating, and expanded opportunities for not only established teams and drivers, but also ones that are looking to break into the Professional Car Club pyramid."

Cal Rogers, a co-owner of ROG Motorsports, has been elected APART's chairman.

"The formation of APART aims to bring together the concerns of the various teams and drivers throughout the Professional Car Club ranks into a single cohesive unit," Rogers said in a release. "We look forward to working with Professional Car Club management, and believe that they will be receptive to collaboration. After all, we all have vested interests in the success and popularity of stock car racing."

Fochesato to Pilot Fourth Car for Lambert; Mira to Serve as Substitute in Trucks

Lambert Motorsports has acquired free agent Vincenzo Fochesato of Italy to pilot the team's fourth car for the organization's first season as a PCC Cup Series operation.

Fochesato, currently residing in Algonac, Michigan, will be piloting the new team's car #87 for the overcapacity events at Los Angeles, Moscow, and Cleveland. He will be joining the team's full-season roster of team owner Andy Lambert, James Beverley, and Zach Meyer, completing the lineup for the operation. MOMO Srl will provide primary sponsorship for the car.

Fochesato made his first attempt at a Cup Series race last season at Mansfield for his family team, Focus Autosports, but failed to qualify. He would make his debut later in the year at Rockingham Motor Speedway in England, driving car #00 for Matthews Motorsports Team, and would contest the remainder of the European tour in the same car. His best result came at the Hungaroring, where he placed 19th.

He returned at Cleveland with his family team once more to attempt both the Truck Series and the Cup races. He managed to buy out the grid spot secured by Mike Rutana qualify for both, and placed 11th in the Cup Series race, piloting the only Alfa Romeo on the grid.

Fochesato accepted the offer from Lambert while already scheduled to contest the full Trucks Series season for Focus Autosports, meaning that he will certainly have to miss the Trucks race at Mosport, and possibly the one at Mansfield, as well. To remedy this, his team immediately announced the signing of Estel Mira to serve as a reserve driver. The Spaniard, who has one previous Cup Series start to her name, will pilot Fochesato's truck #37 for the aforementioned Round of Canada, with the possibility of making more starts depending on any further conflicts that Fochesato may have with his new Cup Series commitments.

FAS is not currently scheduled to field a second truck in any races.

Team owner and 2011 drivers' champion Andy Lambert controversially accepted the promotion of his team to the Cup Series from PCC Lites, despite having assured ROG Motorsports that he would be deferring said promotion. Lambert's team had been operating under an alliance with ROG and serving as a de facto ROG development team, but the last-second decision to bring his team to Cup has suddenly left ROG owner Cal Rogers without any connections to the Lites Series.

Manticore Engineering Joins Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams

Manticore Engineering's first press conference of the offseason took many in the motor racing world by surprise. They confirmed on Wednesday that they would be the 16th member to the newly-formed Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams.

"Manticore Engineering is the industry leader of best-of-breed macro-development in racing. The metrics for infrastructures are more well-understood if they are not world-class. Quick: do you have a blog-based strategy for handling unplanned-for relationships?" team spokesman Dane Wagner said to a captive audience.
"By joining the Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams, we will expand our capability to aggregate proactively leads to the ability to facilitate seamlessly. The metrics for compliance are more well-understood if they are not extensible. We have come to know that it is better to iterate holistically than to brand intuitively. An alliance that can scale defiantly will eventually be able to grow courageously. The process management factor is co-branded, strategic."

While many expected the team's announcement to involve a possible rebrand, or a driver announcement, no such thing has happened as of yet. Ike Durbin is reportedly returning alongside the recently cast-off Barry Juveno. The team's third driver is likely to be French Canadian Louis Bellard, although the team did not specify. Dane Wagner refused to answer such questions, professing even more support for the Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams, as his private army security team looked agitated.

"The Alliance of Professional Auto Racing Teams has permanently altered the theory of mega-short-term development. With the Alliance, we will redefine the term "revolutionary". We will redefine the aptitude of user interfaces to productize. We will implement the ability of applications to integrate for greater returns on investment. This is a wonderful business."

Space Invader Racing applies to be a part of APART

After the relegation and reorganization of Accelerator Motorsports caused the majority of assets to leave with two of their drivers. The newly minted Space Invader Racing put in an application to join the recently formed alliance. While the idea of joining an alliance would seem alien to the team, they hoped their application would be approved.

Greg Woodard, who is co-owner along with Kurt Plissken, stated: "Look, we're a one car team and we will need all the help we can get. We're hoping that this will bring some sort of benefit to our organization and to the PCC organization as a whole. We are basically starting from scratch after the despicable debacle of Accelerator Motorsports was. Thankfully we have our manufacturer support, the team can stay in relegation for all I care. Kurt and I just want to get out there and race. If joining this alliance can help us in anyway, we'll take it."