Friday, May 27, 2022

WALSH STOCK, SHUNCK WIN 2022 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MOTORSPORTS PR

Friday, May 27, 2022, 8:30 a.m. EDT


WALSH-STOCK, SHUNCK WIN 2022 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN MOTORSPORTS PUBLIC RELATIONS


     INDIANAPOLIS  -- Publicists Amy Walsh-Stock and Steve H. Shunck Friday were announced as winners of the 2022 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.
 
     The Chapman Award is considered by many in the industry as the highest honor in racing public relations. It is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy Car racing’s “most influential man” of the 1980s. Chapman died in October 1996 at age 80.
 
     The announcement was made at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Dex Imaging Media Center by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends. The award is determined by a vote of national media members and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration.
 
     Both Walsh-Stock and Shunck have significant professional assignments at Sunday's 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Walsh-Stock is the communications director for seven-time NASCAR Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson, scheduled to make his first start in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Shunck represents the Borg-Warner Corp., presenter of the world-famous trophy that goes to the race winner, as well as the traditional wreath placed over that driver's shoulders.
 
     It's the fifth time in award history that a tie vote has resulted in two recipients in the same year.
 
     "Both Amy and Steve are greatly deserving of this award, especially because they mirror Mr. Chapman's example of pro-actively working to have good relationships with the media," said Knight, the inaugural Chapman Award recipient in 1991 and now award rights-holder and non-voting chairman.
 
     “Jim set the ultimate standard of professionalism, which forever elevated PR and media relations. His word and handshake were his bond. He only did things one way: First class. Most importantly, he knew that solid professional relationships with journalists was important in good times and absolutely essential in bad times.
 
     "Jim was a true ‘people person’ and knew nothing could replace a handshake, a face-to-face conversation, a shared meal, or the sound of another person’s voice.
 
     "If still with us, I'm certain he'd speak out about the highly impersonal way PR is now done by too many, who think social media messages equal relationship-building. He'd point out an E-mail isn't 'personalized' by addressing it to 'all.' Jim not only knew journalists, he knew them as people, because he reached-out and engaged them in conversation."
 
       The Chapman Award has three major purposes: 1. To honor Chapman's unmatched legacy; 2. To recognize current PR practitioners who work to Chapman's standard and in his spirit; 3. To provide learning and inspiration for newer and future PR representatives.
 
      Walsh-Stock began a career with NASCAR drivers, teams and sponsors in 2000. That list included Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler. She spent 16 years with all-time NASCAR championship team Hendrick Motorsports as communications manager, senior media relations representative, account executive and brand and digital manager.

     She started representing Johnson with the media in 2014 and was part of his record-tying seventh Cup championship team in 2016 and final full-time NASCAR season in 2020. Walsh-Stock then continued with Johnson to Chip Ganassi Racing when he switched to select NTT IndyCar Series races in 2021, also doing media for champion driver Alex PalouShe also works with Johnson at his select IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car appearances and directs communications for the Jimmie Johnson Foundation.
 
     Shunck has worked with sanctioning bodies, teams, tracks, network TV, drivers and corporations. His career began in 1988, when working in the University of Michigan sports information department, he helped with a press kit layout (on a then revolutionary Apple Macintosh computer) for 1985 Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan. He went on full-time positions with CART, NASCAR, Champ Car and IndyCar vice president of communications plus assignments with ABC Sports and several drivers.   
 
     He's had his own PR business since 2012. Especially noteworthy has been Shunck's assistance with Indy winners Parnelli Jones, the late Al and Bobby Unser, and other legendary drivers.
 
     Established in 1991 by media and publicists within the CART series, the Chapman Award originally focused on achievement in CART. After a hiatus of several years, the award was resumed in 2004, with eligibility expanded to anyone working in racing PR.
 
     Chapman, who was born in Macon, Georgia, started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern newspapers before joining the New York Times. He entered the PR business in 1946, as regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.
 
     Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as ambassador for the automaker’s sponsorship of American Legion Junior Baseball. They traveled together for more than two years for personal appearances and became close friends. Chapman was at Ruth’s bedside when he died in August 1948 and then officially announced Ruth’s death to the press corps that had maintained an around-the-clock vigil at New York’s Memorial Hospital.
 
Chapman kept with him a money clip with a pockmarked silver dollar that Ruth used to carry during games for good luck. Chapman said Ruth had used the coin for target practice. He proudly showcased several photos of Ruth in his office. One was inscribed: "To a pal that is a pal." Chapman also displayed a framed letter, written on Ruth's personal stationery from Memorial Hospital, dated July 13, 1948, inviting him to the July 26 premier of the film, The Babe Ruth Story. That letter read, in part, "That evening would not be complete without your being my guest.  To you, Jimmy, I say you must be with me that evening."
 
