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Grand-Am
Adds Chief Operating Officer,
Vice President To Staff Entering 2008 Season
 DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20,
2007) – Following tremendous expansion since
the inception of the Daytona Prototype formula to the Grand-Am Rolex
Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 only five years
ago, Grand-Am President Roger Edmondson announced today the addition of
a pair of motorsports industry veterans which will help the series
maintain continued growth.
Among the
additions made to the Grand-Am staff, Tom Bledsoe has been named Chief
Operating Officer of Grand-Am, while Kevin Hindson will become Vice
President of Marketing and Communications. Each brings a wealth of
experience to Grand-Am including years of motorsports expertise at
NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation, respectively.
As the Chief
Operating Officer, Bledsoe will oversee the day-to-day operations of
Grand-Am. Bledsoe has been a integral part of NASCAR for the past 17
years which saw the series grow to the number one motorsports
sanctioning body in the country. The veteran executive’s
knowledge and experience will be instrumental in generating similar
additional growth and expansion to Grand-Am. Bledsoe previously served
as Treasurer of NASCAR and was Vice President of Finance for Grand-Am.
Hindson will
join the Grand-Am staff on a fulltime basis in January as Vice
President of Marketing and Communications. He will oversee the
marketing, sales and public relations efforts of Grand-Am. Prior to
joining Grand-Am, Hindson served as Senior Director of Interactive
Marketing for ISC’s Consumer Marketing department and
previously founded and served as President of RacingOne.com, an online
news source for motorsports that was acquired by ISC.
“To
be able to place Tom Bledsoe and Kevin Hindson in these key positions
signifies not only how far Grand-Am has come in just eight years, but
the growth that we are targeting for the future,” Edmondson
said. “Tom and Kevin will provide resources, ideas and
leadership with an eye toward our current and future goals in the
motorsports world.”
Grand-Am
also plans to add additional staff resources in the near future.
“The
addition of these two positions and the top notch professionals who
will oversee each area are just the beginning of an exciting and
aggressive plan to expand our sport,” Edmondson continued.
“We expect to name several additions on our competition side
very shortly, including a Vice President of Competition and two
additional managers. These new roles will enhance our position as the
leader in American sports car road racing, while helping us reach our
goals to raise the public awareness and acceptance of our
sport.”
The staff
additions are the latest to come during a period of growth for the
Rolex Sports Car Series and KONI Challenge Series. In 2008,
international motorsports constructors Dallara and Lola join the series
to challenge the established and domestic Daytona Prototype chassis
constructors over the season’s 14 races.
The Grand-Am
Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 returns to
the track for January Test Days Jan. 4-6 at Daytona International
Speedway. Test Days is the official test session for the opening event
on the international motorsports calendar, the Rolex 24 At Daytona Jan.
26-27.
The Grand
American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16
and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing
organization in North America. The 15-race 2008 Rolex Series and the
11-race KONI Challenge Series calendars deliver professional sports car
racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being
televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed
globally through ESPN International. Learn more about Grand-Am at www.grand-am.com.
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