PRI 2021: What a Show - Engine Builder Magazine

PRI 2021: What a Show

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.

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

You May Also Like

Passion Runs Deep

Having had the distinct opportunity to view this industry from my chair as editor of Engine Builder has certainly opened my eyes to a lot of great things this industry has going for it. However, my favorite thing about it – hands down – is the passion. Whether it’s passion for covering the industry (as

Having had the distinct opportunity to view this industry from my chair as editor of Engine Builder has certainly opened my eyes to a lot of great things this industry has going for it. However, my favorite thing about it – hands down – is the passion.

Whether it’s passion for covering the industry (as we do), or passion for manufacturing components (as so many of our partners do), or passion for creating horsepower and engines (as all of our readers do) – there’s certainly no lack of passion here. That all said, where I’ve seen the most passion for what our industry is all about is on the track. That’s where the proverbial rubber meets the road, and where the manufacturing, the engines, the cars, and the people all come together to earn a longed-for result.

New Year’s Resolution

It’s crazy to think that 2021 is coming to a close. The days and weeks in a year always feel long, but the months and the year itself, absolutely fly by. It’s strange how that always is the case. There’s no stopping Father Time as they say! All we can do is forge ahead and

Not Your Father’s Engine Builder

I’ve actually lost track of how long it’s been since people started claiming print was dead. It’s been a while! Now, I understand the ‘print is dead’ claim might be different for newspapers than it is for magazines, but I can tell you this – the content landscape has certainly been shifting. Related Articles –

Experience Always Wins

Formula 1 racing often tells smaller stories within each individual race; the final stretches of the Russian Grand Prix proved in my eyes that experience always wins.

Should Driving Be Outlawed by 2050?

As the world changes, so too does the automotive industry. Will self-driving cars eventually take over?

Other Posts

Ryan Milliken’s Turbocharged 6.8L Cummins Engine

At Lights Out 14, Ryan Milliken of Hardway Performance put on a show and demonstrated how far diesel performance has come in recent years. Making it to the semi-finals against some of the country’s fastest cars, Ryan’s ’69 Nova sports a turbocharged 6.8L Cummins engine built by Fleece Performance & Freedom Racing Engines. Capable of

Paul’s High Performance Nitrous-Powered Ford Godzilla Engine

GODZILLA!!!!! We stopped by the Fluidampr booth at the 2022 PRI Show to say hi and found Paul Svinicki of Paul’s High Performance hanging out, along with his nitrous-powered Ford 7.3L Godzilla engine that runs in his 2010 Cobra Jet Ford Mustang. This 1,100-horsepower Godzilla is our Engine of the Week. Related Articles – Michael

David Pilgrim’s Dual Compound-Turbocharged 6.6L LBZ Duramax Engine

David Pilgrim and his wife Debbie began looking into drag racing after attending an NHRA event, which eventually led to the pair entering the Bonneville Salt Flats scene. Following a few turbocharged motorcycle builds and a C5 Corvette, David got the idea for a 1954 Chevrolet 3100 with a dual compound-turbocharged 6.6L LBZ Duramax. It’s

2,500-HP Twin-Turbo 427 cid LS Engine

Having done a lot of the paint and bodywork himself, Will Tetro’s 1968 Nova stood out at the 2022 PRI show. His shop, Harbor Auto Restoration, helped build the car to handle 2,500 horsepower, and making that power is a twin-turbo 427 cubic inch LS engine built by Ochs Performance.