NASCAR expands communications & marketing teams.

NASCAR announced that Sabrina Macias has been named director, brand and consumer marketing communications; Chris Tropeano will join as senior manager, business communications; and Jon Schwartz, previously NASCAR’s director of business communications, has been promoted to senior director, business and brand communications, with day-to-day oversight responsibility for several key business units.

“We are very pleased to have Sabrina and Chris join our team and to add their experience, insights and skills in several critical areas to an already strong group,” said Brett Jewkes, NASCAR vice president and chief communications officer. “Jon has brought tremendous strategic rigor to our business communications efforts and we‚re confident moving him into this new leadership role will strengthen IMC and help drive important growth initiatives for the company and industry.”

Macias joins NASCAR from Edelman Worldwide, where as a vice president overseeing 23 staffers in offices across the country, she led award-winning and brand-building marketing communications programs for global companies such as Starbucks, Unilever, PepsiCo and Kimberly Clark, among others. At Edelman, she specialized in multicultural strategic communications and marketing, with an emphasis on Hispanic. Macias also served on an integrated team of senior executives from various agencies across the company to ensure alignment of marketing communications programs on behalf of Edelman clients.

Prior to her time at Edelman, Macias managed general market, Hispanic, and entertainment media outreach for global brands such as Crest, Nike, Johnnie Walker and Hennessey in the New York offices of RL Public Relations and DeVries Public Relations.

Tropeano joins NASCAR after serving as associate director, communications at Sports Illustrated.

Both Macias and Tropeano will be based in NASCAR’s New York office and report to Schwartz, as will Scott Warfield, NASCAR’s director, broadcasting and entertainment communications, who is based in Charlotte. In his expanded role, Schwartz will now oversee Integrated Marketing Communications work with the following NASCAR business units: Partnership Marketing/Business Solutions, Corporate/ Multimedia Marketing, Licensing and Automotive; Broadcasting, Digital Media, Entertainment Marketing and Productions; Brand, Consumer and Series Marketing; Green Innovation and Multicultural Affairs, including NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity program.