Rod Moskowitz – Principal & CEO, Attorney at Law 
Rod Moskowitz has the pedigree to be a talent representative for any professional sport, not just racing. In fact, he has over 19 years of experience in sports management and has represented professional athletes in NASCAR, NBA, MLS, and the PGA Tour. Where Rod has made his biggest mark has been in motorsports, negotiating several of the largest driver contracts in the history of NASCAR.
Prior to founding FUEL SMG, Rod emerged as one of America’s leading motorsports talent managers under the tutelage of Cary Agajanian at Motorsports Management International (“MMI”). At MMI, Rod played an integral role in the representation of several of MMI’s premier clients including Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray. Rod’s vision also expanded upon the Agajanian’s legacy in race promotion by spearheading all star charity events and media distribution deals to put prestigious events like the Prelude to the Dream and Chili Bowl on national TV.
A former NCAA collegiate soccer player, Rod worked for Advantage International, the second-largest sports management company in the world at the time, before joining MMI in 2000.
Originally from Connecticut, Rod received his J.D. from the Univ. of Maryland School of Law and his B.S. from Vanderbilt Univ. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Connecticut and was awarded a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his commitment to giving back to the community.
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David Jessey – Executive Vice President
David Jessey is one of the sports industry’s leading sales executives with over 20 years of sales experience. David has an extensive background in NASCAR sponsorship sales and marketing. As the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Evernham Motorsports (now Richard Petty Motorsports), he helped double the size of the company. In just four years, the team added a blue-chip group of sponsors that included Allstate, Anheuser Busch, Bank of America, Best Buy, Coca-Cola, Frito Lay, McDonald’s, Motorola, Stanley Tools, Vitaminwater and Unilever.
David joined FUEL SMG as a founding partner after leading the day-to-day operations of Virginia Sports Properties, a division of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties and the multimedia rights partner of the Univ. of Virginia Athletics Department. As the General Manager at UVA he led sales efforts and oversaw sponsorship services.
David’s corporate experience includes a five-year period working at Bank of America as a Senior Vice President of Olympic and Sports Marketing. He managed a team of eight associates and oversaw business unit integration and activation with professional and collegiate sports marketing assets. At the bank he negotiated and managed sponsorship relationships with a wide variety of regional properties including the Atlantic Coast Conference, Carolina Panthers, Duke University, Los Angeles Kings, PAC 10 Conference, Philips Arena, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, University of Maryland, Staples Center, Washington Redskins, and the WTA Tour Championship.
Prior to Bank of America, David led the event sales group for Raycom Sports and Muhleman Marketing, a Charlotte-based agency that is now part of IMG. At Muhleman, David worked on NFL research projects for the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, and Seattle Seahawks. He also sold sponsorship for the Olympic Trials Men’s Marathon.
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Rick Russell – Chief Operating & Chief Financial Officer
Rick Russell has a very broad base of experience in many aspects of the business of racing, including providing oversight on legal matters, contract negotiations, financial management, cost control, licensing, human resources, merger and acquisition work, IT, sales and marketing, facilities, and aviation. During his career Rick has negotiated sponsorship agreements with values in excess of $500 million, dozens of NASCAR driver agreements, hundreds of employment agreements, and helped build and sell a sports team business with over 300 employees, in excess of $100 million in revenue, while maintaining an unmatched level of profitability.
Prior to joining FUEL SMG as a founding partner, Rick served as the business manager for Ray Evernham Enterprises, where he continues to oversee the various business and financial assets of Ray Evernham, a former top NASCAR team owner, TV analyst, and three-time NASCAR Champion crew chief. Rick also served as the president and chief financial officer of Evernham Motorsports, where he was instrumental in putting the team infrastructure in place, overseeing the growth of the team, and ultimately the sale of the team in what is still the largest transaction of its kind in NASCAR history.
Prior to his affiliation with Evernham, Rick served as vice president and general manager of Action Performance Companies, CFO of Action Sports Image, and as an auditor for what is now known as Price Waterhouse Cooper’s CPA firm. Rick is a North Carolina CPA, and is a 1989 Magnum Cum Laude graduate of North Carolina State Univ., with degrees in Accounting and Business Management.
