The Coker Group selected Marla Moore as its new director of marketing.

Moore will oversee all marketing communications efforts for the company’s brands involved in the collector-car industry.

She will serve as the marketing head for more than 10 individual brands under The Coker Group umbrella. Moore, who was named the 2012 SEMA Person of the Year, served as the advertising director at Hypertech prior to joining The Coker Group.

Coker Tire Co. Inc., Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Kristin Sowinski has been named communications and marketing coordinator for Jiffy-tite’s OEM, aftermarket and motorsports initiatives. Sowinski’s experience includes media, marketing and web/PR roles for World Racing Group at Watkins Glen, New York, and Concord, North Carolina.

She also has experience as an event planner for Charlotte Motor Speedway. Her new role is to develop aftermarket initiatives and to help manage the most aggressive motorsports consumer marketing campaign the company has ever implemented.

Jiffy-tite Inc., Lancaster, NY; 716-681-7200.

The late Mickey Thompson was recognized with the Shav Glick Award at Fontana Motor Speedway prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at the end of March. Named for the longtime Los Angeles Times and Motorsports Hall of Fame journalist Shav Glick, who passed away in 2007, the award recognizes an industry personality who has made valuable or distinguished contributions in the state of California. “We are very proud that Mickey Thompson has been selected to receive this very special award in recognition of his substantial contributions to the industry here in the state of California,” said Ken Warner, vice president of sales and marketing for Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels.

Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Stow, OH;
330-928-9092.

Ron Cizek’s “Checkered Past” ’40 Ford won the Goodguys 2013 March Performance Street Rod d’Elegance Award at the 13th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals in Del Mar, California. The Cranberry-hued Ford was first introduced back in March, when it won the Ridler Award at the Detroit Autorama. Although Cizek himself originally started the build three years ago as a “weekend project,” it was finished and coach-built by his partner Andy Leach and the team at Cal Automotive Creations. Leach apprenticed for six years under Troy Trepanier prior to joining forces with Cizek. Cizek will receive a custom toolbox from Snap-on as well as travel accommodations to the Goodguys 16th Southwest Nationals, to be held November 15–17 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He will join the “Champion’s Arena” display featuring Goodguys’ Top 12 Cars of the Year.

Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, Pleasanton, CA; 925-838-9876.

SCCA Pro Racing announced that Kurt Spitzner was named rally programs director, a new position that serves as liaison between SCCA Pro Racing and the Global Rallycross Championship (GRC).

The GRC, which will be sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, holds several rallycross events worldwide, with the majority held in the United States. A key responsibility of the position is to create increased synergy between the club-level rallycross programs and the professional-level series. Spitzner has more than three decades of experience in the motorsports industry, including a stint on the club side of the organization as director of performance rally.

SCCA, Topeka, KS; 800-770-2055.

This year marks Holley Performance Products’ 110th anniversary, Hooker Headers’ 50th anniversary and NOS’ 35th anniversary. Added together, that totals more than 195 years of experience. To celebrate the occasion, the companies have developed a number of consumer offers that will run from April through June. Consumers who buy a Street Avenger carburetor during this timeframe can receive a free mechanical fuel pump, a chrome air cleaner or small-block Chevrolet valve covers. Consumers who buy any set of Hooker Headers can receive a free Hooker Headers metal sign. Finally, consumers who buy any NOS nitrous system can receive a free NOS promo pack, which includes an NOS hat, decals and a fender emblem.

 Holley Performance Products, Bowling Green, KY; 270-782-2900.

Racepak, an MSD Performance company, has named BMI Racing driver and co-owner Sarah Burgess its product manager. Burgess will lead the management and marketing of the Racepak brand while also spearheading the effort to expand

Racepak’s global marketing focus. Before joining Racepak, Burgess served as a marketing consultant for SEMA, and she co-owned BuzzEngines and Billet Machine Industries.

Burgess has been the driver of her drift car for three years and will remain active in her role as driver and co-owner of BMI Racing.

MSD, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA; 949-709-5555.

The Marx Group hired two new team members in the Detroit area—Steffanie Savine and Yoni Kellman. Savine joins the company as its new account executive/marketing director.

She will work with clients who specialize in traditional replacement parts as well as the heavy-duty market.

