SEMA praises race car legislation

WASHINGTON (March 10, 2016) — The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is praising five members of the U.S. House of Representatives for introducing a bill to ensure that converting street vehicles into race cars, a staple of stock car and amateur racing, remains legal.

H.R. 4715, the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act of 2016, was introduced March 8 by Reps. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Richard Hudson, R-N.C., Bill Posey, R-Fla. and Lee Zeidin, R-N.Y.

The bill would establish as law that converting street vehicles to race cars used exclusively in competition does not violate the Clean Air Act.

In February, SEMA sent a warning to its membership that the Phase 2 “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy Duty Engines” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would prohibit the conversion of on-road vehicles into race cars.

The Phase 2 standards, which were published in the Federal Register in July 2015, also would forbid the sale of certain products for use on converted on-road vehicles.

“The EPA's new interpretation of the Clean Air Act would essentially rewrite the law and 46 years of policy and practice,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO.

“Without congressional intervention, the racing community and racing parts manufacturers would be operating outside of that new law and could be targeted for enforcement,” Mr. Kersting said.

However, the EPA said SEMA had misinterpreted the Phase 2 standards. All the agency seeks to do, it said, is forbid tampering with emissions control equipment on vehicles meant for road use.

The Phase 2 standards are expected to become a final rule sometime this summer. Meanwhile, H.R. 4715 has been assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.