By Misha Geisert
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 14, 2010) – The second annual International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) is scheduled for Dec. 1-3, 2010 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. IMIS offers individuals and companies from all facets of the racing business the chance to interact, share ideas and products, build relationships and attend seminars to improve motorsports business around the world.
The Indianapolis-based show is owned by Chris Paulsen of C&R Racing, Tom Weisenbach, executive director of the Indiana Motorsports Association (IMA), Jeff Stoops, president of Stoops Freightliner and two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and Indiana resident, Tony Stewart.
With IMIS just more than two months away, several exciting things are happening:
Numbers Game: IMIS officials have sold 97 percent of the available booths – an impressive feat considering the allotted amount of space doubled from the inaugural show in 2009. More than 1,100 booths have been sold to 541 exhibitors, up from 572 booths that were sold to 345 companies in 2009.
“We’re ecstatic about our numbers heading into the 2010 IMIS show,” Paulsen said. “We knew that it would be a challenge as we doubled our floor space, but the hardcore racing community responded in a big way and we are thrilled and humbled with the reaction to the show. We’re pretty confident we will be sold out within 45 days.”
Last year more than 10,000 attendees came to IMIS and for 2010, officials are expecting to double that number to more than 20,000.
Expanded Safety and Technical Conference: The IMIS Safety and Technical Conference will again kick off the show and be expanded in 2010 as it becomes a two-day presentation Nov. 29-30 at the Indiana Convention Center. Spearheaded by Kirk Russell, former vice president of competition for Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and a world-renowned consultant on motorsports safety, the conference is designed to present insight for those at the top levels of racing to the weekly, grassroots racer.
Russell has again assembled a world-class panel of racing safety experts, including officials from the IZOD IndyCar Series, NASCAR and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine, who heads up the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, will be the event’s keynote speaker.
An exciting addition to the Safety and Technical Conference will be an aerodynamic program with engineers Ray Leto and Rob Lewis from TotalSim LLC.
“The Safety and Technical Conference was one of the most popular seminars we had last year,” Weisenbach said. “It only made sense to add another day, which allows for more discussion and interaction. We also think the aerodynamic program will be very beneficial to the attendees.”
A full schedule of panelists and topics will be released in the coming weeks.
Safety First: New for 2010 is a Youth Safety Program sponsored by the IUPUI Motorsports Engineering Program, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 3 at the Indiana Convention Center.
Dr. Terry Trammell, who has more than 35 years of experience in medical service in motorsports and is a partner in Orthopedics Indianapolis, Inc., will lead the seminar and has assembled a panel of experts to present basic information about the need for and function of personal (driver) safety equipment for the novice racer.
Safety standards for equipment will be presented to help in the process of selecting the correct equipment, while presentations will also address the consequences of ignoring the safety needs of the young racer.
“The idea of the Youth Safety Program is to educate the young and inexperienced racer, and their families, to understand the need for proper overall safety,” Trammell said. “In 35 years of working in motorsports, I’ve heard even the most experienced racer say, ‘That will never happen.’ The unexpected does happen, even to the most experienced motorsports participant, so our goal for the Youth Safety Program is take what we have learned at the highest levels of motorsports and educate the young drivers and their families as to why safety is of the utmost importance. We’ll cover selecting the correct safety equipment, what to do if an accident does occur and the emotions experienced by the young competitor. This program is just as important to parents as it is to their children.”
Youth Safety Conference attendees, escorted by their parents, will be allowed on the IMIS show floor following the presentations to see what is available in youth safety equipment.
Long Term Commitment: After substantial growth following the inaugural IMIS show last year in Indianapolis, show officials and the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association (ICVA) announced in July an unprecedented agreement to keep the show in Indianapolis indefinitely.
After an original two-year contract for 2009-2010, officials from IMIS and the ICVA announced a contract extension through 2015 during the event’s welcome reception last December. The new updated agreement signed in July will keep IMIS in Indianapolis through the life of its convention. IMIS generated more than $15.9 million in direct visitor spending for the City of Indianapolis during its inaugural show.
Future show dates are scheduled for:
2011: Nov. 30 – Dec. 2
2012: Nov. 28-30
2013: Dec. 4-6
2014: Dec. 3-5
2015: Dec. 2-4
Media Credentials: Applications for media credentials are now being accepted from accredited members of the press and are only available online at www.TrueSpeedCommunication.com.