     In 1950, Chapman left Ford to start his own PR firm. One of his first clients was Avis founder Warren Avis. Chapman devoted much of his time to financial PR, which he once called his “favorite form of PR,” and helped companies get recognition among analysts and even gain admission to the New York and American stock exchanges.
 
     Chapman’s first venture into motorsports was in 1951, when he joined with NASCAR founder Bill France to promote the Motor City 250. The race was part of Detroit’s 250th birthday celebration, a Chapman client. In 1967, Chapman entered Indy Car racing with client Ozzie Olson’s Olsonite sponsorship of Dan Gurney’s team, which later featured Bobby Unser as driver.
 
     “Jim was one of the most innovative and imaginative PR men ever to grace a pit lane,” said Gurney, the American racing great who died in 2018.  “Jim practically invented most of what is now considered routine sponsor PR work. He was the first, as far as I know, who thought of putting up a sponsor hospitality tent alongside a racetrack (at the old Riverside International Raceway), filling it with extravagant race car ice-sculptures, beautiful food and beautiful people from the business, sports and movie industries. He started an ‘open house’ tradition in Ozzie’s hotel suite in Indianapolis, where journalists could rub shoulders with John Wayne or (astronaut) Scott Carpenter.”
 
     Chapman also directed Olsonite’s sponsorship of the Driver of the Year award. He orchestrated all the details, including the media panel voting, and an annual luncheon at New York City’s historic ‘21’ Club. That gathering was considered so prestigious it was routinely attended by leaders of all the major U.S. sanctioning organizations regardless of what series the Driver of the Year competed in.
 
     Chapman’s greatest professional acclaim came from 1981-1992, as director of CART series sponsor PPG Industries’ program. Chapman was instrumental in raising PPG’s prize fund from $250,000 to more than $3.75 million at the time of his retirement in February 1993. The all-female PPG Pace Car Driving Team was another Chapman innovation, as were the PPG Editors’ Days, when he brought business and feature writers to the tracks for lunch, pace car rides, and driver interviews.
 
      In 1982, Chapman negotiated a landmark sponsorship for PPG with then- Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joe Cloutier, which formally made the Indy 500 a points-paying event in the PPG Indy Car World Series, an arrangement that continued through the 1995 season. “That was one of the most satisfying moments of my career,” Chapman recalled. “Roger Penske, among others, told me it was the best thing that had ever happened to CART.” In addition to a major contribution to the prize fund, PPG later became sponsor of the $100,000 Indy 500 pole award, and paid a special winner’s bonus in the early years of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400.
 
     In its obituary, the New York Times wrote that Chapman "served as a father confessor to many top racing drivers." Two-time Indy 500 winner and PPG Cup champion Al Unser Jr. said on behalf of his fellow drivers, "With Jim, when he says ‘jump,’ we just ask ‘how high? And we do it right then.”
 
     Indy Car Racing magazine named Chapman the sport’s “most influential” man of the 1980s, saying he turned “a public relations assignment into an art form.” After his retirement, Chapman continued to consult PPG, and agreed to Mario Andretti’s personal request that he serve as honorary chairman of Andretti’s “Arrivederci, Mario” farewell tour in 1994.
 
     Chapman's professional achievements earned him vast recognition.  The mayors of Detroit and Long Beach, Calif., presented him proclamations and the key to each city. In 1993, Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh named him Sagamore of the Wabash, the state's highest honor. He served as president and/or director of more than 30 Michigan and Detroit-area civic and charitable organizations.  Chapman became active in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and represented the Detroit Urban League and United Negro College Fund in several controversial situations.  He admitted to shedding "buckets of tears of joy" when Willy T. Ribbs became the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1991. 
 
      The permanent Jim Chapman Award is cast in bronze and features a classic photo of Jim wearing his favorite navy blue double-breasted blazer and the names of all the award recipients. The text under Jim’s photo reads:
 
     “James P. Chapman (1916-1996). A great man who deeply cared about country and church; family and friends. A legend in the public relations industry who set the ultimate standard of professionalism and excellence. A superstar who superstars like Babe Ruth wanted at their side. A pioneer in motorsports PR who practically invented most of what is now considered routine. A true 'People Person' who knew a mutually-respectful relationship with journalists was important in good times and essential in bad times. A mentor kind enough to help others achieve success. A gentleman who understood nothing could replace the sound of the human voice, a handshake, a face-to-face meeting, a shared meal, a hand-written note of thanks. 
 
     “All who ever have, do, or will work in public relations stand on Mr. Chapman's shoulders.
 