Kellman, who joins The Marx Group as an account executive, will focus on automotive and performance aftermarket clients. Kellman was formerly the marketing manager at Motovicity Distribution.

The Marx Group, San Rafael, CA; 415-453-0844.

The winner of the first AMP Research Great American Giveaway is Bobbi Jo Wnuk of Bonduel, Wisconsin. Wnuk will receive an AMP Research PowerStep system and a BedXtender HD. Motorz and AMP Research teamed up earlier in 2013 to launch the giveaway, which recognized an exemplary American who owns a pickup and goes the extra mile to serve family, friends, community and/or country. Entered by her nephew, Jason Heinz, Wnuk drives an ’09 Ford F-150 and does a great deal to help the special-education department at the Wisconsin Bonduel School District. She also helps with homecare for the elderly and the disabled in the community, heads up a benefit for a neighbor fighting cancer and serves as a volunteer with Bridge The Gap for Autism and the Autism Society of Northeast Wisconsin.

AMP Research, Tustin, CA; 949-221-0023. Duke Networks LLC, San Diego, CA; 858-935-7300.

National Performance Warehouse Companies announced that it opened its larger facility at 615 N. King Rd. in San Jose, California, a week earlier than predicted.

The company also reported that customers will contact the company and process orders in the traditional manner and that the move changes only the location where a customer would “will call” parts.

National Performance Warehouse, Miami, FL; 305-953-7270.

Three events have taken place for the 2013 season of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, and 14 High School Auto-Tec teams have qualified for the finals at the PRI Trade Show, to be held Wednesday through Saturday, December 11–14, in Indianapolis. To help provide more opportunities for teams to experience the thrill of competition on its highest stage, the qualifying rules were changed for the 2013 season. In an effort to establish a true race-against-the-clock competition, any High School Auto-Tec Team that is timed at 35 minutes or less will automatically qualify for the finals. The change will help to increase the number of schools that will qualify, allowing more students to participate.

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, Joliet, IL; 815-722-5460.

EnerSys announced that Odyssey Battery was named the official battery of Doug Foley’s Drag Racing School in Mooresville, North Carolina. Started by professional drag racer Doug Foley, the school provides a comprehensive training center where individuals can safely learn how to drag race.

As the official battery for the driving school, Odyssey batteries will be exclusively used in all of Doug Foley’s Drag Racing School dragsters, door cars and race cars. The Odyssey battery logo will also appear on all vehicles and on Doug Foley’s Racing School website.

Odyssey Battery by EnerSys, Reading, PA; 610-208-1991.

All Wright Enterprises LLC acquired Fidanza Engineering Corp. from race car builder and company founder Lou Fidanza. The company, now doing business as Fidanza Performance, will be led by 10-year company veteran, current president and now owner Jeff Jenkins. Lou Fidanza will continue as a key consultant to the company while he begins to enjoy his well-earned retirement.

According to a release, the change to the Fidanza Performance brand name and new company logo were to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Fidanza Performance, Perry, OH; 440-259-5656.

High-performance tire manufacturer Falken Tire has entered into a marketing partnership with Tread Lightly!, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible recreation across the country. As part of its partnership, which makes Falken the official tire of Tread Lightly!, Falken has pledged a $100 rebate on a set of Falken WildPeak A/T tires to individuals who join Tread Lightly!’s membership at the $50 level and above. As an incentive for individuals to renew their membership in Tread Lightly!, Falken is providing a $50 rebate to any person who renews an existing membership at the base level of $25. Part of Falken’s goal in establishing this partnership is to help Tread Lightly! continue to speak to the general public on the need to maintain the environment in its natural condition.

Falken Tire Corp., Rancho Cucamonga, CA; 909-466-1116.

Motor Trend magazine recently announced that its YouTube channel reached a milestone of one million subscribers. According to Motor Trend, the channel has experienced more than 600% audience growth since switching to episodic programming in February 2012.

Regularly attracting almost four million views and 30,000 new subscribers each week, the Motor Trend channel has amassed an audience equivalent to a top-30 TV market in the United States, according to Nielsen numbers. The Motor Trend channel is available at www.youtube.com/motortrend.

Source Interlink Media, El Segundo, CA; 310-531-9900.