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Steve Pegram – VP of Client Services
Steve Pegram brings an unique perspective to the firm, drawing upon 15-plus years of experience working with high-profile brands, sports and entertainment properties, and special events across multiple marketing, media, and promotion platforms. Sports properties that he has touched stretch from the Olympics, World Cup soccer, NFL, MLB, NBA, and PGA to literally every major motorsports series. In particular, his experience across the motorsports spectrum with the NASCAR sanctioning body, Motorsports Management International, Red Bull, and Wunderman provides invaluable insight into all facets of racing.
As head of client services, Steve advises throughout many areas of the firm for many of the clients. He also leads various projects. A former collegiate swimmer, Steve received his B.A. in Journalism at Indiana University.
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Austin Peyton – Sr. Director of Driver Management
Austin Peyton is actively involved in the day-to-day representation of FUEL SMG clients. Austin has over four years of hands-on experience working as Denny Hamlin’s personal manager. During this span, Austin has attended every NASCAR race as Hamlin has proven to be a consistent championship contender.
Austin is emerging as a true NASCAR insider, developing strong relationships with drivers, car owners, officials and corporate partners. Austin received his B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth Univ. in Richmond, Va.
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Lisa Hemphill – Sr. Director of Talent Management
Lisa Hemphill is involved in the brand positioning and public relations programs of FUEL SMG clients. Lisa also specifically focuses on Kasey Kahne’s day-to-day management, handling all aspects of Kahne’s branding, partnership account management, communications and scheduling. Lisa has over eight years experience developing brand plans and managing public relations programs for corporations and drivers in NASCAR.
Prior to joining FUEL SMG, Lisa was an account manager at Elevation and Performance PR Plus, where she handled the NASCAR public relations accounts for Anheuser-Busch, Citi Financial and Great Clips among others. Lisa received her B.A. in communication from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.
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Adrian Parker – Sr. Director of Account Management
Adrian Parker brings 10 years of public relations experience to FUEL SMG. Over the past five seasons he served as director of communications at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he was responsible for promoting several of the largest annual events on the NASCAR schedule; national auto shows; World of Outlaw events; as well as the world’s premier NHRA drag racing facility, zMAX Dragway. During his tenure at CMS, he also produced and directed the annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is a four-day long preview of the NASCAR industry. Before his career as a track promoter, Adrian served as publicist for NASCAR drivers such as 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, Kenny Schrader and Kyle Petty.
Adrian brings a diverse set of skills and experience to the FUEL team including sponsor services, media relations, event production, corporate communication and development of marketing campaigns. His primary responsibilities include daily management of Matt Kenseth’s branding, partnerships, communications and scheduling. A former collegiate football player, Adrian earned a B.A. in Communications from Catawba College and a M.S. in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Sean Cain – Creative Director
Sean Cain is responsible for developing client branding solutions on and off the race track. From designing the color scheme across the racing vehicles to the design and branding of websites, merchandise, event signage, point of sale and collateral materials, experiential and hospitality displays, Sean’s talent as a graphic artist results in the creation of impactful visual and branding solutions for FUEL SMG’s clients.
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Kevin Hamlin – Director of Driver Development & Digital Media
Kevin Hamlin is a former NASCAR racer who now manages the driver development program at FUEL SMG, working closely with the younger driver clients and prospecting for new talent. Kevin also is actively involved in the day-to-day management of the digital and social media properties of FUEL and its clients. In addition to his role at FUEL, Kevin serves as the spotter for Kasey Kahne on the #5 Hendrick Motorsports car.
Previously, he served as a spotter and social and digital media manager for Richard Childress Racing, where he helped grow RCR’s social media footprint by over 350 percent in one year. From 2005 to 2010, Kevin was a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and worked on the development of their Car of Tomorrow car. He originally hails from the state of Washington and is a two-time NASCAR Northwest Series Champion (2001-2002) and multiple Most Popular Driver award winner (2001-2003).