     “The true honor of the Jim Chapman Award is not a plaque. The true honor is having one's name forever associated with that of the great James P. Chapman. A committee of journalists adjudged those named here worthy of this high honor.”
###
 
 
JIM CHAPMAN AWARD HONOREES:
1991 – Michael Knight
1992 – Tom Blattler
1993-94 – Deke Houlgate and Hank Ives
1995 – Kathi Lauterbach
1996 – Marc Spiegel
1997 – Mike Zizzo
1998 – Tamy Valkosky
1999 -- Carol Wilkins
2000-2003 – (Award not presented)
2004 – Doug Stokes
2005 – Susan Arnold
2006 – Kevin Kennedy
2007 – Dave Densmore and Bob Carlson
2008 – Judy Stropus
2009 –  (Award not presented)
2010 -- Jim Hunter
2011 -- Bill York
2012 -- Judy Kouba Dominick and Nancy Wager
2013 -- Anne Fornoro
2014 -- Jon Edwards and Elon Werner
2015 -- Linda Vaughn (honorary)
2015 -- David Ferroni
2016 -- T.E. McHale and Dan Layton
2017 -- Andy Hall
2018 -- Dick Jordan
2019 -- Dan Zacharias
2020 -- (Award not presented)
2021 -- Owen A. Kearns
2022 -- Amy Walsh-Stock and Steve H. Shunck
 

 

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

OWEN A. KEARNS PHOTO WITH 2021 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD

 


OWEN A. KEARNS WINS 2021 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MOTORSPORTS PR

Owen A. Kearns, a Hall of Fame publicist, administrator, journalist and respected figure on the California racing scene for 50 years, Wednesday was announced as winner of the 2021 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.


The Chapman Award is considered by many in the industry as the highest honor in racing public relations. It is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy Car racing’s “most influential man” of the 1980s. Chapman died in October 1996 at age 80.

 

The announcement was made by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends. The award is determined by a vote of national media members and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration. Since COVID-19 led to different work restrictions in various series, making a 'level playing field' evaluation impossible, a sort of 'veterans committee' subset of the full panel nominated and voted for those either retired or active in a very limited way.

 

"I know Jim would be delighted because Owen works in the 'old school' manner  Mr. Chapman perfected during his iconic life and career," said Knight, the inaugural Chapman Award recipient in 1991 and now award rights-holder. "He'd also smile because both were newspaper reporters and editors, a business Jim revered.

 

“Jim set the ultimate standard of professionalism, class and dignity, which forever elevated PR and media relations. His word and handshake were his bond. He only did things one way: First class. Most importantly, he knew that solid professional relationships with journalists was important in good times and absolutely essential in bad times.

 

"Jim was a true ‘people person’ and knew nothing could replace a handshake, a face-to-face conversation, a shared meal, or the sound of another person’s voice.

 

"If still with us, I'm certain he'd speak out about the highly impersonal way PR is now done by too many, who think social media messages equal relationship-building. He'd point out an E-mail isn't 'personalized' by addressing it to 'all.' Jim not only knew journalists, he knew them as people, what was happening in their lives, so he could offer congratulations, sympathy or help."

 

The Chapman Award has three major purposes: 1. To honor Chapman's unmatched legacy; 2. To recognize current PR practitioners who work to Chapman's standard and in his spirit; 3. To provide learning and inspiration for newer and future PR representatives.

 

Kearns motorsports' PR career began in 1967 at the Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway, while also writing a weekly racing column for the Bakersfield News Bulletin and the daily Bakersfield Californian. He went on to be a city-side reporter, editorial page editor and executive editor at the Californian before accepting a PR job with NASCAR in 1983.

 

Kearns handled PR and administrative duties for what was then called the Winston West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) and the 20-plus weekly tracks in eight western states. He was the founding communications manager for both the NASCAR Northwest and Southwest late-model stock car tours. In 1994, he became the first communications manager for the then NASCAR Craftsman (now Camping World) Truck Series, tasked with national PR outreach and liaison with its tracks, TV and radio partners.

 

Kearns retired in 2014 but remains active as a West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame Board member. He was inducted into that Hall in 2011.

 

Established in 1991 by media and publicists within the CART series, the Chapman Award originally focused on achievement in CART. After a hiatus of several years, the award was resumed in 2004, with eligibility expanded to anyone working in racing PR.

 

Chapman, who was born in Macon, Georgia, started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern newspapers before joining the New York Times. He entered the PR business in 1946, as regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

 

Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as ambassador for the automaker’s sponsorship of American Legion Junior Baseball. They traveled together for more than two years for personal appearances and became close friends. Chapman was at Ruth’s bedside when he died in August 1948 and then officially announced Ruth’s death to the press corps that had maintained an around-the-clock vigil at New York’s Memorial Hospital.


