By Katie Carson
 Rich Barsamian (left) presents Michael Murray of National Business Media with the 2016 Robert E. Petersen Award at the Media Appreciation Reception during the 2017 Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) Media Trade Conference. |
Michael Murray of National Business Media was named the 2016 Robert E. Petersen Award recipient at the Media Appreciation Reception during the 2017 Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) Media Trade Conference. The reception took place Tuesday evening, January 24, after exhibiting manufacturers spent the day having private one-on-one meetings with media to showcase their products.
The Robert E. Petersen award is named in honor of the man to whom the motorsports industry owes so much, and is presented to an individual from the media who has made a positive impact on the industry and MPMC during the previous calendar year. The MPMC general membership was called upon to nominate and vote to recognize a deserving member of the media.
Murray grew up in Southern California, or what he calls the “mecca of motorsports.” From a young age, he remembers his dad taking the family out to any event with a green and a checkered flag, and from there, he was hooked. He turned his passion into a career, starting out at just 19 years old, and the 2016 SEMA Show marked his 20th year in attendance with SEMA-member companies. A major trend that he sees coming to the motorsports industry is a diversity of builds within a single shop.
“We talk to many grassroots shops, and they are building tremendous vehicles ranging from ’60s two-doors, budget builds, diesel trucks to off-road performance—all out of the same shop,” Murray said.
He is currently with National Business Media, out of Broomfield, Colorado, working on the publication The Shop.
“To influence an industry in which I grew up is an honor and something I take seriously,” Murray said. “This award means a great deal to me to be voted on by the MPMC group of brands that I have worked for or with for the past 20 years.”
Murray joins the previous Robert E. Petersen Award Winners:
- 2004: Jeff Smith
- 2005: David Freiburger
- 2006: Dick Berggren
- 2007: Ed Zinke
- 2008: Bill Middaugh
- 2009: Karl Fredrickson
- 2010: Steve Wolcott
- 2011: James Lawrence
- 2012: Jim Ryan
- 2013: KJ Jones
- 2014: John DiBartolomeo
- 2015: Chad Reynolds