Nowhere in this month’s issuance of new greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty trucks by the Environmental Protection Agency does the agency ban the conversion of street cars into race cars, as the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association warned the agency intended to do earlier this year, yet SEMA officials continue to push for pro-racing legislation.

The rules, which the EPA published August 16 as the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles, require unspecified increases in fuel mileage and a decrease in greenhouse gases of about 25 percent for over-the-road trucks, school buses, delivery trucks, and the like.

They do not include language that the EPA initially drafted last summer prohibiting tampering with emissions equipment even if those vehicles “are used solely for competition.” After a SEMA-led uproar this past spring against that language – which EPA officials said merely clarified earlier regulations against tampering or removing emissions equipment – the agency agreed in April to rescind the language.

The racing community continues to launch well-organized protests against EPA restrictions for motorsports.