People Places & Racing News

MOVERS & SHAKERS: GT CHANNEL, BILL MIDDAUGH, JAKE MORAN, BRADLEY DAVID PRODUCTIONS, PERTRONIX INC. AND MORE

The crew at GT Channel have a new performance driving video series on their website. Entitled “FAB 2,” it features three of the top pro drift drivers competing to execute the most stylish and flawless 180 slide into a parking spot. Adding to the challenge: they must perform it in a front-drive Scion tC. Check out the videos here.

Bobit Business Media announced that Bill Middaugh has joined the company as advertising sales manager for Hotrod & Restoration magazine and trade show. Middaugh brings a wealth of experience in the enthusiast automotive aftermarket publishing world to Bobit.

Most recently, he served for 18 years at Source Interlink Media on titles such as Hot Rod, Street Rodder, Popular Hot Rodding, Super Chevy, Chevy High Performance, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords and High Performance Pontiac. Before his time at Source Interlink, Bill worked at the McMullen Design and Marketing ad agency. Middaugh can be reached at 310/533-2446 or bill.middaugh@bobit.com.

 
Jake Moran  

Longtime member of the National Street Rod Association (NSRA), Jake Moran, announced that he will step down as the national field director for the NSRA, effective December 31. Moran has been a member of the NSRA since its inception in 1970 and has been the national field director since December 1984.

Effective January 1, 2009, Tom Wilkerson will become the NSRA’s new national field director. Wilkerson has served as an NSRA state inspector and as chief inspector in the west central division since 2001.


Bradley David Productions' newest show, "Busted Knuckle," began airing this week on the SPEED Channel. The show features host Rich Ragains, a Louisville, Kentucky, native who travels the country working with other people who share his passion for all things mechanical.

The pilot episode features Ragains visiting Delta Air Lines in Atlanta to change the brakes on a Boeing 777 aircraft. Then, he builds armored vehicles at Texas Armoring Corp. in San Antonio, Texas.

The airtimes (all times EST) are: Thursday, December 4, 2:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.; Friday, December 5, 7:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 6, 2:30 a.m.; and Sunday, December 7, 10:30 a.m.

A preview of the show is available at www.youtube.com/bradleydavid.

Pertronix Inc. announced that it has acquired the assets of JBA Performance Exhaust located in San Diego, California. Pertronix, a leading supplier for more than 40 years in the electronic ignition business, launched its exhaust division in 2000 after acquiring Ermie Immerso Enterprises (Thunderbird Products).

Pertronix plans a robust advertising and marketing effort to leverage demand for the JBA line through their existing performance parts distribution system. For additional information, contact Jim Hairston at Pertronix Inc.: 909/599-5955.

Carlisle Events has introduced a green classification for show-field participants registering for six of the eight Carlisle Events specialty shows. The green classification was created to give a home to green vehicles utilizing new fuel-efficient technologies, including hydrogen fuel cell, electric, gas-electric hybrids, biodiesel and clean diesel vehicles.

Awards will be given to the top three vehicles registered in the green class at the Carlisle Performance and Style, May 8–10; Carlisle Import/Kit-Replicar Nationals, May 15–17; Carlisle All-Ford Nationals, June 5–7; Carlisle All-GM Nationals, June 26–28; Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, July 10–12; and Carlisle All-Truck Nationals, August 7–9.

Vic Edelbrock, president and CEO of the Edelbrock Corporation, awarded the Vic Edelbrock Sr. Memorial Scholarship award to Barry Derheim of Sioux Falls, Iowa. The $5,500 scholarship was presented during the 2008 SEMA Show. Now in its fifth year, this scholarship is endowed by Vic Edelbrock and the Edelbrock Corporation in support of continued automotive education through the WTI Foundation and WyoTech.

This scholarship is based on an essay submission and is awarded annually to a WyoTech student who exemplifies hard work, dedication to the automotive industry and outstanding citizenship.  

Popular FOX-TV race analyst Jeff Hammond will join NASCAR Sprint Cup star Joey Logano and 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Benson at the Motorsports 2009 Race Car & Trade Show, taking place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey. All three of the personalities will meet with fans and sign autographs during the two-day show set for January 16–17, 2009.

 
Dan Speicher  

HUGHES Telematics appointed technology industry veteran Dan Speicher as its new chief information officer. Speicher will manage infrastructure and overall systems development for the company's revolutionary next-generation telematics architecture.

He will manage the company’s IT and systems development as the company prepares to launch its innovative suite of safety and security, diagnostic, convenience, navigation and infotainment services in Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

AMP Research and "MOTORZ" have teamed up to produce new online instructional videos featuring AMP product installations. The videos highlight installation techniques for the AMP Research Power Step, BedStep and Bed X-Tender.

Chris Duke, the host of "MOTORZ," shows viewers how to install products on their vehicles using common tools already in their garage. Duke offers step-by-step instructions on how to get the job done and provides helpful tips to avoid problems along the way. To see the AMP Research videos, check out www.MOTORZ.tv.

Laser Design Inc. signed a distribution agreement with Quality Measurement Technology (QMT) in Auburn, Washington (Seattle area), to meet increased demand for its Surveyor 3-D laser scanning systems throughout the northwestern United States. The QMT distributorship will showcase and demonstrate Laser Design’s portable Surveyor-FA (Faro-arm) scanner and its Surveyor WS-Series high-precision scanning system to area customers.

Laser Design President C. Martin Schuster stated, “The meteorologists at QMT have a wealth of experience in performing 3-D laser scanning for prominent area companies and suppliers to the aerospace industry. QMT is an important addition in our strategy for becoming a 3-D scanning technology leader in the Seattle area. We are pleased to have QMT represent our products and services, and provide support to our customers."

Skyjacker Suspension promoted Lee McGuire to director of marketing and operations. McGuire joined the marketing department at Skyjacker in August of 2003 and has continued to excel and manage many projects beyond the scope of marketing.

She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2002 with a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) degree in marketing and in 2006 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.