Chapman kept with him a money clip with a pockmarked silver dollar that Ruth used to carry during games for good luck. Chapman said Ruth had used the coin for target practice. He proudly showcased several photos of Ruth in his office.  One was inscribed: "To a pal that is a pal." Chapman also displayed a framed letter, written on Ruth's personal stationery from Memorial Hospital, dated July 13, 1948, inviting him to the July 26 premier of the film, The Babe Ruth Story. That letter read, in part, "That evening would not be complete without your being my guest.  To you, Jimmy, I say you must be with me that evening."


In 1950, Chapman left Ford to start his own PR firm. One of his first clients was Avis founder Warren Avis. Chapman devoted much of his time to financial PR, which he once called his “favorite form of PR,” and helped companies get recognition among analysts and even gain admission to the New York and American stock exchanges.

 

Chapman’s first venture into motorsports was in 1951, when he joined with NASCAR founder Bill France to promote the Motor City 250. The race was part of Detroit’s 250th birthday celebration, a Chapman client. In 1967, Chapman entered Indy Car racing with client Ozzie Olson’s Olsonite sponsorship of Dan Gurney’s team, which later featured Bobby Unser as driver.

 

“Jim was one of the most innovative and imaginative PR men ever to grace a pit lane,” said Gurney, the American racing great who died in 2018.  “Jim practically invented most of what is now considered routine sponsor PR work. He was the first, as far as I know, who thought of putting up a sponsor hospitality tent alongside a racetrack (at the old Riverside International Raceway), filling it with extravagant race car ice-sculptures, beautiful food and beautiful people from the business, sports and movie industries. He started an ‘open house’ tradition in Ozzie’s hotel suite in Indianapolis, where journalists could rub shoulders with John Wayne or (astronaut) Scott Carpenter.”

 

Chapman also directed Olsonite’s sponsorship of the Driver of the Year award. He orchestrated all the details, including the media panel voting, and an annual luncheon at New York City’s famed ‘21’ Club. That gathering was considered so prestigious it was routinely attended by leaders of all the major U.S. sanctioning organizations regardless of what series the Driver of the Year competed in.

 

Chapman’s greatest professional acclaim came from 1981-1992, as director of CART series sponsor PPG Industries’ program. Chapman was instrumental in raising PPG’s prize fund from $250,000 to more than $3.75 million at the time of his retirement in February 1993. The all-female PPG Pace Car Driving Team was another Chapman innovation, as were the PPG Editors’ Days, when he brought business and feature writers to the tracks for lunch, pace car rides, and driver interviews.

 

In 1982, Chapman negotiated a landmark sponsorship for PPG with then- Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joe Cloutier, which formally made the Indy 500 a points-paying event in the PPG Indy Car World Series, an arrangement that continued through the 1995 season. “That was one of the most satisfying moments of my career,” Chapman recalled. “Roger Penske, among others, told me it was the best thing that had ever happened to CART.” In addition to a major contribution to the prize fund, PPG later became sponsor of the $100,000 Indy 500 pole award, and paid a special winner’s bonus in the early years of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400.


In its obituary, the New York Times wrote that Chapman "served as a father confessor to many top racing drivers." Two-time Indy 500 winner and PPG Cup champion Al Unser Jr. said on behalf of his fellow drivers, "With Jim, when he says ‘jump,’ we just ask ‘how high? And we do it right then.”


Indy Car Racing magazine named Chapman the sport’s “most influential” man of the 1980s, saying he turned “a public relations assignment into an art form.” After his retirement, Chapman continued to consult PPG, and agreed to Mario Andretti’s personal request that he serve as honorary chairman of Andretti’s “Arrivederci, Mario” farewell tour in 1994.

 

Chapman's professional achievements earned him vast recognition.  The mayors of Detroit and Long Beach, Calif., presented him proclamations and the key to each city.  In 1993, Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh named him Sagamore of the Wabash, the state's highest honor. He served as president and/or director of more than 30 Michigan and Detroit-area civic and charitable organizations.  Chapman became active in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and represented the Detroit Urban League and United Negro College Fund in several controversial situations.  He admitted to shedding "buckets of tears of joy" when Willy T. Ribbs became the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1991. 

 

The permanent Jim Chapman Award is cast in bronze and features a classic photo of Jim wearing his favorite navy blue double-breasted blazer and the names of all the award recipients. The text under Jim’s photo reads:


“James P. Chapman (1916-1996). A great man who deeply cared about country and church; family and friends. A legend in the public relations industry who set the ultimate standard of professionalism and excellence. A superstar who superstars like Babe Ruth wanted at their side. A pioneer in motorsports PR who practically invented most of what is now considered routine. A true 'People Person' who knew a mutually-respectful relationship with journalists was important in good times and essential in bad times. A mentor kind enough to help others achieve success. A gentleman who understood nothing could replace the sound of the human voice, a handshake, a face-to-face meeting, a shared meal, a hand-written note of thanks. 

