BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 7, 2017) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLLR) announced today that respected sports business executive Tom Knox has joined the team as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Most recently Knox was Senior Vice President of Business Development for leading motorsports agency CSM Sport & Entertainment. CSM was previously known as Just Marketing International (JMI).
“For us this is a major move to create a successful in-house sales and marketing program.” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with former Late Show host David Letterman and businessman Mike Lanigan. “Tom’s involvement with motorsports, from the highest levels on the sales and marketing side, is well known and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team. There is no doubt in my mind that going forward our ability to attract more and more companies to our racing programs will be enhanced.”
At JMI, Knox focused on growth in the world’s preeminent motorsports arenas including F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, NHRA, and MotoGP. In addition, he consulted on strategic business development approaches for clients as well as consulted on a variety of programs. Tom also helped shape the company’s strategic business development initiatives.
“I am excited to be joining a championship caliber team in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” added Tom Knox. “Bobby, David and Michael are proven winners who are committed to winning both on and off the track. I look forward to building successful programs for the existing and future partners at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.”
About Tom Knox
Prior to joining JMI in April 2016, Knox spent eight years at WME-IMG as Vice President, Business Development where he developed new client and partner relationships for IMG’s North American premier portfolio of assets. This portfolio included the world’s leading clients and events in golf, tennis, college sports, motorsports, fashion, and entertainment, along with consulting, licensing, and the IMG Academy. Before WME-IMG, Tom accumulated over 10 years of experience in the sports marketing world through various roles in the NASCAR industry. He worked with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), where he helped form marketing partnerships with Royal Dutch Shell, IHG’s Holiday Inn, AutoZone, U.S. Coast Guard, General Mills, and Emerson Climate Technologies. Before RCR, Tom was Vice President of Marketing for Rusty Wallace, Inc. (RWI), the NASCAR racing and marketing team operated by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and television commentator, Rusty Wallace. At RWI, Tom secured multi-million dollar corporate partnerships with brands including Callaway Golf, Duraflame, Nikon Sport Optics, and Amtrak.
About Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and Brownsburg, Ind., is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. The team is competing in their 26th year of open wheel competition and has amassed 25 wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice — 30 poles, 93 podium finishes and the 1992 series championship. The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 – Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. In 2014, BMW Team RLL moved to the GTLM class of the United SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and earned six podium finishes including four second-place finishes. In 2015, the team earned three wins, two poles and a total of eight podiums to finish second in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships and in 2016, BMW Team RLL added two poles and three podiums with their BMW M6 GTLM entries. To date in 2017, BMW Team RLL has earned a program total of 13 wins, 23 poles and 62 podium finishes.
– RLLR –