Daytona Beach, Fla. — Following the cancellation last month of the NOPI (Number One Parts, Inc.) Nationals motorsports event, the IASCA sound-off competition group said it would hold its annual finals instead at the Spring Break Nationals (SBN) starting March 2009.
IASCA had held its championship at the NOPI Nationals in Hampton, Ga., for the past three years. Instead, the 2008 finals will be held at the Ocean Beach Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., and will be renamed IASCA North American Championships.
In addition, IASCA will reinstate prize money for the championship winners. IASCA president Paul Papadeas said 50 percent of local IASCA event entry fees will be used to fund prizes. The organization, which once offered purses of $100,000, discontinued monetary awards in 1996 due to lack of funding.
Papadeas, who is also president of SBN Expo Group, said of the venue change, “On many levels, this makes perfect sense. SBN is a well-attended, car-audio-focused event.”
Papadeas, a tireless industry promoter, continued to ask industry members to reinstate support for local sound off events.
He noted that IASCA events are gaining in attendance overseas, with the Columbian finals drawing crowds of 80,000, hundreds of participants and similar turnouts in Mexico; some events in the United States draw only a handful of participants.
“It’s time to focus on what pulled us out of the slump almost 20 years ago — sound-offs were a great marketing tool then, and the same holds true today,” said Papadeas.
NOPI, a leading parts distributor for sport compact cars, confirmed that the organization cancelled all remaining 2008 events.
