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FYI
03-18-2001

NORAM BUYS RATECH

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – North American Clutch Corporation (NORAM) has purchased the racing go-kart clutch product line from Ratech. Noram is the original manufacturer of the Ratech line and is a leading manufacturer of centrifugal clutches for the outdoor power equipment market. Purchasing Ratech gives NORAM global market coverage in the racing kart market. NORAM President Jeff Hargarten said, “ It feels good to bring this product line back home where it all began. We look forward to re-establishing old relationships with customers who were very loyal to the Ratech/NORAM line of racing clutches.”

NORAM has also announced that as of February 1, 2001, that they have reached an agreement with Target Distributing, South Bend, Indiana, making them the exclusive warehouse distributor for the full line of NORAM/Ratech racing clutches for the United States and Canada.

NORAM can be reached at 414-352-9727. For more information on NORAM Clutches call Target Distributing at 219-272-0252 or e-mail: norm@targetdistributing.net.

ENDURO PROMOTERS MEET

Concord, North Carolina – Robby Harper, Johnny Jocumin, Gary Schenkel, Art McKenney, Van Gilder, promoters of some of the enduro racing series in the USA, met March 10 with World Karting Association’s (WKA) Randy Kugler and Tony Barton.

The main emphasis of the meeting was to discuss forming a WKA advisory team to follow the Dunlop Tire Road Race series and to assist and advise each of the tracks and clubs. This type of assistance should help to add more uniformity to the program, including that of promotion.

The participants generally agreed that the meeting was very productive and have made plans for meeting at various future events. According to Kugler, The goal of WKA is to bring the road racing program to a level the karters deserve.”

SARA SENSKE – DRIVEN!

Rosamond, California – Lynx Racing driver Sara Senske, one of the hottest young drivers in auto racing today, is a woman driven to extremes… especially this week. She, along with a small army of movie and TV stars and famous athletes, just spent four days at the Willow Springs Raceway in the Southern California desert going through the training program required for her to drive in the “Pro” division of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 7th.

Then, on Tuesday, she started testing at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida for the first race of her second season as a full-time driver in the Barber Dodge Pro Series on Saturday, March 17. The BDPS is a training series for open-wheel drivers, a major rung on the ladder Senske is climbing on her way to realizing he ambition of driving in the CART Fed Ex series and racing in the Indy 500.

Sara Senske, 21, of Kennewick, Washington, is now in here fifth year as a Lynx Racing driver. First signed in 1997, she competed in the final six Star Formula Mazda Series races, and won the pole for her first-ever oval track race, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 1998, Senske ran the full Star Mazda season, scoring four top-% and six top-10 finishes. In 1999, in a total of 20 races, she finished every lap in both the Mazda series as well as the Inaugural Women’s Global GT series, winning once and on the podium three times. In 2000, Senske ran the full schedule of the Barber Dodge Pro Series and will compete again in the series this year as well.

Sarah first started racing karts at age seven, won her first race at age eight and won her first karting championship at age 9. Her hobbies include ice skating, rollerblading, skiing, hiking, writing poetry and music. She lists “juggling” among her skills and enjoys “I Love Lucy” on TV. If she couldn’t be a racing driver, Senske say’s she’d like to be on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team.

Senske, like her teammate David Rutledge, has moved near the Lynx headquarters in Sonoma, California to increase her rapport with the team by spending several days each week at the shop. In the mornings, she trains at the local gym and several afternoons a week goes to one of the kart tracks in the area and spends several hours driving an 80cc shifter kart specially equipped and tuned to simulate the driving experience of her Barber Dodge Pro Series car.

2001 marks the 11th anniversary of Lynx Racing owned by Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty. The Lynx mission is to seek out young drivers with the desire and potential to become champions at the highest levels of the sport and provide them with the funding, equipment and training to take the last step toward realizing that potential, a process the team calls “Destiny by Design”. Lynx alumni include CART Fed Ex drivers Patrick Carpentier, Alex Barron and Memo Gidley.

“FLAGTAGS” NOW AVAILABLE

Mundelein, Illinois – Flatout Decals, a division of Flatout Group is please to announce their new lineup of FlagTags for the 2001 racing season.

The five new designs incorporate the passion of open wheel motorsports. The lineup includes “Magnum, “Champ”, “Patriot”, “Uncle Sam”, “Faded Glory”, and all are available immediately from Flatout Decals. Also available are “Nations of the World” FlagTags.

The series is sized perfectly for kart sidepods and affordably priced at 6 for $20.95 or 12 for $36.95. Team names can also be added underneath the driver’s names.

Dealers may also contact Flatout Decals, toll-free (USA/Canada) at 877-837-9200 or on the web at www.flatoutdecals.com.

RECENT STAFF ADDITIONS/PROMOTIONS @ IAAPA

Alexandria, Virginia – The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) has recently welcomed two additional to its staff and also promoted two current employees to new positions.

In the area of communications, Terrie Ward has been named to fill the newly-created post of Vice President, Communication Services, joining Susie Storey and Joel Cliff in that department. Ward brings considerable industry experience to IAAPA, having served for over eight years on the public relations staff at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. She most recently worked for Air New Zealand as its Americas Region PR Director. Ward received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Georgia State University and serves on the Travel and Tourism Board of the National Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

In her new position, Ward will have responsibility for all communication activities of the association, including public affairs, media relations and management issues, as well as the oversight of certain publications and the IAAPA website.

In the Convention and Exhibitions department, David Lee has been promoted to Vice President, Exhibition, Convention and Meeting Services, following several successful years as IAAPA’s Manager of Convention and Exhibiting Operations. Prior to joining the association in 1998, Lee spent 14 years as Deputy Director of Exposition Management for the VNU Exposition Group, overseeing four to six national and international shows annually. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and is a member of the International Association of Exposition Managers (IAME).

As Vice President of the department, Lee is responsible for all aspects of IAAPA’s annual convention and trade show planning and execution, and for all operational logistics of association conventions and meetings.

Also in Conventions, Beth Baumgardner has been officially named as Exhibit Sales and Services Coordinator, after filling that same position in a temporary capacity during the association’s 2000 trade show. Prior to her joining IAAPA in March last year, Baumgardner worked for 13 years at Seabury & Smith, a third-party insurance firm. Her duties include assisting in the sale and contracting of booth space for the association’s annual trade show, as well as supervising the completion and return of all forms required of trade show exhibitors.

Finally, Jennifer Mapp has recently been hired as an Editorial Assistant in the Publications Services department. Mapp graduated in May 2000 from George Mason University with a B.A. in English. Before coming to IAAPA, She worked for TAC Engineering Resources and for the 2000 presidential campaign of Steve Forbes. Mapp will assist with all editing and production aspects of the association’s monthly magazine “FUNWORLD”, as well as perform various advertising and organizational tasks within the department.

END

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