    

“All who ever have, do, or will work in public relations stand on Mr. Chapman's shoulders.

    

“The true honor of the Jim Chapman Award is not a plaque. The true honor is having one's name forever associated with that of the great James P. Chapman. A committee of journalists adjudged those named here worthy of this high honor.”

     

JIM CHAPMAN AWARD HONOREES:

1991 – Michael Knight

1992 – Tom Blattler

1993-94 – Deke Houlgate and Hank Ives

1995 – Kathi Lauterbach

1996 – Marc Spiegel

1997 – Mike Zizzo

1998 – Tamy Valkosky

1999 -- Carol Wilkins

2000-2003 – (Award not presented)

2004 – Doug Stokes

2005 – Susan Arnold

2006 – Kevin Kennedy

2007 – Dave Densmore and Bob Carlson

2008 – Judy Stropus

2009 –  (Award not presented)

2010 -- Jim Hunter

2011 -- Bill York

2012 -- Judy Kouba Dominick and Nancy Wager

2013 -- Anne Fornoro

2014 -- Jon Edwards and Elon Werner

2015 -- Linda Vaughn (honorary)

2015 -- David Ferroni

2016 -- T.E. McHale and Dan Layton

2017 -- Andy Hall

2018 -- Dick Jordan

2019 -- Dan Zacharias

2020 -- (Award not presented)

2021 -- Owen A. Kearns

     

Monday, December 30, 2019

2019: THE MAN OF THE YEAR IN MOTORSPORTS



The one on the left. An absolute, 100 percent, no-brainer choice for what he accomplished on-and-off the track. Congratulations, Roger Penske. @Team_Penske (Photo courtesy of Bruce Martin.)

Friday, November 08, 2019

DAN ZACHARIAS WINS 2019 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MOTORSPORTS PUBLIC RELATIONS

Dan Zacharias, for 20 years the lead trackside media relations representative for Ford at NASCAR races, Friday was announced as winner of the 2019 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.

The Chapman Award is considered by many in the industry as the highest honor in racing public relations. It is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy Car racing’s “most influential man” of the 1980s. Chapman died in 1996 at age 80.

The announcement and presentation were made at the ISM Raceway media center by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends. The award is determined by a vote of national media members, many of who knew Chapman, and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration.

 "I know Jim is smiling because of the mutual connection he and Dan share with Ford," said Knight, the award rights-holder. "That makes this most-appropriate recognition of Dan even more meaningful.

“Jim set the ultimate standard of professionalism, class and dignity. He knew that solid professional relationships with journalists was important in good times and absolutely essential in bad times.

"That’s too often missing today in a communications age where an E-mail or text message or over-reliance on social media is incorrectly considered ‘relationship-building.’ Jim was a true ‘people person’ and knew nothing could replace a handshake, a face-to-face conversation, a shared meal, or the sound of another person’s voice.

"For two decades Dan has been a trusted and reliable resource for journalists reporting on NASCAR, helpful with requests small and large. In that way, Dan has truly worked to the standard, and in the spirit, of Mr. Chapman."

Zacharias has been with the Campbell Marketing and Communications agency, representing Ford, for more than two decades. He began his duties in NASCAR in 1998 with responsibility to work with all forms of media and provide pertinent race weekend information. It's estimated Zacharias has worked with the media at some 600 race weekends.

He also has been a key team member in launching Ford's NASCAR race cars, including Taurus, Fusion and most recently, Mustang.

The Chapman Award has three major purposes: 1. To honor Chapman's unmatched legacy; 2. To recognize current PR practitioners who work to Chapman's standard and in his spirit; 3. To provide inspiration for newer and future PR representatives.

The permanent Jim Chapman Award, currently displayed in the ISM Raceway media center, is cast in bronze and features a classic photo of Jim wearing his favorite navy blue double-breasted blazer and the names of all the award recipients. The text under Jim’s photo reads:

"James P. Chapman (1916-1996). A great man who deeply cared about country and church; family and friends. A legend in the public relations industry who set the ultimate standard of professionalism and excellence. A superstar who superstars like Babe Ruth wanted at their side. A pioneer in motorsports PR who practically invented most of what is now considered routine. A true 'People Person' who knew a mutually-respectful relationship with journalists was important in good times and essential in bad times. A mentor kind enough to help others achieve success. A gentleman who understood nothing could replace the sound of the human voice, a handshake, a face-to-face meeting, a shared meal, a hand-written note of thanks. 

“All who ever have, do, or will work in public relations stand on Mr. Chapman's shoulders.

“The true honor of the Jim Chapman Award is not a plaque. The true honor is having one's name forever associated with that of the great James P. Chapman. A committee of journalists adjudged those named here worthy of this high honor.”

