PRI absorbs IMIS, will return to Indy in 2013
The Performance Racing Industry trade show returns to Indianapolis in 2013.
Starting in 2013, Dirt Late Model teams will no longer have to choose which major postseason auto racing trade show to attend.
The Performance Racing Industry show held in Orlando, Fla., since 2005 is returning to Indianapolis, Ind., and will absorb the International Motorsports Industry Show. PRI’s parent Specialty Equipment Market Association today announced its agreement to purchase IMIS, a Tony Stewart-backed show held annually in Indianapolis since 2009.
With PRI consolidating IMIS, the trade show will occupy the entire Indiana Convention Center on Dec. 12-14, 2013, unifying the two biggest auto racing trade shows and allowing exhibitors and buyers to do business in a single location.
“The racing industry needed to have just one motorsports trade show in the U.S. I’m proud to say we’ve accomplished that,” said Scooter Brothers, chairman of SEMA’s board of directors “We have all worked toward a common goal, and have succeeded on behalf of the industry. To have a single home for the racing trade show is clearly the best thing for the industry, and working together with Chris Paulsen (co-founder of IMIS), we got it done.”
The agreement is expected to close next month, but 2012’s trade shows will go on as originally scheduled with PRI set for Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Orlando and IMIS on Dec. 6-8 in Indianapolis.
The consolidation will be a popular move for Dirt Late Model teams and manufacturers unable to visit both shows, and recent IMIS shows have shown that the central location of Indianapolis offers far more teams a chance to attend.
“We formed IMIS in 2009 to bring a hardcore racing trade show back to Indianapolis,” Paulsen said. “We grew a lot faster than we ever could have dreamed of and we couldn’t be happier that a hardcore racing trade show will remain in Indianapolis for years to come. SEMA will be great stewards of the hardcore racing industry and I couldn’t be more pleased that Indianapolis will remain the center of motorsports both on and off the track.”
Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, was one of the IMIS co-founders and saw that Indianapolis needed a trade show after PRI’s departure to Florida in 2005.
“I know SEMA will do a great job to make sure Indy remains the place for hardcore racing,” Stewart said. “The state of Indiana and city of Indianapolis, especially Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mayor Greg Ballard, were huge allies of the show and I know the city and state will continue to help grow the motorsports industry in Indiana.”
The 26th annual PRI Trade Show in 2013 will be organized and produced by the PRI team based in Laguna Beach, Calif., with John Kilroy at the helm as vice president and general manager. PRI also publishes the racing industry’s only business magazine.
“Chris Paulsen, Jeff Stoops, Tony Stewart and the entire IMIS team have done an excellent job starting up a new racing trade show,” Kilroy said, “and we promise to build on their mission to keep Indianapolis the annual epicenter of new racing technology.”
Consolidating the shows will only help the racing industry, said SEMA president and CEO Chris Kersting.
“Unifying the racing industry’s trade shows makes it more affordable for all to participate and allows us to focus on providing the greatest value and benefits for the racing segment,” Kersting said. "Look for the association to be adding resources and services to help participants get maximum value from the PRI show in Indy.”
