Uncertainty in Racing Industry Continues to Make News
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule in 2015 that would have prohibited the conversion of emissions-certified vehicles into race cars. Although the agency intends to withdraw the proposal, it continues to assert authority to regulate the modification of vehicles used for competition under the Clean Air Act, thereby leaving the racing industry, its businesses and enthusiasts in a state of uncertainty.
The U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to outlaw the conversion of motor vehicles into race cars made waves all across the country. SEMA members, race enthusiasts and members of Congress led the way in opposing the rulemaking, resulting in the EPA’s April 15 announcement that it would remove the provision from the larger rule.
A lot has happened since December, when we first learned of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would effectively outlaw conversion of street cars into race cars. We filed opposition comments later that month. We then met with agency officials in January asking the EPA to reconsider their position. When that failed, we alerted the public in February.
If you ask average Americans what they love about auto racing, you’ll find a striking similarity in the responses: speed, teamwork and passion. Since the invention of the automobile, Americans have been converting their street vehicles into race cars. Powered by this passion, most professional motorsports leagues, including NASCAR, were founded on that concept. More than a century later, the very core of this tradition is under attack.