IMSA Step Into SEMA Show Spotlight
Held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. Each year more than 100,000 industry executives, buyers, influencers and car enthusiasts attend the SEMA Show.
A centerpiece to IMSA's involvement at SEMA in 2014 is the participation of IMSA President Scott Atherton as a panelist in the Racing and Performance Forum alongside top automotive executives this afternoon. Before the panel discussion, Atherton made a brief presentation on the future of motorsports by providing a bit of a history lesson on the important role auto racing has played in the development of production car technology and a look toward key initiatives for the future.
"To have an idea of what the future holds, it is important to understand how the sport has evolved," Atherton said. "Capturing the attention of tomorrow's influencers, being environmentally responsible and providing a platform for continued innovation will be vital to the long-term success of motorsports.
"Motorsports must fulfill four requirements to be a laboratory for the future of transportation. It must gain interest and investment of the automotive industry, provide an educational tool that is fascinating to audiences, be economically viable, and inspire the industry to develop relevant future technologies."
At 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Atherton will participate in an interview to be streamed on Fanschoice.tv from a display shared by IMSA and NASCAR. The display features a TUDOR Championship Mazda Prototype class car alongside other NASCAR vehicles.
The IMSA/NASCAR booth will host Fanschoice.tv interviews and autograph sessions with a few TUDOR Championship drivers during the week. Kuno Wittmer, the 2014 GT Le Mans class champion, stops by at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on Wednesday.
Also visiting the booth on Wednesday will be Mazda Prototype driver Tom Long at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT). Thursday's schedule includes a visit by BMW factory drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).