People Places & Racing News

MOVERS & SHAKERS: MIKE TONEY, GEORGE CASE, JIM SAVAS, GREG DREW, DOUG SYER AND MORE

Dynamic Control announced that Mike Toney has joined the Dynamat team as western sales manager for the company. Toney will work closely with manufacturer’s representatives and direct with dealers to help them grow the Dynamic Control product lines, which include the market-leading Dynamat brand. Toney will work to expand the company’s ever-growing dealer base and help existing dealers maximize their profits.

George Alan Case was named vice president, drag racing operations for Moroso Motorsports Park. Case, a longtime motorsports executive and industry insider, brings more than 25 years of racing and business experience to the well-known facility.  Case will oversee the day-to-day operations at the dragstrip and the many exciting events held each season.

Advanstar Communications consolidated its Automotive Aftermarket and Off-Road Groups into a single business unit. The combined Automotive Group will be headed by Jim Savas, vice president, automotive. Savas was previously vice president of the Automotive Aftermarket Group. The properties in the new Automotive Group include Off-Road.com, Dirt Sports, Styling & Performance, Aftermarket Business, Automotive Body Repair News, Hot Auto Products, Search-Autoparts.com and the Off-Road Expo.

SmartDrive Systems Inc. announced that Greg Drew joined the company as chairman and CEO. Most recently, Drew was president and CEO of WebTrends, driving the organization's strategy to become a premier provider of digital marketing solutions, which has resulted in record performance nearly every quarter since. Drew will help guide SmartDrive in the continued growth of its product and service offerings.

Stäubli Corporation – Connectors Division hired Doug Syer as motorsports engineer responsible for covering the Circle Track market, which includes NASCAR and Dirt Track racing series. Syer has great knowledge and understanding of application engineering and complete customer knowledge and support. He will relocate from the Chicago area to the Charlotte, North Carolina, suburbs where he will be centrally located to manage all Stäubli business activities within the NASCAR and Circle Track markets.

Royal Purple Synthetic Lubricants is the title sponsor of the third annual Powder Puff Race for the Cure, created by M.O.R.E (Mohave Off-Road Enthusiast) & DAMZL Inc. Benefits and donations acquired from this year’s event will support Cedar Sinai Women’s’ Breast Cancer Research Center.  This year’s event will take place in Barstow, California, October 10–11. The Powder Puff Race for the Cure is the largest all-women driver event. For more on the Powder Puff Race for the Cure log onto: http://moreracing.net/powerpuff/index.html.

OEM Components and U.S.A. Switch Inc. acquired Rostra Precision Controls Inc., a leading supplier of transmission components, cruise control systems, rear obstacle sensing systems and electronic controls for the automotive and heavy-truck aftermarkets, as well as OEMs. Thomas Petrillo, founder of OEM Components and U.S.A. Switch Inc., teamed with the private equity firm Superior Capital to form Aftermarket Controls Corp. and purchase Rostra Precision Controls. Aftermarket Controls Corp. will be the parent company of OEM Components, U.S.A. Switch Inc. and Rostra Precision Controls. For more information, visit www.usaswitch.com or www.rostra.com.