NASCAR announced today the promotion of three members of its Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) department along with the addition of three new members, continuing NASCAR’s long-term strategic plan to strengthen its Communications function within the organization.
The IMC team members receiving promotions are Scott Warfield to director of NASCAR Media Group/entertainment marketing communications, Amanda Ellis to senior manager of NASCAR competition communications, and Jason Christley to senior manager of NASCAR competition communications, developmental series. New personnel added to IMC are Kurt Culbert, director of stakeholder communications, Zack Albert, manager of sport services and Matt Ciesluk, director of strategic media projects.
“We’re thrilled to promote a trio of our team members who excelled in 2011 when a new Integrated Marketing Communications model was introduced to NASCAR,” said Brett Jewkes, chief communications officer. “At the same time, the addition of Kurt, Zack and Matt demonstrates NASCAR’s on-going commitment to build the communications group as part of our long-term plan to be more proactive in how we tell the story of our sport.”
In his expanded role, Warfield will lead strategic communications efforts in support of three significant business arms of NASCAR: NASCAR Media Group, NASCAR Entertainment Marketing and NASCAR Broadcasting. Warfield previously served as director of marketing, media and public relations for Motorsports Authentics and was the lead staff writer for motorsports and Major League Soccer for the Sports Business Journal.
Ellis oversees communications efforts for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and, in her enhanced role, will assume additional responsibilities across all NASCAR series. Before joining NASCAR, she worked in the industry for Turner Motorsports, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Hamilton Racing. In her second season with Bobby Hamilton Racing, Ellis was named the 2007 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Public Relations Representative of the Year.
Christley is charged with implementing strategic communications across NASCAR’s Touring and Weekly Series, which develop many of NASCAR’s young, up-and-coming drivers across North America including Canada and Mexico. He also oversees the management of the series’ website, NASCARHomeTracks.com, and its social media platforms. Prior to NASCAR, Christley worked for 14 years as an editor and sports writer at The Day of New London (Conn.) newspaper.
Culbert brings more than a dozen years of NASCAR expertise to the position, having worked with NASCAR personnel and stakeholders throughout his previous roles including most recently with Taylor. Previously, as manager of marketing communications for three years with the Sprint Corporation, Culbert initiated and managed the company’s relationships with NASCAR industry stakeholders and oversaw all contractual assets with teams and drivers. In addition, he worked closely with the sanctioning body to plan and execute a fully-integrated marketing and public relations campaign in support of Sprint’s multi-million dollar NASCAR series entitlement sponsorship. Culbert also worked closely with the NASCAR industry in previous roles with Carter Ryley Thomas (now CRT/Tanaka), Keystone Marketing and The Lynchburg News and Advance.
Albert joined NASCAR after 11 years as a reporter, editor and online producer for USA Today. A native North Carolinian with deep roots in the sport, Zack brings more than 20 years of experience covering auto racing in print and online media. He will assist in maintaining NASCAR’s media website by producing news releases and multimedia, and will be a key contributor to NASCAR’s social and digital media outreach.
Throughout his career as a professional in the public relations field, Ciesluk (Chess-luck) has worked closely with NASCAR, its media members and its partners. He comes to NASCAR from Catalyst Public Relations where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Charlotte office and led the PR operations for several Fortune 500 companies. In addition, Ciesluk managed and executed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series consumer marketing communications programs for several key sponsors and also has worked on media relations activations with dozens of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks, drivers and racing teams.
NASCAR PR
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