Established in 1991 by media and publicists within the CART series, the Chapman Award originally focused on achievement in CART. After a hiatus of several years, the award was resumed in 2004, with eligibility expanded to anyone working in racing PR.

Chapman, who was born in Macon, Georgia, started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern newspapers before joining the New York Times. He entered the PR business in 1946, as regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as ambassador for the automaker’s sponsorship of American Legion Junior Baseball. They traveled together for more than two years for personal appearances and became close friends. Chapman was at Ruth’s bedside when he died in August 1948 and then officially announced Ruth’s death to the press corps that had maintained an around-the-clock vigil at New York’s Memorial Hospital.

Chapman kept with him a money clip with a pockmarked silver dollar that Ruth used to carry during games for good luck. Chapman said Ruth had used the coin for target practice. He proudly showcased several photos of Ruth in his office.  One was inscribed: "To a pal that is a pal." Chapman also displayed a framed letter, written on Ruth's personal stationery from Memorial Hospital, dated July 13, 1948, inviting him to the July 26 premier of the film, The Babe Ruth Story. That letter read, in part, "That evening would not be complete without your being my guest.  To you, Jimmy, I say you must be with me that evening."

In 1950, Chapman left Ford to start his own PR firm. One of his first clients was Avis founder Warren Avis. Chapman devoted much of his time to financial PR, which he once called his “favorite form of PR,” and helped companies get recognition among analysts and even gain admission to the New York and American stock exchanges.

Chapman’s first venture into motorsports was in 1951, when he joined with NASCAR founder Bill France to promote the Motor City 250. The race was part of Detroit’s 250th birthday celebration, a Chapman client. In 1967, Chapman entered Indy Car racing with client Ozzie Olson’s Olsonite sponsorship of Dan Gurney’s team, which later featured Bobby Unser as driver.

“Jim was one of the most innovative and imaginative PR men ever to grace a pit lane,” said Gurney, who died last year. “Jim practically invented most of what is now considered routine sponsor PR work. He was the first, as far as I know, who thought of putting up a sponsor hospitality tent alongside a racetrack (at the old Riverside International Raceway), filling it with extravagant race car ice-sculptures, beautiful food and beautiful people from the business, sports and movie industries. He started an ‘open house’ tradition in Ozzie’s hotel suite in Indianapolis, where journalists could rub shoulders with John Wayne or (astronaut) Scott Carpenter.”

Chapman also directed Olsonite’s sponsorship of the Driver of the Year award. He orchestrated all the details, including the media panel voting, and an annual luncheon at New York City’s famed ‘21’ Club. That gathering was considered so prestigious it was routinely attended by leaders of all the major U.S. sanctioning organizations regardless of what series the Driver of the Year competed in.

Chapman’s greatest professional acclaim came from 1981-1992, as director of CART series sponsor PPG Industries’ program. Chapman was instrumental in raising PPG’s prize fund from $250,000 to more than $3.75 million at the time of his retirement in February 1993. The all-female PPG Pace Car Driving Team was another Chapman innovation, as were the PPG Editors’ Days, when he brought business and feature writers to the tracks for lunch, pace car rides, and driver interviews.

In 1982, Chapman negotiated a landmark sponsorship for PPG with then- Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joe Cloutier, which formally made the Indy 500 a points-paying event in the PPG Indy Car World Series, an arrangement that continued through the 1995 season. “That was one of the most satisfying moments of my career,” Chapman recalled. “Roger Penske, among others, told me it was the best thing that had ever happened to CART.” In addition to a major contribution to the prize fund, PPG later became sponsor of the $100,000 Indy 500 pole award, and paid a special winner’s bonus in the early years of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400.

In its obituary, the New York Times wrote that Chapman "served as a father confessor to many top racing drivers." Two-time Indy 500 winner and PPG Cup champion Al Unser Jr. said on behalf of his fellow drivers, "With Jim, when he says ‘jump,’ we just ask ‘how high? And we do it right then.”

Indy Car Racing magazine named Chapman the sport’s “most influential” man of the 1980s, saying he turned “a public relations assignment into an art form.” After his retirement, Chapman continued to consult PPG, and agreed to Mario Andretti’s personal request that he serve as honorary chairman of Andretti’s “Arrivederci, Mario” farewell tour in 1994.

Chapman's professional achievements earned him vast recognition.  The mayors of Detroit and Long Beach, Calif., presented him proclamations and the key to each city.  In 1993, Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh named him Sagamore of the Wabash, the state's highest honor. He served as president and/or director of more than 30 Michigan and Detroit-area civic and charitable organizations.  Chapman became active in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and represented the Detroit Urban League and United Negro College Fund in several controversial situations.  He admitted to shedding "buckets of tears of joy" when Willy T. Ribbs became the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1991.

