People Places & Racing News

Movers & Shakers: Craig Neeb; Steele Rubber Products and East Lincoln Speedway Partnership; and More

International Speedway Corp. promoted Craig Neeb to vice president of multi-channel marketing and chief information officer (CIO). Neeb, formerly the company’s managing director and CIO since 2000, is responsible for executing multi-channel marketing programs associated with International Speedway’s marketing strategy.

Steele Rubber Products has partnered with the East Lincoln Speedway (ELS) to become the official sponsor of the Steele Rubber Products Limited Sportsman division. The Steele Rubber Products Limited Sportsman division is the premier racing division at ELS, and have constantly had car counts in high-teens all season long. "Steele is proud to be a part of local racing and the fans in our area that support it," said Eric Saltrick of Steele Rubber Products. "We're thrilled to work with the folks at ELS because we see the excitement and enthusiasm they bring to our community."

ASA Tire Systems announced that the response to the $1M Tire Dealer Bailout Program continues to grow. Nearly 250 independent tire dealerships nationwide have submitted grant requests and are currently being considered for funding. Although many applications are still being processed, roughly 45% of the fund has already been awarded to date. Dealers interested in applying for funding still have time and are invited to visit the company’s website, http://www.asatire.com/bailout, and fill out an application. The monies are in the form of a grant, and do not have to be paid back to the company. Tire dealerships of any size who are interested in taking advantage of the offer to improve their technology infrastructure are eligible.

 Snap-on opening
 Snap-on Inc. celebrated the official grand opening of its “Innovation Works” facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Snap-on Inc. was recognized as having the “Overall Best Power Tools in the United States” among its top competitors by Frost & Sullivan’s independent research, 2008 United States (U.S.) Automotive Technicians’ Choice: Evaluation of Automotive Tools. Technicians gave high ratings to Snap-on in the power tool category, with 31% choosing Snap-on as the best overall power tool, making this the second year in a row that Snap-on has led the category. Its closest competitor was selected by 6% of respondents.

The company also celebrated the official grand opening of its “Innovation Works” facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The new 15,000-sq.-ft. facility, located at Snap-on’s Kenosha campus, includes a state-of-the-art service garage, prototyping room, 3-D modeling facility, display and application room, customer observation room, innovation library and training room.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. will host the third annual Pioneer Sound Build-Off competition at its Mobile Entertainment Road Show event. Ten nationwide Pioneer Premier retailers will compete in Long Beach, California, on Saturday, June 13, to win cash prizes for building the best sounding demo vehicle. The builds are evaluated and scored by two official sound quality and installation judges using International Auto Sound Challenge Association (IASCA) rules.

Event spectators can take part in the judging process by voting for the Viewer’s Choice, and those votes will be added to results to calculate each participant’s overall score. The top three competing vehicles will be awarded cash prizes, and the first place winner will be crowned the 2009 Pioneer Sound Build-Off Champion. Coverage from the 2008 Pioneer Sound Build-Off.

The San Bernardino Convention & Visitors Bureau, producers of the Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous, have redesigned its website at www.ROUTE-66.org. New elements allow car enthusiasts to post their photos, videos and comments from past years. Another added feature is Classic Classifieds where owners of any make or model of classic car can connect with interested buyers.