[coverattach=1]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (November 21, 2008) -- NHRA Funny Car owner/driver Tim Wilkerson announced the addition of three experienced staff members to his Levi, Ray & Shoup-sponsored Funny Car organization, after the recent conclusion of the 2008 NHRA season. The '08 campaign saw Wilkerson finish a career-best 2nd in points on the strength of six race wins and a 42-18 round record, while it also marked career highs for Wilkerson in terms of final points position, races won, and rounds won.
Making the announcement from the team's Springfield, Ill. headquarters, Wilkerson named Bob Wilber as the organization's new Team Manager, David Jacobsen as Team Wilkerson's new Marketing Director, and Annette Schendel as the team's new Hospitality Coordinator.
Wilber comes to Team Wilkerson after having spent the last 12 years as Team Manager for Del Worsham and his NHRA Funny Car organization; a program which came to a conclusion after the 2008 season when primary sponsor CSK Auto was acquired by another auto parts company. Prior to taking on his role with Worsham in 1997, Wilber spent 13 years in international sports marketing, working with a variety of USA Olympic teams, Converse Shoes, and other global marketing clients, including IBM, Chrysler, and Black & Decker. He also served as Vice President or General Manager for three different professional indoor soccer franchises, and spent six years in professional baseball as a player, coach, and scout. Wilber will handle Team Wilkerson's public relations, media relations, and sponsor relations, while he also assists with organizational management and personal representation for Wilkerson, who owns, tunes, and drives the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car.
Jacobsen also comes from Worsham Racing, where he spent 2008 as that team's lead sponsorship development and marketing representative, creating sponsorship sales materials and establishing significant relationships within the corporate arena. Jacobsen has spent more than 20 years in international sales, marketing, and product development, and prior to entering the drag racing arena was most recently the President and CEO of Global Optical Resources, an importer and wholesaler of high-quality eyeglasses. He will shift to Team Wilkerson in the same role he provided for Worsham, charged with developing new associate sponsor revenue streams, while he will also spearhead an initiative to land a major marketing partnership for aspiring Funny Car driver Daniel Wilkerson, the 20-year-old son of the team owner.
Schendel has spent the last nine years coordinating in-pit hospitality functions for Don Schumacher Racing, one of the NHRA's most successful and high-profile professional programs. Schendel and her husband Rich (a crew member on the Wilkerson team) also own Quality Repair Service, a machine shop in Janesville, Minn. which produces specialty tools for drag racing teams. With Team Wilkerson, Schendel will oversee the coordination and implementation of the team's corporate hospitality and catering program, which is utilized extensively by LRS within the team's working pit area, at nearly all of the 24 NHRA races on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour.
"We had the best, most exciting, and in the end most disappointing year in our team's history, coming so close to winning the NHRA Funny Car championship only to lose it on the last day," Wilkerson said. "As we came to the end of this season, it was obvious to me that we could maintain what we were doing and simply hope to have some more good things happen for us, or we could push hard and try to keep the momentum rolling and keep this team growing for Dick Levi and all the great people at Levi, Ray & Shoup. One of the first things we did, of course, was to form an alliance with Bob Tasca and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Funny Car team for the future, where we'll share data and tuning ideas with the talented bunch of guys he has, while we also make the move over to Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car bodies.
"The next line of attack was the structure of our organization, and when the Worsham team lost its sponsor and announced they'd be ending the program, a couple of smart guys basically became free agents. It didn't take long to work out a deal with Bob Wilber and Dave Jacobsen, and we're thrilled to have them come aboard with all of their experience, expertise, and energy. The final piece of the puzzle was to bring Annette Schendel into the group, with all of her experience over at Don Schumacher's program, where they do corporate hospitality as well as anyone in the game. We're lucky to have all three, and we're all really looking forward to 2009 and beyond, where we believe we can take this LRS program to higher levels, on and off the track."
Wilber and Jacobsen will work from their marketing/communications offices in Woodbury, Minn. between races, while Schendel will also travel to meet the team at each NHRA event.
