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DETROIT (March 22,
2002) - Completing a staff restructuring that included several
promotions, one new hire and the return of a former
departmental employee, Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc.
(NYSE: MPH) Vice President of Communications Adam Saal
announced today the new and complete CART Communications
headquarters staff.
The CART Communications department, which is primarily
responsible for all media and public relations and creative
project support for CART and its open-wheel racing series,
includes nine individuals based at CART headquarters. It is
the first time since 2000 that all departmental employees have
worked out of CART's home office in the metro-Detroit city of
Troy, Mich.
Saal, who was named to his position this past January when
CART President and CEO Christopher R. Pook announced his new
executive management team, oversees all CART media and public
relations initiatives at both the competition and corporate
communications levels. Previously, competition and corporate
communications were operated as separate divisions at CART.
"What we now have is a streamlined and unified CART
Communications department," said Saal, who previously ran
CART's Communications division in 1995 and '96. "Restructuring
the department as one division will allow us to better serve
all sectors of the media, CART teams, sponsors and promoters
and our fellow departments within CART. The communications
department will also serve as a key support mechanism for
CART's marketing initiatives in support of Chris Pook's total
repositioning of CART as a marketing-driven organization."
While Saal, 38, will be responsible for the overall management
of the division, he has appointed fourth-year CART employee
Merrill Cain to oversee the day-to-day operations of the
department. Cain, 32, has been promoted to the position of
senior manager of public relations and will be responsible for
all traditional media and public relations activities focusing
on CART race events. He and Saal will jointly manage all media
operations and oversee the implementation of CART's public
relations plans and strategies. Cain will also maintain an
emphasis on broadcast media initiatives in keeping with his
previous positions at CART. He joined the organization in
January of 1999 as manager of broadcast public relations,
working primarily with both television and radio stations
covering the CART FedEx Championship Series. He moved into the
role of manager of radio operations during the 2000 season,
overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the
national CART Radio Network. Prior to joining CART, Cain
worked for two seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He oversaw the
re-design of the team's official Internet web site during his
tenure and served as coordinator of business public relations.
Cain also has additional experience as a radio announcer from
1993-94 and as a sports editor for Hometown Newspapers in the
metropolitan Detroit area from 1994-97. He is a 1992 graduate
of Central Michigan University with a degree in broadcast and
cinematic arts.
Additional management level appointments in CART
Communications include the promotions of Nate Siebens to news
manager and Kelly Beyer to the new position of manager of
advance event operations.
Siebens, 29, is a long-time open-wheel racing enthusiast with
six years of experience in motorsports media. In the news
manager position, Siebens will be responsible for all
editorial assignments related to CART open-wheel racing in
addition to running the department's press room operations and
CART's internet operations. He joined CART as new media public
relations manager in March of 2000, and was instrumental in
the growth of the official web site of the CART FedEx
Championship Series, www.CART.com, which established a record
of more than 11 million visitors during the 2001
season. Prior to joining CART, Siebens was Associate Editor of
Championship Racing Magazine where he oversaw the production
of the monthly publication in addition to providing editorial
CART coverage for the magazine and the magazine's web site and
e-mail service, ICR Online. He is a 1998 graduate of the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a print journalism
degree and a minor in coaching.
Beyer, who celebrates her 29th birthday today, will oversee
all aspects of CART's advance press and media operations
programs that have been in place since 1994. A primary
responsibility will be assisting in the development and
managing the media operations of the expanded CART Experience
advance program that will be formally announced in the near
future. Beyer, a six-year CART employee, returns to the
communications department where she began with the
organization on an internship with Oakland University, of
Rochester, Mich., in 1995. She joined CART full-time after
graduating with a journalism degree in 1996 has worked in the
television and marketing/promotions divisions. She most
recently held the position of manager of client relations in
CART's marketing department.
Cain and Siebens will each manage a pair of Communications
Associates. Fourth-year CART employee Kathi Reichert will
report to Cain while new employee Kelby Krauss will work
directly with Siebens.
As public relations associate, Reichert, 30, will assist Cain
in the day-to-day operation of the department while
maintaining an emphasis on the CART Extranet program, a
web-based communication tool for the CART Community. She will
also assist in the department's broadcast video operations and
will play a significant role in CART's community relations
efforts relating to the organization's pending relocation.
Prior to joining CART, Reichert worked as a public relations
assistant for the 1997 and '98 NHL Stanley Cup Champion
Detroit Red Wings from 1995-1999. She received a marketing
degree from Eastern Michigan University in 1995 with a
communications minor.
Krauss, 25, joins CART in the position of news associate from
the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) where he spent the last
two years as public relations manager. He will assist Siebens
with all editorial assignments and press room operations and
will serve as CART's pit notes writer on all race event
weekends. After joining the CART Communications team for the
season-opening Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix earlier this
month, Krauss will begin his full time position with the
organization on Monday. In addition to his SCCA Pro
experience, Krauss worked at Kentucky Speedway as a public and
media relations assistant in 2000 following an internship in
the NASCAR marketing department earlier that year. He is a
1999 graduate of Indiana University with a major in
Kinesiology and a major in sports marketing and management.
In the creative area of the Communications Department, Alan
Grayson continues as creative services manager. Grayson, 34,
is responsible for the graphic design and creative effort of
CART and is assisted by creative associate Joe Sheridan.
Grayson is in his fourth year with CART while Sheridan, 29,
has been with the organization since last September.
Tonya Trassati, 51, continues to handle the department's
administrative activity as communications associate. She
joined CART in 1996.
In the near future, CART Communications will announce and
confirm its contractor and agency-based relationships in the
areas of FedEx Championship Series publicity, advance media
relations, international press liaison/translations and the
department's interface with the CART Toyota Atlantic
Championship and Barber Dodge Pro Series.
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Ricardo
González
News and Commentary