JIM CHAPMAN AWARD HONOREES:
1991 – Michael Knight
1992 – Tom Blattler
1993-94 – Deke Houlgate and Hank Ives
1995 – Kathi Lauterbach
1996 – Marc Spiegel
1997 – Mike Zizzo
1998 – Tamy Valkosky
1999 -- Carol Wilkins
2000-2003 – (Award not presented)
2004 – Doug Stokes
2005 – Susan Arnold
2006 – Kevin Kennedy
2007 – Dave Densmore and Bob Carlson
2008 – Judy Stropus
2009 –  (Award not presented)
2010 -- Jim Hunter
2011 -- Bill York
2012 -- Judy Kouba Dominick and Nancy Wager
2013 -- Anne Fornoro
2014 -- Jon Edwards and Elon Werner
2015 -- Linda Vaughn (honorary)
2015 -- David Ferroni
2016 -- T.E. McHale and Dan Layton
2017 -- Andy Hall
2018 -- Dick Jordan
2019 -- Dan Zacharias


Sunday, November 18, 2018

2018

A HUMBLING MOMENT: Receiving the Angelo Angelopolous Award, which dates to the early 1960s and is presented for sportsmanship at the Indianapolis 500, at my 40th I-500, May 2018. (Dan R. Boyd photo.)


A few months ago, Jack Arute referred to me on SiriusXM NASCAR radio as "the Godfather of motorsports PR."

Yes, it made me feel a little old. But there's an honor here, and I appreciate it.

Personal circumstances require me to write this annual year-in-review earlier than normal. Personal circumstances allowed me to write only occasionally this year, something I regret most sincerely. Writing this, another adventure awaits, only two days away. So, full disclosure, the honest truth is it's highly likely I will be able to write just occasionally again in 2019. As has been the case for more than a decade, I write not just to write and fill-up a spec of space on the Internet. I write when I feel I have something more-than-important to say. Something that it's worth the use of your valuable time to read. That will continue to guide me and what is or isn't posted here.

That said, I cannot allow 2018 to end without pointing out a terrible issue that continues to take hold within the motorsports industry. To be more than candid, it sickens me.

What will I remember most, business-wise, from this calendar year?

The full-fledged arrival of Fake PR.

You've heard a lot about Fake News in the last two years. No matter which side you are on in our deep and troubling and only-getting-worse-and-someday-will-explode Great Political Divide, the Truth is Fake News is real and comes from both the Left and the Right. The Left's is more well-practiced, more reactionary, more personally destructive, more ridiculous.

"CNN. The Most Trusted Name in News."

Yeah, right, we believe that when every anchor on the network begins a broadcast with anti-POTUS "news" with some, like Erin Burnett and dumb-as-they-come Don Lemon, visually dripping with hate. So CNN's slogan goes right to the top of Fake PR.

I see it in the racing world at nearly every turn. Before I go there, let me say the most enjoyable time I spent at a racetrack in 2018 was at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Ace PRer Andrew Booth was there for me throughout my stay and could not have been nicer, more helpful, or more professional. Ditto Nate Siebens of IMSA. I was glad to be there to witness Roger Penske's return to Big Time Sports Car racing, Christian Fittipaldi win one more time, and Scott Pruett bid farewell. Rolex smartly hosted a very nice media reception, otherwise known as a relationship builder. The race I enjoyed the most this year was the USAC Silver Crown 100 at Lucas Oil Raceway the Friday night before the Indianapolis 500. There was action all race long, especially in the middle part of the top 10, and the most enjoyable part was actually being able to see the drivers drive. It was elbows-up with the man behind the wheel making the difference. Great, wonderful stuff. What a pleasure to watch with USAC's Dick Jordan (who won the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports PR earlier that day) and Speed Sport's Ralph Sheheen. 

But all that week, earlier that day, and the next day and then Race Day, to spend hours in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway media center and, with only one exception, have no one from the Speedway communications team do any communicating, staying mostly in their glass office and restricted area, well, that is Fake PR.

When I've gone to NASCAR and IndyCar events and the fingers on one hand are enough to count the team and sponsor media reps who actually visit the media center, walk around and talk to people, meet and exchange contact information with new journalists on the scene, that is Fake PR.

When drivers come into the media room with only one thing in mind, to drive their own racing political agenda with two word or two sentence answers to routine questions, that's rude. It's also Fake PR. The people being paid to work with, and guide, these drivers who then just stand-off to the side and let them behave badly, including insulting reporters, that is absolutely Fake PR. When a media relations person says they will do something, such as checking a fact or confirming an obscure detail mined from an interview, and then they don't do what they promised to do, that is Fake PR. (And worse.)

