MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Turn 3 Media, LLC has announced Chris Paulsen has joined as Managing Partner.
Paulsen will join co-founders Ralph Sheheen and Joe Tripp in leading Turn 3 Media’s ownership and executive team — helping guide the company as it continues to break new ground with a growing portfolio of print, digital and television media products and services. Paulsen will also play a key role in developing new business and strategic partnership opportunities.
Paulsen has done pretty much everything there is to do during his 46-year career in motorsports, which began as a volunteer crew man at age 13. Since then Paulsen has won countless sprint car and Indy car races as a mechanic, car builder and crew chief, having worked with legendary drivers such as Billy Vukovich, Roger Rager, Danny Smith, Sammy Swindell, Pancho Carter, Al Holbert, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Parsons and Billy Boat, to name only a few.
Paulsen has been an innovator both as a car builder and racer and as a businessman.
Paulsen opened C&R Racing in December of 1988. The company started by serving Indy car teams in the Indianapolis area. Between 1989 and 2000, C&R Racing became one of the most diversified fabrication businesses in motorsports. While C&R machined many parts, it specialized in suspensions and cooling systems.
Paulsen and C&R Racing created the True Grit Award in 1998 and it is handed out annually to Indy car and NASCAR crew members during the annual stops at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
C&R Racing’s business really boomed when the company began producing radiators for NASCAR stock cars in 1991. To this day, C&R dominates the entire NASCAR field in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series.
C&R moved into a new 35,000-square-foot facility in 2000 and opened a second facility in Mooresville, N.C., in 2005, eventually building its own facility there in 2007.
Paulsen and his wife, Debbie, sold C&R Racing to the Australia-based PWR Group in 2015. C&R/PWR are recognized as the international leaders in motorsports cooling solutions.
Paulsen, who has authored numerous technical columns in SPEED SPORT through the years, also co-founded the Indiana Motorsports Ass’n in 2004 and was a partner in creating the IMIS Trade Show in Indianapolis in 2008, which was sold to SEMA/PRI in 2012.
“I’m really excited to become a part of the SPEED SPORT team,” Paulsen said. “SPEED SPORT has played a very important role in my racing career as it has with so many others. I started getting SPEED SPORT when I was nine years old. As a kid honing my skills, I moved all over the country working with various race teams, car builders, etc. I took SPEED SPORT with me everywhere. Chris Economaki told me I held the record for the most address changes of any subscriber. I’ve kept my subscription going since Joe and Ralph relaunched the brand, and am extremely impressed with what they’ve built. SPEED SPORT is an iconic motorsports media brand that is just as relevant to today’s young race fan as it was for me in my youth.”
“I have the highest respect for Chris and am thrilled that he’s joined our team,” said Turn 3 Media CEO and co-founder Joe Tripp. “The timing couldn’t be better. We have a dedicated, enthusiastic team and our business is growing rapidly. The experience, leadership and passion Chris has will be a huge asset to help guide us as we continue to grow.”
“Chris has been a longtime supporter of SPEED SPORT and a great friend,” said Ralph Sheheen, Turn 3 Media president and co-founder. “He was always there for us through his previous ventures. Many of our very first meetings were held in his Mooresville headquarters when we didn’t have an office. So I can’t really say he’s a great addition to the family — he’s been like family since day one.”
The Paulsens reside in Wyoming, where they enjoy the outdoors and restoring race cars.
“Since selling my company, C&R Racing, Debbie and I have moved to Wyoming. I’ve built a new shop where I will spend time doing what I love; metal work and race car restoration,” noted Paulsen. “We are also huge off-road enthusiasts and love desert racing. We are committing time to running Baja with NORRA and playing in the dirt.”