The event started with The evolution of property panel, moderated by Abe Madkour, editor-in-chief of Sports Business Journal. Madkour was joined by panelists Jeff Gordon, vice president of Hendrick Motorsports, Brad Keselowski, owner and driver of RFK Racing, and Heather Gibbs, co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing.
This conversation covered the ever-changing dynamics of team ownership succession plans in NASCAR, how the sport can better harness and elevate the power of its drivers, and thinking about how to get fans to connecting with teams like fans of other sports do. (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, etc.) connect with their favorite team, regardless of the players.
The opening panel was followed by another star-studded lineup, who discussed The racing business.
This panel was moderated by Danielle Trotta of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and included panelists Torrey Galida of Richard Childress Racing, Steve Lauletta of 23XI Racing, and Steve Newmark of RFK Racing.
The conversation revolved around the ever-changing mindset regarding partnerships and sponsorships in today’s sport. The teams are all responsible for maximizing ROI for partners and doing everything right from a hospitality and content perspective for their partners. Hearing the different ways the three panelists handle situations on the business side of sports was quite fascinating.
The massive changes to the NASCAR schedule over the past few years have also been a major talking point. All panelists agreed that the calendar no longer being outdated is an important part of the sport moving in the right direction.
Another topic discussed was the incredible increase in diversity among NASCAR fans in recent years.
After a brief intermission, NBC’s Rick Allen took the stage to moderate a panel on Multi-series races. The panelists were once again a massive list of hard hitters as Tim Cindric of Team Penske, Ray Evernham of Ray Evernham Enterprises, Chris Rice of Kaulig Racing and Rick Ware, team owner Rick Ware Racing, discussed the wild world racing teams that compete in several different disciplines of auto racing.
After the event, Rick Ware admitted he was nervous before the discussion began, but the team owner more than held his own in the discussion. He and Cindric explained the nuances of juggling different conflicting manufacturers and sponsors in various racing series, while Evernham and Rice also offered their expertise in the field.
Rice also reaffirmed previous comments that Kaulig Racing intended to field a Late Model in the near future. It was a fun conversation from start to finish.
The event concluded with the Building Mutual Value panel, moderated by Peter Jung, NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer. Jung was joined by panelists Julie Giese, president of Chicago Street Race, Jessica Fickenscher, chief experience officer of Speedway Motorsports, Ty Norris, president of Trackhouse Racing, and Will Pleasants, managing director of Wasserman Media Group.
Even though this discussion was the last of the day, it probably contained some of the best talking points of the day.
The panel discussed collaboration between NASCAR, teams and tracks to create mutual value for everyone within the industry, including fans.
Ty Norris said the Chicago Street Course was a great example of what is possible if all facets of the sport come together.
The team president explained that NASCAR was considering the track in downtown Chicago to drivers and teams supporting the event in any way possible, and that NASCAR was even working with Trackhouse on quickly approving the future winner of racing, Shane Van Gisbergen, to participate in every element of the sport. came together and the race was a resounding success – weather aside, of course.
It was an intense discussion that ended a productive day at Racers Forum, which saw the sport’s best talk about what’s right and what’s wrong in the industry today, as well as what which is crucial to keeping the needle pointing upwards for the racing industry.
Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America