And so it goes.

There is no question whatsoever as to the most damning and damaging episode of Fake PR I encountered in 2018. It will have consequences into 2019, at least . . .

At my local NHRA national event, at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, I had a conversation with the PRer for Don Schumacher Racing, the usually dominant team in drag racing, and one of racing's best and most successful organizations. Said person had been around for a short while but was in her first season with Shoe Racing. She had removed me from her news release distribution list (how does that benefit the team's sponsors?) in retaliation for some criticisms I had made in my old drag racing column or on social media.

This was her suggestion: In return for placing me back on the press release list, she wanted me to promise to refrain from any future criticism.

Let me spell this right out, Big, Bold and Plain: A paid publicist for one of the sport's most prominent teams -- Allison McCormick -- was asking a journalist to give up his Constitutional First Amendment rights. Later, when I recounted this experience to the NHRA on-site rep, she, Jenn Goethel defended McCormick.

Dear reader, I'm not smart enough to make up such a bizarre occurrence. This is what we have come to: A PR rep trying to negotiate away a journalist's Constitutional First Amendment freedom. And, seemingly, be oblivious to it. And the sanction's person-on-the-scene speaking in defense of that obscenity of a suggestion.

The series' took a hit. The team's image took a big hit. The team's paying sponsors were ill-served. The PRers involved were exposed as unprofessional to a stunning degree, making one wonder how employers justify continuing to provide employment. Oh, they aren't paying attention ... ???

Indeed: 2018 was the Year of Fake PR. Everyone in the motorsports industry lost because of it. As best I am able to see, more lies ahead.

[ Follow Michael Knight on Twitter: @SpinDoctor500
In



Friday, September 14, 2018

10 YEARS LATER: REMEMBERING THE END OF RACING's SPONSORSHIP BOOM

By MICHAEL KNIGHT

Monday, Sept. 15, 2008 was a bad day for motorsports.

A very bad day.

That’s when the cash well that fuels drag – and all other types of racing -- officially went dry. At least for the foreseeable future.

The fundamental underpinnings of Wall Street were so shaken by the collapse of Lehmen Bros., bailout of AIG and overall lack of confidence in the system, well, you’d have thought 1,000 dragsters had zoomed past the New York Stock Exchange.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett called it an “economic Pearl Harbor.”  

Others said it was the financial world’s Sept. 11.

In a number symbolically significant to every racer, the New York Post reported that, in the aftermath, the market was “500 trades away from Armageddon.”
So here’s the new reality: Brian France, Tony George and Tom Compton are no longer the most important men in racing. Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke are.

The Treasury secretary and Federal Reserve chairman have been injecting more money into the markets than nitro into Tony Schumacher’s engine in an attempt to keep the economic wheels turning. While the health of the speed industry is far from their highest priority, the success – or failure – of Paulson’s and Bernanke’s efforts will determine whether throttles stay flat, or flat-line.
Team owners – whose own net worths likely have plunged like cliff divers in Acapulco -- have discovered just hanging on to existing sponsors is tougher than beating Schumacher for the Powerade championship. Kenny Bernstein will toast his 30th consecutive season with Budweiser in 2009, but I understand the actual scope of that great promotional opportunity is on hold, pending a budget review as InBev takes over Anheuser-Busch.

As for signing new sponsors? To quote Al Michaels: Do you believe in miracles?

“The economy stinks,” five-time Top Fuel champion and businessman Joe Amato said recently. “People are cutting back all around. I don’t care if you have a good story or not, it’s hard to get people to throw millions of dollars at sponsorship . . . I know people who have parked (their race cars) because they can’t afford the gas and the hotel bills. Forget what it costs to run the car.”
While we’ve been down this road before, Gary Scelzi said of his decision to stop after Pomona: “With the economy in the state that it is, business being off in these tough times . . . I feel it is in my best interest . . . to go back to work at Scelzi Enterprises.”

The economic downturn comes as competitors continue to struggle with issues ranging from safety to the price of nitro. Plus, those accustomed to winning Wallys in Top Fuel and Funny Car will have to spend against Alan Johnson and His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani’s Qatar petro-dollars.

Al-Anabi Racing could do to NHRA what Toyota did in NASCAR. Overnight, it became more expensive for everyone else to compete.

Now, there’s even greater pressure on NHRA and the agencies it hired earlier this year to sell sponsorships and generate national media attention. More than before, they need to produce additional revenues for the teams, and make the series increasingly valuable to corporate customers.

And Full Throttle, which takes over from Powerade, better live up to its promise to more aggressively activate its title role and promote drag racing with, well, energy. 

Follow Michael Knight on Twitter: @SpinDoctor500

(as published on DragRacingOnline.com, October 2008.)