I was saddened to hear of John Cardinale’s passing today. John was the longtime PR director for Sonoma (Sears Point) Raceway and he was one of the very best in the business.

I first had the privilege to meet John when I was working as media manager for the AMA Superbike Championship and he was reporting on the Sears Point race for the Contra Costa Times. John’s articles really captured the weekend in better detail than any daily newspaper had the right to. Most sports writers treated motorcycle racing like a red-headed stepchild and did the bare minimum, but not John. He found the stories others overlooked and took the time to dig deeper, get those interviews and give his readers a glimpse into the sport that was tough for even the motorcycling press to match.

When John took the job at Sears Point we worked closely together in promoting the AMA Superbike events there and I’m proud to say that working together we garnered the most media attention and brought in the biggest crowds the event ever saw in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

San Francisco was a tough market to crack, but John blew it wide open by way of unique pre-race promotions and well attended media luncheons at the best restaurants. Those luncheons gave Bay Area media the opportunity to sit down with a Miguel Duhamel, or Eric Bostrom or Ben Spies and really get to know them a little better as people. The resulting features on TV, radio and newspapers elevated Superbike racing to new heights in the eyes of the general public in the Bay Area.

It helped immensely that John had been a reporter before taking the job at Sears Point. All the area media knew and respected him, so it followed that he could foster strong relationships with them.

John cared about the image of the track and wanted it to be a good neighbor, involved in the local community. He was very influential in helping Sonoma/Sears Point Raceway to become a trend setter in working with charitable organizations. Sonoma Raceway probably issued just as many news releases about charity work and community involvement as they did about their racing events.

The goods ones like John don’t come around all that often. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to work side by side with him.

I for one will never forget John Cardinale. – Larry Lawrence