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By Adam Cornell

EVER SINCE I STARTED working in the motorsports industry, and specifically the dirt track racing category of motorsports, I’ve had my ear to the ground about what kinds of laws and rules might be implemented to help or harm the industry.

We all hear our fair share of complaints about when a racetrack that was once located miles from any homes, in the middle of a farmer’s field, suddenly finds itself surrounded by HOA-run subdivisions who now complain about the noise and sue to shutdown said track. As frustrating as this situation is, there’s another issue that has far greater implications that is boiling up from federal regulations.

Back in 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began interpreting the Clean Air Act (CAA) to mean that once a vehicle was certified as a street vehicle, it could not be converted to a racing vehicle by removing any emissions control devices or apparatus. The point that is made by the original intent of the CAA was that when a vehicle is certified as a street vehicle, it has to meet certain standards so as to protect the environment, often relying on emissions control devices to meet those standards. Agree or disagree with this, but it’s hard to argue with the difference in air quality over America’s cities. I certainly recall the smog in places like New York City and Los Angeles from the 1970s.

For years the CAA was interpreted to not apply to vehicles which were taken off the street, had emissions control devices removed and were subsequently converted to “permanent competition-only use.” In 2015, the interpretations and rule implementations changed. There was a bit of a hiatus from these interpretations being enforced for a few years, but reimerging in 2021, the EPA is pushing, once again, to make zero concessions for the motorsports industry.

The current interpretation is, if a vehicle was once certified for the street, it cannot be stripped of its EPA regulated components and used for racing. In fact, some on the side of the EPA are declaring that no components from such a vehicle may be used on a vehicle that is not also street certified.

It does not take much imagination to understand what full enforcement of such an interpretation would mean to dirt track racing. Enforcement could range from reuqiring all comeptition-only vehicles receiving an EPA certification for not containing any former street vehicle components, to complete shutdown of dirt track racing.

Granted, dirt track racing has evolved over the years to now have track-only and class-specific builds. Despite this, there is still a whole segment of dirt track racecars that are converted street vehicles. That segment would disappear, and it is often that segment that is the on-ramp for new racers in the industry.

PRI and SEMA are actively fighting this interpretation of the CAA in the courts in Arizona. Additionally, they are supporting a bi-partisan push for what’s called the “Recognition of Protecting the Motorsports Act” or RPM Act (well played acronym creators, well played). This congressional bill would protect the motorsports industry by excluding vehicles that are converted from street vehicles to exclusively competition-only racing vehicles from the rules of the CAA.

This push to cancel motorsports is not some mere miscalculation of the real-world ramifications of full implementation of the CAA. The systematic destruction of motorsports is a core belief of many who declare themselves environmentalists.

Photo: Todd Boyd

Several years ago, I read an article published by a Washington, D.C. area think-tank that declared addiction to oil and gas-powered vehicles was like a cult. And that, like all cults, it had its high priests and cult leaders. Those leaders are the motorsports industry, declared the piece. How do you kill a cult? You systematically destroy the cult leaders. The piece concluded that the only way to get the masses off their oil and gas addiction, was to destroy motorsports completely.

It seemed like a laughable, extremist view, several years ago. I’m not laughing now. If we have learned anything over the last year, it’s this: governments can and will take away things we love because they think it’s for our own good, and we’re just too stupid to see the purity of their benevolence.

I need to be clear, I am not advocating for or against any political party or even encouraging political activity. I am simply reporting on a legitimate threat to motorsports as we know it.

You need to decide what to do next.

If you’re interested in learning what PRI and SEMA* are doing on this topic, you can visit the PRI website here:

https://www.performanceracing.com/ magazine/industry-news/03-02-2021/ pri-challenges-epas-motorsportsregulations-court

Or use this QR code with your mobile device.

*Dirt Empire Magazine is not affiliated with SEMA, PRI or PRI Magazine. This link is provided for educational and informative use only and does not imply Dirt Empire Magazine or its editorial staff agrees with or condones viewpoints or actions from or suggested by SEMA, PRI or PRI Magazine.