FORCE ANNOUNCES WERNER TO STEP AWAY FROM JOHN FORCE RACING
BROWNSBURG, IN – John Force, CEO of John Force Racing, Inc., announced Tuesday that Elon Werner, who has managed the company’s PR effort for the past nine seasons, will scale back his day-to-day involvement following Friday’s press function at the JFR East facility in Brownsburg, Ind.
Although Werner has taken a position in Dallas that will allow him to spend more time at home in Mansfield, Texas, with his wife Jennifer and two teenage children, he will continue to work with JFR through the transition period.
“I have had the luxury of working with the best team and drivers in motorsports. I have every confidence this transition will be seamless. I know with the exciting announcements on the horizon for the team that it will continue to garner national media attention both inside and outside the world of racing,” said Werner. “I have to thank John and Robert as well as every driver I have worked with for their willingness to accommodate the media and our sponsors. Their passion and professionalism made me a better PR person.”
Werner has been working closely with Force and JFR President Robert Hight to identify candidates to fill the position as soon as possible.
A graduate of Austin College in Sherman, Texas, Werner’s first job was with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. He parlayed that into a PR position with the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, and ultimately became the track’s General Manager.
He joined JFR during one of the darkest periods of its history.
Working part-time in drag racing and full-time with Beckett Communications in Dallas, he helped the team get through the death of team driver Eric Medlen early in 2007 and, six months later, was prepared to sign a contract that would have made him JFR’s first official PR Director when Force suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash at the same track at which Werner had been GM.
After helping guide the team through that crisis, working closely with then Castrol PR Director Dave Densmore, Werner came on board on a full-time basis in 2008.
Adept in all the social media disciplines, Werner established JFR as the benchmark through his management of the team’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, among others. He also figured prominently in the careers of Force’s daughters, Ashley Hood, Courtney Rahal and Brittany Force.
In 2014, he was presented the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations, an award considered by many as the highest honor in racing PR. In 2016, he created a JFR-specific Media Guide, which set another new standard for team PR.
“Elon is a big part of the JFR family and always will be,” Force said. “Robert and I both understand him wanting to spend more time with his family and we both appreciate all the extra effort he put in. He’s a good friend and we’re looking forward to sharing with him this next phase of his life.”