Team Wilkerson's sponsor, Levi, Ray & Shoup, is a global provider of innovative information technology solutions. LRS is headquartered in Springfield, Ill. with offices throughout the United States and around the globe.
Making the announcement from the team's Springfield, Ill. headquarters, Wilkerson named Bob Wilber as the organization's new Team Manager, David Jacobsen as Team Wilkerson's new Marketing Director, and Annette Schendel as the team's new Hospitality Coordinator.
Wilber comes to Team Wilkerson after having spent the last 12 years as Team Manager for Del Worsham and his NHRA Funny Car organization; a program which came to a conclusion after the 2008 season when primary sponsor CSK Auto was acquired by another auto parts company. Prior to taking on his role with Worsham in 1997, Wilber spent 13 years in international sports marketing, working with a variety of USA Olympic teams, Converse Shoes, and other global marketing clients, including IBM, Chrysler, and Black & Decker. He also served as Vice President or General Manager for three different professional indoor soccer franchises, and spent six years in professional baseball as a player, coach, and scout. Wilber will handle Team Wilkerson's public relations, media relations, and sponsor relations, while he also assists with organizational management and personal representation for Wilkerson, who owns, tunes, and drives the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car.
Jacobsen also comes from Worsham Racing, where he spent 2008 as that team's lead sponsorship development and marketing representative, creating sponsorship sales materials and establishing significant relationships within the corporate arena. Jacobsen has spent more than 20 years in international sales, marketing, and product development, and prior to entering the drag racing arena was most recently the President and CEO of Global Optical Resources, an importer and wholesaler of high-quality eyeglasses. He will shift to Team Wilkerson in the same role he provided for Worsham, charged with developing new associate sponsor revenue streams, while he will also spearhead an initiative to land a major marketing partnership for aspiring Funny Car driver Daniel Wilkerson, the 20-year-old son of the team owner.
Schendel has spent the last nine years coordinating in-pit hospitality functions for Don Schumacher Racing, one of the NHRA's most successful and high-profile professional programs. Schendel and her husband Rich (a crew member on the Wilkerson team) also own Quality Repair Service, a machine shop in Janesville, Minn. which produces specialty tools for drag racing teams. With Team Wilkerson, Schendel will oversee the coordination and implementation of the team's corporate hospitality and catering program, which is utilized extensively by LRS within the team's working pit area, at nearly all of the 24 NHRA races on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour.
"We had the best, most exciting, and in the end most disappointing year in our team's history, coming so close to winning the NHRA Funny Car championship only to lose it on the last day," Wilkerson said. "As we came to the end of this season, it was obvious to me that we could maintain what we were doing and simply hope to have some more good things happen for us, or we could push hard and try to keep the momentum rolling and keep this team growing for Dick Levi and all the great people at Levi, Ray & Shoup. One of the first things we did, of course, was to form an alliance with Bob Tasca and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Funny Car team for the future, where we'll share data and tuning ideas with the talented bunch of guys he has, while we also make the move over to Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car bodies.
"The next line of attack was the structure of our organization, and when the Worsham team lost its sponsor and announced they'd be ending the program, a couple of smart guys basically became free agents. It didn't take long to work out a deal with Bob Wilber and Dave Jacobsen, and we're thrilled to have them come aboard with all of their experience, expertise, and energy. The final piece of the puzzle was to bring Annette Schendel into the group, with all of her experience over at Don Schumacher's program, where they do corporate hospitality as well as anyone in the game. We're lucky to have all three, and we're all really looking forward to 2009 and beyond, where we believe we can take this LRS program to higher levels, on and off the track."
Wilber and Jacobsen will work from their marketing/communications offices in Woodbury, Minn. between races, while Schendel will also travel to meet the team at each NHRA event.
Team Wilkerson's sponsor, Levi, Ray & Shoup, is a global provider of innovative information technology solutions. LRS is headquartered in Springfield, Ill. with offices throughout the United States and around the globe.
