Sun, 02 Nov 2014, 14:15 PM John Force Racing's Elon Werner Wins 2014 Jim Chapman Award =

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LAS VEGAS -- for Excellence in Motorsports PR Excellence in Motorsports PR

Michael Knight, Elon Werner and = John force

Elon Werner, who directs the publicity and communications for drag = racing's biggest star John Force and Force's championship team, today = was announced as winner of the 2014 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 Strip at Las Vegas = Motor Speedway before Sunday's NHRA national event 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, = most of who knew Chapman, and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR = representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for = consideration.

Werner not only works directly with the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion, = but also Force's rising-star driver daughters. Ashley Force Hood twice = won the U.S. Nationals before stepping aside to start a family. Courtney = Force has won eight Funny Car races while Brittany Force was last year's = top NHRA rookie in the Top Fuel class. Robert Hight, Force's son-in-law, = was the 2009 Funny Car titlist.=20

"Elon's work in developing successful relationships with the media is = reminiscent of Jim Chapman and so this honor is most appropriate," said = Knight, the longtime journalist/publicist and award rights-holder.

"Jim set the ultimate standard of professionalism, class and dignity. He = knew that building good one-on-one 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, or = the sound of another person's voice.

"John Force has been NHRA's greatest cheerleader for decades, working = to create new fans and new customers for his sponsors. Elon has done = more than coordinate the numerous interview requests for John. Just as = importantly, he's provided wise guidance to Ashley, Courtney, Brittany = and Robert, as they have followed John's example. Elon's outreach to = motorsports-oriented reporters, and well as to those in the mainstream = media, has helped produce a vast amount of news coverage for the sport, = Force and his team, and their corporate partners." =20

Werner worked for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks before joining the Texas = Motorplex as PR manager in 1993. He eventually became that track's = general manager. After positions with several Dallas-based sports = agencies and coordinating media for a number of motorsports clients, he = became John Force Racing's PR director in 2007.=20

Significant national media placements have included Courtney Force's = ESPN The Magazine cover, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS Sunday = Morning, National Public Radio and virtually every major motorsports = publication. Werner also has built JFR's social media presence.

With longtime Force publicist Dave Densmore the 2007 Chapman Award = winner, this is the first time that the honor has been earned by two = people from the same racing organization.=20

Knight also announced that, as has happened before, the selection = committee has chosen two equally-deserving Chapman Award recipients this = year. Announcement and presentation of that person will be made next = weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

=20 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.

=20 Chapman started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern = newspapers before joining the New York Times. He served in the U.S. Air = Force during World War II. He entered the PR business in 1946, as = regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as consultant to 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 one of only three friends 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 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. "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.

"With Jim, when he says 'jump,' we just ask 'how high?," Indy 500 winner = and PPG Cup champion Al Unser Jr. said on behalf of his fellow drivers. = "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 true honor of this award is not the plaque," Knight concluded. "The = true honor is having your name forever associated with that of the great = James P. Chapman."

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 -- Elon Werner and TBA.