Franz departs; other changes for eKartingnews SIERRA MADRE, CA (September 5, 2002) - Jeff Franz, editor/president of Ekartingnews.com, has announced that he will depart his positions at the website along with his role as a partner in 'E' Enterprises, in part to pursue the project of creating a new karting magazine. "This forthcoming publication, set to debut in the very near future, will demand my complete dedication," stated Jeff. "And in that regard, it would have been impossible for me to continue with my current workload. Furthermore, the objectives of 'E' Enterprises are not entirely compatible with the objectives that I have, and vice versa. For those reasons, the three of us are in agreement that this is the best course of action. I wish Brian (Stiver) and Glenn (Holland) considerable success with all their future 'E' endeavors." "Jeff has been integral to the shape and success of Ekartingnews. His passion for the upcoming project is clear and Glenn and I wish him the best of luck" said Brian Stiver. Glenn Holland will be assuming interim editorial duties for the site while a search for editors and contributors will commence immediately. "The site was started almost two years ago with the aim of providing timely news and information for the karting world. We are more committed than ever to that value," said Holland. News submissions and press releases should be directed to news@ekartingnews.com. Jeff Franz can be contacted at his new email jfranz27@hotmail.com or at (626) 676-8108. Also making news for the site is the announcement of the upcoming Ekartingnews redesign, which will unveil a new interface and exciting new features. "The current design of the site is what we started with back in late 2000" said Glenn. "We share many viewers' sentiments that we've all outgrown EKN version 1 a bit and the new site reflects our need to have technology that addresses the size and scale the site has achieved. It also allows us the opportunity to present several new sections we've long wanted to do." The real highlights of the new design are the long awaited driver profile system, which will allow drivers to submit and edit their own profiles. An important component of the new system will be the EKN Driver UltraSites. "The UltraSites will serve as one of the most important developments in driver promotion in a long time" stated Stiver. "The UltraSite is essentially a fully functional driver website that is given premium placement on Ekartingnews as well as hyperlinks to the driver's name wherever it appears on EKN. Karters will simply have no better way to promote their racing and their sponsors than the Driver UltraSite." The UltraSite's very low monthly fee and user friendly interface means drivers can have their own website up in a matter of hours. Likewise, the EKN Marketplace is a user directed expansion of the Links section open to the karting market. Stiver continues, "No karting business will be able to turn down the value return that will be offered in this section. It represents minimum investment for maximum return." Also included in EKNv2 is a Glossary section, FAQs, an automated sticker ordering facility, full search functionality, viewer polls, new forum software, and unified logins for all sections. The new site design is scheduled for launch the first week of October. Ekartingnews.com is the premier karting news and information website. Providing comprehensive karting information, including up to date news, features, technical articles, driver profiles, event coverage and results, Ekartingnews.com details karting action regionally, nationally and internationally. Karting is a worldwide entry-level motorsports class with participants ranging from local weekend racers to internationally recognized drivers who will be tomorrow's racing stars. Top level racers who started in karting include Michael Schumacher, Juan Montoya, Kenny Brack, Gil de Ferran, Mika Hakkinen, Paul Tracy, Max Papis, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Sarah Fisher. Learn more about Ekartingnews.com at www.ekartingnews.com.