PRI 2021: What a Show - Engine Builder Magazine

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PRI 2021: What a Show

Greg Jones
By Greg Jones

First things first – Happy New Year to you all. I sincerely hope you got to be with friends and family during the holidays and that you all had a safe and fun end to 2021. We’ve now officially welcomed 2022, and as the holidays have quickly come and gone, as they always do, I found myself reflecting back on the year.

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However, because the past two years have been what they’ve been, I’ve subconsciously, or maybe consciously, blocked a lot of that time from my memory, so I reflected back more recently to just a month ago when our industry converged on Indianapolis for the PRI Show. Honestly, I think a lot of people may have had doubts about what the 2021 show was going to be, who would be there, what the atmosphere was going to be like, etc. It had been two years since the last PRI, and the pandemic environment is what it is. But, visiting Indianapolis and celebrating the racing industry with everyone at the 2021 PRI Show was truly special. 

If you were among the exhibitors or attendees, then I don’t have to tell you – it was a great show. If you didn’t make the trip, you definitely missed out on what was certainly among the best PRIs since I’ve been attending. Exhibitors filled the convention center and brought their latest and greatest, and attendees filled the aisles (at some times to the point you could only move sideways). The energy was high, the excitement was palpable and everyone visibly loved being back in Indy.

Engine Builder kicked things off with our annual Pre-PRI Party on the Wednesday night before the show opened. We welcomed more than 250 guests inside the Tin Roof downtown to celebrate some of our readers, contributors, advertisers, and our 2021 Engine Builder award winners with live music, food and drink, and overall fun times. The evening just cemented the fact that the next three days at the Indianapolis Convention Center were going to be great.

In fact, according to PRI, the 2021 show, which was the 35th anniversary, was the biggest in the history of the organization. More than 50,000 attendees – including media, industry influencers, enthusiasts, and professionals from nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies – gathered in the racing capital of the world for the event.

“It was great to experience the excitement and camaraderie of being back in person at the PRI show, catch up with friends and colleagues, take advantage of opportunities to capture business, and network with other motorsports professionals,” said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer. “The level of innovation and development for the motorsports industry on display at the show was truly outstanding and a clear demonstration of the strength and growth of motorsports.”

It was definitely a show to reflect on, and one that our Engine Builder brand will certainly use as momentum for 2022. We had countless great conversations and saw plenty of engine builders and companies boasting a strong year and a positive outlook for 2022, us included.

Of course, what we enjoyed more than anything during our week at PRI, aside from quality face-to-face time with readers, engine builders and advertising partners, was the chance to see plenty of awesome engine builds! Among them were quite a few LS combinations of course, and as we’ve done the past two years, we once again shine a spotlight on the “still red hot” LS platform in this January issue.

We hope you enjoy! EB

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