SFI Foundation, Inc. has issued a Notice of Decertification; Notice of Cease and Desist, and a notice terminating all Contracts of Participation to Impact Racing. Effective April 27, 2010, all products manufactured and/or distributed by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specification Programs 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 are decertified. On Friday, March 26, 2010, SFI filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Impact Racing, LLC, based upon evidence SFI has received regarding Impact’s manufacture and use of counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches. Such actions by a manufacturer directly violate its obligations to the SFI program. At this time we do not know the exact extent of these counterfeiting activities, but through the litigation process we hope to learn all the details. April 1, 2010 - Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc., in the litigation pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, have agreed that:
1. Impact Racing, LLC has provided sworn testimony that, upon review and
investigation, no counterfeit SFI Conformance Labels have been used on Impact Racing products
during the production years of 2009 and 2010.
2. Impact Racing, LLC has provided sworn testimony that, upon review and
investigation, all Impact Racing products manufactured and sold during the production years
2009 and 2010 meet SFI specifications.
3. Based upon this sworn testimony, the decertification against Impact Racing
Products for the production years 2009 and 2010 are lifted. The decertification of the production
Years prior to 2009 and 2010 remains in effect. The parties will continue to work cooperatively
in an effort to resolve the issues relating to decertification in these years.
4. Impact Racing stands behind the safety of all products it has manufactured and to
which SFI Conformance Labels have been affixed. SFI will continue to monitor compliance with
product specifications.
5. Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc., will cooperate in determining
whether any Impact Racing product bears a counterfeit SFI Conformance Label and if any safety
issue exists in regard to products manufactured in years prior to 2009 and 2010.
6. If any Impact Racing product does not bear the date of manufacture the purchaser
or user is instructed to immediately contact Impact Racing who will provide verification of the
date of manufacture. Impact Racing, LLC will immediately notify SFI Foundation, Inc. of this
occurrence. Impact Racing, LLC and SFI Foundation, Inc. will work with the sanctioning bodies
to determine the best method for product users to present verification of the date of manufacture. On April 13, 2010, SFI received test results from two Impact Racing driver suits we understand to have been manufactured in 2008. Neither suit has a date of manufacture, contrary to SFI specifications. These suits have counterfeit SFI 3.2A/5 patches attached to them. The thread on both suits FAILED during heat resistance testing. One suit’s material also FAILED Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) testing. The other suit’s material PASSED TPP testing, although the thread itself melted during testing. The test results are attached for your review. These results were previously provided to Impact Racing. In SFI’s opinion, the failure of the thread poses a safety risk to those who wear these suits in auto racing.
SFI is continuing to test and inspect Impact Racing products manufactured in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 as products are made available. However, admission of their fault will not change the
fact that these products remain decertified and that Impact’s participation in all SFI
programs will end June 22, 2010.
Based on all of the information that we have received from both SFI and Impact QMA has decided to extend the use of the SFI programs 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1 and 16.5 till the end of 2010 year. Effective January 01, 2011 all products manufactured before January 01, 2009 will not be allowed due to the decertification from SFI. All items manufactured after January 01, 2009 will be permitted for use with QMA. Impact manufacturer products will not be involved with SFI after the term of their contract ends June 22, 2010. It is recommended that you check the manufacture dates on any product before you purchase it.
Mark Tobey,
National Safety Director
On behalf of the National Board of Directors
| 
