Perhaps this isn’t a headline that shocks anyone in the high performance aftermarket or racing world, but it still stings pretty hard nonetheless. Officials with PRI have announced that the 2020 iteration of the show, to be held in downtown Indianapolis, will not take place. Citing a lot of hard work and planning with the local and state government, as well as the uncertainty in predicting the movements and severity of the pandemic in the coming months, there was little choice but to cancel.
Large events are hard enough to have outdoors at this time and an indoor event is seemingly another level of difficult and it was in the best interest of attendees, vendors, and the organization itself to simply look ahead to 2021 and make this definitive decision now.
In the face of the financial commitments that people make to attend to this event and the fact that the situation for having it looked grim, we applaud the PRI management team for making the announcement now before many people committed a full raft of resources to attend.
In more positive news, we’re one day closer to the end of 2020. That’s good be good for something, right?
2020 Performance Racing Industry Trade Show Update
The announcement comes after months of working closely with the Visit Indy team, the Indiana Convention Center staff, and other Indianapolis officials to develop a plan for a safe and productive PRI Trade Show. Despite health and safety guidelines that would have been in place, mounting uncertainty related to the Coronavirus resulted in an environment that would not be conducive to a productive trade show.
“It is with great disappointment that we announce that the 2020 PRI Trade Show will not take place,” said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer. “Our goal is to always do what is best for the motorsports industry, and PRI will continue to lead with business solutions for an ever-changing future.”
The organization is committed to supporting motorsports parts manufacturers, resellers, racetracks, race teams, sanctioning bodies, media, and racers themselves, through legislative advocacy, training, and more.
Full refunds for PRI Trade Show exhibitor booth deposits will be issued.
Updates will be posted to performanceracing.com.
About Performance Racing Industry
Since its inception in 1986, Performance Racing Industry (PRI) has served as the motorsports industry’s key source for trends, merchandising ideas, new products, business strategies, and more. Through its monthly business magazine, Performance Racing Industry, and the world’s premier auto racing trade show, the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis, IN, motorsports industry members from all over the world remain in tune with the worldwide racing marketplace. For more information, visit performanceracing.com.
I was rather expecting this – hadn’t registered or booked a hotel room this year as I couldn’t see how they could really hold PRI with the safety guidelines that have been around all year. Sad, but inevitable.
I was surprised they held out hope this long. After SEMA was cancelled, I expected PRI to go down minutes later.