The Environmental Protection Agency is creating a permanent pit stop for racing enthusiasts everywhere, says Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio.
“For years, Marco has been talking about the EPA’s affinity for job-killing regulations, but they go after Americans’ hobbies with pointless power grabs, too,” said a post on the Florida senator’s official campaign website. “Now, the EPA is coming to your local racetrack.”
The Rubio campaign points out that a 2015 update to regulations established for light-duty cars and trucks would make it illegal to replace factory emission controls to increase performance with aftermarket parts. The change wouldn’t affect the big stock car franchises such as NASCAR, the industry says, but it would decimate racing at the hundreds of dirt tracks and motor speedways that dot the United States. Cars there are converted from normal off-the-lot stock into high-performance race cars.
“The EPA recently stated that an emissions-certified vehicle (i.e., a regular car) cannot be modified into a race car in a way that violates the Clean Air Act,” Rubio said. “So race cars that range from modified sports cars to mini stock cars could be in violation of EPA rules.”
Rubio is the first presidential candidate to raise the “overreach” issue after the Specialty Equipment Market Association, representing automotive parts companies, characterized the rule change as a far-reaching, unfair reversal. He ranks third in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings.
“This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles,” said Chris Kersting, the group’s president and CEO. “Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion.”
A federal affairs vice president for the groups told Automotive News Tuesday that the proposed rule change would cost the aftermarket parts industry $36 billion.
Rubio’s campaign is supporting a petition initiated last week by the association to roll back the rule change.
“There’s now a White House petition to stop the EPA, which gained over 100,000 signatures in less than 24 hours,” Rubio’s campaign states. “For the sake of America and American jobs — and racing fans everywhere — we need a president who will stand up to the EPA and rein in out-of-control government regulation.”
