Bios
Paul Pfanner, CEO
Paul Pfanner has worked in media and marketing for more than three decades. He was the founder of Southern California-based Pfanner Communications, Inc. and Racer Communications Inc., which are best known for publishing RACER, Sports Car and IndyCar Series magazines as well as providing automotive and motorsports content for SpeedTV.com. In January 2001, Paul sold the majority of Racer Communications to U.K. based Haymarket Publishing which produces nearly 100 magazines worldwide including the UK weeklies Autosport and Autocar, along with monthly titles such as F1 Racing, Classic and Sports Car, What Car? and Stuff. From the time of the sale until the end of 2005, Paul served as President of the renamed company; now know as Haymarket Worldwide, Inc.
In January 2006, Paul reestablished Pfanner Communications, Inc. as a marketing and brand consulting company. Paul's clients have included American Honda, American Le Mans Series, Bridgestone/Firestone, ESPN, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, International Jet Ski Boating Association, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, International Speedway Corporation, Jaguar, Saleen Autosport, SCCA Pro Racing, Sports Car Club of America, Swift Race Cars, Toyota Motor Sales, No Fear, Penske Motorsports and Porsche Cars of North America.
In April of 2008, Paul and his long time collaborator Bill Sparks announced the formation of a new company called Motr, Inc. to launch OnCars.com and OnCars Studios in partnership with digital media entrepreneur Jay Penske.
Bill Sparks, COO
Bill Sparks has spent the last twenty-five years working in motorsports marketing and consumer and custom publishing. He first worked in an editorial capacity for Pfanner Communications' automotive and motorsports clients and later ran the business side of the operation for many years. He was responsible for the business plan and launch of RACER magazine, becoming its founding publisher.
After working non-stop for fifteen years in many capacities related to Pfanner companies and publishing products, Bill took a sabbatical following the sale of Racer Communications to Haymarket Publishing Ltd. before again joining Paul Pfanner on the team that now makes up Pfanner Communications, Inc. Sparks is responsible for managing Pfanner Communications' creative and production team and is directly involved with developing successful branding and marketing strategies for its clients. He now also manages the business affairs for Motr Inc.
Rick Graves, Creative Director
As one of the advertising world's leading automobile photographers, with clients that include Jaguar, Porsche, Cadillac, Mercedes, Infiniti, Acura, Honda, Toyota and Goodyear, Rick Graves is an authority in capturing the essence of high-energy action photography.
Graves graduated from the prestigious Art Center College of Design at the top of his class in 1984. With a passion for racing and all things mechanical, Graves began creating his unique, distinctive style and built an impressive portfolio while working for editorial clients like Motor Trend, Road and Track, Racer, and Sports Car International.
As a natural progression, Rick Graves has turned his passion for action photography to film and video. Working with Trans Am legend and TV personality Tommy Kendall, Graves shot and directed an amazing video featuring the Subaru STi at Laguna Seca Raceway. Additionally, he shot, directed and supervised the editorial content for the full product line up video for Subaru. Using tiny high quality video cameras and unique point of view camera rigs, Graves created a dramatic video featuring Kelly Collins and Kris Wilson racing Skip Barber's Formula Race cars at Laguna Seca.
Graves is still inventing new ways to capture images of speed. He recently developed a unique camera system, giving him the ability to capture images in motion so extraordinary that Autoweek and Wired magazine have written articles featuring this new work. Graves' distinctive Distacam captures not a series of frames, but one continuous image on a single roll of film. To create these huge single-frame photographic images, the camera uses a highly technical motor - the same kind found in the robotics industry - to move the film through the camera at a speed relative to that of the subject as it moves through the frame.
The DistaCam marks an inventive triumph in Graves' continual quest to exploit the limits of traditional action photography. "I guess it goes back to my basic desire to push the envelope of conventional thinking," he says. "As long as I can remember I've been coming up with exciting new ways to capture images in motion."
Jay Penske
Jay Penske is the founder, chairman and CEO of Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), one of the foremost interactive media and technology companies, owning and operating the large and rapidly growing Mail.com portal and email service in both the U.S. and international markets.
Under Jay’s leadership, MMC’s digital media network of lifestyle brands known for their original content and premium user experiences has expanded to include leading entertainment sites and award shows.
Jay and the companies he has founded have been featured in top media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Red Herring, Forbes, CNBC, Reuters and CNN. Prior to establishing MMC, Jay was a founder and chairman of Firefly Mobile Inc., a leading Chicago-based technology company. Firefly Inc. develops the Firefly mobile phone and other youth-targeted mobile products. Beyond his Internet ventures, Jay is the co-owner of the IndyCar racing team de Ferran Dragon Racing with Gil de Ferran, 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner, 2000 and 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series Champion, Steve Luczo, chairman and CEO, Seagate Technology. Since the start of their ownership, the team has donated more than $1,000,000 to charity during the last two seasons. Additionally, Jay’s entrepreneurial spirit and love for books inspired his company DragonBooks.com, an antiquarian bookseller that trades and sells rare and first edition novels. The company operates a store located in Los Angeles.
Jay graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Management & Information Systems. He sits on the Board of the University of Pennsylvania Library and the Wharton Entrepreneurial School.